Uber-Geeks

These are funny to me. No, I don't seriously think my children are geeks. Just dorks!! Taken in early October. Playing with nerf dart guns in my living room.

Hooray for Gym Childcare

This past month, I re-discovered how great it is to workout at the gym when it is not the crack of dawn. After spending the past year getting up early to exercise before JD left for work, it is so nice to sleep in until 7:00, get Danny ready for school, drive him there, then head to the gym with Sam and Alina, and leave them in the playroom while I workout. Yes, that means my whole morning is spent not getting anything done in the house. Yes, I admit I'm a wimp and don't want to get out of bed anymore when it's dark and freezing cold. And, yes, I LOVE it.

We went to a "going out of business" department store sale today with the one intention of getting me a new dress, because I rarely spend money on myself, and I really do need one. We walked out of the store with 3 pairs of shoes for our growing kids' feet and 2 polo work shirts for JD!

Boo at the Zoo

On Octocber 25th, we went to an event at the zoo, called Boo at the Zoo. There was trick-or-treating for the kids. It was a beautiful day, perfect for the activity. Sam loved watching the monkeys. Alina was impressed by the giraffes. And Danny was fascinated by the candy! Thanks to JD and his mom for coming along for the ride to help me with the kids.

Trunk or Treat

Our ward had a trunk or treat on Halloween night. Here are some pictures of the kids and JD's family, who came over to our house that evening for chili and pumpkin pie and Ghostbusters.
Alina really got into the spirit of halloween. She loved getting the candy and was always holding at least one piece. Her Aunt Angie is helping her walk in this picture.




I'm just holding the bag for Alina. It's not mine! JD's been the one eating her candy. JD's sister Jayme is also in the picture. (She's a pirate--arrr!)



You can get a peek at Sam in his Spiderman costume and Danny as a veterinarian. This was their 3rd time wearing these costumes this year alone.






This was Alina's first time as Elmo. I wasn't sure if she'd go for it, but once we got her outside receiving candy, she forgot all about the costume. Grandma Zimmerman is holding her.

Free Sandwiches

When we were given coupons for free sandwiches at a Chick-Fil-A grand opening, we couldn't pass up the chance to try it out Monday night. The kids loved being able to release their energy in the indoor play area, especially since it had been raining and cold all day, and they had been cooped up inside. We still have more free sandwich coupons, so we'll have to go back on another rainy, cold day. You gotta love free! And a play area to boot! (I'm cheap!!)

15-month check-up

Alina had her 15 month check-up with the doctor on Tuesday. She remains in the 50th percentile for weight and is now in the 100 percentile for height. Tall and skinny like her daddy. Her doctor thinks her hernia seems to be improving, too. She and Sam both received 4 shots each, so I had some unhappy kids for a few moments. Sam calmed down pretty quickly with the promise of a sticker awaiting him, and Alina just needed me to hold her :)

Jelly

We have a crabapple tree in our front yard that was annoying me last Fall because of all the crabapples that dropped to the ground. I had thought that you couldn't eat the fruit (unless you wanted an upset stomach). What's the point in having a fruit tree if you can't eat the fruit? I recently discovered, though, that you CAN use the fruit for crabapple jelly. So, this Fall, I spent a couple afternoons outside picking crabapples. Another afternoon cleaning and cutting the crabapples and extracting the juice. At this very moment, I am boiling the crabapple juice on my stove waiting for it to reach the gel point. I hope it turns out tasty for all the work involved. Here's a picture of the apple and grape jellies I have already made in the past month.
And here's the crabapple jelly. Isn't it pretty? Red. I just barely took it out of the hot water bath.

Painting on Weekends

We spent nearly every weekend this past summer going up to JD's parents' mountain property to help with the building of their cabin. During the month of September, we painted and painted and painted.

I love the look on Alina's face.

We spent many afternoons at the park this Fall. I would pack a lunch or snacks. Then we'd go pick up Danny from school and head to the park.

My rockstars

We borrowed RockBand from JD's parents for a little while. Danny and Sam enjoyed releasing their inner rock star.

Sam's Haircut

I finally buckled down and tortured myself (and Sam) by cutting his hair. Here are the after and before pictures taken the same day. I had to change his shirt after the cut, because hair covered his shirt. He didn't want to take it off during the cut. I like to style his hair now with a little gel to make a mohawk (like in the above pictures).

What happened to Fall?

When I got up this morning, it was snowing! There was already a 2-inch blanket of snow covering our lawn and sidewalk. A total surprise. It was supposed to be dry today--it rained Monday and Tuesday. I'm not ready for winter yet. I better go shovel.

Welcome back Pumpkins! Pumpkin pie, pumpkin cake, pumpkin bread, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin cream cheese roll, pumpkin dinner rolls, pumpkin pie, and lest I forget, pumpkin pie. On halloween night, I had my first piece of pumpkin pie since last year. Oh, the joy! We scarfed down 6 dozen homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies within 1 week! I have a pumpkin cake recipe begging to be made. Guess I'll have to kick it up a notch at the gym!

Birthdays!

We just celebrated a couple of birthdays this past month: JD and Sam. Sam is now 3 years old, but if you ask him, he'll adamantly tell you he is 2, and he's "not a big boy, I'm just Sam". He's my rough and tumble, destructive monster. Yet he is so sweet with Alina, who adores him. He loves to play with cars, trucks, trains, dinosaurs, play-doh, blocks, dogs, dirt. He especially likes to take things apart then ask me to fix them. He is obsessed with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers are not far behind. He's definitely been the easiest of my children, starting right from the beginning. I think for that reason, he is not given as much attention as the other two--he doesn't demand it like they do. Sorry, Sam!! Lately, he has been wanting to help me in the kitchen with the cooking. He stirs and dumps in ingredients. He vacuumed the playroom all by himself. He'd love to eat pb sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (Too bad he can't!)

Eight Fantastic Years

JD and I recently celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on August 12th. We didn't have a babysitter for that day, so we took all our kids to dinner with us, and then we went to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream. Very romantic!! Ha ha! With three young kids, one of whom is still a baby monstrously attached to mommy, I'll take any outing I can get!
We did go out on a date the previous Friday without the kids, so I count that as an anniversary date. (Even though JD's siblings and parents were there too.) We attended a Brian Regan comedy show at Thanksgiving Point. It was hilarious. I had a stomach ache from all the laughing.
I love you, JD! You're my best friend, you make me laugh every day and make me a better person. I'm extremely lucky and blessed to have you!

Mario what??

Maybe some of you have noticed I had put a game called Mario Rampage on the sidebar (now at the bottom) of this blog. When I chose to put this game there, I just thought it would be something my kids would be interested in. They like Mario from Nintendo. I didn't test or play the game at all before adding it to our blog. Last night, I was showing JD some of my new posts. He noticed the game, and I suggested he try playing it. I was shocked! Mario carries a shotgun and blasts away the enemies, who splatter red blood all over when they are hit. This was not what I expected. I suppose the title of the game should have clued me in a little bit. Mario on a rampage. Not suitable for 3- and 5-year olds!

All Caught Up

OK, I think I am all caught up posting the major events of our summer for which we had pictures. You'll probably notice a general trend in my posting. Feast or famine. I usually wait until the camera video card is completely full before I upload the pictures to the computer. At that point, I can post pictures to this blog. There are still several videos I would like to upload, but I plan to do those later. (Danny's singing program from preschool, Alina's birthday cake and song, Alina playing with a balloon, Sam dancing, etc.)
We had a fun labor day weekend, but I didn't ever get out the camera. We went to a Sheepdog Festival in Soldier Hollow near Heber. The kids enjoyed watching the dogs herd sheep and ducks. They particularly liked the splash dog jumping contest. I'd try to explain it, but I am too sleep-deprived right now for my brain to function properly. When I can think better, I'll come back to this posting to edit and add an explanation.

Sprinkler Time

My kids decided to play in the sprinkler while I was watering the lawn. Danny was out there, too, but I couldn't get a picture of him. Sometimes he gets in moods when he doesn't want me to take his picture. The boys got soaked. Alina just poked at it. Pictures taken September 4th.