Halloween

Ok, so it's been about what, six months since I've last updated? Pretty sad, I know. But I promised Mom I would post some pictures of my kids in their costumes. So this is for you, Mom (and anyone else who cares).

Here's most of the gang that went with us. We also had our kids' favorite babysitter, Brittney, there. But she and I didn't dress up. So we're not in the picture. Jarin had lots of pressure from the youth in our ward to be the toilet again this year. Apparently it was a big hit last year. It's actually very convenient because we can both go out trick-or-treating with the kids and still hand out candy at the same via the toilet seat. Jarin went around saying, "Trick or Treat, lift my seat!" Pictured are my family, of course, Aunt Chalyce, Uncle Courtney, and Taylor's best friend Jon.

Where's your "game face", Taylor? You look too nice.

Dallin created his own costume again. This time he's a "gangsta".

I knew my cheer leading outfits would come in handy. Here's little Miss Kamrie ready to bust a move.

Last, we've got our sweet flower ready to melt your heart. I'm so glad we didn't have any princesses this year. I've got nothing against princesses. But we've had one every year for the last four years, I think. It's nice to have a change.

After trick-or-treating, we had dinner--mummy dogs, salad, and corn on the cob (nothing real special). We ended the night with the movie Monster House, which is perfect for kids. It's not too scary. Also, we allowed the kids to engorge themselves with all the candy they wanted this time. We figured it was better to get it out of the way rather than prolong the eating of sugar all month long. We did, however, ask the kids to donate the candy that wasn't their favorite to our common bucket. That is stored away for a sugar-lift-me up for some other time.

Sisi Marie's Birthday

Sienna chose a chocolate cake and rainbow sherbet for her celebration.

Phew! I finally have time to blog about Sienna's fourth birthday. Of course she was treated like a princess all week since it was Sienna Week. She didn't have to do chores (not that she really does much anyway because she's the baby and is spoiled that way already) and everyone was really good at sharing their stuff with her and letting her have basically whatever she wanted. I think it was a real shock when the week was over because it went back to the old ways and she wasn't sure why she wasn't getting all the attention anymore ;). Overall, she seemed to have a wonderful time. The day before her birthday, we did whatever she wanted. She chose to go to Olive Garden for lunch as a family. She was talking about the place for a month prior to the "big day". I think she just liked the look of the building. It is a pretty restaurant.

Here we are at Olive Garden.

Sienna getting sung to by the waiters/waitresses.

After Olive Garden, she wanted to go play tennis. Taylor talked her into that one because he has been dying to go for a year now. We bought everyone a tennis racket and went down to the high school and played for about an hour. I'm not sure that she loved the activity, but she sure looked cute in her tennis outfit. With a summer dress, zip up hoodie, white tennis shoes, and a ponytail, Sienna looked like a tennis player. Unfortunately our camera wouldn't work for me at the tennis courts, so I don't have a picture of her playing.

After tennis, we went to Cold Stone Creamery and got her her very own Kid's Creation--cotton candy ice cream with gummy bears. Of course the rest of us shared some favorites, a chocolate peanut butter lover's creation and sweet cream with strawberries. I love Cold Stone ...mmm mmm.

Later that evening when we got home, Sienna went on a "hunt" for her new present. Since it was too big to wrap, we told her to search the basement for her present. She found it in the shower and was very excited to get a new princess two-wheel bike with training wheels. Our camera was still not cooperating, so we video taped the whole thing. When I can figure out how to put short video clips on the blogger, I will post it, because it was really cute.

The next day, Sunday, was her real birthday. She chose the dinner:

Sisi's birthday dinner: Top Ramen, strawberries, and Hannah Montana rainbow yogurt. Well the yogurt isn't Hannah Montana like she wanted; I couldn't find that. But it is a rainbow yogurt and I added in a grilled cheese sandwich for more options. Yum yum!

Sienna opening presents.

Doesn't she look gorgeous?



Sienna modeling her new apron made by Grandma D and her Tinkerbell sunglasses and flip-flops. She also got a Tinkerbell beach towel, which she loves.

Sienna is wearing an adorable outfit she received from Grandma and Grandpa D.

Happy 7th Birthday Kamrie!

Last week was declared Kamrie Week. Starting the Sunday before her birthday to the Saturday after, Kamrie did not have to do any chores, would get to go first with everything, and had little acts of service performed for her throughout the week. I think she was in heaven.

On her birthday, I pulled her out of school early to get these pretty little things on her ears:

Next, as a family, she wanted to go swimming at an indoor pool. I "accidently" forgot to take pictures of that. The water was warm and we all had fun playing "Marco-Polo", racing, and playing on the water slides. We ended up getting McDonald's for dinner due to the lack of time. It wasn't her top pick. In fact, if she could've, we would have ended up at Red Lobster for some lobster, shrimp, and crab. When we got home, we sang Happy Birthday, ate a Hello Kitty cupcake concoction and ice cream, and opened presents. She loved the outfit she got from Grandma and Grandpa D, the makeup she's been dreaming about for a year now from Grandma and Grandpa Price, and a makeup mirror and Littlest Pet Shop toys from us. I think it was the best birthday ever! She was all smiles that day.

Sisi The Beautician!

Sienna is always wanting to do my makeup. I've let her practice quite a few times. She has really quite improved. Here are her masterpieces.


Her first time:

Sorry about the non expression. I had to take the picture several times since I was by myself and Sienna couldn't figure out how to take it for me. A little scary, I know.

The last time:

She even put on my eyeliner in this last picture. She has got a steady hand for a three year old.

Introducing Jarlie

Here's the newest member of the family, Jarlie. I'm not sure where the really dark eyes came from, but he/she looks like he/she could be a sibling to our other four. After seeing Mom and Dave's internet baby, I had to try it out too. Here's the website if you want to try: http://www.vw.com/vwhype/babymaker/en/us/

True Blue Fan

Do you recognize this man? He may look like a bruiser to you, but it's really just Jarin. He decided he had had enough of his long, curly, lush hair. So he cut to the chase and went straight for the buzz. I thought I would hate it, but it's only been two days since the hack and it's starting to grow on me. (The real reason he cut his hair was because he made a deal with his Young Men that if they got rid of their long hair, he would too. Well, the deacons kept their end of the bargain, so Jarin had to keep his. Way to be a good sport Jarin!)

If you can't tell in the picture, Jarin is holding BYU sugar cookies we made last night for his co-workers. There were about 60 cookies and he saved the last 5 for us. They ranged from oval shaped cookies with a Y on it, to helmets with a Y, to brown footballs. Jarin said his office LOVED them. They are gluten-free and surprisingly taste better than normal sugar cookies. He respectfully wore his black U of U sweatshirt to symbolize "death to the Utes" tomorrow as he hopes to be attending their funeral (well, at least watching it from Uncle Jim's house).

Happy Halloween!

I loved Halloween this year. The weather was unusually warm. Halloween was on a Friday. We hung out with Scott, Maran, and Hannah that night. And, of course, the candy is always delicious. Thanks kids for doing all the work and getting the treats! Jarin actually did a bit of trick or treating himself. Instead of staying home to hand out candy, we brought it with us to hand out as we passed by the neighbors. You'll have to see as you scroll down how my creative and attention-loving husband handed out the candy. Boy is he a ham!

Here's our darling angel walking along in the school parade.

Dallin couldn't decide what he wanted to be until about a week before Halloween. That's when he picked out the cheapest Halloween costume anyone could think of. He wanted to be a bag of trash. Unfortunatley, we miscommunicated about what he should do with his costume at school and he threw away his "trashy" costume. So, he wore three other costumes that we had lying around that day (he was a bit undecided).

We didn't get good individual pictures of Sienna, Taylor, and Jarin. But here is a group shot. If you can't tell, Sienna was a Snow Princess and had the most beautiful eyes that day. We put mascara on her and her blonde eyelashes turned into these lush, long eyelashes. I think she enjoyed feeling so pretty and getting comments on her eyes all day. Taylor came up with the idea of being a hobo for Halloween. That was easy enough. His sign said, "Hungry. Need treats." In a sense, aren't we a bit like the beggars on the streets at Halloween time? And Jarin . . . was a toilet. Nice, huh? The kids would lift the seat to retrieve their prize from inside the toilet bowl. He would tell the kids, "Trick or treat. Lift my seat." Some kids weren't too sure about that and would give him funny looks.

Afterwards, we got home about 8:00 and ate Mummy Dogs, fruit, and orange/banana smoothies topped with Cool Whip shaped ghosts. I should've taken pictures. But I got in such a hurry that I forgot. I probably won't make this meal a tradition. Personally I like the soups and chilis in a bread bowl. We'll have to see if we can find gluten-free bread bowls next year.

We ended the day by snuggling up with each other on the bean bag and watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas." We thought it would be a good transitional movie from Halloween to Christmas. But it ended up being even more weird than we remembered. The most important thing was just spending time together. While lying there on the bean bag, I felt so much joy just being with my family.