Halloween

This year, we kept Halloween pretty low key, and pretty much only celebrated on Halloween day.

When we picked the pumpkins from our garden and put them out front

My Mom gave the kids a "Pin the nose on the pumpkin" game to play

We invited my friend Marci and her kids over to make caramel apples one day

Lexi, Abby, Dani

Marci, Jordan, Colton

Colton wouldn't wear the mask/cape for his costume, so Abby put it on

Lexi was a ballerina

Colton was Batman

 Abby was Merida (the princess from the movie "Brave)

Abby in her costume parade at school.  So very reverent:)

The kids had a blast trick-or-treating.  Colton's little legs just couldn't get him from house to house as fast as he would have liked.

Student of the Month

Last Friday Abby brought home a note saying we could come to her class on Monday because she was going to be given Student of the Month.  Cam took part of the day off so he come too, and we were all able to surprise Abby at school when she got her award.  We are so proud of her!

Sitting with her class.  She's on the top row, second from the right.

With her principle and teacher

Family update

Ok, so I guess it's time to do a post.  It's been awhile.  It's been a crazy couple weeks, but also at the same time, pretty boring too...

Anyways, going from youngest to oldest:

Colton:  He is growing, growing, growing.  He is really starting to be able to communicate with us which makes life a little easier for us when we are trying to figure out what he wants.  He says so much, and understands even more of what we say.

Lexi:  She is so dang funny, all her little expressions and things she says.  She still mimics nearly everything Abby does and says, which is cute, but I'm sure a little annoying for Abby.  The girls get along so good and play together all the time.

Abby:  She is loving kindergarten every single day.  Last night was parent night and I took her, and she was able to show me everything in her class.  She was bursting with excitement over everything, and pretty much took me through everything she does everyday at school.  I love that she loves school, and loves learning.

Me:  Well, I had surgery.  It's been 3 weeks.  3 long and crazy weeks.  The surgery went good, they ended up doing a lot more than anticipated, and then it took quite a long time to get my pain managed (turns out this surgery is one of the more painful surgery's) so it was a long day at the hospital.  I was asleep, or totally drugged up, so the day went quickly for me, but poor Cam was sitting in the waiting room for hours with no idea what was going on, and why it was taking so much longer then expected.  I think we left the house at 8am didn't get home till after 9pm.  I spent the first couple days laying in bed completely drugged up, and hooked up to this cold therapy machine.  Cam took care of me those first days, and he was amazing!  Since then, it's been a lot of people taking turns to help around the house.  My friend Marci came for a day, Cam's sister came for a couple days, Cam's mom came for a day, then my Mom came for a week and a half.  It's definitely taken longer than I thought it would to be able to care for the kids on my own.  Being on crutches really limits what I can do, namely carry Colton.  That's been my biggest hurdle, Colton doesn't know how to climb down the stairs, so there is no way for me to get him up and down the stairs.  We've been trying to teach him to go down, cause I feel like people are going to start to get sick of being here, just to carry Colton around.  My mom left this morning, so hopefully he'll either learn to get down the stairs, or my physical therapist will clear me to start carrying Colton soon.  Thankfully, both my Doctor and physical therapist say I'm recovering faster than normal, so that helps give me hope that I'll be back to my usual self quicker than anticipated.  Anyhow, obviously I'm super grateful for all the friends and family that have helped me out.  

Cameron:  He's just busy working a lot, then coming home and taking care of the kids since I've been out of commission.  He's been so amazing, and I'm so glad he's here by my side.  Next week he starts a class for work to get certified to drive the truck (he can drive the engine, but not the truck).  He's constantly trying to get all sorts of extra certifications for work and stuff.  I love that he loves his job, I know it makes it easier to go to work so much.

So that's pretty much it.  I think the next few weeks will be more of the same.  Just trying to get back into our old routine eventually, and try to recover as quickly and safely as possible from this surgery.

Summer running

Well, in the last month, I ran two more marathons.  Park City Marathon in August, then last week I did Mid Mountain Marathon.

Park City was an AWESOME one, done mostly on paved trails and some dirt road.  I ran the whole thing with my friend Marci.  We just took it nice and easy and talked and talked and enjoyed the beautiful places we were running through.  I think this was my favorite marathon of the summer.

Mid Mountain was a trail marathon, done on dirt trails through the mountains.  I knew it was going to be challenging and to plan on it taking a lot longer than any other race, but I didn't expect it to be so brutal.  I think what made it so difficult was the terrain.  The trail was a narrow single track dirt trail with lots of rocks and roots sticking out just waiting to trip someone up.  This meant that you couldn't let your mind wander for even a second or you'd end up doing a face plant.  I tripped many times, and even ended up sprawled out on the trail.  I banged up my knees pretty good with a couple of huge bruises and road rash.  I had a lot of emotional ups and downs during this one because of it's difficulty.  Marci and I started together, but split up at about mile 8.  In the end, it was a challenge, but I still enjoyed being out there running.

Tomorrow I go in for my surgery, which marks then end of a super awesome summer of running all over Utah.  I'm grateful for all I was able to do this summer, and hopefully in a few months, I'll be back at it, stronger than ever.  I'm definitely sad that I'll be laid up for several months, but I hope in the end it will be worth it.  Plus, I've managed to beat my body up pretty good doing all these races.  I think my legs deserve a bit of a break from logging miles, and hopefully all these little nagging injuries will have time to heal and I'll start back fresh.

Kindergarten

Abby started kindergarten on Tuesday.  Talk about excited!  She was so disappointed to be in the afternoon class because her friend across the street was in the morning class, AND she had to wait so long for her time to go to school.

Her "Brave" backpack

It seems like as a parent when you send a kid to kindergarten, you're either sad to see them go, or eager for the potential for a few hours alone.  I was definitely the later...until a few minutes before we left the house.  She started to show some nerves.  She was making several trips the bathroom, asking me if she had a fever, I could just tell she was nervous, and not really sure what to do with those emotions.  That was the first time I got a little emotional, mostly because I hate to see her struggling with that awful emotion.  But as we walked to school, the excitement returned.

I am so excited to be back into a regular schedule.  It will help get the little kids on a steady nap schedule (take Abby to school, then the two little ones go down for a nap until it's time to pick Abby up) and with Abby at school, and Lexi and Colton napping, I will be able to get so much done!

Abby's 5th birthday

Abby had her birthday!  I know I say it all the time, but I can't believe how old these kids are getting.

Abby's been obsessed with the movie "Brave" ever since she saw it, so we surprised her with a "Brave" themed party.  She thought it was going to be Hello Kitty, but I had Cam take her out for a little while so I could decorate the house in a "Brave" theme.

Lexi wanted to be in the spot light too

Cam's family came over for the party, we also celebrated Ethan's birthday which was just a week before.

The kids played my "Brave" version of pin the tail on the donkey, then we had a Nerf gun that they could shoot at a bullseye.  That was fun.

I love how this one captures Abby saying "OHHH!" when Lexi nailed the bulls eye 

Singing Happy Birthday.  Abby is thrilled. Ethan, not so much.

Nearly every present was a "Brave" something or other.  Toys, backpack, blanket, she is totally set.

What is Abby up to now that she's one year older?

• Obviously, the most exciting thing is she is starting kindergarten!
• She's going to start up dance classes again.  This year she is doing a ballet class
• She's a little social bee.  She wants to play with her friends everyday.
• She's very particular about the clothes, shoes and how her hair is done.  Usually she wears a dress, flip flops, and her hair down.
• Her all time favorite thing to do is draw/color.  She spends so much time at her little art table making pictures.
• She loves playing outside.  Outback, the park, where ever.
• She is very curious about everything.  Always asking a million questions about everything.  I feel like she has an in depth understanding of astronomy, weather systems, and so much more.

Colton, 15 months

Colton is now 15 months old.  He is growing up so fast!  It seems like that in the last couple of months he has learned SO much.  He is saying lots of words now, gets around pretty well, and is into everything.

• He LOVES firetrucks.  If he see's a firetruck he makes a siren or honking noise that Cam has taught him.  When we go to visit Cam at work, he loves walking around and seeing the firetruck, sitting inside and "driving" the truck.  
• He says - mama, dada, baba (which is for his sippy cup), ball, balloon, nana (banana), choo choo (train), shoes, car and many, many more!
• He climbs everything
• He's 23 lbs 3 oz - 28%
• He's 31 inches tall - 43%
• I finally got him off the bottle, just about a week ago.
• He still sleeps with his blanket
• He is transitioning between 1 and 2 naps
• He's getting so many teeth.  It's funny though cause they are kind of all over the place.  He has had a couple molars come in, and a couple canines come in.