Birthday, Birthday, Pumpkin

Treyson's birthday is TODAY! I won't dwell on how my baby is 5! (who woke daddy up this morning with : "Dad, today is my birfday. Sing to me, dad!"). If I dwell on how old my kids turned this month, I'll turn into a babbling ball of mush. I'll wax poetic about my youth leaving quickly with the onslaught of older children (when the BABY is 5, that is bad!).

So, on with the happy. Trey's party was last Wednesday and we went to Vineyard Pumpkin Land. It was awesome! It's all centered on little kids: corn maze, "light alley" (with halloween, thanksgiving & Christmas lights on display), huge pumpkins (see picture), animals (goats, rabbits & fowl), and blow up toys: slides, jumping pit. It was so much fun and so easy to do. We finished with cupcakes and presents back at the house. Treyson had the most fun! He had a great day today and told everyone he saw that today was his birthday. My 3rd grade class sang to him and he loved it.

Alyssa turned 9 on Saturday. She had a late night Friday night with a few of her closest friends! They had a scavenger hunt, watched a movie, ate pizza & cake, played night games & sardines, then presents and home. It was tons of fun. Alyssa is such a fun girl and she has super sweet friends. They made a "dress" for her out of the gift wrapping crepe paper. She layed on the floor, so it wouldn't fall off. Some of the girls are in my school class & so it was probably kind of weird for them at first. But, after all, it was their buddy "lyssa" and they are such a fun close group of girls that we just had a great time! On Saturday, the kids & I went to see High School Musical 3 with Robyn and her nieces and nephew. We had a great time! We love HSM3.
Kylie got to attend a BYU women soccer game with the ward YW/YM (again we're getting close to the blubbering with a daughter old enough to go to YW). She had a great time!

Now to the pumpkins. Anyone who knows TJay, is aware of his artistic ability. Add pumpkins to that ability and you get a "serious" night of jack-o-lantern creating! This year we invited Dave (party pooper) and Robyn to join us for dinner and carving (I did tell Robyn to bring knives, incase we weren't so good at sharing - each of our kids has their own. I told you we were serious!) Dave ended up being a great helper as he was the picture taker and the knife-weilder for Trey. (It saved me from having to interrupt my pumpkin carving time). We had so much fun and have 5 awesome pumpkins to prove it. We love OCTOBER! It's so exciting at our house.

Fall Vacation to Southern Utah

Our Moab Vacation

For fall vacation (UEA) we went with our friends the Richins and the Larsons to Southern Utah for 3 fabulous days! We had so much fun. This became one of my favorite vacations. We each rented a small cabin in Green River ($42/night - can't beat it) and cooked outside and had campfires (like camping without the tent and less dirt and actual mattresses). Friday we went to Arches National Park and hiked for 3 hours to see Delicate Arch (above). It was beautiful and totally worth the walk. An older couple from Seattle were there and saw Trey not wanting to walk anymore and they challenged him to see who could get there first. They were great & we saw them quite a bit as both their and Trey's pace were the same. He was excited when "we won".

We even saw some neighbors, the Camp's, there. :) It was also fun to climb into the holes and crevices. After Arches we went up Negro Bill Canyon and played on the sandy beach and watched some river rafters coming home from rafting the Colorado.

Then we went shopping (look for the kids' Moab shirts and hats at slick rock) and had dinner at Zax. Zax is a pizza/pasta place where we had to wait for a little over an hour. It was so delicious that the kids said it was worth the wait! This was after waiting until 7:30 to eat! It was great, if you go to Moab, go to Zax (they should be paying me for the good words!).

On Saturday, we went to Slick Rock. Our friends brought bikes, but we decided not to, so we hiked and climbed and it was great. Josh (5) couldn't ride on slick rock, so Lyssa rode his bike. His was the only bike without gears and she totally kept up and kept going. She is such a little daredevil, but she loved it!

This is us at slick rock with the matching t-shirts and hats. (right)

After slick rock we went to Dead Horse Point (incredible) and Canyonlands where we saw the Mesa Arch (above left). The amazing thing about the Mesa Arch is the sudden, shear drop off directly behind. The arch itself is on the edge and the view behind is amazing! It quickly became my favorite! We're debating on which picture to use for our Christmas cards this year.:)

TJay and Kevin pointing out "horseshoe bend" at Dead Horse Point State Park.

We went to another yummy place to eat and had scones (at Zax we had tried the pizza that had crust, honey, chicken and mozarella - it was amazingly good, but put us in the mood for scones and honey). We went to a fun park for lunch and the kids loved playing on the playground. There were 3 different playgrounds and one had musical instruments that even the big kids loved!

Sunday came, time to check out. We wanted a fun, relaxing Sabbath and drove to Goblin Valley to just play and explore and climb (Trey's favorite - and Lyssa's). Okay, so we all had fun climbing and playing make-believe (we had light sabers, of course). We played hide & seek. We had a great time! Then we took the scenic route home: over the San Rafael Swell, up through Emery county to Price and home. We returned home late and tired, but all of us agreed it was a great vacation!

Trip to the Zoo

Here is my class - 27 8&9 year olds! They're great and we have a lot of fun!

Our 3rd grade took a field trip to Hogle Zoo last Wednesday. It was so much fun! The weather was perfect. No kidding, it was the last warm day. It wasn't too warm, but we didn't need jackets either. We ran around like crazies - looking for each animal class. We saw the white alligator - not an albino, he had blue eyes. I was lucky to be able to hang out with Lyssa for part of the day. She's not in my class, but she's in 3rd grade so she was there. This was the first field trip I was able to go on with her. So much fun!!

This is a picture of Alyssa with her friends Makenna and Cassidy.

Update

My friend woke up a bit last night! She was able to answer questions by squeezing her husband's hand and was able to write a note. The note was exactly what I would think she would write. So, she remembers her husband, having a baby, how to write. This morning the sun can shine. She is still so much in our prayers. Prayers are powerful! Happy Day!

Happy & Sad

I wanted to get online and blog about my awesome birthday yesterday! I had the greatest day. Jewelry from my wonderful family. A 3 hour post-church nap. A little "dancing with the stars" on the DVR (I'm so behind). Thoughtful gifts from friends & neighbors. Dinner and cake at a friend's house with a suprise visit from one of my students and his family. The kids played and had fun. The dads talked. The moms visited. It was a great evening! I loved it!

This morning I was informed that a good friend is in the hospital in ICU after giving birth to her 6th child. It just happened yesterday and no one knows what will happen or when. My heart is breaking for her sweet family. She is the kindest, most thoughtful person I know. She has taught me so much just by being my friend and a great example to me. I will carry a prayer in my heart for her and her family until she can be well again and return home. I love you, EM!

Our YW volleyball player

Well, Kylie went to a YW volleyball practice on Thursday (her first time ever playing) and a game today. She rocked! She made so many points and saves and she scored points on her serves. She is a natural athlete, she seems to excel at whatever she tries. She definitely didn't get her hand-eye coordination from her Mom! One of the refs even came over and said she should be playing rec volleyball and try out for 7th grade team. So, a little MOM bragging about my beautiful and talented daughter. It was fun for her family to get to watch her play also!


We also helped Dave & Robyn Cash move into their new home this morning. It was fun to see Robyn's family again. Dave & Robyn have a beautiful home and the kids love it. Trey said "it's awesome!" They have rocks in their backyard (rock walls) and Trey loved climbing up. The girls made a "fort" out of all of the moving boxes upstairs in the "girls room" (yes, all of the nieces have a room to share that is thiers). Everyone had a great time and we were happy we could help the newlyweds get settled.

Treyson

It is amazing how time can "heal wounds", whether they be physical, mental or emotional. I'm sitting here with Trey a couple of feet from me playing Nintendo, his latest obsession. He is able to play it by himself. He knows how to play it. He can hear it. He can move his little fingers to move the joystick controller and press the little buttons. Most amazingly, he can clearly say, "mom, it's time for me to play Nintendo". It makes all of the years (3 so far) and hours (too many to count) of classes and doctors and driving worth it. To have a sweet little boy who just 2 short years ago was labeled "moderately developmentally disabled" in many areas (fine motor, gross motor, speech) with some "autistic tenets"; now he is only "age-appropriate delayed" and no autistic signs. What wonderful words that we had hoped beyond hope to hear. After two girls who raised themselves, taught themselves and were relatively easy; I've decided that actual parenting and teaching is hard! :) I love my boy!!

Hello blog world

Okay, I admit that I'm technologically challenged - that is why I married a techno genius. But, apparently, EVERYONE is online blogging now, and I've had fun reading blogs, so I'll give it a try. I guess it'll sort of be an online diary without all the nitty gritty stuff (if you're lucky, I'll add the nitty gritty. I guess if I figure out nitty-gritty).
So, we are in the midst of "birthday season". Birthday season begins August 16th with TJay's birthday (39 this year, still very YOUNG at heart).
Then we continue to September 26 with Kylie. She turned 12 this year and so it was a HUGE celebration! There was best friends at a sleep-over, Color Me Mine (very fun), glitter nails (thanks, Kath), pizza, ice cream, pop and candy (to help us stay awake), chocolate pancakes ( a sleep-over staple so all the friends wish they were Belts and could have brownies and frosting for breakfast too), bracelet making and then running all over the place to deliver friends to their various homes, soccer games, etc.
Continuing on with birthdays, mine is in a week (October 12 - gifts are welcome). Keri (my cousin) and I have birthdays 2 days apart and decided we would be 22 this year. We pretty much decide on our new age around the time our birthday approaches. We were 29 for quite a few years. That's an enjoyable age.
Then, Alyssa is October 25, and she will turn 9 this year. She wants a skating party, but we'll have to see how ambitious I'm feeling. :) Trey finishes us up on October 29 (because I teased Keri about her daughter being a "spooky baby" because she was born on the 28th, it's my comupance). Treyson may be having an early birthday party this year, because that last week in October is packed! Then birthday season is over for the next 10 months.
I'm going to post this and decorate my page and find other blogs. Look at me go . . .