Miscellaneous September Pics

Bentley's Letters

I can tell they have been doing more writing in school lately because I have begun to find many notes around the house from Bentley.  I love them so much. 

"Olive I wish that you have a very good day. Bentley"

"Karly you are so cute. You will get this letter.  Bentley"

"Mom you are so special and I love you because you are my mom. Dear Bentley"

"I like my dad because he plays games with me. Dear Bentley" and at the bottom in red, yellow and blue "primary colors"

I LOVE it!  So cute.

Scripture Study

Brad and I have been doing really well at getting up at 6am each morning and studying our scriptures while the house is quiet.  It's been such a great way to start my day.  The benefits have also trickled down to Bentley who is most often our first riser in the mornings.  He sometimes gets up before Brad and I are done studying, so he will get out his own scriptures and do his best to read the words.  It's very sweet to see him beside us, trying to sound out some pretty hard words.  I have already noticed his reading is really improving though.   It's been such a great thing.

Olive's Drawing

"Look mom!  It's dad, mom, and Olive!"  I love her cute little people.  And she made sure to point out that dad had short, pokey hair, and mom and Olive had nice, long pretty hair.  :)

Being an artist this talented can be quite exhausting though.

Olive - "It's exhausting to be this awesome"

Licking the Bowl and Utensils

Some days I love "the help" in the kitchen and some days I really don't.  I do realize though that I won't always have a little one sitting on the counter by me, asking over and over again to lick the spoon. The day will come when I'll be in the kitchen all alone wondering where the kids are and why they aren't keeping me company while I work.  So until then, I will try to be grateful for these little hands and the little voices saying, "my turn" while helping me pour the ingredients, sometimes twice because the first one gets poured onto the counter.....

NM State Fair

The kids' school had a "field trip" on a Monday so we were able to get into the state fair as a school group.  I was a little nervous that I would end up losing one of my children in the big crowds going in the gates that day, but I'm happy to say that nobody was lost, they had tons of fun, and the day at the fair was a success!

The Ronald McDonald farm was definitely the highlight of the day.  They loved milking the cows and collecting crops in their buckets.  

We spent the day with the Morgan family and the Haslam family.  The kids were having so much fun together!

They learned how to rope a steer, ride on the saddles, and "drive" the tractor.

We ventured around the fair for a while and saw a lot of random things, and then we decided to end the day at the sea lion show.  They all thought this was pretty neat, and those seals did some pretty impressive tricks.

At one of the booths, the vender had a big wheel to spin for a free prize.  Olive won these sweet shades and she was so happy about it.

Here are the three brave moms who manned this small army of children - 12 between the three of us!

We ended the day with fresh sqeezed strawberry lemonade.  It was the perfect treat.

We certainly didn't see and do everything, but we had a fun day and that's what counts!

Eden in Charge in the Kitchen

Eden loves be in the kitchen and will take any chance she can to make some sort of food creation.  Today she found a recipe in her book for yogurt and sprinkle dipped bananas, then she froze them and they all had a delicious and healthy snack that afternoon.  I love that she is interested in this and definitely need to foster this interest more!

There's so much personality in this one picture. I love it. Olive's cute forehead sticker cracks me up!  

Twins - born in different years....

Karly and Bentley are so much alike!  They look alike, they sound alike, they laugh the same, and their personalities are so similar.  They have always had a very sweet bond and I know it's because their souls are so much alike.  

I sure love these two.

Monday - Homeschool Day

I am LOVING the new schedule with the kids' school and the opportunity it is for me to spend more time with them.  Don't get me wrong.... sometimes it is really hard balancing the homework help with the two little toddlers girls still at home, but I am confident that we will get better at this as time goes on.   

Eden and Bentley are great students.  I actually have a lot of fun working on school projects and homework with them.  They are eager to learn and have great focus.  I love that I can be involved in their learning and see first hand what their strengths and weaknesses are.  This time with them is precious.

I also LOVE that we have more family time.  We usually do some school work in the morning, then take a break and go do something fun together - like grandma's house, or the park with friends.  Then when afternoon hits and the little ones are resting, we can finish up their work.  Having more time together is priceless.  When Eden was at Tierra Antigua, I felt like I hardly saw her, and her interaction time with her siblings was so limited because she got home so late and then we had activities or homework to do.  I'm grateful my kids can be with each other more and have more adventures together.

Life is good!!

Helmet Head

Karly: "Mom, look at me! Do you like my hat?"

Me: "Yeah that's a great hat Karly!"

Karly: "Ok then, take my picture. Cheese!"

 

Then she got up and ran away, straight into a wall (not on purpose).  Good thing that hat wasn't just for looks!

Women of Light Convention

There was a women's convention that came to town called "Women of Light" and I was able to go with my mom and spend the day being uplifted by many great speakers and classes.  In between classes, there was an open area full of venders with all kinds of shopping. We both bought several bars of delicious smelling, natural soap which I love.  It was such a fun day, and I'm so glad I was able to spend it with my mom!

At one point I ran in to a big group of friends from my ward and they pulled me in for their picture.  It was fun visiting with them for a bit between things.

I'm so grateful my mom lives close and that we can have these experiences of learning and growth together.  It was a wonderful day!  Thanks Brad for holding down the fort at home while we went.

Bentley - in Soccer and T-Ball

Bentley is having a lot of fun playing t-ball this season.  He looks so tiny out there in his oversized uniform!  It's really fun to watch him play and try something new.

He is also playing soccer right now too because the sports overlapped a few weeks.  Some Saturdays he has to choose one or the other because the game time conflicts, but when the time works out, he loves that he can play both in the same day.  He is a natural athlete and loves the competition during the games.  I love to watch him play.  Go Bentley!

Overnight Play with the Haslams

Vince and Erin Haslam were going out of town for the weekend for a work retreat.  Grandma and Grandpa weren't going to be back into town until Saturday morning, so we got the kids to stay with us Friday night.  My kids were in heaven having all their friends over all afternoon to play, for dinner, and to sleep over.  It was the best night ever for them. Having 8 kids, ages 8 and under seems a little crazy, but they all are such good friends that it really is a breeze when we are together.  They are all so close in age to each other that they buddy up and it really is the best. 

Picking a movie was a bit of a debate, now that we have 2 "grown up" 8 years olds who just want Harry Potter, and 2 very sassy 3 year olds who think they are in charge.  In the end though, they were all content with whatever it was Brad chose.

Olive and Magnolia are 3 going on 16.  The attitude abounds with these girls for sure!  Don't cross them when it's getting close to bed time.  ha ha

Overall it really was such a fun night.  Now it's our turn to take an overnight date and send our kids to their house.  Win-win!!