Family Pictures 2012

It always feels so good to get these done!  Since we missed last year, it feels like it's been a long time, although Arthur would beg to differ.  But Sydney was just a few months old in our last family pictures! So it was definitely time.  My friend Erin took these for us, and we love her and her photography skills!

So clearly, I had trouble eliminating Sydney pictures.  She's just at such a fun age to take pictures of . . .

 

 Hooray for being done with another year's family pictures!

Long Day

So, I try to keep my blog positive for the most part, because that's what I want to remember.  But for the sake of keeping things real, and so I remember that some days are just long, here's how my day went.

It started with me accidentally oversleeping, throwing up before breakfast and taking my kids to school because they missed the bus.  As Sean got out of the car he realized he'd left his backpack at home.  And I glanced in my rear view mirror to see that Hayden also forgot to get a jacket to wear to preschool.  I guess it was a tender mercy that I noticed that so I only had to make one extra trip back home to retrieve forgotten items.

The middle of my day was fine--after getting Hayden to preschool and Sean his backpack, I got to meet Julianne's new little baby girl Kylee, so that was delightful.  And later, I even put my feet up to read for awhile  (even though I should have been picking up my house because it looks like someone gave it a good shake and it's hard to see the floor in some spots.)

The end of my day was a little nuts-- I got to take all the kids by myself to Hayden's preschool for their annual "Sharing Feast."   I was assigned to help set up, but since Arthur is out of town, I got out of it because I'd be bringing all my kids with me and would be the opposite of helpful.  It was good that I didn't have to do that because I had double booked and signed up to feed the missionaries, so I ended up bringing them a pizza on my way over to the preschool, and was running late, so I'd have missed the set up anyway.

The Sharing Feast went fairly well, (in terms of the behavior of my children) and was only mildly embarrassing when Sydney threw a couple of tantrums where she was crying on the floor and I couldn't figure out what she was even upset about.  And I just had to leave her on the floor as we were moving through the buffet line because  I had a plate full of food for her.  Surprisingly, I was so focused, (or maybe just too tired to be observant) that I didn't even notice the looks I was surely getting --the "oh my word, that lady has five kids and is expecting another, and wow she has her hands full" looks.

As soon as we had finished at the preschool, we headed over to the church because I'd been asked to help in the nursery for the Relief Society Meeting that evening.  Yes, I  should have just said I'd love to help another time, but this time won't work for me, but instead, I said, "Well, my husband will be out of town so I'll have to bring all my kids . . . And I'll be coming from another obligation so I'll also be late . . . " To which this sweet-but-oblivious sister responded, "Oh, no problem--I can cover for you until you get there."

So I brought all my kids down to the church, only to find out that nobody had brought any children to tend, so I didn't need to come down after all.  At least we all got some delicious dessert out of the deal, before I loaded everyone back into the car to head home.  

But my day wasn't over yet--I still got to clean up a potty training accident, send Sydney upstairs to get pajamas and a diaper, realize that I needed to return a redbox movie (that was three days late, and not even worth the $1.20 from the FIRST day we rented it) so I rushed out to return it before 9 o'clock, and when I got home, Sydney who had never gotten a diaper on, had pooped on the floor in her bedroom.  

 So to sum up, I started the day puking and finished it by scraping poop off the floor.

Lovely.

Some days are just long. 

Whirlwind trip to Utah

Oct. 25-27th

Provo/Alpine Utah

So, we made a SUPER quick trip up to Utah last month.  We drove up on Thursday, stayed Friday, and drove home Saturday, to visit Emma, Melanie and Jade up in Utah.  Melanie had the lead role in a rendition of "Tell-Tale Heart" so we came up primarily to see her in her performance of that Friday night.  

Thursday night we hung out with my Aunt Melody and her family whose youngest kids are about the same age as my three oldest.  (Melanie was still at rehearsal.)  We picked up Emma after her last class and brought her back to have dinner with all of us.  Then we went over to Melanie & Jade's place to spend the night.  

Friday morning, we headed down to BYU to get Emma back to class, and while we waited for her to be done, Melanie showed us the amphitheater where her performance was.  The actual little room was locked up, so we didn't go in there, but this is the outside of the Provo Castle Amphitheater.  

Jade outfitted us all with a pair of Cassettes--so here we are all sporting our new sunglasses.  

The kids were all pretty excited about them.

Then we checked out BYU's Paleontology Museum which was pretty cool.

Daph and Syd next to a prehistoric crocodile.  

Wow--glad they don't get that big anymore!

Arthur by a cast of a triceratops fossil.  Again, bigger than I thought . . .

Sean and a T-Rex skull

Here's something new I learned--there are even Poop Fossils!  The kids thoughts this was pretty funny.

Sitting on a big ole' dinosaur bone

Hayden and Sean checking out a big dinosaur mural.

Just killin' time waiting for Emma to be done with her class . . .

Go Cougs!

When Emma was done, we went to lunch at the Creamery on 9th, stopped at the Bookstore, and then headed back up to Mel & Jade's place to drop the kids off at the babysitters, and then head over to her show.  

It was a perfect creepy show to watch for Halloween, and Melanie was completely amazing as "Heather," a psychiatric patient who's only problem to begin with are night terrors.  But by the end of the show she ends up killing the doctor and then turning herself in when she can still hear his heartbeat.  Anyway, Mel did her part (which made up at least 80% of the show's dialogue) phenomenally--you loved her and feared her all at the same time.  

Melanie covered in blood and holding bags of body parts.  

Yikes!

Saturday, we packed up and drove back to Albuquerque.  So it was super quick, but we had a great time and were really glad we got to go up to see Mel in her play and hang out with Jade and Emma too!   Love you guys!  And as Hayden says, "You're gonna mith uth!"

October Quotes

Sydney:  Dappy's so pitty

(translation:  Daphne's so pretty--I loved this because Daphne was nowhere in sight, but for some reason, Sydney was just thinking about how pretty her older sister is.  It's probably because Daphne is so kind to Sydney--sings her songs, paints her nails, plays with her curly hair etc. . .)

Sydney watches a Princess movie every afternoon, so her brothers are pretty familiar with them, and have plenty of time to analyze and offer commentary on them.  Here are a few they've said recently:

Hayden's commentary on Cinderella:
When Cinderella gets her blue poofy dress--"Whoa, she has LOTS of underwear on.  Like Belle."
When her new father-in-law blushes bright red after she kisses his forehead-- "Ha, ha!  Look, he got sunburned!"

Sean's commentary on Little Mermaid:
When the chef gets all his teeth knocked out at the very end of the movie--"Wow, that's gonna be a LOT of money from the tooth fairy."

Hayden's commentary on Beauty and the Beast:
"It'th her own fault that she'th getting chathed by wolveth.  The Beatht and EVERYONE told her not to go in the Wetht Wing, becauthe it'th forbidden, but she thtill did.  Tho that'th the conthequenthe.  She got thcared and ran into the foretht and got chathed by the wolveth."

Sean:  What if I was famous?

Me:  What would you do if you were famous?

Sean:  I would get screen time for free for as long as I want.

Me: You think if you were famous, I would let you have free screen time?

Sean:  Maybe.

Me:  You think famous people don't have to do any chores?

Sean:  Maybe not  . . . What if I was the Mayor?

Hayden, in a singular act of generosity, reached into his cup and pulled out some ice to offer to his cousin Lily.  "Here Lily--free ithe."  I said, "Wow, Hayden, very nice of  you to offer her that ice for free."  He replied, "Well, I know she doethn't have any money, tho I gave it to her for free."

One night we were headed to a football party.  Because the game started so late, only the grown-ups were invited.  When we told Hayden where we were going that night he said, "Well I'm not inviting ANY grown-upth to my birthday party!"  touche`.  I guess he's planning on serving the cake himself.

As she was unwrapping another Reece's Peanut Butter Cup, Sydney solemnly instructed Dallin,"No more candy, Dallin.  Dallin--No more candy.  Okay, Dallin?" A girl who gets bossed around by as many people as she does is well versed in the arts of bossing.

Hayden:  Why did God make the wind blow tho much that the Balloon Fiethta wath canthelled?!

Sean:  What if Darth Vader knocked on our door?

Daphne:  We would invite him in!  He could sleep in my room. (after a little thought)  I hope he doesn't pee the bed.

Sean:  He doesn't.  Star Wars people don't pee.

Sydney:  NO WHINING!

Daphne: Mom, a boy at school used his "smolder" on me!

A boy on Sean's soccer team:  Which one is your mom?

Sean:  My mom is right there--the one with the fat tummy.

(nice.)

Sydney:  Don't break it, okay Mom?  (handing me a headband for me to wear, and stretching it open wider than a headband is meant to stretch.)

At the breakfast table one morning, everyone was telling knock knock jokes.  Sydney didn't want to be left out so she joined in.  We started telling her a knock-knock joke and here's how it went:

Me:  Knock-knock
Sydney:  Who there?
Me: Orange
Sydney: (thinking . . . ) and YELLOW!
me:  And RED!
Hayden:  And PURPLE!
Sean & Dallin:  and BLUE!
Daphne:  and PINK!

here's how another one went--
Sydney:  Knock-knock
All of us:  Who's there?
Sydney:  (getting upset)  No, I just say KNOCK-KNOCK!
me:  Okay.  Do it again.  (I whispered some instructions to the other kids)
Sydney:  Knock-knock
All:  COME IN!
And we all (Sydney included) died laughing.  And then we had to run out the door to get the kids to school.  (They had already missed the bus, of course.)

Hayden was waiting outside the bathroom waiting for Daphne to finish so he could use it.  When she opened the door, he was standing right in the doorway and said, "Well hello there, young lady," in his silliest voice.  Just made me laugh.

Daphne:  I love the piano.  I'm so glad I'm talented.

Racing to church one morning, the kids were all chanting "Come on light, do your thing, turn green! turn green!"  After a few times, Sydney said, "Turn PURPLE! Turn Purple!"  I guess she just got tired of green.

Hayden: Mom, can you put in the password for the computer?

Me:  Oh, I guess so.

Hayden:  And, "I gueth tho" meanth "yeth," right?

Emma: I'm so sick of school.

Dallin:  Because school is treating you like trash?

Melanie:  Okay, you have to eat one:  Would you choose brownies with dirt in them?  Or brownies with boogers in them.

Sean: . . . (says nothing)

Hayden:  (points to his noise)  Becauthe my boogerth tathte pretty good.

Halloween Costumes

To theme or not to theme . . . that is the question.

Well I had decided not to theme this year because it was just too much work for the amount of energy I'm operating on lately.  But a couple of weeks before Halloween, when the kids still didn't really know what they wanted to be, Dallin convinced me to do a theme after all.  He said, "Mom, there're too many options without a theme.  I just can't narrow it down.  Maybe I won't dress up this year."

So in a moment of insanity, we sat down and decided on a costume theme after all.   And curse my obsession with homemade costumes, of course I had to make them . . .  (or at least most of them--I ordered a couple of wigs and hats, but other than that, the costumes are pretty much homemade).  Well, to make a long story short, it's November 2nd, and I'm still recovering from staying up late too many nights in a row to finish the blasted costumes.

But here they are, and for what it's worth, the Gariety costume theme tradition is unbroken for at least one more year.

And the costume theme for Halloween 2012 was 

Alice in Wonderland  

(A mix of both Tim Burton's, and the animated versions . . .)

 

Alice

Tweedle-Dee & Tweedle-Dum

(aka the Fat Boys)

Queen of Hearts

Mad Hatter

Dallin and Daphne got close-ups because of their special make-up.  :)  

Anyway, I was pretty happy with how the costumes came out.  I think the kids looked awesome.

The jury is still out on whether or not it's worth all the hassle . . .  

And below are the Jack-O-Lantern pictures.  Sydney had gone to bed early that night, so she was sleeping through the carving festivities.

Happy Halloween!