Hotel Living

You know you've stayed in the hotel too long when the only entertainment there is is using a roll of tape & your imagination.  Emma used up a whole roll of scotch tape one night taping fingers, faces, door knobs & the dresser drawers.  Do you think she's bored?

Greg spent a few minutes UNtaping everything after Emma went to bed.

I hope we find a house soon!

Goodbye Utah...

Hello California!  On November 9 we loaded up the kids & car & followed the moving trucks out of Midvale on the first snowy day of the year.  What fun (not really) it was to watch the snow pile up and wonder if we would be able to drive to Reno that night.  Luckily (& blessedly) the roads were clear and dry for us to make it to our destination that night.  The next day we made it to Monterey, CA & sunny skies.  We have been searching & searching for our new home but nothing yet.  Keep fingers crossed!

 

Snowy Utah...last look at our home

 

Gorgeous CA sunset

 Checking out the beach

Don't be fooled...it's not warm

Trunk-or-Treat

Trick & treating was a pleasant day & evening as the kids enjoyed parties at school, a jack o'lantern pizza dinner & walking the church parking lot in search of goodies.  Stephen dressed up as GI Joe while Emma chose to wear last year's Sleeping Beauty princess (I don't think she knows that she can change costumes each year).  At the end of the night I HAD to check the kids candy bags - as all good moms do - and picked my favorites.  There goes my diet.... :)

Wheeler Farm in the Fall

 Fall break brought us to our favorite go-to place - Wheeler Farm.  We took the kids and spent a few hours taking a tractor ride, walk through a maze, pick out a pumpkin in the patch & of course feeding the ducks.  It was a beautiful fall day with clear blue skies & pleasant warm weather.

Resting in the hay maze

My scary monsters!

City Creek

Before leaving Utah we had to check out the gorgeous new shopping experience in Salt Lake City - City Creek.  This is an amazing "mall" (too fancy to be called a mall but that is what it really is) that spans two sides of the street.  Beautiful fountains, the creek running through the mall, incredible shops & stops at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory & Disney.

October Priesthood Session

Stephen's been attending priesthood sessions since he turned 8 (mostly for the reward of eating out :)。  Each time we take a picture before he & dad take off.  I think we could see Stephen's growth from each picture we take since he was 8.  He is looking forward to turning 12 & receiving the priesthood.

My 2 handsome men

The Family that exercies together...

...stays together

 

Greg & Stephen swinging the kettleball

Scheels

This is a new & amazing sporting goods store in Sandy, UT that opened end of September & we just had to check it out.  Chances are that we wouldn't buy anything (we think overpriced) but fun to visit.

1st Days of School

 The big 6th Grader! :)  He knows the first day of school drill.

 Emma has been waiting so patiently for Preschool to start!  She woke up ready to go. 

Emma waiting to be picked up.  Such a happy day.  She was the Special Helper.

The Playmat

This playmat has been through 2 generations of kids playing.  Cars, barbies, my little ponies - whatever- have played on this little mat that my mom made a million years ago at a Relief Society activity.  I vividly remember her coloring in the houses & building with paint pens (what a neat invention!).  Over the years it has been torn but then lovingly patched up.  I'm so glad to have my kids play with it now, all thanks to my mom.

My Best Buds

These two have been the best buds a mom could have.  They go wherever I need to go, do what I need them to do and make me smile every day.  Motherhood isn't always fun, nor is it glamorous but I am deeply grateful for these two blessings.  I love you guys!

For Hire...

Isn't this why you have kids? :)

Summer Fun 2012

Here's a sampling of the things we've done to keep ourselves busy & cool this summer...

11-year old scout camp

Enjoying sno cones on a hot day

A belated bday party to Rocky Mtn. Raceways

Stephen in the Midvale Harvest Days Parade

Face Painting

...we've enjoyed parades, car shows, swimming lessons, lazing days at the pool, countless $1 movies, playing with dad, riding bikes & playgroups.

Ragnar 2012

2 vans, 12 runners

197 miles

GU's, peanut M&M's, water, chocolate milk

IPOD, confetti cannons, blow horn

sore muscles, sleep deprivation, blisters, taped ankles, sun burns

Honey Buckets, hot days, cool nights

The MOST FUN you'll ever have in 35 hours

INSANITY!!

Van 2 ready to hit the road

Van 2 Beauties

Kendra, Mindy, Lisel

Team 609

"Don't Touch the Banana"

All for the sticker!

California Vacation

I had the most wonderful opportunity to visit Greg in Monterrey, CA over Memorial Day weekend thanks to Grandma Jeanne who graciously watched the kids for us. We started in San Francisco & spent a day & a half getting wind blown all over the place. We made it to Alcatraz & spent most of our time there. We didn't realize how long it would take & it was very interesting. After San Fran we drove down Highway 1 (the scenic route) to Monterrey stopping along the way. I'll agree with the locals...it may be sunny but it's not warm. We had some nice weather but you definitely want to have a jacket handy when the coastal chill begins to blow. The Monterrey Bay Aquarium is world known & is fabulous.  I got a little used to driving around the little towns and enjoyed being pampered - no kids, working out as long as I wanted, mani/pedi & shopping, shopping, shopping. (Hey I needed to know where to really important stores were, OK!) As Monterrey may become our home, I was glad to no tonly visit but like it. 

Alcatraz - keep those jackets handy!

Fisherman's Wharf

I'll go wherever you are Greg!

Decade + 1

Stephen celebrated his 11th birthday with what seemed like a week-long event. The day before HIS big day Stephen was awarded his Arrow of Light - a big accomplishment for Cub Scouts. Now he is in the in-between scouts; no longer Cub Scouts but not yet Boy Scouts. Grandma Jeanne came to stay with the kids while I took a little trip to CA & was here to celebrate all our fun events. We helped celebrate with pancakes w/sprinkles, gifts & cake - not necessarily in that order. :) I can't believe that Stephen is 11. It didn't feel too long ago that he was my baby & now my baby is almost taller than me! We hope you have a terrificus year!

 Birthday pancakes & smiles!  Make a wish!

Arrow of Light ceremony.  So proud of you, Stephen!

My handsome boy

Random Events

Here are a few random pictures of events that have happened over the past few months:

 Dinner with some of my cousins from Michigan - Buffie & Brian.  We haven't seen them in years & it was so fun to see them again, even if for a few hours.  Also tagging along was their mom, Aunt Alice, who just returned from a mission.  Don't we look great!?

 One afternoon I heard lots of noise coming from Emma's room.  Next thing I know she is "inviting" me to her place for dinner.  "Dinner's ready, mom".  I knocked on the door, was welcomed in & to my surprise she had "dinner" all set up with a hamper table, plates/napkins/utensils, food - the works!  Emma is such a gracious host.

Stephen & I were able to join hundreds of other kids & chaperones for a fun "Safety Patrol" event.  First we went to the zoo, played around on the playground, the carousel & had free pie!  Next on the agenda was a visit to the Oxbow Jail training facility.  Out in the parking lot the police had displays such as this bomb robot.  Stephen was able to sit in a command center bus, LifeLight helicopter and see police dogs at work.  Hot dogs, soda & icecream sandwiches rounded out the fun day.  Thanks for letting me tag along, Stephen!  I had a great day with you.

Spring Soccer

Oh the joys of having both kids in soccer at the same time.  Our week consisted of Tuesday & Wednesday games plus games for each on Saturday - not in the same place.  We put a lot of mileage on the car going to & from soccer in April.  Stephen's a good sport - when I say I've signed him up for something he's usually pretty cool about it.  And he was with spring soccer.  He was on a team this year that really was good, which helped with his self-esteem and team morale.  (In years past his teams have been less than stellar.)

Stephen playing defender

Emma, on the other hand, was excited to play soccer until soccer actually started.  I blame myself for not getting out and showing her how to play and that kicking is OK.  The first game went like this:

Excited to be in uniform

Kicking the ball around with my team

"Peoples kicked me!"

"Yeah, treats!"  (even if you cry the whole game!)

Spring Break

A full week off from school!  What to do, what to do?  Daddy was able to come home for a week.  We were busy but happy to have him with us.  First we played then we worked.  Grandma & Grandpa Cassat came to help us out with various projects.

A trip to the Zoo - our little monkeys!

The kids enjoyed playing with Grandma while the others got busy painting and other home improvement projects.  I painted our backyard shed a snazzy barn red, Grandpa painted the room I kept putting off (it had dark wood paneling), I began painting the laundry room and Greg changed out electrical outlets throughout the house.  So it's not the best way to spend spring break but the changes are amazing!

Collecting Easter Eggs

We celebrated the first of many birthdays for Emma.  She loves her bike!

We crammed a lot into this week but had a lot of fun doing it.  Thanks everyone for making a memorable week!

Emma's 4!

Hard to believe that our little girl is 4 years old now.  Time is speeding by so fast!  The past year she has graduated from Nursery to Sunbeams, loves her primary teacher (especially her long hair), loves to sing, dance, jump around & really loves her brother!  Emma has finished her first year of preschool.  Several times a day we are serendaded to "ABC", "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and reminders of what our names start with.  She is so smart.  I'm amazed at her memory and the little things (good & bad) that come out of her mouth.

For her birthday (she was so excited) she wanted a barbie cake.  Everytime we went to Target we had to make a stop at the barbie cake display.  I figured I could do the job and save $40.  It turned out better than I imagined, however, I used canned frosting to get smooth coverage and the taste wasn't so great.  Oh well.  She doesn't eat cake anyway.

 The Barbie cake!



 We had several celebrations with family - daddy was in town, grandma/grandpa Cassat were in town and the Price side was around for another party.  Spoiled much?  Probably.  Just look at how happy she is for her birthday.