Fall Recital

The kids participated in their first piano recital.  They have only been taking a few months from this new teacher and they have both improved so much.  I love listening to them play and I get more excited than they do picking new songs to play.  It is such a great feeling when they master a song that was a little difficult st first.  We have to remind Tacy a lot that she can't compare herself to Truman and that in 2 years she will be just as good as him.  

They performed at the Tabernacle building downtown which was the perfect venue except that when they introduced their pieces you really couldn't hear any of the kids' voices in the tabernacle.  Jer was nice enough to take care of Chambers for the whole recital so I could really watch the kids.  Recitals are not fun for 1 year olds.  And it seemed like every sound he made carried in there. Jer said we were done having kids by the end of the night:)  After the recital the kids wanted Cafe Rio so we picked it up and brought it home.

Okay, I'll be honest, I made them put their arms around each other, but I'm so glad I did because I love this picture of them!

I think I was as nervous as the kids were for their performance.  My hands were shaking a little while I was filming so sorry for that!  It was also a little dark in there so it's hard to see them.  Truman's nerves got the best of him a little and he messed up a some on a song he had no problems with.  It was a good moment to talk about making mistakes and how to deal with them.  He just kept going and nailed his second song.  So proud of them.

Free Saturdays

I'm not going to lie...as much as we love watching the kids play soccer, Jer and I are excited to have our Saturdays back!  Having 3 soccer games every Saturday seems to take up the whole day by the time it's all said and done.  Last week was the last game for Cardon and Tacy and Truman has one more.  We have decided to take him out of competitive soccer so he will have a break instead of doing it year round.  We feel like it is too much of a time commitment at this age.  We feel like family time is suffering a little because of it.  He did have his best game of the season though this last Saturday.  He turned on the aggression.  Truman isn't normally the most competitive and aggressive so it was nice to see him feel more confident and really get into the game.  

I'm not sure if I should have even put Cardon in this year.  I got him on the team for free since I'm on the board, but he just seemed too young to really get into the games.  I might take him out of Spring League and try again next year.  Having said that he was about as entertaining as could be running circles around the ball, making superhero moves, hiding from his coach, refusing to go in, using his hands to score goals, and hitting his coach on the bottom.  

Tacy's team was undefeated.  She worked so hard out there.  Her whole team did.  We are trying to convince Coach Meghan to stick with the team and continue to coach.  She was intense and expected a lot from the, but it really helped Tacy's game.

Tacy and her bestest friend, Kelly.  They love each other like sisters and sometimes bicker like sisters too!

I love some of these action shots of my Truman.  Wish I would have taken a few more action shots of the others, but my hands always seemed to be full.

They are signed up for basketball for the winter, but games and practices are combined into one night and no games are on Saturday.

This Weather

I feel like I have a lot of shots on my phone of the kids being outside.  Probably because the weather has been beautiful.  I have to stop and remind myself that it is the middle of November and we are still having warm sunny days.  The perfect weather.  I am so grateful for this.  It really does make my mood better.  

This day I got to take my Tacy out of school for lunch because she filled up her warm fuzzy jar.  It was fun to do this for her.  I like it when they earn a lunch date as much as they do I think.

Dental Checkups

The kids had their dentist appointments last week and once again everyone's teeth looked great.  

Cardon has always been a little hard at the dentist.  I can understand why.  It is a little scary when you don't completely understand what's going on.  This time, he was a whole new child.  We always have to beg and bribe to get even a couple pictures of his teeth, and this time they were able to do the full mouth machine that takes pictures and he didn't move a muscle.  They gave him a little stool to stand on.  Then he had to rest his chin on one part while he held onto a bar with his hands and then bit down on a plastic piece while they did the x-rays.  I was so worried, but he held perfectly still the whole time.  He looked wide eyed and panicked in his face though.  I wanted to get a shot of him doing this but I was wrestling Chambers. The dentist also said that Cardon has very large tonsils that are almost touching.  We wonder if he might have to get them removed sooner than later.

Teeth cleaned and just in time to make it before school starts.  He did mention that I might start trying to take Chambers' pacifier away so it doesn't affect his teeth.  Noooooooo!  It makes him so happy and he's my baby.  I think after Christmas.

I also ended up at my dentist a couple days later because the cap on my front tooth came off.  I took a picture because it looked so bad but honestly I'm too vain to post it.  Maybe I'll build up enough courage eventually.  Luckily I got in to have it fixed that day.  I have a temporary one on right now(of course we were having family pictures done 2 days later) and my real one will be ready next week.

I have to smaller teeth beside my front teeth that are genetic.  In high school they moved my teeth with braces to give me enough room to put a bigger cap on them.  So they made me look worse before they made me look better.  My other one came off about a year ago, so hopefully I'm good for a while.

First 5K

I like to work out.  It makes me feel so much better and I like being in shape.  I try to make it to the gym 5 days a week.  I feel like I sacrifice other things to do this, but it works for me.  Having said that, I have never been much of a runner.  I never understood why people liked it so much.  I'm not there yet, but I'm starting to understand why people get hooked on running.  I have been running at the gym a couple times a week, and once on the trail for a couple months now.  I usually top out at about 7 miles in an hour.  

I decided I was ready to run a race and see what all the hype was about.  I wanted to do the Snow Canyon Half Marathon because I've heard it's really good.  Since it was my first race I just ended up doing the 5K.  Boy am I glad I started with the 5K. I thought it would be no big deal.  But running in a race is sure different than just running on my own.  I learned a few things and hopefully I'll be on to longer races soon.  One problem was RunKeeper wouldn't shuffle my songs so I listened to Adele the entire time.  Another is I should have started without my long sleeve shirt.  Even though it was cool, I warmed up fast, but I didn't want to stop to get it off with my ear phone cords.  And I think I could have pushed just a little harder at the end.

I ran with my friend Tangi Larsen and I stuck with her for about half and then I watched her slowly pull away!  In my defense, she is a fitness instructor and pretty fit.  I was happy that I came in third in my age group.  I ran it in 26:28.  So about 8:30 minute miles.  I am eyeing the 10K in December...until I looked it up and saw all the pictures of people running in the cold and snow.  I have a few more weeks to decide!  

Halloween!!

Halloween was definitely has crazy and busy as ever, but we fit in a lot of fun.  

The day before Halloween I was able to go and help in Cardon's preschool class.  I put together a spider game and a mummy bowling game for them to play.  It was fun to be with him.  I also got to witness him kissing his friend Mary and her telling him she didn't love him because she only loved her family.  Oh what am I in for?  Her mom was there as well and we both had a good laugh.  Hopefully I don't get a phone call in a few years where it isn't so funny anymore and they are accusing him of sexual harassment!

The next day on Halloween I took the boys to the kids' school and we watched the Halloween parade.  Prentice had had a major meltdown the night before because she had decided she didn't want to dress up like she was going to a Masquerade ball even though we had that planned for a month in advance.  We tried everything and even ended up at the store trying to get a last minute costume.  We had a busy night as it was and this for sure threw things off.  The next morning we were still trying to figure out a solution.  I finally figured out that the reason why she didn't want to wear the costume is she was embarrassed and nervous because it was something different and she didn't really want to stand out.  I decided that she needed to be brave and happy with her costume decision.  We had put money, time, and planning into the costume she already had and she just needed to make it work.  I want my kids to be happy, but I also had the feeling that she was being a little ungrateful and that she needed to make it work.  It was hard, but I finally told her to go get her costume and we were going to get her all ready and that it would be great.  I talked to her about doing something that was different and standing out in a good way.  I said that some of the best things in life come from doing your own thing and taking a bit of a risk.  I told her that usually the best costumes were the ones that were a little creative.  I'm glad I did what I felt needed to be done because as soon as we talked and I got her all ready, she was thrilled with how she looked.  It's like she had a whole new perspective.  All the heartache and concern she had felt was gone.  She left for school with a smile and I was glad to see her so happy and was hopeful that she had learned something for the future.  We are all too concerned about what others think of us and I've always wanted her to be confident in herself and be able to stand up for what she wants and believes and maybe this was a step in the right direction.  It was one of my parenting decisions that I immediately felt good about and that it was what needed to be done.  I didn't want to be cruel to her or make her wear something that she was unhappy with, but I also felt like there was something to be learned from the whole thing.  We live in a time when all we want to do is please our kids and sometimes they just have to deal with their own decisions and learn to make the best of certain situations.  A long explanation for a simple happening but it made an impression on me.  I hope I can continue to not immediately solve all her problems but teach her how to work through them.  I'm proud of you Tacy!

On to the rest of the day...

After the parade my mom and sister took the little boys and I stayed and helped in Tacy's classroom.  We played a version of a cake walk, called a "candy walk."  Simple, but a lot of fun.  I brought some Halloween music and had a fun time in her class.

Seemed like before I knew it the kids got home from school and it was time to redo costumes and makeup to get ready for the night.

Truman has reached the age where he likes to be something a little spooky for Halloween.  So this year he chose to be a zombie.  I think some of the inspiration might have come from his Aunt Monique being a zombie in Thriller.  Thankfully she committed to doing his makeup, and she and my mom didn't disappoint!  They really did make him a creepy looking zombie.  They made his night.

Next we brought our crock pot of chili and headed to the ward dinner.

No I didn't dress up, but after I rushed to get everyone else dressed and ready I wished I had.  Maybe next year?  I wish I was one of those mom's whose kids were all in their homemade costumes all centered around a theme, but it just doesn't happen for me.  So here is my beautiful mis-match family in their partially (but mostly bought) homemade costumes.

I had no intentions of Chambers being Frankenstein, but it was on sale and seemed comfy enough.  The older 2 boys were a cowboy at this age, but he must be a little bigger because the cowboy boots and hat wouldn't fit.  Luckily he makes an adorable friendly Frankenstein.

Jer saw this outfit for Cardon and knew he had to have it so they could dress up together.  Cardon would tell everyone he was a "worker struction" instead of a construction worker.

Chambers and Cardon started off their dinner with a doughnut with sprinkles.  They quickly were on sugar overload and we were more than ready to put them to bed while the big kids went trick or treating with Monique.  She was so nice to take them and they made a haul on candy.  I'm now in the process of trying to entice them to sell some back to me or give it to me in exchange of doing a fun activity like miniature golf.  I don't have any takers yet, but Truman is considering it.

While Truman and Tacy were out we made sure to stop at Grandpa and Grandma's.  The boys were pretty much bouncing off the walls at this point so we didn't stay long, but I'm sure glad we forced ourselves to get this cute picture.  I bought a huge amount of candy for trick or treaters and we didn't have one person stop at our house!  Will candy last until next Halloween?  Jer says "no."  I have some hiding to do.

Pumpkin Carving

The Wednesday before Halloween we decided to brave carving our pumpkins.  The kids had only been asking to do it for 2 weeks, not seeming to grasp that here in St. George if we did it more than a couple days before Halloween, the pumpkins would be soggy and limp for the actual night.  We were ready with the ideas and stencils the kids wanted and after dinner we went to work.  Well, really we put Jer to work.  

I have never had a child love the camera like this one.  He actually yells "me" when I get the camera out and gets right in front of the lens so I will take his picture.  So if there are a lot of pictures of my little Chambers it's because he insists on it and of course with a face like that it's hard not to give in.

 Looks like someone forgot to wash his face after dinner.  Or maybe he was trying out the pumpkin goo...who knows.

Having fun with Truman!

At least Truman and Tacy were old enough to mostly scrape out their pumpkins.

This is the second picture of Jer, because I said he needed to look happier in  the picture.  I think he pulled it off.

Chambers showing me he can be daring and crazy just like his big brothers.

I was proud of Truman this year for designing his own pumpkin face and then drawing it on himself.  Still wasn't quite old enough to carve himself, but maybe soon.  On a side note, he had the hardest pumpkin ever!

A project like this always takes longer than you think and by the end Jer had pulled out the big lights to finish up.

Wish I would have gotten a better picture of the finished products.  But by this point we were focused on cleaning up pumpkin goo and getting in baths.  Tacy did the witch, Cardon the skeleton face, and Truman the scary face.  We were too tired to do Chambers.  But by next year I think we will be doing 4!