A new blog

Logan got a new camera for Christmas. Now he thinks he needs a blog. So, he has one. He would like many viewers and comments. He's a crazy boy, check out his life.

Finally!

Lauren has had a wiggly tooth for quite a while. Most (maybe all) of her friends have lost teeth. Tonight, after she went to bed she came out to inform me that the tooth had finally come out. She was SO excited! She probably still is, and I'll be surprised if she ever falls asleep tonight.

An Updated family Photo

After years of needing a new photo we finally broke down and took some new pictures of the whole family. I can thank my nephew Andrew for taking the picture.

Warning!

Goin' on a trip

Easton loves to take things in and out of other things. He likes to load up the little shopping cart with toys from the Play Room and put them in the Family Room. He likes to help carry in anything from the car. He loves to put groceries away. He likes to put dirty clothes in the washer, then the wet clothes in the dryer. Right now he's taking all of the money out of his dinosaur bank, putting it in his pockets, then emptying it out elsewhere. Earlier today his had his backpack FILLED with all sorts of different items. He often puts it on and tells me where he is going. It's usually to school, or work, or shopping. Today when I asked if he was going to work he replied, "No. I'm going to Sarah Jane's house. I'm taking the train."

Happy Haunting

We carved our pumpkins the day before Halloween. Lauren and Easton were just going to color theirs, but Easton really wanted his to have a cut face. So, they directed, and we cut. Here are the results:




Here are the kids, aka the scarecrow, the puppy and the witch:

Logan and Easton revisited their costumes from last year, although Logan added the burlap sack to his outfit. Since his mean, awful parents think he's too old to go trick-or-treating, he sat on the porch as decoration. He accomplished his goal of scaring plenty of our visitors.

Easton absolutely LOVED Halloween. For weeks he's been pointing out all of the decorations in the neighborhood, at the store, etc. When we got out our decorations he tried on the puppy costume and didn't want to take it off. He got to dress up for Lauren's parade at school, the ward party, then for Halloween. At every door Easton wouldn't leave until telling them "Happy Halloween". If Lauren said it first, Easton would say "Happy Halloween to you, too". He also told the people when he thought that was a yummy candy. David warned me that Easton might wear out quickly and I would have to carry his bucket and possibly him. No way. When I hinted that maybe he was too tired to keep going, Easton convinced me that he was fine, and he could carry his bucket and walk. He did for almost 2 hours. After every house he would ask if we could go to the next one. My favorite thing was that he wasn't really after the candy, he just wanted to go around and see all the decorations and the people dressed up. The candy was just an added bonus. Luckily for Logan, Easton and Lauren are willing to share, and we had a ton left over, too. Until next year . . .

He's 3!

This boy had a birthday!

His dad and sister helped make piles of leaves to play in,

He got some fun presents . . .

And he got the green monster cake he requested!

EYES

Can you tell whose eye is whose?

Protection

Logan spent some of his hard-earned money on dart guns . . .



. . . now Easton needs to wear safety goggles.

Clover Love

Yesterday I was sitting out front while Lauren and Easton were playing. Lauren came up to me with a clover leaf and said, "Mom, I'm giving this to you because I love you so much."

She picked a few of the heart leaves, then a few more, and gave them all to me to remember how much she loves me.

Her brother, not to be outdone, pulled the whole plants (what a good little weed puller) out of the ground and gave them to me, telling me "these for your love, Mom."

Time Flies

What happened to this kid?

Logan -- 1st day of pre-school
2000

THIS!

Logan -- 1st day of 7th grade
2009

Grand Canyon

On the way to the reunion, our family went to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The kids and I have never seen the Grand Canyon before. It was big. We went on a little trail/hike. There were some pretty steep hills, but it was a short hike. My kids saw phone booths for the first time and thought they were SO cool. It was fun to have our own little family vacation before the extended family vacation.

Family Reunion

sisters

So this year my family went to Flagstaff, AZ for the family reunion. It was fun, mellow, and we had a good time. On the way home I asked the kids what their favorite parts were. Easton said he liked climbing on the train and seeing the big train go by so close to him. Lauren liked Slide Rock the best. Logan didn't know what his favorite thing was, but I think it was playing with his new DS. I liked chatting and visiting with the family and David, I can't remember what he said, but I think it was playing cards at night. Thanks again, Dad.

girl cousins

boy cousins

Easton & Jessica

Logan w/his "Golden Snitch" cake . . . he thought it was pretty cool

Easton, The Gandy Dancer, & Lauren

The Traveling Prince/Princess

Sunday morning after breakfast Easton asked for help getting his backpack out of his closet, then he wanted to get shoes on and I told him that he was in his pajamas and that he could not go outside. But what I did not realize is that his trip was imaginary. He found his shoes(Lauren's actually) and purse and was on his way. Something to make a father proud.

Becky & Georg

Congratulations! And thanks for the fun party!

NO MORE DIAPERS!

California was fun!

This trip to California was fun. Not only did I see the family, but some friends too! I hadn't seen them for SO long. So, here's the California week in review:

Day 1: Drive a long time. The kids were GREAT! Arrive in Santa Monica, eat tasty blueberry waffles.

Day 2: Play with Sarah Jane, lunch at Campo's, play at park, go to Torrance to see old friends . . . leave Logan there after a YUMMY dinner and good visiting. Congratulations to Alyssa for graduating from high school!

Day 3: Logan comes back. Laurie & kids come to visit, so good to see such a good friend after such a long time. Play at the park. Hang out.

Day 4: Church. Go to friends' house and play and eat and talk and hang. More good friends we haven't seen for too long. Congratulations to Brody for graduating from high school!

Day 5: Play with Sarah Jane. Drive to Westlake Village to see MORE friends! Lunch and playing with Michelle & Brenda and our 9 kids! Just like old times, except with kids. We haven't changed a bit. Go to Simi Valley (where we always have fun and eat well)! Swim.

Day 6: Go to Kelly's middle school commencement. Yeah for Kelly! Swim. Leave the kids home and go to Craig's high school graduation. Nice job Craig! Eat and play.

Day 7: Swim. Shop. Leave Easton in the car to take a nap (when I got back he looked at Elizabeth and me and said, "you left me!" He really wanted to go shopping, so Elizabeth took him for ice cream and shopping. By the way, Craig, Kelly, Logan & Lauren were there, we didn't leave him alone somewhere.) Play. Eat. Pack.

Day 8: Drive a long time. The kids were good. Get to swap Logan for Craig . . . nice for conversation and singing Tarzan songs. Home.

P.S. Logan is smiling in all four of these pictures!

Oops

Have you ever turned on the wrong burner?

Piano Practicing

School's Out!

Today was Logan's last day of elementary school. Lauren finished kindergarten yesterday. Time just keeps flying. The last few weeks have been full of field trips, programs, field day, parties, etc. I went with Lauren's class to the farm, and David went with Logan's class to the zoo. They both did well in school, and we are very proud of them. Nice job kids!

Lauren and her friends at field day

Lauren and her friends eating lunch at the farm

Logan with straight A report card and President's award and pin

Lauren with her straight 4 (A) report card

Lauren and Logan about to ride the bus together for the LAST time

a small bit of Logan' sword dance