Halloween is on its way!

We had another fun weekend as a family. We pulled out those Halloween decorations and lights. Emery loved turning off all the lights in the house so that we could just see the orange pumpkin ones glowing. We also made up a new Halloween message for our answering machine. Carter and Caden were getting annoyed at their parents' pickiness.
Today the kids decided to all jam into the tiny front coat closet with a flashlight where they played a game. They stayed in there for a good half hour.
The Houskeepers invited us to join in on a little fun at the rec center pool for Jace's birthday. He is the same age as Caden and will be baptized on the same day. It is always a blast to spend time with them. Evey and Lily are the cutest in their little swim suits. It's so wonderful to have them as our friends. Thanks for the good time guys!

Relief Society Boost

Don't you just love the Relief Society broadcasts. It's so wonderful to feel and hear uplifting and encouraging messages. Annette and I went to the dinner the stake puts on before. They had soup in bread bowls. We sat with a group of ladies from our ward. It was fun getting to know some of them a bit better. One of them was Debbie Madsen who is our ward's RS president. I have a lot of admiration for her. Not an easy task yet she acts so upbeat and happy to do it. It's always neat to learn new and helpful tips from other women. That is what our conversation was centered on, coupon shopping, computer tid bits, how to make Halloween costumes, etc. Debbie was taking requests for things we want to learn at those homemaking meetings. We had fun chatting. I sure loved President Uchtdorf's talk on seeing the positive things that we do as women rather than the negative things. He is such an exciting and dynamic speaker...so easy to stay awake during his words. Hmmm...reminds me of someone I know...DAD! I also enjoyed the first counselor's talk on attending the temple. She too was energetic and happy. I guess it's those with an accent that I liked the most. Hee hee. I've now scored with 2 weekends in a row of spiritual events. Next weekend is general conference and then the weekend after is Caden's baptism. Life is full of these wonderful moments. I am "so seriously blessed!" :) Ha ha!

Grandma and Gramps!

It's always fun when grandma comes and when grandpa comes HOORAY! Our children were ecstatic when the Hancocks arrived on Wednesday evening. They came over for a short while for hugs and kisses and visiting and to drop off those delicious Canadian treats! All you Americans are missing out. Caden and Emery were very disappointed when they left and weren't sleeping over at our place. They just can't comprehend why they wouldn't want to sleep at our house for a good six weeks. Ya...it's just a little more peaceful at Auntie Shellie's! On Friday Grandma and Grandpa took Jace, Emery and Ella for an outing which turned into several. They took them to pineview park, to "Old McDonald's" (according to Emery) for lunch and then to a store or 2. These children are so blessed to have such involved grandparents. Thank you Hancocks for the goodness and love you bring to my kids! They all adore you.

Splish splash...it's a birthday bash!

BOMBS AWAY!
Isn't this the coolest picture?! Caden had fun with his friends on Friday to celebrate his 8th birthday. His Auntie Shellie has a pool in her backyard that makes a great party destination. Thanks Shellie and Allen.....it's come in handy! All the kids were good sports in letting me get the perfect shot. I think this was the 4th try. I wanted to get them all in the air. Just about did it. L to R: Caden, Hudson Suman, Aydia Melo, Tiernan Belnap, Luke Dotson, Jayden Sheperd and Kase Larsen. We missed you Jace Houskeeper!

We're not quite sure who Caden is trying to portray in this photo.

I just had to get pictures of the cute little girls that were out numbered!

The easiest birthday cake around! Icecream sandwiches all the way! Don't you love the enthusiasm of the blow, especially from little sis, Emmy!

Evey's cousin Erin was at the party. She is home this week visiting her mom, Evey's auntie Shellie. Erin is now the proud mama of Rachael who I guess would be Evey's second cousin. You gotta love the flowers on their bald little heads! Cute little ones. Rachael is now 2 months old.

Happenin' time out!

I was absolutely thrilled to attend "Time out for Women" in Las Vegas last weekend! Tonya called me Friday afternoon remembering that I had previously expressed an interest in going sometime. She already had plans to attend with her sister and friend. Well, her sister was unable to go so I got the ticket. Yay! I must admit that I was a little nervous leaving my Evey behind. She did great though! The theme was "Joyful Life". It gave me such a lift that I am still flying high from it all! Hilary Weeks was the main musician. She spoke and sang inbetween the presenters. Hilary is very witty and funny. She kept cracking jokes about the audience members that were from "Hurricane". She threatened security on them. Too funny. It was such a treat to hear from everybody, Michael Wilcox, Chris Stewart, Virginia Pearce, Amanda Dickson and Pam Hansen. I just want to go buy all their books. Virginia and Amanda were my favorite speakers. Virginia is just so matter of fact that she makes living the gospel so simple. Amanda is HILARIOUS! We were in stitches. She is a 44 year old mother with 2 toddlers and 3 step children. She was poking fun that while she made her prenatal visits to the doctor, she was older than the grandma's who were there with their pregnant daughters. One thing that took me a while to clue into was that Chris Stewart is the author of the fictional books about the war in heaven. I have only read the first one and would like to keep reading. We laughed and we cried. It was all so good. I was glad that I took notes. Thanks Tonya for an uplifting adventure and thanks Curtis for a day off! When I got home the house was clean and the kids were in bed. Way to go Curt! I'll have to hire you again some time.

Forgotten Happenings.

It's about time I posted something new, well, old to me but new to my journal. Happenings that I have failed to mention are about moi! How exciting...I know you can't wait to hear about them! I have been enjoying volunteering in Emery and Jace's kindergarten class. Everytime I arrive they get sooo excited to see me. What a reward that is! Jace calls out, "HI auntie Mel!" and Emery becomes my side kick! I love her cuddles and kisses. I thoroughly enjoy watching them learn and interact in a classroom setting. Emery recognizes her letters with a lot more confidence now! They both just adore their teacher. She is very sweet to them.

I am teaching piano on Tuesday and Wednesdays only. It is a lovely change from last year. I have 14 students and think it's the perfect amount. Curtis has really stepped up to the plate in caring for the children. He does a good job. The after school and dinner time of the day can be the horror hours as children are tired and hungry so thanks Curt!

One more thing....I am totally getting into this coupon grocery shopping! I attended a class and bought 7 Sunday papers so I could start collecting those golden tickets! I also print them off the internet and I am so excited to say that we bought 32 bags of cereal for only 10 dollars. Most of it was free. This is soooo much fun and I can't wait to see what else is on sale. Annette and I went to Albertsons to get some cereal and soup. It's always more fun to shop with a friend! Good times! If any one else wants to go with me....


Jace and Emery had a great time making little "baby" beds out of laundry baskets for themselves and for Evey, ofcourse!

Here is our precious Evey standing up to furniture, one of her most favorite positions! Do you love the huge flower. I thought it was adorable!

Weekend Happenings!

We had a great weekend! It started out with Carter having a "late over" with his best buddy Tait Belnap. They watched a movie and ate popcorn and choclate animal crackers (a Belnap favorite we hear!). It's always a blast when those 2 get together. They always get along.

On Saturday morning we cleaned the garage and van. We switched Evey's infant car seat for the bigger one. She quite likes sitting up more so she can see the kids. When we dropped off a load of baby things to the DI which included the car seat I unexpectedly got emotional. We are now letting go of our precious baby furniture. That is soooo hard for me!




We went swimming ofcourse and then had Shane and Laura over for a short time. Owen is chatting up a storm these days. Too cute! I got a picture of him the other day in Jace's old yellow rain boots...priceless!




Saturday evening was great! Lyndsi Houskeeper invited our children to sing with her and a friend at a freedom festival put on at the Town Square.













There were a variety of musical numbers each represented by a different religion to honor the troops in Iraq.













Lyndsi and her friend sang a Michael McLean song with the primary children joining in on the chorus. It was beautiful and very touching as the children came out.













We rewarded the kids with a run through the water features! Evey and Lily had a great time crawling through the shallow water at the practice the night before.
















Sunday is always uplifting for me. I just love to feel the spirit. It has been nice to attend RS. I have been the temporary pianist since Lyndsi has taken her new calling in primary. It's ironic how we switched places. I told the RS to just call me to it and they said, we are working on it...actually they are waiting for the bishopric to work on it! So when I play, I have someone hold Evey. Today Tonya was holding her during the opening song. I could hear her so loud and found out as I peeked at her that she was holding onto the hymn book, looking up at the chorister, and just belting her little voice out. Oh, it was sooo darn cute. I wish I had my camera at that moment. She did the same thing for the closing hymn in Annette's lap. Dinner time was a treat. While I was at choir Curtis prepared omelettes for us. I had popped dessert in the oven before leaving so when I returned it felt like I virtually did nothing. Thanks Curtis....yummy! He's a good omelette maker.

We then watched our traditional Sunday evening television together as a family, Man Vs. Wild and Family Matters. The kids have been quite fascinated with the host of man vs. wild, Bear Grills. He is quite something making traps, eating bugs and animals for food, etc. His ideas got the ball rolling for Emery. She ended up with her own homemade version of an animal trap. We were pretty impressed. The batteries are the food to lure the animal. Go Emmy with that creativity! We love it!

Carter has been reading non stop. He has been wanting these books called, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid". I've been leary of them and have told him that I needed to check them out first. So when I gave him the ok, he ordered them through the school and was thrilled when they arrived on Friday. He has read both of them and they are pretty thick chapter books! So....if any of you are struggling with getting your son to read, these might do the trick. Carter usually does not like to read so it was music to my ears when I heard him constantly saying, "but, I want to read my book!" Good work Carter. You definitely accumulated those reading minutes for school.

Our Happenings!

Our days are full....there's always something happenin'! Here's what we've been up to:

School days

Four children in school! How will I ever keep track of it all....papers, hmk, lunches...

Ella started preschool with her friend Luke Houskeeper at Miss Keri's Preschool. It's so cute to see her with a backpack as big as her.

Emery started her first year at Horizon! Yay! She is in Jace Meyer's (cousin) class and lovin' it! She has many wonderful friends. Here she is with Elle, Jace, Amara, and Joey.

Caden and Carter come home happy on most days. I've noticed that my boys aren't as keen about school as my girls.

Musical moments

Carter has been in an early morning orchestra class taking the violin. He's not so sure about the time...7 am. He does like the actual instrument though. He's trying it out until Christmas. Emery started piano this week with my good friend Katie. She is thrilled with it and is quite talented.

Family fun

There are many fun moments we have together. One of our favorite things to do is swim at the new Washington Rec. Center. We go every Saturday and love it. We love to listen to tunes at home and often dance around and the other day added our own instruments. We had to capture it on camera. Any ideas for a family band name?

Planning ahead

We are so looking forward to Caden's baptism in October! He has such fun living in his own world. He's our happy-go-lucky one with so many interests and loves and is excited for his big day. We also can't wait for Halloween. Got any ideas for costumes?

Ella is mending her beloved blankie! Her cousin Lindsey made it for her as a baby and is helping her here. It used to be pink and yellow but she loves it just the same! We hope it lasts!

Evey is crawling! Yay! She is quite proud of her accomplishment! Evey...you're growing up way too fast!