I HATE when track break comes to an end!

I hate it for various reasons...I miss the being able to sleep in, I miss being able to do whatever we want when we want and being able to stay up late. Sure, being on a schedule is nice and it does help things run smoother around here, but I truly do enjoy not having to worry about being on someone else's time table. Most of all though, I HATE that someone else besides me and the boys, gets to spend the day with Taylor! Taylor is such a little helper to me. Her heart is so big, sometimes I think it could possibly explode! She does so much around here that I know I don't thank her enough for and tonight as I was pulling out everyone's church clothes and getting ready for tomorrow; I realized that this was it!...our very last night of her first track break as a 1st grader. And I can't help but feel jipped and like it went by WAY too fast!! I am DEFINITELY not ready to send her back. Regardless, here's some pictures of some of the fun stuff we did this month while she was off.

Chase's class went to the pumpkin patch this past month for their field trip. It was a lot of fun. Tay got to come too since she was home, Chase loved having her there. And she was such a little helper there too with Chase since I had to keep running off after Talan who kept trying to make his way back to the tractors. Tally was totally obsessed with them.

Here's Chasers with his cute class.

And here we are again at the same pumpkin patch the very next day, but this time as a family. We go every year, it's one of our traditions, so we had to go once again when Cort got home.

Playing on the tractors.

And Talan playing on the tractors once again.

Looking for the perfect pumpkin.

We all LOVE having Cort at home.

Chase and Taylor having one of their many sleepovers. During the break they have had one almost every night.

We made lots of trips to the park this month. Here's Chasers doing the monkey bars, he has been watching Taylor do this for quite sometime and was so excited when he could finally do it by himself.

Taylor had a late night Halloween party with some of her friends this past month too. It was a lot of fun, originally Cort was going to take the boys out for a boys night, but as the party got closer Chase decided that he wasn't going to miss it for anything.
Taylor with some of her cute friends and Chase at the party.

Decorating spooky graveyard cupcakes.

We started to run out of things to do at the party so we had Chase teach the kids some of his Halloween poems and songs from preschool. You could tell that he felt so special doing it and the kids seemed to like it too. Here Chase doing his thing.

Taylor conked right out after the party. This was how far she made it when we send her down to go to bed.

Us just hanging out at home, just enjoying being together.

Playing Store.


Making Carmel Apples for FHE.


And now that we are at the end of the month we our officially counting down to Easton's arrival! I don't think my stomach could get any bigger. This kid has been measuring big almost my entire pregnancy. Any guesses on his weight?? Me and my doctor seem to think he's another 9 pounder for sure. We will find out soon...two weeks and counting. The kids can't wait to meet and hold baby Easton. And I can't wait to not be pregnant anymore. This pregnancy has really been my hardest by far, thank goodness that it's almost over!

This kid really makes me smile

I can't even tell you how much. The other day this is how I found him, sitting in the sink brushing his own teeth. He does this a lot lately. He really likes to brush his own teeth. However, on the flip side of that, he's not above eating things off the ground either...no matter how much I protest! Today I caught him chewing something he had just found and I asked him what's in your mouth and he replied "mmmm, good!" Oh, how I love him inside and out! He seriously gives the most amazing hugs at random too. You can just feel the love whenever he is near. Recently, I have started using time-outs with him. Can I just say, I WISH I had a picture of him standing in the corner with his lip hanging down. It is the saddest and cutest thing you will ever see. And then when I go to get him out, before I even have a chance to ask for an apology or to ask him why he's there he lunges at me with his lips puckered up and his arms stretched out ready for a hug. He is such a fun boy and I love seeing how he is changing on a day to day basis. I can't think of a better way for me to be spend my days then to be chasing these little ones around. They definitely keep me going! I am one lucky lady.

Chasey's new obsession...literally!

We went to our favorite park today as a family to play and before we left our house Chase insisted on bringing his bat, ball, and mitt. Chase has really caught the baseball bug recently and asks to play SEVERAL times a day. We now have even started using his baseball playing time as leverage for him to get his chores done, and doggone it..it works like a charm! I asked him if he wanted to play baseball this spring on a team and he couldn't have been more excited. His dad is loving his new obsession as well, being that he played all growing up and is now teaching Chase the ins and outs of the game. Now I just have one more reason to have this baby so I can join in the fun...

Here's a couple pics of us at the park playing today.

Chase and Cort

Chasers


Talan got into the game a little bit too.

And Taylor gave it a try too, and was into it for about 5 minutes or so.....

But in the end, she had more fun playing on the bleachers with her make-up and purse. Talan joined her for a little bit up there as well. Good thing her brothers are so in love with her and such good sports. This last pic is of Tay putting "lip gloss" (chapstick) on Talan.

Too cute

These two are such good friends, and I hope that they always will be. They play so very good together; I really think they are kindred spirits. Chase absolutely idolizes Taylor and always wants to be just like her. I worried that when Tay started all day school their friendship wouldn't be as strong. I was so wrong. Today they came upstairs giggling and laughing with their church shoes on. I asked them what they were doing and they both said "we are going to the ball." Next thing I knew they were singing, dancing, and spinning around the room together. Thank goodness my camera was near, these pictures are priceless.

Can't you just feel the love

A little sidenote story too...we went on a little road trip last Thursday and Taylor among other things, brought her glitter ball with her, which she absolutely loves and takes to school with her every day. When she got home she realized that she had left it behind, which was 2 hours away, she was so upset. I could see the concern on Chase's face for her. While trying to consule her, I heard Chase tell her "don't worry Tay, daddy is a nice daddy and he will get you a new one."
Cort got home late that night after the kids had gone to bed. Later on that same night while we were all asleep, me and Cort were woken up to Chase standing at the foot of our bed. Cort got up to put him back to bed and that's when I heard Chase ask him if he would get Tay a new glitter ball. Even though it was about 3 in the morning I couldn't help but smile, there's nothing quite like seeing your children look out for one another. It really melts the heart.

Miley

Yesterday was the big day. A big thanks to all those who voted. I checked Taylor out of school around noon because we had to be downtown by 2:30, so she could go backstage and meet Miley before her concert. We got to listen to Miley's brother's band (Metro Station?? Does it make me old if I have never heard of them before?!) for the soundcheck cause Miley wasn't feeling good, and then Miley came out and the girls went nuts! After we took a picture with Miley, the girls were screaming and dancing around, they were so excited. It made the whole day soo worth it. The concert was fun too. Taylor really enjoyed herself. We didn't get home until about 10:30 last night, but it was a wonderful memory for us both.

Here's Taylor and her cousin Rylee with my sister who made this happen for them. Thanks again Whitter!

Our group with Miley. Taylor went right up and stood in front of her for the pic. And afterwards she kept saying "I can't believe I meet Miley. I can't believe I meet Miley."

The girls at the concert. Tay, Kaylee, Rylee, and Madisyn.

Me and Tay

Taylor kept asking me to take pictures of Miley on stage, so here's one of the many I got.

Taylor dancing around during one of Miley's songs, I can't believe how grown up she is getting.

And here's my sweet Taylor after the show in the car fast asleep. We were getting off the freeway and Taylor told me "I can't keep my eyes open anymore." I told her to just go to sleep and I will carry you in. It was such a great night.

Please VOTE!

My cute sister, who knows how much her nieces would LOVE to meet Miley Cyrus, entered a contest to meet her with a local radio station and she is a finalist. Her picture number is 42. PLEASE go to this link and vote for her. You have to verify your vote with a email. Anyone can vote even those from out of state. If she gets enough votes between September 21st and September 25th she wins.

Taylor will love you forever! Thanks so much.

http://www.971zht.com/pages/miley/

Blessings

I am not real good at showing my emotions in front of others. I usually am very private and don't put myself out there a lot. But, I guess right now I feel the need to express myself here. These past couple of weeks have been an adjustment with all the changes going on around here and being pregnant on top of it all has been an emotional roller coaster to say the least. I guess what I'm trying to say is life lately has been a bit-of-crazy. I do have to say thanks though from the bottom of my heart, to my dear friends and family who have helped ease my burden, I'm so grateful to have you all in my life. So many of you have reached out to me and my family and just so you know all that you have done hasn't gone unnoticed. I am truly overwhelmed with your kindness and willingness to serve. And I hope to be able to return the favor one day. I am so blessed and sometimes I think it can be so easy to forget that and get into the "whoa is me" mind frame. One of my adorable aunts who I admire so much posted a quote on her blog recently that I love, love, love, (did I mention that I LOVE it?) and it was something that I needed to hear in my moment of silliness. Here it is. My reason for posting it is so that I can come back and read it often.

Tragedy or Triumph?

"We don't have life experiences so that we can simply endure them. We must endure them well so that those experiences do change us. That is the purpose of those experiences. If we don't change through them, then they are simply tragic. But if they do change us then they are what I like to call "difficult blessings." They are blessings that we would never wish for, that we would never wish upon anyone else. But if we are honest with ourselves we realize that the best attributes we have, our love, our compassion, our desire to serve, to do better, to be better couldn't have come about to the same degree without those experiences. And so, while we would gladly do away with the experience we would never trade what the experience has done to us. Unfortunately, we cannot have one without the other." I don't know who the author is . . .