Pumpkin Carving!

We FINALLY got around to carving pumpkins tonight! Well, Aaron carved one, and the girls painted the others. Claire painted a face, and a spider (that I traced for her) and Carlie painted a face, and a zombie. I painted the bat! Pumpkin carving is one of my favorite traditions, and Im glad we were able to do it this year!

Carlie lost a tooth!

Carlie finally lost her top tooth! It has been blowing in the wind for the last week or so! I've tried several times to pull it out, but it just hasn't been totally ready. Finally at school yesterday, Carlie got it to come out! She was so excited! She looks so much older with her missing tooth!

October

I just love when the kids play together so well! The other night the twins were 'wrestling' in the playroom. They were laughing so hard and having a great time, I had to get a picture of this. They do fight sometimes, but they really are each others best friends.

 

We have had some great weather these last few weeks. I've let the kids play outside more, and I even let Colton play in the courtyard. He sure loves his sisters!

The twins got to wear regular school clothes for picture day (rather than uniforms). They each wanted their hair down with a braid, and did NOT want it curled! My little girls are growing up so fast!

Colton Boy!

This little boy just melts my heart!! I take a LOT of pictures of him, usually while we are in the car waiting to pick the girls up for school. Here are a few things he is up to!

- He still loves his binkie and blankie. He smells his blankie every time he picks it up. When he's just chillin in the car, he will tuck his blankie on the top of his binkie, so he can smell it with out holding it up. Its pretty much the cutest thing ever.
- He loves airplanes! We have a small airport by our house, and anytime he hears a plane, he stops, looks up, finds the airplane and says "wow"! 
- He has started playing the harmonica. He has been watching his sisters do it for months, and finally picked it up the other day and started blowing in it the right way. He loves that he can do it all on his own!
- He knows when his food is hot! He will say "Hot!" and start blowing. He also says Mom. Hi. Bye. Trixie.
He says Mom for almost anything. Mainly just to get my attention, and then he will point to something and call it Mom. Funny boy.
- He still sleeps from 6:30pm-7am. I dont know what I did to deserve such a good sleeper! He still takes a morning nap, and sometimes an afternoon nap if we are home.
- He is getting another bottom tooth. He has been a little fussy, but nothing too horrible. This will be his 7th tooth.
- He loves his juice. (1 part apple juice 7 parts water) He drinks a TON of liquid each day. I have to remember to give him milk at least once a day. He isnt a huge fan of milk, but will drink it.
- He loves to snack. He would eat all day long if I let him. If we are at a store, I usually have a snack for him so he is happy. He still really enjoys the pouches of food. And I just found some Target brand pouches at Target, for .87 cents!! Thats so cheap! Considering all other brands start at $1.29 !
- He has started to watch TV. Like actually sit and pay attention. He really likes Little Einsteins on Disney. I think he likes it because of the music.
- He shakes his head Yes or No when I ask him a question. Most of the time he answers me correctly!
- He knows how to drink out of a straw. I drink everything from a straw, and he always wants what I have, so I have let him learn how to use a straw. Not such a great idea, when im drinking Coke!

He is SUCH an easy going baby, but is starting to throw fits when he doesnt get what he wants. I try not to give in to his fits, but he is just so dang cute. He has me wrapped around his chubby little fingers for sure!

Fall Festival 2011

Last weekend we took the girls to the Family Fun Festival that their school puts on each year! The girls got their faces painted, played all of the fun games, and got to hang out with friends! It was fun seeing the girls interact with friends from school! Their favorite games were the Roller Races, and the giant Bowling game!

REBEL Basketball

Its no secret that we LOVE Rebel Basketball around our house. This weekend was the official start of the practice season. (Games start in 24 days!)

Aaron and I went to the Rebel Scrimmage last night, and had a blast! It was exciting to see the new players, see the new team dynamic, see the new coach, and watch them play against eachother. Afterwards we got all the players autographs! I even got a few pictures with some of my favorite players. (Anthony Marshall, and Kendall Wallace) It was a lot of fun and I cant wait for this season to get started!

California

A few months ago, we found out that Disneyland does a 'Mickeys Halloween Party' for the month of October. You buy special tickets (for super cheap) and you can enter the park a few hours before the park closes to regular customers, they had special Trick or Treating stations, so the girls wore their costumes, and  we were able to stay till 11pm! The park was a little crowded, but we still got to ride all of the rides we wanted!
Keri and Joey were able to come down with us, and they were a huge help! Claire and Carlie were SO excited to ride the big kid rides. Well, Carlie didnt love the Matterhorn. In fact, she cried. Then I made her go on Splash Mountain, and she cried again, and said those rides gave her a tummy ache! Colton was a little crazy while waiting in line for a few rides, but we knew he would be. He ended up falling asleep around 8pm. The firework show was amazing as always! Right before we left, we let the girls pick out their toy. They both picked out a Minnie Mouse stuffed animal.
Wednesday morning we got up, checked out of our hotel, and headed to the beach. The weather was BEAUTIFUL! Keri and Joey rented boogie boards, and we all took turns. The water was FREEZING, but it was fun. Colton was super cute in the sand, Carlie and Claire had a blast looking for shells, and playing in the water.
It was a super quick trip, but we had a great time, and look forward to going again soon!

Back in June, I found out my FAVORITE band, Blink 182, was coming to Las Vegas! I knew I had to buy tickets! I went to their concert on my 21st Birthday, 7 years ago and loved it! Aaron and I got tickets, got to the venue nice and early, and got a pretty decent standing area! I bought General Admission tickets for super cheap, so I wasnt thinking we would even have great seats, but we were actually pretty close to the stage! We waited about 45 minutes before the first band came on. While waiting, the girl behind me, THREW UP. It was gross. It smelled. I was NOT amused.  Anyway, Matt and Kim, the first band, was pretty good! I enjoyed their music, Matt played the keyboard, Kim played the drums. Very entertaining. Next up was My Chemical Romance. I've heard them on the radio plenty of times and never really liked them much, but I REALLY enjoyed them in concert! I liked the songs that werent played on the radio, better than the ones that were played. The lead singer, (i dont know his name) was great!  Then came Blink. They did not disappoint! The crowd at this point was a bit rowdy. We were close to many mosh-pits.  There were more drunk people who puked... I think im a little too old for those kinds of crowds! And I dont remember the crowd being so rowdy when I saw them the last time!  Either way, we had fun!

FHE

Last Monday for FHE we went to Hemmingway Park in Boulder City, to see the Big Horn Sheep. Except, when we went, there were no sheep to be found. NONE. We were bummed! We still had fun though. We took a little nature walk and saw a cute little family of Quail. The girls enjoyed playing on the swings and playground, and even made a new friend! I love these little outings with the family!

This and That

I feel like I haven't posted much lately. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the last few weeks.
Colton LOVES his sisters! He loves to be right where they are, playing with them. It just melts my heart. And they love him too. We have been busy with school, work, soccer practice and soccer games. The kids are just growing up so fast!

BFFs

This afternoon when I picked up the twins from school, I talked to Claire's teacher for a minute. Claire hasn't been feeling well this week, so the teacher just suggested I let Claire bring a water bottle to school, and then she mentioned that towards the end of the day Claire started to cry, because she missed Carlie and really wanted to give her a hug. We separated the girls this year, and I guess it's a little harder on them than I thought! They really are each-others best friend!
In the morning when they wake up, they tell each other about their dreams, and on the way home from school they tell each other about their day! I love seeing those tender moments!

Soccer

The girls had their first soccer game last week! I was so proud of them! Their league is all girls, and they play 3 on 3. They only have 6 girls on their team, so they all do a LOT of running! They both did great! Claire even scored a goal! Carlie did a great job as well. The girls team lost, (by a lot) and towards the end Carlie was getting SO upset that the other team kept scoring! She ended up getting too emotional about it, and sat out the last little while, crying. She was SO mad! I had to remind her that its ok if they dont win, and that she needs to enjoy playing, and she needs to suck it up and help her team out. I hope next week is better!

Claire and Carlie are 6!

 

I can not believe Claire and Carlie are 6! They had a GREAT Birthday! I made them a special breakfast  (sausage, and muffins) for them, then they had to go to school. When they got home they had some Birthday cards in the mail! We had cupcakes for dessert, and they got to open presents from Aaron and I. And of course, we had to keep up with tradition and go to Build A Bear!!  They felt so special all day! They received lots of phone calls and text messages from family and friends!

The girls finally had a friend birthday party!! We went swimming at Grandpa Pauls house, had hotdogs, and a Pinata! The girls have been looking forward to having a party with a pinata ALL YEAR!

Im so blessed to have these 2 happy, healthy, beautiful girls! I love you Claire and Carlie!

1st Day of School!

I can not believe Claire and Carlie are in 1st grade! The girls are in different classes this year, but on the same team. (Each team has a set of 3 teachers, who work with all the kids on different subjects, like math, reading, science.) Carlie was a little nervous about being in a new class, and not knowing any kids, but she said she would meet lots of new friends! Claire wasnt worried one bit, and that is SO like her!  The girls had a great day, and were so excited to go back the next day!

Teacher Meet and Greet

Today Carlie and Claire got to go meet their 1st Grade teachers!  They are in separate classes this year. Carlie is a little nervous, and a little sad that Claire isnt in her class. She has also noticed that most of her friends, are not in her class. (They are in Claire's) As we were leaving Carlie's classroom, she told me she is going to make new friends! That made me so happy!
The way the school has 1st grade set up, they have 3 teachers on a 'team'. So, each teacher has a homeroom class, but they rotate for reading, math, science... stuff like that. So, even though the girls dont have the same homeroom teacher, they will see each other during their reading, math and science groups. Im sure the girls will be fine with not being together! The girls are super excited about having lunch at school, and being able to play on the 'big kid' playground! 

Run Plus Fun

(please excuse the poor quality of these photos. they are from my phone, and I was shaking really bad, due to my migraine!)
Trying to entertain 3 kids, when its 110* outside, is a little rough. Especially when the girls ask me, "What are we doing that's fun today?" at least 20 times a day. Even if they do something fun in the morning, they get bored in the afternoon.  Sooooo, we took them to this play place by our house.  Its a warehouse type building, that reminds me of a McDonalds play place. Minus the food. It was a LOT of fun. They even had an area for Colton! (Although he enjoyed running around with his sisters)  The girls played together really well, and played with the other kids that were there as well. When our 2 hours were up, they were ready to head home. They were exhausted!

Bellagio Fountains/Conservatory

 

Last week, we decided to go with Aaron to pick up his tips at work (Bellagio) We haven't been inside to see the Conservatory, or seen the water show in a couple of months, so we figured we'd make it a fun family outing.

The water show was fabulous as always. Colton wasn't too sure about the loud sounds that the water makes when it shoots up really high in the air, that kid was holding on to me for dear life!

After the water show, we went in to look at the flowers, and they had a BIRD habitat thing! It was pretty neat! Colton LOVED it! He keeps saying "oooooh" over and over and over again, and pointing to all the birds. Pretty much the cutest thing ever. Claire and Carlie loved looking at all the flowers, and really enjoyed watching Colton and his reaction to all the pretties! And of course, a super nice tourist offered to take a picture of us as a family!

Parowan

Earlier in August we went up to Parowan with my parents. It was a blast!
We went on a few walks. Aaron and my dad took the girls on a hike and picnic at the Yankee while my mom and I stayed home with Colton. (I wasnt feeling very well.)
We roasted we BBQ'd and made S'mores.

 

I went a little nuts, and took a few pictures of Colton walking around the house. We havent really been OUTSIDE much since he started walking, so he was enjoying his freedom!

We lounged in the grass, until the sprinklers came on. Then the kids decided to play in the water! Colton even joined in on the fun! All 3 kids got pretty wet. It was hillarious watching Colton chase after the girls, not knowing he was walking directly in the way of the sprinkler, but he didnt seem to mind getting wet. We of course went to the park, and relaxed in the hammock.

I am so glad my parents were able to go up with us! We sure enjoyed them!

Soccer 2011

Claire and Carlie started soccer this season! They loved it, and I think they did really well. At first when I asked the twins what part they liked best, Claire said "I liked the water breaks!" then changed it to "I liked being the goalie" and Carlie said she liked "Kicking the ball in the goal" 
Both girls are pretty competitive, and their coach had the girls teamed up against each other on a drill, and Claire scored a goal against Carlie, and Carlie got a bit upset! Good thing they are on the same team! So far I really like their coaches! Im really looking forward to seeing them play this season! 

Colton and Abigail

We sat Colton and Abigail (4 months apart) together on the couch, and they loved talking to each other! It was too cute! I had to snap a few pictures!