{Halloween 2013}

We had a busy and fun time this year for Halloween.  The trunk or treat at church was the day before and we had fun watching the big kids at their parade at school.  We spent Halloween night at Aunt Judy's house celebrating with a spookie dinner and a little trick or treating.

This year we had:

A hobbit:

A skeleton:

A fairy princess:

A pirate:

And a pretty little ladybug:

And the group picture - well it turned out typical for our family.

Don't they look like they are up to something?

BAM!

 Happy Halloween!

{First Day of Pre-K}

Today was Avery's first day of preschool!

There is a fantastic literacy center in town that offers free reading and math classes.  I was so excited when I heard about these! The classes fill up fast, but we showed up right on time the first day and got Avery right in!  She is so excited for her "reading" class 2 times a week.

She was a little shy this morning when we dropped her off.

But when I picked her up she was all smiles!

(No picture, you'll have to trust me!)

She said she had a great time and that she made some new friends.  She said her favorite part was when they rotated different stations and the different songs she learned. Her least favorite part was...nothing, she said she liked it all!   She made me guess what animal goes with the sound, ssssss.

We are all excited to see how the class works out!

Avery Ann is growing up!

~~

The literacy center offers classes for older kids too - so Gage and Noah start a reading class and book club this afternoon.  I am excited to see how this can help them, let's just say they are not as excited about it as I am... haha, but I think it will be a fantastic year.  I've also heard the Literacy Center has some of the BEST summer volunteers around...particularly their triplet boy volunteers.  :)  We are kinda bummed that our cousins aren't volunteering during the school year, but we still think they are awesome, regardless!

{Four!}

Avery Ann is 4 Today!

It seems like yesterday Wade and I were heading to the hospital to have our first little girl!  

What a ride the past 4 years have been!

Miss Independent Avery Ann!  She loves all things girly, dressing up, pink and purple and taking care of Lucy.  Her laundry pile is always double the size of everyone else's because she changes her outfits so many times a day!

She loves her brothers.  She does anything that they do.  When I asked her what her favorites were for her birthday interview she mentioned Legos, Minecraft and chicken legs!  She totally gets that from them.  What normal 4 year old girl knows about minecraft?  Geez!

Avery loves being in charge and being a mommy.  She loves to help Lucy - to pick her up and try to calm her down.  She gets so upset when Lucy is crying, and says that Lucy doesn't like her.  She loves to help me in the kitchen, very rarely does a meal go by and Avery hasn't helped me cook something in it.  She loves to set the table and adores her Dad.  She always has to set his plate next to hers.

Now that we've got the sleeping issues figured out she is a great sleeper at night!  She loves her big girl twin bed and has so many animals, blankets and babies in it with her it's hard to find her sometimes at night. 

Avery loves to play school, to read and to be a teacher.  She loves to go to school now and asks me every single morning if it is a preschool day.  She loves primary and her sunbeam class.

She is such a spunky little girl and we are so glad she is in our family!

Happy Birthday Avery!

{First Day of School}

Thursday Avery had her first day of school! 

We've been doing preschool at home off and on all year together in the morning.  

She loves to color, cut, paste, create.  She loves to practice letters on a wipe board and keep worksheets in her special "homework" binder that we made together at the beginning of the school year.  She is working on her letters and writing her name.  She loves it all!

I've been looking around at dance or gymnastic classes for Avery to have something of her own this spring, but then, I heard that there was going to be an opening in a fantastic co-op group in our neighborhood, I thought it would be perfect!  She would be doing the same type stuff, but with other kids her age.  The mom's take turns teaching and hosting the kids for the week.  There are just a handful of kids and although Avery is the youngest, they will all be in the same grade in school.  It's really low key.  Which is perfect - since I've kinda liked keeping my kids at home with me:)

Last Saturday we had a girl date, Avery, Lucy and I, and we went to the store so she could pick out her backpack.  She has been wearing it around the house ever since.  She was just so excited to finally start school like Noah and Gage!  (and a little bit disappointing when I told her that she wouldn't be going to the exact same school as Noah)

Thursday was the big day and we dropped her off.  When I came back to pick her up she was so excited!  She told me school was great.  They learned about teeth.  She is brushing her teeth all the time now.  She says her favorite part of going to school was:

-getting a new tooth brush

(I hope she doesn't expect one every week!)

-seeing her friends

Eli, Lucy and I came home and played trains in a quiet empty house.  It might be kinda quiet around here a few hours every week.  I'm not exactly sure what to do with myself!

2013 Goals

A couple weeks ago we sat down at family night and worked on making some goals for 2013.

I found these fun worksheets on Pinterest that each kid filled out.

As you can tell, we tried to make suggestions, but in the end we wrote down exactly what they came up with.  

It made for some interesting answers!

Gage

Age: 8

Favorite color: white

Favorite food: pizza

Favorite activity: Legos

Favorite book: The Hobbit

Highlights of 2012:

Greatest lesson learned: cursive

Hardest thing of the year: reading

Favorite memory: Christmas

What I loved most about 2012: Legos

Looking forward to 2013:

Want to learn: Multiplication

Want to get better at: Reading

Biggest Goal: Get the most legos, legos, legos

Noah

Age: 6

Favorite color: orange

Favorite food: fried chicken Legs

Favorite activity: legos

Favorite book: The Very Hungry Caterpillar

Highlights of 2012:

Greatest lesson learned: site words

Hardest thing of the year: moving to Utah

Favorite memory: finishing preschool!

What I loved most about 2012: getting a huge bean bag!

Looking forward to 2013:

What to learn: to read

Want to get better at: wrestling, learning articles of faith

Biggest Goal: Get Better at Angry Birds

Avery

Age: 3

Favorite color: purple

Favorite food: chicken legs

Favorite activity: playing house

Favorite book: Barbie books

Highlights of 2012

Greatest lesson learned: be nice

Hardest thing of the year: leaving Linkin

Favorite memory: Linkin

What I loved most about 2012: When Lucy was born!

Looking Forward to 2013:

Want to learn: ABC sounds and write my name

Want to get better at: being nice

Biggest Goal: Learn a sport!

Eli

Age: 2

Favorite color: blue

Favorite food: food and candy

Favorite activity: flips, cars and trains

Favorite book: anything anyone else is reading

Highlights of 2012: 

Greatest lesson learned: to like nursery class at church

Hardest thing of the year: moving

Favorite memory: Lucy

What I loved most about 2012: Playing in the splash pad

Looking forward to 2013:

Want to learn: to go potty!

Want to get better at: sharing and singing

Biggest Goal: ABC's

Lucy May

Age: 2 months

Favorite Color: pink (just a guess) 

Favorite food: milk

Favorite activity: being with mom

Favorite book: The Hunger Games and McGlamery's Comprehensive Foot and Ankle Surgery 

(just kidding, just seeing if anyone is paying attention)

Highlights of 2012:

Being born and coming home

Looking forward to 2013:

Want to learn: roll over, sit up, crawl and walk

Want to get better at: not crying

Biggest Goal: Be as cute as I can be!

Sunday Photo: 3

There was a little bit of Star Wars tonight for the kids before bedtime.  

And ooey-gooey cinnamon rolls.  

No school tomorrow or Tuesday, so we are all excited about that.

It's been busy and a whole week has gone by without a single post.  

I hope to spend some time tomorrow catching up.

Avery gave her first talk in Primary today.  She was super excited and so cute.  She helped me pick some pictures and we made a little book so she could "read" it.  I had her tell me the talk again when we got home and recorded it.  She is super quiet (so turn up your volume Mom and Dad, I suspect you will be the only ones to watch this).  She added a sentence on the end that she thinks is so funny - I'm not sure why - but she didn't say it in Primary today.

Since it's hard to hear, this is what she says:

"We lived in Heaven with Jesus before we were born.

Heavenly Father had a plan for us.

He sent us to earth.

We can get our bodies.

We can make choices.

He wants us to be happy.

I can be happy.

I can live with Heavenly Father again.

The, she says something about the sun, the moon and house and being sad!  

What a goof.

She is growing up!

(If you want to learn more about what Avery is talking about - where we came from, why we are here, where we go next, you can click on the "I believe" button on the top sidebar.  Lots of good information.  And ignore the super old profile.  I need to work on that!)