Just thought I'd share...

Since we had Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday with Trent, Beth & Megan, I made everyone get dressed and we went and took pictures at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The kids had a lot of fun walking around and coming up with ideas. Thomas and I had fun just walking around and having a pretty relaxed day with the kids. I LOVE days like this!!

Update on our week!

We had a great week last week! We celebrated Ryker's Birthday, Harley pulled out her own tooth, we had an early Thanksgiving dinner with Trent and Beth, and I had a very minor surgical procedure.

1st...Ryker's birthday! I still can't believe that he is 8 years old! Last Wednesday was his birthday, and Thomas didn't have to work that day. Thomas took all the kids to school, and then went and spent some time with Ryker and Harley at lunch. Out here, it is really common for parents to go and eat lunch with their kids. The have a special table set up and everything. He went and ate with Harley first, and then before Ryker's lunch, he ran and got him a Happy Meal at McDonalds. He hid it, and told Ryker to go and get all his favorite lunch items, so he could show Daddy what he eats everyday. Then, when he got back Thomas pulled out the Happy Meal and asked him which lunch he wanted. I'll let you guess which one he picked!! Thomas had so much fun there, that he has been talking about volunteering in their classrooms. That in itself is a miracle!! If anyone would have told me that Thomas would, not only want to, but that he would even have the time to do something like that, I would have laughed at them!!

That night, we let Ryker open his presents. He got a Nintendo DS and was so super stoked about it. Since Aspen got to have a slumber party, we asked Ryker if he would like to have party with some friends OR have a night out with mom and dad. I was shocked when he picked a night out with mom and dad. We wanted to go somewhere fun, so we decided to take him to Kabuto's, which is a Japaneses Steakhouse...kinda like Bennihana's or the Geisha Grill in Las Vegas. He LOVED it!! The chef even tried to get Ryker to catch some veggies in his mouth. He tried and tried but just couldn't catch it. He loved how they made huge fires, and how the chef did tricks with his knives. They even came and sang to him. After dinner, we went to Walmart and let him spend his money that Grandma and Uncles and Aunts had sent him. It was a fun night, and I love spending one on one time with him.

2nd...Harley pulled her own tooth out!! Her other bottom front tooth has been loose since we pulled her other one out, but she wouldn't let anyone touch it. Finally, on Sunday, we convinced her that it needed to come out. It was quite literally about to fall out on its own, but she still wouldn't let us touch it. We told her to just keep pulling on it, and it eventually came out. She was so excited that she did it all by herself!! (By the way, Ryker still has NO loose teeth!)



3rd...Trent, Beth & Megan came over for a Thanksgiving Dinner. On Sunday, after church, we had an early Thanksgiving dinner since Trent and Beth were going to her moms for Thanksgiving. We had lots of food and lots of fun chattin' it up with them. We feel so blessed and grateful to have them so close to us. It is a lot of fun being able to get to know them better, and get to sort of bond with with them. I should have taken a picture, though, of Thomas and Trent "spending time" together. They were both hanging out on the couch playing their own PSPs. It is so funny to watch them sit right next to each other, and yet not say a word to each other!!

4th...I had a minor procedure done yesterday. I have been seeing a doctor again for my chronic pain. He decided that we should try some more injections, and then some more physical therapy. I was a little apprehensive after I found out that I would NOT be put to sleep for the procedure. In Vegas, I was put under every time!! It wasn't as bad as my imagination had made it out to be, and I am doing really well. I don't start physical therapy until next week, since this is such a short week, but am optimistic that I will get the pain back under control. When I went in for the procedure my neck pain was at about a level 7 out of 10, and my back was about a 5. Immediately after I was down to about a 2 for both my neck and back. My neck hasn't bothered me yet since yesterday, but my back did bother me a bit last night. But, since awaking this morning I am at about a 2 for both. I sure hope the pain stays away for awhile. Being in pain day and night sure can take its toll on a person. For the last year, I would say that I have been at an 8 out of 10 for my neck, at least, 2-3 days a week!! It is so frustrating, especially with me watching kids all day. So, I am thankful that we can try and get this straightened out.

Well, I hope that everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!! Can't wait to see most of you in less than a month!!! YIPPEE!!!

Whoo Hoo!!

6 months ago, even 3 months ago, I never thought that gas prices would be here.....



Now we can fill up the Suburban for less than $70....instead of the usual $150 or more!!!

8 is Great!

I can't believe that my baby boy is 8 today!!


Ryker has grown up so much this year. He is becoming quite the gentleman. He loves to open doors for his sisters and I. He is doing so well in school. His teacher only had wonderful things to say about him during our conference a few weeks ago. He is such a big helper with the little boys that I watch. He just loves to get them laughing! It's crazy to think that he will be getting baptized next month while we are in Vegas. It makes me sad that he is growing up so fast, but incredibly happy that he is growing up to be such a wonderful man.



We LOVE you Ryker!!
Happy Birthday to our Big Boy!!

Family Photo Shoot Preview

We went and had our pictures taken today, but the proofs won't be ready to look at until next week. So, I decided to take one myself and give everyone a little preview. I'm sure that they will look tons better than these. I took these after the "real" ones and after we went out to dinner and played a bit, so the kids aren't as "fresh" as they were for the actual shoot. Enjoy!!

I Pretty, Pretty!!

Marina is totally into putting on shows and making up her own songs as she goes along. This particular day, she just kept singing this "I Pretty" song over and over. At the end of the first time she sings it, listen as she runs into the playroom and says, "Ahhh!" It was so funny. Then in the middle of the recording, she runs into the corner and "introduces" herself! Too cute, so make sure to pay special attention to that.

DISCLAIMER: This was recorded during the day, while I watch children, so please excuse the mess!!!

Halloween

I just thought that I would hurry and throw in a few pics of the kids this Halloween. There wasn't a whole lot going on this year. We went to the ward trunk or treat, a neighborhood party and then Halloween night was actually pretty lame. I think we handed candy out to maybe 3 parties of kids, and our kids just went up our street. It was very quiet, but I think that was actually a good thing as we have all been so sick lately.

At the neighborhood party, there was a DJ there. Marina was dancing like crazy! It was so hilarious. There were a lot of people there dressed up as scary characters, and they would go and dance with her, and she didn't care at all. She was just glad that someone was dancing with her!! It was really dark in the tent, but if you look really hard you can see her shaking her booty! She kept getting distracted with the lights that were there too. She is so cute!!

Aspen's Bday Party

Aspen's Bday party was last week. She had a sleepover with 3 of her friends. We ate pizza, painted pillow cases, had donut sundaes, sang & danced, watched movies, and then went to see High School Musical 3 the next morning. It was really fun, and I was glad to see some fun friends that Aspen is able to hang out with. Here are the highlights!

Having Fun Dancing...



A visit from Spike...
Thomas had a lot of fun scaring the girls ALL night!