Different, but Nice...

In our attempt to make sure that we were able to have a Thanksgiving meal with all of our family members (by hosting an early dinner), we somehow ended up with nothing to do on Thanksgiving Day. My Mom spent the day with Bre's fam and her in-laws, Jo and Bubs are in Florida, we're seeing Dad on Friday and Bryan's family all live out of town.

We decided to make the best of the day and just spend quality time with our kiddos. First, I got up and made their favorite breakfast, chocolate chip pancakes. Then we all got dressed and went outside to rake leaves. I know that probably doesn't sound like fun to most people but my kids love anything outside. So we were able to get a chore done and they got to play in the leaves and hunt for acorns. They were making a Thanksgiving Feast for the squirrels. So cute.

After lunch and naps we surprised them and took them to see a movie. We saw Bolt. It was really cute and the kids did awesome. They hardly made a peep except for when Presley got up, did a little ballerina twirl and then announced to the lady in front of us "I pooted". Bailey and I just about fell out of our seats laughing!

After the movie we decided to go to Perkins for dinner. We let the kids choose what they wanted to eat and then they all had a big chocolate chip cookie for dessert. We were all so tired and stuffed that we went home, put on our p.j.'s, vegged out and watched The Grinch.

It was different than what we are all used to for Thanksgiving but it was actually really nice. I am so thankful that God blessed me with Bryan and my precious babies. There is no one that I would rather have spent the day with than them.

My beautiful Bay helping pick up the leaves.

They were throwing the leaves and letting them fall on their heads. :)

Even my Sassy girl helped out!

Bry was blowing the leaves. Presley picked up this attachment and tried to help by blowing into it. Hilarious!

No make up again! I'm going to start hiding the camera. :) Me and my sweet babies at Perkins.

Bry and Presley. She was being so silly that night!

Early Thanksgiving Dinner

We had an early Thanksgiving dinner at our house so that Bubs and Jo were able to celebrate with us. (They travel during the Thanksgiving holidays.) It turned out really great. We had a houseful! Mom and D, Bre, Bubs and their fams were there. Nana and Pop (the Kelly's), Jason and his fam and Robin and her boyfriend (D's kids) were also able to make it. We had such an awesome time with everyone! The food was ridiculously delicious!! And it was actually pretty tame considering that there were 11 kids under the age of 9 (and Peyton) in my house!! :)

I was so busy preparing food, I forgot to put on any makeup! Ugh!!

Peyton was entertaining as usual. :) (Joey, D, Heather and Jason)

Jo was forcing Brandon to be still for the picture. No one can say no to sweet JoJo.

Bay and her Bre-Bre. Bre stunned us all when she walked in with a beautiful new haircut.

The twins are perfect for Mom and Nana. They don't have to fight over who gets to hold the baby! There's one for each Grandma. :)

Caroline (Jason and Heather's beautiful little girl.)

Jo and Bubs. She was trying to make him behave for the picture. He's her most difficult child. :)

Ella, Bay and Presley. Our girls.

Robin, Chris and Bre. (I don't know what they were discussing but apparently it was something that Bre felt very passionate about! )

Pretty Pilgrim

Bailey's class hosted a Thanksgiving Feast for some the ECS "honorary grandmothers". The students dressed up as Pilgrims and Indians. Bailey was a Pilgrim. I thought she looked adorable. She thought she looked like a dork. (Her word, not mine.)
The kids did a short program for the "grandma's" and then sat down for some yummy food. I was really impressed by how beautifully the tables were decorated. All the Mom's brought food-turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, rolls...all the yummy traditional Thanksgiving food. And I won't even talk about the dessert table. It was painful for me to resist. :) I was one of the Mom's who volunteered to help serve the food. They made us dress in white shirts and black pants (waiter wear). Bay loved the fact that I was there to serve her. I didn't understand what the difference was between what I did there and what I do at home. I guess the outfit made it feel more official for her. :)

My Little Princess

Presley is going through a princess stage, or as she puts it "pin-pess". I found all of Bailey's old dress up clothes in storage and brought them home. Presley was so excited! She must wear at least one princess dress per day. She chooses the perfect shoes to go with her dress and then admires herself in the mirror. Sometimes, she insists that Luke dance with her while I hum the tune to Once upon a dream" over and over. (I should have never started that!) When she really wants to drive him nuts, she chases him around and tries to make him kiss her. It's hilarious! We also found a ton of Bay's old barbies. Presley LOVED those. She just sits and brushes their hair and tries to change their clothes. That doesn't go so well. Mostly they all end up naked. :)

I love how she is becoming such a girly girl! She definitely has the prissy, diva attitude for it!

Sassy girl!

Her hair cracks me up in this one. This is probably one of the mornings when she rolled out of bed and went straight for her dress up clothes. Her naturally curly hair ensures that she wakes up with some wild hair!! I love it!

She loves to give her Daddy kisses and then look at me and say "Mommy, I gettin' your sugas"!

Potty Time! Woohoo!

It's been pretty busy around here lately, as it always is this time of year. We've had sick kids, Christmas shopping, Daddy traveling, dinner parties, class parties, you name it!

During this crazy time a small miracle has occurred. Well, it seems like a miracle to me because I was starting to think it would never happen. My sweet Luke has finally decided that he is ready to use the potty!! We have been trying to introduce potty training to him for mmmm, about 2 years now! He knew how to do it, he would do it on occasion but he just didn't want to do it. Why take the time to stop playing and get up and go to the potty when he could just go in his pants and have someone else clean it up?! We tried everything...encouragement, bribes, punishment, books, movies. You name it we tried it! And then suddenly, this past week, he just decided that he was a big boy and he was ready! Can you feel my excitement? I've been changing diapers for close to four years people!! Anyway, Way to go Buddy! I knew you had it in you. (No pun intended.)

(Luke in his big-boy underwear. Apparently he thinks peeing in the potty makes him a rock star! )

Copycat

I am being a total copycat but I saw this on Liz's blog and wanted to try it myself. Instead of putting the things I've done in bold I changed the color to red. I may have to put some of the things that I haven't done on my "bucket list".
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland /world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma. (Can't. Have Crone's Disease.)
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt-
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone's life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

My Soccer Star

Bailey's last soccer game was on Saturday. Afterwards they had a little award ceremony for the players. They had yummy cupcakes and other snacks. She also received her trophy and her team pics.

We were a little worried how she would do this year. Before this season she has always played on the same team as Austin. They are so close and having him around has always given her comfort. She thought about not playing this season. Then she found out that her friend Emma would be playing so she decided to give it another try. I was so glad because she has always really liked playing and I didn't want her to miss out. Another positive was that she was put on Coach Bubba's team. He had been her Coach a couple of years ago and she really liked him. Having him as her coach gave her a little more confidence also.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorite pics that I took this season. Enjoy!

Bay in her "Blue Torpedoes" uniform before her first game of the season.

Bailey showing off her trophy.

Taking a break on the bench.

Showing off her beautiful smile.

You'll notice in a few of the photos that, like her Daddy, she uses her tongue for concentration. Haha!

Such focus. :)

Ready to back up her teammate.

Bay and Emma on the field.

I had to add this one. Presley found Bay's shoes and shingaurds on the floor. She tried them on but she wasn't quite sure what to do with the shingaurds!

One Crazy Month

Whew! This has been one crazy month! Besides all of the birthdays that we celebrate in October, here are a few of the other things that have kept us busy....
Bailey's soccer season is coming to a close. We have practice on Thursdays and games on Saturdays. She's so adorable out there and she's even scored a few goals!! She really loves defense though. She can be pretty aggressive when she wants to be. :)
The babies love to go to Bay's game and cheer for their big sister! Bryan, of course, insists that we all wear our Bama gear due to the fact that Bama also plays on Saturdays. He allows Bay to wait until after her game to put on her Bama wear. :)
On Wednesdays we've been going to "tike's and trikes" at the skating rink. It is such a fun day for the kids. The skating rink is open only to the little ones and their mommies. They have a blast and we get to sit and actually have conversations with other grown-ups!

Jo, Ella and Seth have been going to "tike's and trikes" also. I had to include this pic of Jo and Seth freaking out over how fast the slide was in the kids play area. Look at how much Ella is enjoying their terror! Love it!

I had the pleasure of babysitting for Ella and Seth for the very first time!! I will admit it was a little crazy having 4 kids under 3 all to myself (Bry did come downstairs when the screams got too loud). But it was also fun. They have such a blast together. Especially Ella and Luke. They are buds. I do have a new respect for parents of multiples though. Getting lunch together was insane and nap time was close to impossible!

We went to Zoo Boo with Bre and fam. May I suggest not doing this on the last night?! There were sooooo many people there that we were hardly able to move around. It wasn't quite what we were expecting. The candy they gave out was not exactly what the kids were hoping for and the candy stations were spread out so far that you had to walk through crowds of people to get to the next one! Towards the end we figured out that the rides were free (surprisingly) and the kids had a blast on those. So the evening wasn't a total bust. We did have fun just hanging out together too. Next time I think we'll save the $90 something dollars and hang out together somewhere cheaper.
Oh, the week before this we went with Bre's fam to the Corn Maze. At night. With 4 adults and 7 children. Pretty smart huh? We did fine for a while and then we got lost. You want to see stress and desperation? Lock 4 adults in a maze with that many kids. (Did I mention it was dark?) We finally got smart and went back to the halfway point and got outta there!

Also this month I finally got up enough courage to get my hair cut. I used Locks of Love for motivation. I just kept telling myself "You are helping someone" over and over again. It was still quite traumatic when she put my hair in pigtails and just chopped it off in 2 slices!! I was able to donate close to 20 inches though so that does make me feel a lot better. And as Bailey keeps reminding me, it's only hair and it will grow back.

Here are my little trick or treaters! My kids LOVE Halloween! Bailey was Hannah Montana, Luke was a red Power Ranger and Presley was my little Tinkerbell. (Bry was Billy Ray Cyrus-mullet and all, and I was an 80's chick. I was suppose to be Wendy, to Presley's Tink, but once I got the costume on I asked Bry "Tell me the truth, do I just look like an old lady in a blue dress?" He looked at me and said "yeah, pretty much!" So 80's chick I was...) We hit our neighborhood first, then went to Jo's and then Bailey and I went to Bre's so that Bay could hit a few houses with Aussie. Presley cracked us up! At every house she would say "trick or treat, let my in!" She actually walked right into one house and Bry had to go get her out. When she didn't think she was given enough candy she would stay there with her bag out and say "MORE"! They all had a blast and were exhausted when we got home.

I love October but I am so glad that it is over! I'm pooped!!!