Wow, October has flown by. I cant believe it. I dont remember a whole lot of what went on in October. We were able to go on a drive up the canyon. We tried to go conference weekend but there was a huge line so we turned around and went a week or so later. It was beautiful. So colorful. sorry the pictures are out of order. Halloween was fun. Kaylee had a little party with Joy School and sang some songs for us. it was so cute. Ethan did the Halloween parade at school. I forgot the camera. He was totally in character of the emporer...face: scouled, Arms: folded. He looked like he was on a mission on the death star. Then we had our beautiful snow whites. The weather wasnt so good. It rained until 6:15ish then we went for it while there was a break in the storm. We took Taylor around to 2 circles and brought her home. Needless to say she loves candy and was happy to go eat her treats. I took the others out for some more trick or treating. Luckily it wasnt too bad and they got plenty of treats.

We went up to Big Springs park and hiked for a little bit. This swing was mounted on a tree so the kids took it for a spin. They loved it. It was such a beautiful day. It has been a very mild fall so far and for that i am grateful.

So what else went on in October? We were able to visit some old friends from Simi. It was a nice evening. Ethan was the only boy there and most of the girls were all dressed up in princess stuff. He survived though. It was a nice evening. fun to reminice. My dad also came up this month. He went hunting with my brothers and then stayed for a visit. My kids were very glad to see grandpa and tell him all about school and everythig else. Rob went elk hunting with my brothers. It was cold but he had fun. Ethan is still doing well in school. His reading is improving and it is harder to say something to rob i dont want the kids to know about. I cant just spell it out because Ethan will start sounding it out and then asking for us to spell it out again so he can figure it out. I am glad though that he is trying. I was able to help out in his class. It was fun. Kaylee has like joy school. I had fun teaching. I was supposed to teach to day but Taylor has been sick. She is currently sleeping. The kids are young with very small attention spans but we make it through.

I am so excited !!! i get to go to Puerto Rico!! Finally!!! Robs project is winding up so it is one of his last times to go and i get to tag along. I am happy. Mary of course will have my kids. I hope they are ok. At least it is only 4 days this time.

As the holidays approach this year i am going to try to be more grateful this year. I want to focus on gratitude and express it to those who have inspired me over the years. Hopefully i remeber to do this. I look forward to the holidays and the happiness they bring. I want to do the 12 days of christmas this year and have fun with it. With the attitude of grattitude i will begin with this: I am grateful for the little moments that make life wonderful. Taylor has been sick the past few days and i have had the opportunity to rock her to sleep a few times. This doesnt happen too often anymore and the peace and love i felt for her cuddling with her and holding this precious child made me so grateful to be a mother. There are many days things are just hard. We cant overlook the simple ness of love and joy we have in life. there are always trials and we cant let them get in the way of seeing and feeling love in our families. Kids grow up. Ethan never wants to just sit with me and i miss that. i need to stop and smell the roses more often instead of trying to go with the flow of the hustle and bustle of life. I need to savor the little moments.

Well here it is in a nut shell what has gone on..

Ethan has loved having Gel in his hair. He probably fixes his hair 2-3 times a day sometimes. it is funny. He gets mad if you touch it and mess it up. It is cute though. He got a hold of Tays head and this is what it ended up like.

we went to Costco for dessert one night. Taylor was determined to have her own ice cream bar. She screamed each time it was taken from her...even to wipe the stream down her hand. She did a pretty good job eating it.

We decided to go for a hike near pleasant grove called Battle Creek Falls. It was a nice little hike and had a great waterfall. Kaylee was afraid of the noise.

Kaylee started Joy School. There are 6 kids in the group. 2 of which are her cousins. She is still adjusting to the change but she loves her school. She missed one day due to sickness, and everyday since then she tells me that her tummy doesnt hurt because she wants to go even if it is a no school day. I was able to teach this last week. it was fun. The Joy of our Bodies. We were able to do lots of exercise and eat lots of healty food. I sometimes forget that their attention span is not that long. but we made it and survived. We are all easily distracted sometimes i guess.

Something we are doing with the kids to encourage good behavior is obedience jars. Kaylee and Ethan have their own jars and then we have a larger family one. If they fill their own jar they get to do something fun and then the jar is dumped into the family jar and they start agian. When the family jar is filled we get to do something fun as a family. So we went to St. George over labor day. We had a lot of fun. It was very hot...over 100. but we had fun. We went to the sand dunes and played king of the mountain, the kids absolutely loved the pool... we boutght life vests and they had a blast...Taylor didnt seem to like it as much. We played at one of the splash parks...

which they loved and did some hiking in the hills above the city. We went down through the "crack" which you have to go through sideways to fit, this picture is of our family after we came out. Rob went first with Ethan and Kaylee adn then i took those two down too. It would have been to hard for Taylor. it was fun though.

this is Ethan and his teacher Miss Robbins after his first day.

This is Ethan on his first day of Kindergarten. September 1, 2010. He loved it. He was so excited. He wanted to go to bed early the night before because he wanted the day to come faster. We put gel in his hair and he was very proud of it. No one was allowed near the hair. He said his favorite part of the day was recess but it wasnt very long. They read a raccoon story and made puppets of raccoons, did their name in rainbow writing, they learned a funny song which at first he couldnt remember but later told me it was "german the worman." He said he made a new friend Jackson, whom he sits next to and he met a boy Zack but they werent friends yet. When the bell rang he was the 2nd in line and never looked back as he went in. I thought he would be a little more hesitant but he sure showed me. Since school has started he has been a lot less resistent when i tell him it is time to read or practice writing, or do work books. It used to be constant fights but now he often reminds me it is time for work. He is so grown up. Since the first day he is now friends with Zack and liked doing the color monsters. He was telling Rob what one of the monsters saying was and this is what he said "brown, brown, your pants fell off" it was so funny. It is really brown, brown, your jeans fell down. and other colors like pink pink sat in a sink and so on. They also did this ginger bread hunt. The parents were to decorate a cut out to represent thier child. Rob was in charge and Ethans was transformed in to Yoda. It was pretty awesome if i do say so myself. Each day they get a stamp on thier had if they behave. I am proud to say Ethan has not missed a day yet. I get to start helping i the class this month. I am excited. He is such a good boy.

We had a few nice rain storms come through. Taylor and Will loved the puddles in the middle of the road.

the whole group and the Singleton family (gabe wasnt to happy)

the Bello family

the Gifford family

Rob Geslison family and Ben Geslison family

neices and nephews

In August we had a family get together with Robs side of the family. All his siblings and their amilies, His mom and Brent, and aunt Fawn and Uncle Dave and Richard. It was a big group but it was fun. We took pictures on the rocks in front of our house. This is my family, then the whole group, and then all the neices and nephews. It was quite the challenge to get all the kids, especially since the babies did not want to be there. It was fun though. Ben and Jill were able to come for a few weeks. They are off in Texas now and Debbie and Brent were here for a few days (they are in virginia still) every one else is local. The kids always love to play and the adults visited. Mary set up some fun games too. It is great to get together.

August 30, 2010

Well it has been a while it seems. Since the last post we have had a few exciting things it guess. First was Ethans 5th birthday. I cant believe that he is 5. We decided to have a party for him on July 23. It was a friday and Rob had the day off. I filled 250 or more water balloons, we had a slip-n-slide, and a sprinkler, popsicles and cupcakes and a pinata. I for some reason made it 3 hours long. I forget how short of attention span 5 year olds have. It was mostly fun although i had spent the previous night sick, up throwing up and "other things." Kaylee had been sick too. We were supposed to go the temple thursday, but kaylee got sick and so we had to cancel. I ended up sick shortly after and it lasted the weekend, and passed it on to Rob and Ethan. So fun. We are all good though. It was really hard to have a birthday party with 15 kids when you dont feel weel. We made it though. Ethan made out like

a bandit. Way too many gifts but he had fun.
this picture is of the kids with light sabers. Taylor has learned to use a Light saber and the boys were being kind and letting her "get" them. it was so cute.

For the 24th of july, Pioneer Day, our circle did a bbq. it was complete with a bounce house, good food, great neighbors, and illegal
fireworks. It was a great show. Our circle had a better show then Thanksgiving point had for the 4th. Kaylee was so exhausted by the end of the night that she fell asleep with glow stick in hand.

We painted most of our kitchen. The wall with the cabinets and stove is green, with a neutral color through out the rest of the kitchen. The kids were itching to help, so i let them paint a little. They had lots of fun. I still have to get behind the refridgerator and a few touch ups but its a start i guess. this other picture is just

the kids being silly.

Taylor found out a new trick and they were all playing together so i snapped the picture. Well i think that is it for now. Hopefully i will continue on with recent events soon.

renee

So the other day Rob was running late getting home from work. So the kids and I started dinner without him. Kaylee said the prayer and I helped her. When we said "bless daddy that he will get home safely" Taylor started saying "da da da da da." I peeked over at her to see her with her arms folded. She was praying for her daddy to. It was so cute. She has since done the same thing and continues to fold her arms during prayer. What a cute girl.

Taylor only says a few words but she is very observant. She says da da, ba (for bath), ba with a different sound for ball. She is learning and growing so much. She copies her brother and sister so much. The other day she was playing Star Wars with the big kids (her siblings and some of their friends and some cousins) She would get very mad when the light saber was taken away. It was funny. She is just a sweet girl. If someone is crying she will come over and bend down and give them a big smile and make a sweet little sound trying to make them feel better.

We started a Jar for each kid and they get pennies in it when they obey, and do things they are supposed to. After a month, Ethan finally filled his jar. He gets a toy meal from somewhere most likely mcdonalds. After they fill their jar it is dumped into a bigger jar and they start over. once the big jar is full we will go to St. George. This has helped our house be a little more harmonious. We were having issues with attitude and helping out. I have seen an improvement over all. We still have bad days where lots of pennies come out, but over all there has been improvement. For that i am grateful.

The other day I had a hard day. Ethan told me several times he didnt like me and that i was the dumbest. It was starting to wear down on me. Rob had a talk with him that night and Ethan came and told me how much he loved me. Then Rob went and put a little treat on my pillow (an oreo brownie) and then did the dishes. That was such a wonderful thing. I was and am so grateful for Rob. It was just what i needed. I am blessed to have him in my life. I love you Rob!!!

This is the other part of the last blog. I only did the later half of june in that blog so here is may and the first part of june.
We have spent most of our days outside this spring and summer. The kids found the boogie boards which provide hours of fun. it is great. Ethan did Itty Bitty Baseball with Nate in May. He seemed to really
enjoy it unlike soccer. It is always fun to watch the kids as they are learning how to play a sport. Ethan is a little timid when he plays. (at least somewhere besides home) hopefully his competitive side will come out.
when we got home from Hawaii, there was a robin that built a nest in our front tree low enough that she will think twice about using it again with all the attention she got. We took pictures and had a lot of fun watching the process form eggs to flight. She laid 5 eggs as you can see. When they left the nest i am not so sure they were ready. Luckily none died, but we had 2 in the neighbors windowwells, and the others were hiding in bushes and things around. I do think that
they did grow enough to fly away. We were ablet o see the parents bring worms and other things to eat and dive bomb at us when we got to close to the nest. It was a fun

adventure. I dont really think the nest will be used again.

We were able to hiking this spring. We went up in Alpine, i think it was the Dry Creek trail. The river was high and fast. We had to cross it at one point and kaylee was really scared. She made sure i held her tight. It was a nice hike though. The kids like to be out in the
woods especially where they can throw rocks in the water.
We Celebrated Taylors birthday on june 8. She is 1!!!! I cant believe it. She got this zebra thing she can sit on and bounce. She likes it. She enjoyed her cake and ice cream. We just had the family over and invited robs sister

and her family over for cake. It was fun. this last picture is of my precious "nows (nose) White" as Kaylee calls her. Snow White for the rest of us. She was just so worn out. It was so cute. As of her birthday on june 23, she no longer has a binky, which means that nap time has vanished.
luckily she still goes to bed at night. Things get a little crazy with out it though. She constantly steals Taylors bink. Kaylee is my binky snatcher.
hopefully we can break her of that habit. I will find her hiding all over the place with a binky in her mouth...behind curtains, blankets, holding books up to block it, under beds...pretty much anyway she can hide it. its quite entertaining. Well thats all for now. Hopefully it wont take me as long to do the next blog and finish it.

Well i havent posted anything over the past while except for our Hawaii trip. So I need to catch up with the kids. They are doing awesome. These pictures are just before church. They are such little posers. I have decided it is nearly impossible to take a picture with out some sort of weird face but i thought these were cute. So just before Rob and I went on our trip Ethan asked for his training wheels to be taken off. We were both surprised at how fast he rode a 2 wheeler. He did great. Now he is cruising everywhere. By the time we got home from our trip the other kids on the street had their training wheels off too. It was great.

We have been able to see a few thunder storms. One produced this great rainbow. We were able to see the whole rainbow. Unfortunately it snowed May 24, a new record, and it killed half of our garden that we were so proud to have planted. Our melons, and cucumbers are dead. No pumpkins, peppers had one thread of life left but survived somehow, they still are not producing. Some how our tomatoes survived and are putting on fruit. Maybe next year will be better.

Besides cool storms we had a whirlwind of sickness.
Rob had a nasty cold for a few weeks. We didnt go camping
over memorial day because one it was cold, and not only us had colds, but those we were supposed to go with were sick too. Me, Ethan then kaylee then Taylor had the 24 hour flu.
this picture is of Tay when she woke up screaming and had thrown up in her bed. Her shirt was completely covered too. She went through several sets of clothes that night. How pathetic is this picture. My poor girl. We were able to celebrate birthdays. Kaylees was june 23 and she turned 3. She loved the princess bike that she got and rides pretty much everyday. She also got bit by a dog.
We walked into a friends house and the dog just
got too excited and jumped on her and bit her. She is fine. There were two puncture wounds and luckily they were by her ear. The doctor was able to just glue them shut and not stitch. it could have been much worse. She was very brave. The following week we had checkups for Kaylee and
Taylor. They are pretty good. Tay is not even 19 lbs yet.
(18 12oz) 10%
and a height of almost 30 in. (65%)

Kaylee is over 32 lbs (70%) and 38 in (80%) they are great though. Kaylee remembered that last time she got shots and got a pony bandaid and asked for shots this time. Little did she realize that shots hurt. It surprised her to get 2 puncture wounds. Tay got 2 as well. Once they received suckers they were fine. That pretty much sums up may and june.