Living Life

I have been so behind on my blogging. I know people don't really read blogs like they used to but it is the only way I really keep a good family journal. So in the name of catching up here is a truck load of pictures from the last month or so.

Love these three.

 "Helping" mommy make cookies

 The way this kid sleeps cracks me up. I always know when he is getting tired because he puts his hands behind his head like this. So cute.

 Weston was helping me put out our fall decorations and the costumes were in the bottom of the box. He tried on some that were far too small for him...

 This one literally makes me laugh out loud every time I see it. How he squeezed himself into a Jonas sized costume I will never know.

 I walked by my room one day and found them like this. All by themselves. Precious.

 We had a birthday party for the twins at our house and Becky's cupcakes left frosting stains on all the kids faces. It was hilarious. The flash making Saydi blink plus the red frosting created this zombie look. =)

 Playing in the leaves. We get SO many!

 Baby J now knows what the camera is and you can not capture him in a moment for anything! He was sitting down reading with Saydi and as soon as he heard me turn on the camera he jumped up and posed. Cute little terd. 

 I was attempting to catch him making his scrunchy face and this was as good as it got. He is getting so big!

 Weston of course had to get in on the action. Silly boy.

 This makes me giggle. Love my boys.

Daddy decided Buster was ready to have the front off his crib since Weston and Saydi did at his age too. He has done great. I still have to puppy guard him for the first few minutes so he doesn't get out of bed but he will get the hang of it soon.

 This has pretty much just become Jonas' cupboard. He had to make sure I knew the other day and climbed right in.

 Mark was using the bathroom and this was the entourage he had waiting for him. So funny.

 Jonas had a towel wedgie the other morning after I got him out of the bath and he would NOT cooperate for me to get a picture of his bum. =) 

Not much else has been going on around here. Just living day to day life and feeling very blessed for all that we have. And LOVING the fact that our favorite time of the year is here!

Dad's 60th

For my dad's 60th birthday we wanted to do something special so we got some great pictures for him.

Basically what we really got him was a miracle. This many kids all somewhat looking and somewhat smiling. Miracle.

We love our Papa and it was great to celebrate with him yesterday. It is crazy to think that us five girls have created all these little people and to think of all the little people they will all create. Mind blown.

Cookie Dough Fit

My sister, Miss, recently gave me a recipe for egg-less cookie dough. That's right folks. Eat it to your heart's content. It is so stinking delicious and I made it once a week for the first little while. My kids love it too. Jonas loves it so much in fact, that this is the result of telling him "no more". 

Pretty adorable if you ask me. Not so funny to him though! So I decided that if I am going to get fat off of delicious goodness then the rest of the world should have the opportunity also. Well, at least those of you who have zero self-control, like me. Enjoy!

1 cube butter (room temp.)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/4 c white sugar
2 T milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt (if you use salted butter use a little less than this)
chocolate chips

Cream the butter and sugars. Add milk and vanilla. Blend well. Add flour and salt. Blend well. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate just long enough to get the dough firm (about 15 mins.) and roll into balls for easy consumption. Store in the refrigerator. Ahhh, I can hear my arteries clogging just thinking about eating it.

First Day of Preschool

I can not believe my babies are growing up so fast. Wednesday was Saydi's first day of preschool and Weston's first day of his second year of preschool. I said I would never put my kids in preschool and now here they are doing two years of it. =/ We love their teacher and it is so convenient only walking two houses down the block.

 This is probably my favorite picture. Mostly because Weston was talking to Saydi about where they were going and showing her where their school is.

And lest you think that capturing these pictures took a moment of my time - the outtakes:

Really Saydi? Really?

Ha!

Again, Saydi? Really?

Anywho I just love these big kiddos and seeing them have their own experiences. Even if it does make me a little sad! They loved their first day and I was so proud of Weston and how well he retained everything he learned last year. He wrote his name almost perfectly and hardly colored out of the lines at all. Saydi had no problems leaving me at all and at the end of the day said that school was her favorite thing she did.

Labor Day

We went to Ross Park for Labor Day with all of Mark's family. It was a great time and the last thing to be crossed off of our summer bucket list.

 Doing what big brothers do...splashing Saydi. =)

 After Ross Park we went back to Grammy's for food and cards. The kids all took a bath and I love these next two pictures because they perfectly capture Saydi's free spirit. Three kids looking (two of them under two) and Saydi is totally in her own world, oblivious to what is going on around her.

 Yep. That's Saydi. (Side note: poor Baby J fell and hit his chin on a brick wall at Ross, hence the nasty scrape.)

 These cousins love each other!

It was a fun day. The next day, after church, we went back down to Blackfoot and had more food and cards at Jakob's house. It is always good to see family!

Catching Up

We have been super busy around this joint so here are some random pictures we've managed to sneak in.

Jonas does this to the toilet paper every single time he manages to get into the bathroom unattended. You'd think it wouldn't happen very often since we know he is going to do it...but somehow it happens ALL the time.

 I love Saydi's crazy hair after I take it out. Cracks me up.

 I was making dinner one night and looked out my window to see this. Love it.

 Daddy is a master at building forts. The kids have been going through our old blog books on almost a daily basis and they made him recreate one that they had seen from the past. =) Jonas loves forts too!

 I do not understand this boy. He sleeps so crazy.

And just plain adorable.

 Last weekend we had a mini-reunion with the family in this area at my grandparents house. The boys were spinning circles on the teeter totter instead of going up and down. It was pretty funny. Weston kept slipping off and thought that was pretty cool so then he started doing it on purpose. Funny boy.

We're Bored

I think my kids take after me too much. They don't love summer. At least, not as much as other normal kids do. They are ready for fall and every day Weston asks me if the leaves are falling off the trees yet. Probably because he knows that has to happen before his birthday will get here. =) So here are some pictures to show how we are passing the time.

This little guy is getting bigger every day. He was playing with Trevor's hat the other day and it was hilarious when he would keep it on his head. He is starting to say words but still mostly just babbles. But he says "go" a lot which I love. Little baby voices are the sweetest.

 We killed a few hours this morning with this little contraption.

 Don't be fooled - Saydi pretty much rocketed down this thing! It was pretty hilarious.

 Weston brought home some seeds that he had planted months ago when he was in school. Well, those little seeds have now turned into these beautiful marigold and zinnia plants. He is so proud and has loved watching them grow.

I feel guilty that I admittedly haven't taken advantage of summer as much as I probably should (although we have done everything on our list that we wanted to). I supposed I can muster of some pretend enjoyment for the last month or so. Or maybe we will just make a paper chain to count down the days until fall. =)

WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD

Just a general update. With way too many pictures. But that's what makes my blog book worth reading! =)

Yesterday was my 27th birthday. Unfortunately, yesterday was also the day my Uncle Richard passed away. He is my mom's brother and even though I didn't talk to him much (something I regret) I will miss him dearly.  Thankfully I got a chance to tell him goodbye - something I didn't think would happen. Whenever you were with him he made you feel like you were the most important thing in the world to him. He always made you feel special and loved. He will be greatly missed. Love you Uncle Rich.

I did have a great birthday though. I spent the morning with my sister, Miss, and the kids played at the park. Then Mark and I took the kids to Applebee's since we had a gift card and wouldn't you know it, Tuesday is 99 cent kid's meal day! Holla! After that I headed off to mutual and had SO much fun with the Young Women. And I came home to a clean house, a mowed lawn, flowers, and the kindle cover I have been wanting for months! Love my hubby.

Moving along...Saydi fell asleep this way on Sunday. She doesn't get a nap on Sunday because we have 11:00 church (my least favorite) so she usually crashes close to bed time. Cute girl.

 I found them sitting like this one night. So precious.

 If Jonas is messy, or making a mess, he is happy!

 I wish my camera on my phone was a better quality because I LOVE this picture of Westy. The shirt he is wearing used to be Chase's (Jeni's youngest) and now Weston fits it so we took a picture to send to Grammy.

 Weston loves climbing this star at the greenbelt. He figured out how to get up there all by himself. Big boy!

 Ok this picture cracks me up. Saydi is a clothing Houdini. One day she wore some of Maylee's 18 month jeggings and they looked adorable on her. Well, a while ago we went to Miss' house and I forgot swimming suits. We took a chance that Saydi might fit into Channing's 24 month swimming suit and although it was a little snug, it sure did fit! So crazy. She wears a 3T/4T for crying out loud! Blows my mind.

 Love these three.

 Weston's friend, Olivia, moved away recently. Her mom had a get together at the park so they could say goodbye and the kids had fun. We will miss you Livvy!

 Olivia's mom, Carrie, is my best friend. I am so sad she is gone but we are still in touch and she will always be a part of my life. Love her!

 Our yearly trip to the splash park in Rexburg was a success. Saydi is cheesing it up.

 Jonas pretty much just ran around the whole place. He is so fun to watch.

 Weston wasn't as into the slides this year as he was last year but he did get going and had lots of fun!

 Seriously...he is adorable. And I don't think I'm biased.

 Much to my embarrassment, Saydi spent a good portion of her time doing this. Oi.

 Working up the courage to touch the water!

 And last but not least, daddy took a turn reading books to the kids the other night when I had a headache. We did the summer reading program and my kids committed to reading 10 books a day and they did it for 10 weeks! It has been a great routine for all of us even though some nights it took FOREVER to get through all our reading. =)

Other updates: I don't think I mentioned but I got a new calling as the Young Women's President. I am LOVING Young Women's. It is so fun to work with the girls and get to share my testimony and experiences with them. My niece, Hannah, is a Beehive so it is such a special experience to be in there with her too. Mark has been busy with his calling also (2nd counselor in the Elder's Quorum) and we have had a lot of missionary experiences lately too. We are loving the blessings and added measure of the Spirit that are filling our home! Even though every day is a struggle for me to be more patient with my kids and be a better person we are happy with where we are in life and are loving where are kids are at in their lives also. So blessed.