More Snow

Cactus peeking out of snow-kind of a strange sight!!

This is our view from the front

This is our view from the side yard. It's quite gorgeous with the blue sky today.

Desert Snow????

This is a wild day. I didn't really ever think I would see my backyard covered in snow and my kids having a snowball fight!! When we first moved here, we heard that it sometimes snowed. I figured maybe every few years it would a little bit, but melt before it hit the ground. Not the case today. It's still snowing like mad, and there is twice as much now as there was in these pictures. The kids are loving it. Me too, but I wish Jeffrey was here to enjoy it with us. He will probably not be able to get home because all the roads up here are closed. Oh well- Notice Trevor's pink gloves he had to borrow from Aubrey. We aren't prepared!!!!

This is her first time playing in the snow.

Isaac was just stomping around with a big smile on his face. He lasted about 30 mins. then his hands were little fat pink ice cubes.

Ben ran around like a sled dog.

Cold and Gray

I just had to share these- I love them. It was a cold, cloudy day and the big kids were with Nanny and Grandpa, so Isaac and I hit the town. It was fun just hanging out with him. I realized how much I talk when I have the other kids. So when it was just Isaac I kept on talkin to him, even though he just babbled back. It reminds me of how important it is to spend one-on-one time with each child.

Aubrey and the Vipers

Here are a couple pictures of Aubrey and her soccer team. She is the only chick in this picture. There was one more on the team, but she kinda flaked towards the end of the season. So, as usual Aubrey was surrounded by boys. She doesn't know any different though. She did great even though whenever she was near the ball she closed her eyes. It was really cute and we were very proud of her for jumping in there with a field full of aggressive boys.
She's in the gray hoodie

The Human Pretzel

I know this picture is blurry-but I had to show this. Clayton very often sleeps like this. Is this wierd or what? He'll probably end up joining the circus when he's grown up and squeeze into a little glass box. He is very flexable.

Tree Adournment

One of the Christmas traditions we all look forward too. Decorating the tree, watching the Polar Express and drinking hot chocolate. We all had fun, especially Isaac. He would grab one of the balls and chuck it across the room. Thanks goodness I found some foam ones at the $ tree. Now we are ready for Christmas.

They all get excited unpacking the decorations they haven't seen since last year. I guess I do too. Lots of memories attached to some of the ornaments. Clayton loved putting the tree together and fluffing up the branches. This was out first time using a fake tree. It was like a giant puzzle.

BARNEY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Isaac can be anywhere in the house and when he hears the music from Barney he does this. He runs so fast! He likes to hold on to the TV stand while he dances, I guess to help balance. We crack up every time. (yes, I always have laundry on the couch)

Pumpkin Guts

I really meant to have this picture last to see product of our experience! Yummy... cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds.

We hadn't carved pumkins in a few years, Aubrey had never done it so I thought we'd go for it. They were not too excited about the gross slimey insides that you have to clean out. Aubrey wouldn't touch it so I grabbed her hand and stuck it in to show her that it was "no big deal". That wasn't the best idea, she started gagging violently and almost threw up! I guess she's not a fan of slimey. It was hilarious....

They all enjoyed drawing the face and watching us carve it in. It was a nice little Sunday afternoon activity.

I know I really should post video clips of the other kids, but I capture funnier Isaac moments on film! I was making cookies while he was finishing his lunch, I guess the sound of the mixer was relaxing. :) so cute

Volcano Day

A couple days ago the kids and I went to the park with our home school group for a day of volcano building in the sand. They loved it, all of them. We had Eden for a few days so she got to be in on the fun. It was pretty funny to see the volleyball court with about 20 volcanoes erupting all over the place. It smelled like vinegar and probably will for a few days! We've been having a lot of cool experiences with this group. We went to a performance on Tuesday at a theater in Palm Springs, we've gone to a working goat farm and much more to come. It's great for the kiddies.

Aubrey and Eden really got into it and did a good job. Theirs was especially cool because we brought dinosaurs and trees to add. Doesn't Aubrey look like a little Elton John creature with those glasses?

Skater Dudes + a Chick

The latest craze in our house is skateboarding. Wherever we go, they try and figure out if there's going to be a skate park near by. So I've pretty much figured I should keep the scooters and skateboards in the car-helmets too of course. Aubrey gets in on it too. She was not well prepard this trip so she had to stay of the ramps. No helmet + flip flops!

Both the boys are getting pretty darn good at it though. They really freak me out when they fearlessly go down the ramps and try to slide on the rails (they can't really do that yet). I do encourage them as much as I can though. I am the mother of 3 stinky boys after all.

Prima Ballerinas

Oh my, arent' they beautiful?

I had Sydney and Wyatt over for a couple days. The kids all had so much fun being together. They really miss eachother when too much time goes by. Every time Sydney is here, her and Aubrey dress up in ballet stuff and come into the kitchen and ask me to put on some "barbie nutcracker" music. So pop in a little Tchaikaovsky and let them go nuts. It was hard not to laugh. They really felt awesome. They kept shutting their eyes, and flinging their hair. It's really funny. Of course Wyatt had to get a little face time in. Well all know, deep in his heart, there is a male ballerina trying to get out. Right John?

SERIOUSLY.....

How did I....get so lucky..... to wake up to this HOT babe every day??????

Riley's Apple Farm

There's something about going up to Oak Glen to kick off the fall season. It's like you need to in order for it to start. So we went. Just the kiddos and I. It was a charter school field trip so it was extra educational. They really learned a lot about the pioneer days.
Clayton had his mind blown by this old toy. A Jacob's ladder. He was trying to figure out how we could make one at home. Maybe we'll just "ask Jeeves" He really loved it.

Isaac Apple seed

Aubrey enjoyed watering the garden the old fashioned way. She had to fetch the pail of water from a pump, just like Jill, then pour it into a watering can. She's a little trooper. She would have done just fine back then.

Trevor-the competitive-I'm stronger than you-Mitchell had a blast sawing logs with an old saw and playing tug of war with all the other boys with egos. He's probably going to have a big truck when he's a man. I have no doubt.

Me and my offspring.

There were so many great photo opps. I had fun. We all had a very nice day, and now I can say....Fall has begun.

My last "1st birthday" song :(

This is from Isaac's birthday dinner. We already did the big party, so on his actual birthday it was just us having a little celebration. The kids loved watching him go nuts on his cake. He really got into it. He grabbed big hand fulls and chowed it, then started rubbing it all over himself. He also really loves when you sing "Happy Birthday" to him. It's like he gets it. It was bittersweet for me though. I always get kind of sad when my kids have birthdays. It reminds me of how fast they are growing, and with the baby, reminds me that he's my last. Oh well, I'll just breastfeed him til he's 7....

My Little Rocker

Clayton has been taking guitar lessons. He's got his third one today so he's busy practicing. He is super into it, it's really cool. His teacher encourages them to sing while they play a song. Every once in a while, when he thinks nobody is listening I hear him singing "This Land is Your Land". I love it. I feel blessed that we are able to help him tap into his musical gift. Stay tuned, maybe when he masters a song I'll post a video. :)

Funny bath

A

Isaac and Aubrey took a bath last night after a long sweaty day. It turned into a giggle-fest, thought I'd share.

Dude time

My boys were in their room and I set Isaac down and asked them to play with him for a few minutes. I was probably finishing dinner or something. I heard them cracking up and calling me to "come see". This is what I found. They said they were having some "dude time" with Isaac and just chillin and rockin out. Boys are so wierd.

Jeff's day

Since know that he will never do this I will....
On Monday or Tuesday he was being observed by two fellow teachers, they try to help each other out by giving advice. He began the morning by asking his students how there weekend was. One little girl (I'll call her Shanaris, for privacy purposes of course) raised her hand and said proudly "My aunt got arrested for shoplifting at Wal-mart!!!"
"Okay" he replied uncomfortably "Next"
Another little girl, (hmmm. I'll call her Molly) shouted "We went and bought a whole bunch of illegal movies!!!!"
Ha Ha. Can't you just see him fiddling nervously, trying to see where he should take this? Needless to say he stopped the weekend reflecting before someone seriously incriminated their families. This stuff is great to me.

Here I am

Well I have entered blogville. Can't say I'll be quite as dedicated as some and I'm pleased to see that there is a spell check. Did any of you watch American Idol last night? My boyfriend left, but it was cool to hear them singing a praise song huh? Well, nothing interesting has happened yet so I have nothing to say.