{ October 30th }

As Sophie would say . . . For Family Home Meeting tonight we finally carved our pumpkins!

I used to fight this tradition because I'm not a huge fan, but over the years we have had some pretty sweet pumpkins and I have started to find the joy in it. Not to mention, the kids LOVE it!

{ Daddy scraping out the yuckies }

{ photo taken by Sophie }

{ hiding under the table }

I must say, I was pretty pleased with the finished product! Logan's Utah one is awesome!

{ Dad and Mom on the left, kids on the right }

We are pumped and ready for a fun filled day tomorrow.

Happy Halloween!!

{ Great Guy }

Seven years ago today this great guy was welcomed to the world with open arms.

Ayden has been a joy to our family from day 1. He was a perfect baby and a near to perfect toddler. And now he is turning into quite the special little guy.

{ On his first birthday }

{ On his second birthday with cousin Connor }

Ayden isn't like other boys his age. And not just because he is an incredible dancer and lover of all kinds of music. Ayden loves to talk to adults. He is very friendly. Almost every time I pick him from a friend's house, their mother comments on how he sat and visited with her instead of playing with the kids. Which leads into my apology if they were trying to get something done! But they always say how much they like him and how kind he is.

Ayden has a very kind heart. Although he is immune to being reprimanded by his parents, he would be devastated to get in trouble at school or dance, or by a friend's parent. He is very good at obeying the rules and feels guilty when he doesn't.

Ayden is all for a special day all about him. (I have no idea where he gets that) He has been overly excited about his birthday since Sophie celebrated hers in June and he knew he was up next. We have tried to make it a very special one!

Of course he woke up this morning to a completely decorated house and presents to open!

{ Logan's latest crete paper creation }

{ He requested donuts for breakfast }

{ He opened Sophie's first because she couldn't wait }

{ Opening his card from Gramps and Gram }

I decided that since he has expensive taste and wouldn't be receiving as many gifts this year I'd do a treasure hunt to find his last big gift. He is always making treasure hunts for his friends.

Clue #1:

This may sound gross to me or you

But your second clue is by where you take a poo (that's right, bathroom humor at it's best)

Clue #2:

Sometimes you complain because your hair is fuzz

Your next clue is in the place Mom gives you a buzz

Clue #3:

Here you can print a coloring page

Go to the place you consider your dancing stage

Clue #4:

He's our dog and we call him B-town

Go to the place where he can always be found

I didn't think it would begin at such a young age, but Ayden has been asking for this specific brand of shoes that he has seen the bigger kids at school wear. He's been talking about them for months and was pretty thrilled when he realized his last gift was some Osiris skate shoes. (otherwise known to us old folks as Zack Morris high tops)

Ayden wanted to invite a few of his friends to Chuck E Cheese for dinner after dance tonight. We brought his friend Delaney from school and his friend Megan from dance!

{They were a cute little threesome tearing it up at Chuck E Cheese}

{Delaney, Megan, Ayden}

{Enjoying some, well . . . eatable pizza}

{ This face will never get old }

{ I'm lovin this guy }

I'm so thankful to be Ayden's mother. He is a wonderful and talented little boy. I am excited to see all the great things he will accomplish in his life. At the same time I wish the clock would stop so I could enjoy him as a little boy just a bit longer.

I love you Aydo. I hope you had a wonderful birthday.

{ October 12 }

Yesterday was Parent/Teacher (student) conference for both Ayden and Sophie. I was excited to sit down and talk with each of their teachers about their progress. Because they both went to such a great preschool they have always been at the ahead of their class. But because they are both very social I wanted to make sure they were being respectful, not talking out of turn or being too crazy at school.

Ms. Allen:

First it was Ayden's teacher Ms. Allen. She is wonderful. She has a great spirit about her and she is always very friendly and happy. She started in by expressing to me that she knows how smart Ayden is and she is constantly trying to challenge him. She said one of the best things about Ayden is that he challenges himself. When asked to do something that is very easy for him, he will adjust it or enhance it to make it more challenging. (for example: when coloring a picture he uses patterns and when writing his name he uses cursive) On his report card he got all 3's which stands for "meets or exceeds grade-level standards". He was tested in both reading and math where he achieved a 2.5 grade level. (meaning he is at the level of a second grader half way through the year) He also took a national test and was placed in the 88% for his age. I'm so proud of the good student he is. Ms Allen said he always does his best and is willing to help the other kids around him. She is starting him on an AR program where he will take a library book home and when he brings it back he will take a test on that book to help him improve his reading comprehension skills. She also said that although he is very social and has to be reminded to be quiet every once in a while, he is respectful to her and the other kids in his class.

{Ms Allen said they read a story with patterns and then had to re-create them with a picture. Ayden chose the hardest pattern.}

Mrs. Kagie:

Next up was Sophie's Kindergarden teacher. Mrs Kagie is a sweetheart so I knew it would be hard for her to say anything bad about Sophie, but I again wanted to make sure she wasn't too crazy in class. She told me that Sophie has passed off all the curriculum for Kindergarden. She got all 3's on her report card except for one 2.5 because she was struggling with above and below. (so silly) She started her on the 1st grade sight words (most of which she already knows) and her weekly readers are much harder than the rest of the class. Mrs Kagie said that Sophie is a delightful child and that she makes her smile every day. She is very good at applying the things they are learning about to her daily life. She loves to rhyme and point out patterns. She said Sophie is nice to all the kids in her class and has many friends. Even though she needs a reminder every once in a while to stay quiet, she is always respectful.

I am so proud of my kids. Logan and I really try to stress respect for others, especially your teachers, in our home. They are such fun and spirited kids that I worry they may get carried away and forget the things we are trying to teach them. It was so wonderful to hear from their teachers that they are working hard and setting good examples for the other kids in their classes.

I love you Ayden and Sophie. Way to go!!

{ October 11 }

4 days until cruising.

checking things off the list.

this morning . . . . nails.

Me and my girls.

{ October 9th }

Hot chocolate.

My husband LOVES hot chocolate.

And so as a result, my kids think theres nothing better then to have a steaming cup of hot chocolate. We were outside visiting with some neighbors until after dark today so it got very chilly. You know what that means . . . Hot Chocolate!

{Lovin the hot chocolate}

{ October 8th }

I have been trying to decide for a long time now what kind of camera I want. I am always noticing the pictures on other blogs and although I have a Cannon point and shoot that works fine, I want better quality pictures of my kids. So after going back and forth on a few choices I finally decided on the Nikon P500. So far I have been totally thrilled with my purchase!

(although I'm not sure I even know what I'm doing)

Here are some of the random pictures I have taken with my new camera:

{crazy Mommy }

{ crazy Myla! this girl loves the camera. }

{ See Food! }

My kids had their dance pictures this week. They usually just wear their practice outfits for the pictures but this year the studio director wanted to have the kids dress in old fashioned clothes. My kids ate it up! I'll post their actual pictures once I get them back.

I love having a new toy!

And it makes me that much more excited about the great pictures I can take on our

Disney Cruise!

6 days baby!