Trains

 Layton is very much into trains right now.  He has a Lego train set, which he sets up every single day, and an electric train set.  The electric set takes up a lot of space and we have to be much more careful with it, so it is a treat.  Last week I decided that I would set up the electric set for him.  He was so excited!  I kept it on the kitchen table for him for a week.  Layton played with that thing all day long.  It was great.  I would say, "Hurry and eat your breakfast so you can play with your train."  He would be done 2 minutes later (which is AMAZING for him).  "Go and get dressed so you can play with your train" he would race to his room.  I love this train!!!  Layton loves it too, just for different reasons.  He would play with it for at least an hour at a time.  Making it go fast and so slow it hardly moves.  Each train car had a different purpose, and he would tell me all about them as he watched it go around and around.  We can't wait until we set it up again.

HALLOWEEN

We had a fun Halloween this year. I started out with a Witches party on Thursday night, then Friday night we carved our pumpkins. And Austin and I both agree that this years pumpkins beat all the other years, hands down. They were just great choices for the carvings. I did a scary face (that Layton will not look at when it is lit), Tori did a devilish flying cat/bat (we are not sure), Kennedy chose a witch stirring a brew, and Layton chose the Grim Reaper, but he thinks it is a dog!

on Saturday night our ward had our trunk or treat, which is a HUGE event here. Everyone in our Plano community shows up, brings all their extended family, and then we have a party. First the kids trick or treat, then we have a big dinner, then there is a little carnival for the kids. We invited John and his family. The kids had a lot of fun!

Tori's stitches

So a couple of months ago I noticed Tori had this little bump above her lip, almost like a pimple, but not exactly. I kept an eye on it and it just kept getting bigger. It seemed to have a clear liquid in it, but didn't hurt. After a month it was the size of a pencil eraser and Austin decided she needed to see a dermatologist. He was pretty sure it was a sist (I don't even know how to spell that!) and he didn't want to take one off of the face (would have been a heck of a lot cheaper!!)

The Dr. determined it was most likely a sist with a fancy name and we scheduled a day to have it removed. Tori was great with it until she realized she would have to have a shot to start the whole process.

Backtrack just a little.... Tori has had a few trips to the dentist this year to have teeth removed, and when I say teeth, I mean multiple teeth at a time, like 4-5. And each time it has started with one shot (which hurts like CRAZY!) and continued until she had 7 shots in her mouth ... EACH TIME. Needless to say, she is not fond of things starting with a shot.

Tori was so scared to get that shot, she did not care that he was going to be cutting her and stitching her. After the shot, which was a bit dramatic, she did great. She just listened to the Ipod and held mom's hand. She even wanted to go to school afterwards. That did not last too long because she started bleeding.

Austin decided that he would take her stitches out, so Wednesday night (6 days later) he took her stitches out. She was a bit nervous, but we held hands again and she did great. So did Austin. ;)

A couple of Moose made a visit...

Yesterday afternoon I look out the window to see where the tractor is so I can tell Layton (because this is very important to him), and what do you know, I see these two BIG bull moose watching the tractor too. They both have huge antlers and one is missing a side.

I have been so sad this year because we have not been seeing very many moose, yes, I still get excited seeing moose. I think I only saw 5 this whole summer/fall. So to have these two sitting just on the other side of our property, I was pretty excited. Think I took about 30 pictures, and all they did was sit there and stare. A bit overboard, I know!

A new addition to our family

He made his grand appearance last night...

No silly, not a Tractor. Why would you think that?!?

A NEW HOT TUB!!!

Christmas came early this year. And thank goodness! It is much easier to move this thing in before the snow starts a flyin'!! We are so excited! The kids could care less about the hot tub. They just thought it ROCKED that there was a TRACTOR in our yard. They stood on the deck forever just watching the backhoe.

We had a friend from our ward come and lower the hot tub into the "PIT" for us. That sure made the work easier for everyone.

Austin has literally wanted to get a hot tub for our "PIT" since we made an offer on this home. He has very patiently been watching craigslist and KLS to find just the perfect one. Who knew that we would find it just around the corner from us. Hopefully we will have nice hot water in the tub this weekend! I can't wait!!


He LOVED this tractor! I had to climb up and carry him out, or he would have stayed in that seat ALL day long!

Back in the blogging world...

I know! I know! It has been like 10 months! But I am back, at least for today. ;)
Life has been so busy, and sometimes I think that blogging needs to be at the bottom of my list, and so it is. Sorry.
Let me catch up for just a minute...

Tori. Tori is now in 3rd grade, and loves every minute of it. She loves reading and Math. We usually (everyday) have to tell her to put her book down and go and play. She bugged me all of 2nd grade to let her read Harry Potter. So this summer I said fine, but if it gets too scary you have to stop and wait a year or two. Well, four books later (in two months) I told her she needed to start reading other material. She gets to pick up book 5 in fourth grade. Tori looks very cute in her glasses, but has a hard time keeping them on her face. She loves to play sports, basketball and soccer, chase boys at recess, and has just started gymnastics. Tori wanted to start playing the piano, so I have been teaching her lessons. She is an easy student. She really wants to learn and practices a ton. Now if I could be consistant in her lessons. She is a great kid!!!

Kennedy. Kennedy is still my spunky, fun loving little girl, who is only one year from being BAPTISED!!!! Yikes! I am old! Kennedy is in 1st grade and informs me quite often that it is too easy for her and why can't they do harder math. She is also reading like crazy, but it is not a punishment to her when she can't read. Kennedy is very athletic and loves to play soccer. She uses her spunky-ness to her advantage in soccer. She is also in gymnastics and is very good. The very first day the instructor had the girls do a bridge. Kennedy was able to go right into one and hold the position for a very long time. She is very flexible. She is always practicing the things she learns at gymnastics. Kennedy has had a hard time with Tori growing up a bit. She just wants Tori to play with her constantly like she used to. Tori would prefer reading or playing the piano. So Kennedy has moved onto Layton. She is alwaysplaying cars and trucks, or animals with Layton. She also likes to annoy him a bit, and thinks it is funny, he does not, and neither does Mom. She is a great kid with a great personality.

Layton. Layton is just growing up so fast. He gets to hang out with me at home all day, just the two of us. I thought for sure he would have a hard time, but he seems to really enjoy the one on one time. We get along great. Layton loves to do anything that Dad is doing. Fishing, hunting, playing basketball, or playing with Howie. His true loves (lately) are tractors and big trucks, like dump trucks and potato trucks. He loved grain harvest because he got to watch a tractor at work right behind the house. It was good motivation to eat. :) Layton loves his Uncle David too. David lived in Rexburg while he was at school this last year and it was great! Layton would light up when Dave would come to visit, or hunt in our fields. Uncle David left on his mission a month ago and Layton really misses him. The other night while he was saying the prayer, Austin prompted him with, "Please bless Uncle David..." and Layton said, "Please bless Uncle David to shoot a dove." So cute. I had a hard time not laughing during the prayer. Yesterday Layton and I were running errands, and in the last store (of many) he needed to use the restroom. We hurried into the bathroom and Layton said, "Mom this bathroom stinks real good." And it did. He is a joy.

Austin. Austin is getting more busy at his clinic all the time. He is delivering about one baby a week, which is what he wants. He really enjoys where he works and the people he gets to serve. Plus, his clinic is like 2 blocks from the river, so he goes fishing almost everyday during his lunch. He has gotten to do lots of hunting and fishing very close to home, which is good for all of us. Austin still loves basketball and plays at least once a week, usually twice. He was called as the Elders Quorum President not too long ago and has spent a lot of time doing that. He loves the area that we live and hopes we never have to leave.

Rachel. Well I keep myself way too busy. I have been making quilts like mad craziness, for everyone it seems. And I have been filling more and more of my time with photography, which I am loving. And besides that I do the usual, running kids to activity days, gymnastics, library, cleaning the house, doing laundry, cleaning the house, you understand. I do what every mom has to do. But I do love naptime. That is MY time. I do not work. I spend that hour and a half doing something that I want, reading, sewing, or napping. It is wonderful.

Well, I hope that you are satisfied with my catch-up. I will try to do better, I swear!

THANKSGIVING in PAUL

We were so grateful that we were able to make it home for Thanksgiving. The weather was not exactly cooperating, but we still gave it a go. When we left Rexburg we were pretty sure that with the wind chill it was between -25 and -30. It was so cold that if you were out in an area that had no wind block it was so biting you could only stay there for about 15 seconds before running back to shelter.

SO COLD!!
We were able to spend Thanksgiving with Austin's family. His brother's and sister's family were not able to come because of the weather, so we had a nice quiet Thanksgiving.
Austin serenaded his mom and I while we were preparing dinner. Kennedy and Tori helped with the rolls. Kennedy loves to help bake anytime there is baking to be done. She is a great helper, and will someday make a great baker/cook.

Uncle Damon did a great job of entertaining Layton. I think it was pretty easy though, Layton just wanted to play basketball.

Grammy had made all the granddaughters butterfly wings. My girls love them, and are already planning a dance to do together with the cousins this summer when they are all together.

Gail did such a wonderful job with our Thanksgiving dinner. She had been planning and preparing for weeks! It was so good, and I think that we ate almost everything that day... so much for leftovers! Yummy!

Playing in the snow

Right before we left for Thanksgiving in Paul we got dumped on with snow. And then the winds started... and didn't stop. So we ended up with some AWESOME snow drifts and no school. The kids were in Heaven. Austin's clinic even closed on the Monday because the drifts were so big and bad. We all had so much fun out in the snow that day. As you can see, the drifts are taller than Layton.

The girls acted like they were penguins sliding down the drift. They would laugh and laugh at the bottom, then climb back up and do it again. I love that they have such fun imaginations.

I just thought these drifts were pretty cool. This is down in our walkout basement that is all enclosed. I think the wind just kept circling the snow around and around. The highest drift down there was 3 feet.

Austin worked really hard to make a path up to the door, just in case we got any visitors. I was obviously working very hard at making sure I captured the moment. It was hard work!

And this is what the front looked like before Austin got started. The drift was a good foot above the top stair.

After we worked so hard we moved on to bigger and better things... HOT CHOCOLATE!

First Snow

Our first snow occurred on Monday. Quite a shock to me actually. I mean, we live in Iceberg now, so I assumed it would happen early in the fall, rather than late. It started snowing right after I got Tori on the bus, assuring her that it was not going to snow today, so she did not need to bring her snow boots. Then when it did start, I thought, "it will never stick." So much for me and my thinking! It didn't stop snowing the entire day. Kennedy was ecstatic! She wanted to play in the snow so bad.

By the time the girls got off the bus at 3:30 there was about 4" of snow on the ground. And me, being the nice Mom, of course, let the girls go out and play in the snow without doing homework first. Dang Daylight Savings! If it wasn't for that we would have light until 6 and the girls could have had longer to play. They did have so much fun. Layton was a little nervous about playing in the snow the first day. But he has loved it everyday since.

HALLOWEEN

Funny Faces

Spidey- Man

The Red Devil

Our Leopard


Kaylee came to visit after trick or treating. She is a cute Fairy.

We got to celebrate Halloween two days in a row. The girls got to dress up for school on Friday, and then we went to their school carnival that evening. Saturday our ward had a "trunk or treat" at one of our farmer's shop. After the trunk or treat we went inside for more games and food. The kids really enjoyed it. I was glad that they were a little more creative in their costumes this year, and Austin was just glad that the girls didn't want to be Princesses.

Thank You...

Michelle and I would like to thank everyone who came and supported us at our craft fair. There was such a good turnout. It was so much fun, and we did really good.

It is always fun to go home and see people you know. This weekend I felt as though I saw practically everyone that I have ever know in Rupert, not quite, I know, but it felt like it.

And it was fun to be able to spend an entire day with my sis, and just be able to chat.

We will see you there again next fall!

My Boy...

LAYTON

You are such a joy in our life. You are always so happy, which in turn, makes us happy.

I love your kisses. At nap time and bed time you always kiss each cheek, my head, and the tip of my nose. Then tell me to go to my room (to nap). I LOVE IT!

You always want to be by Dad or I, throwing a ball, or just sitting on our laps.

I love how first thing in the morning you come out and give me a hug, and then return to your room to get your hat. You love your hat.

You love Kennedy, and you love to say Kennedy. I think that because it is a challenging name, and you know it was hard to learn, you want to say it all the time... just because you can.

You love that Tori gets to ride the bus everyday. One day I think you will love being able to ride the bus.

You are a little silly in that you don't like sweets, especially ones that make your hands messy.

You are the smartest little guy that I know. You pick up on things that we say and remember them. You understand everything that I tell you, and you respond. You are so SMART!!

And seriously, who said potty training a boy was hard. You were so easy. If I told you not to pee in your underwear, you didn't. Seriously easy.

Layton, you are such a blessing in our lives. We all love you so much!

Cutest little guy ever.

Enjoying the Fall

We have been trying to take advantage of the nice fall evenings lately. The kids really like to go in the back yard and have a game of soccer. We set up goals, using camp chairs and tiki lamps. The girls like to play GIRLS vs. BOYS. Mainly, I think, because they know we will win. Layton is not much of a help to Austin. One day that will change, but for now, the girls dominate. We are trying to teach Layton not to pick up the ball, and that other people get a turn to kick it. It does not always work. Sometimes Austin has to be a "one man team" because Layton is laying in the grass crying because one of the girls kicked the ball away from him.

Kennedy really enjoys playing soccer, she says she even plays with the boys at recess, when she can find them.
We also try to play a little catch with the football. Layton just thinks it is a blast to tackle the girls. I guess he kinda gets the game.

Tackling must be so much fun! This is what it looks like for 90% of a football evening.

At least we are having a BALL!

Crazy Dancing

Our cute little girls love to dress up and LOVE to dance. So for a few nights this week we play the music loud and the girls dance. Layton likes to participate sometimes in the dancing, he gets all his moves from my exercise videos, so they ROCK! They really do have a fun time together. Tori will teach Kennedy some moves and then they will choreograph a dance together. They have awesome moves that they choreographed with their cousin Hailey this summer, and they use a few of those in their songs now too. It sure wears them down before bed.

Family Stitchin's

I just wanted to give a little shout out to a craft fair that my sister and I are doing in less than

2 weeks!

It is in Rupert, ID

(my hometown!! Wah-who!)

OCTOBER 23, 2010

10 am - 5 pm

At Minico High School

We will be selling all kinds of fun stitichin's!

drop by our booth,

or our blog

(for those of you poor souls who live no where near Rupert)

Can't wait to see you there!

Tori's Baptism

I am not old enough to be a Mom of an EIGHT year old! I am not! But I guess since Tori was baptised yesterday I must be.
It was such a wonderful weekend. We had lots of family come to support Tori on her big day. I thought that it was pretty neat that she was baptised on 10-09-10 at 09:00. (that is for you Stacy).


Austin was able to baptise and confirm Tori.