Dorothy

Anna had the opportunity to perform in a little community group's production of The Wiz of Oz. She had so much fun (well, until the crunch at the end with long rehearsals every night...) and she did a wonderful job. The whole cast did...it was absolutely darling, and the music was fantastic! Grandma Beth and Grandpa came down for the performance, which was a special treat for all of us. :) We were all surprised to see a great little actress emerge from our usually quiet and reserved Annalyn! 

I snapped a few quick pictures before the the play:

Doesn't she make a great Dorothy?

The Ruby Slippers (her favorite part!)

Some of the other cute girls in the play:

And a quick post-play shot:

She won't commit to another play anytime soon, but we're hoping she'll want to do another one after a little while.  I think she felt a lot more pressure than she ever let on, but she pulled it off and did a beautiful job.  Go Anna!

Nathan is 7!

Seven years ago today, at 8:59 am, Nathan came to our family.  We all fell instantly in love.  I didn't think I had ever seen such a sweet baby.  I felt like the luckiest mommy ever holding him in my arms, and I knew without question that he was a special little guy.  

Here are 7 reasons we are so LUCKY to have Nathan in our  family:

1.  He is the sweetest boy.  When I went to the parent conference with his teacher a few months ago that was the word she used to describe him.  Glad we're getting good reports so far!  I have the feeling that he'll keep it up. :)  He leaves sweet little notes for me around the house telling me that he loves me or that I am the best mommy.

2.  Nathan is a little gentleman.  He helps me carry in groceries or with little chores around the house.  This probably goes along with his "sweetness."  I think he knows what he's doing, because I've heard reports that several little girls at school have a crush on him.  Hmmm...better watch that one.

3.  He is the best big brother, and absolutely loves Ryan.  I wondered if the almost 5-year age gap would keep them from being very close, but he loves to play with and include Ryan in just about everything he's doing.  (Except for Monopoly...Ryan totally messes that one up...)

4.  He is very thoughtful and loves to do "secret service" around the house.  He'll make the girls' beds, clean up one of Ryan's messes, or unload the dishwasher once in a while just to give us a nice surprise.

5.  Nathan gets us to play and have fun.  He's loves to play games, basketball, soccer...and he is always recruiting us to play with him.  We probably wouldn't do those fun things as much without him around!

6.  He makes us laugh.  Nathan loves to tell jokes, and he is always saying those cute, funny little things that first-graders say.

7.  He is a happy boy, and is good at helping others feel happy too.  Nathan tries very hard to do what is right, to say nice things, and to be a peacemaker.  I can't imagine life without him...he is such a good boy.

We love you, Nathan!  Happy Birthday! :)

Catching Up!

We've had so much going on around here lately that I haven't had a chance to record our 'fall' happenings.  Let's go back a couple of months to October, shall we?  Here come a lot of pictures:

First, we had our ward's annual Trunk-or-Treat (Anna was not very happy about posing for pictures, as usual:) :)

My cute little "Indie" Jones

And that was the end of the pictures because Ryan was very grumpy and I didn't see the girls the rest of the evening!

Here are the kids sorting candy afterward:

Now Ryan sees the point of getting dressed up in that silly costume:

And now on to one of Nathan's most anticipated activites of Halloween.....carving pumpkins!  He was ready to go:

Ryan too!

And the girls finally made it out to the backyard after a while too. :)  I outlawed pumpkin carving in the house this year!

Nathan was having a little trouble getting the top off of his pumpkin, so Aimee offered to help out: 

It was a little harder than she thought it would be:

Some days I don't quite know what to do with that girl... :)

Lots....

...and lots...

....and lots...

....of pumpkin guts...

...that Anna just had to play with.

Daddy jumped in to help Ryan:

Stay tuned to see what his pumpkin turned out to be!

Anna got to dress up for school (not the other kids though...)  I guess middle school does have it's perks!

Aimee and Nathan did have class parties, however, so Ryan got to tag along (or get dragged along!) the entire day:

Candy Corn Math:

Pumpkin Bingo:

And decorating sugar cookies...yum!

Then on to Aimee's class!

Ryan and I made some dips to take over for their "salty bones" breadsticks.

And finally, the moment they've all been waiting for, Trick-or-Treating!  Nathan changed costumes at the last minute and decided to be a cowboy:

Aimee the "nerd"...

Ryan fell asleep just before we were about to go...he was very grumpy (again) about getting into his costume!

Aimee went out with a couple of friends:

Anna did too:

So Nathan, Ryan and I set off for our own T-ot-T adventure.  (That's pretty much what Ryan looked like for half of the night...and he would not wear a hat!:)

We met up with some of Nathan's friends, and he had the best time...it was so cute.  (He is in there somewhere...)

After a while we headed home and he and Ryan relieved Daddy of the handing-out-candy duties.

Ryan perked right up when he started digging through his candy bag.  He even shared!

Oh, yes...we can't forget his pumpkin...he loved it.

The girls got home and unloaded:

Aimee put on a little potion demonstration for Nathan, and then we called it a night!

And, of course, Ryan was more than happy to wear a hat the next morning...

Aimee Turns TEN!

My sweet girl turns 10 today.  I can't believe it's been ten years, but Aimee has seemed ten for a while now.  That happens with every birthday of hers...maybe because she's always been the youngest kid in her class at school (thanks to the Dec.1 cut-off date when she started Kindergarten!)  She is quite mature and just kind of thinks like a little adult.  I love it.....definitely keeps me on my toes! :)  What a lucky mom I am to have her.

My ten favorite things about Aimee are:

1. She is a friend to everyone.  Her heart is so kind and she loves and forgives so easily.  She's had to deal with some tough issues at school (why do there have to be 'mean girls'???) but she has handled them beautifully.  She learns from those experiences and is very aware of the importance of treating others as she would like to be treated.

2. Aimee does what she puts her mind to.  She is very persistent!  If she decides she wants to learn a back-walk-over, she practices and practices until she gets it.  If she wants to make a new blog or set up a neighborhood lemonade stand, she does it.  I don't think she got that from me...must be Scott!

3. Aimee is a FABULOUS cook.  She is always downloading recipes and making delicious meals or treats.  She even has Anna film her sometimes so she can make 'cooking shows.'  They are pretty fun...Food Network, here she comes!  (Now if I could just get her to keep the messes to a minimum!)

4. Aimee is crazy (in a good way!)  I don't know what we would do without her!  She makes us laugh every day, without fail.  From her silly voices to her funny comments, from her crazy songs and dances to her little quirky ways, she keep us all pretty entertained.

5. Little Aimers works very hard in school.  It has always been important to her to get all of her homework done and to do her best.  She is very self-motivated...I am hoping this keeps up through High School!

6. Aimee is such a great sister and friend to Anna.  They have some fun times together...I tell them all the time how lucky they are to have each other.  They usually roll their eyes, but deep down I know they feel that way too.  I love listening to them talk and laugh at night when the lights go out...even after they have been told several times to go to sleep!  Maybe that's why they've had a hard time getting up in the mornings...

7. She is also a wonderful big sister for Nathan and Ryan.  She will play for hours with Nathan (and the other little neighborhood kids) out in the cul-de-sac, making up all kinds of games or other fun things.  Aimee is also a great babysitter for Ryan when I'm trying to get something done.  She can entertain him like no one else!

8. Aimee has endless energy.  That comes in handy when there are a lot of chores to be done!  She's not always thrilled about it, but when she gets in the mood to clean or organize, that girl is productive.  I just need to figure out how to get her in that mood more often... :)

9. Aimee loves to plan fun little parties for our family...movie parties, game night parties, Halloween or Christmas parties.  She is so good at planning and prepping everything.  Good thing, because I'm not so great at it.  A lot of those things probably wouldn't happen if it weren't for Aimers.

...and...

10. She is mine.  Every day I watch this cute, sweet, spunky, crazy girl and I can't believe how lucky I am to be her mom.  This girl is going to do some amazing things.  I am excited to see what the future holds for her in the next ten years of her life (and beyond!)  Except she is my 'baby' girl, so I wouldn't be sad if time slowed down just a little bit. :)

Love you, Aimee....you are AWESOME!  :)