Thanksgiving

OK so again I am a little late with this post but this week was a bit crazy....Emma has an ear infection in both ears, Kayla got the stomach flu again, lost internet ability again (touch and go wireless connection), had a date with the girls on Thursday and now here you go.

Thanksgiving came and went quickly this year! We went to my moms house and they cooked up a yummy meal! We made green bean casserole and pumpkin pie and took that over there. We hung out with them for a few hours and that was pretty much the extent of it. We were all too tired to travel all over town....we will save that for Christmas! Kayla actually made the pumpkin pies and she did the majority of the casserole. She loves being in the kitchen and I certainly won't discourage it!



Thursday Sue, Jess C and I went to a church here in town to watch one of the funniest comedian's I have ever seen. Her name is Anita Renfroe and I am sure some of you have seen/heard her song Total Momsense. If not, go check it out on her website. She was on Dr. Phil yesterday (which I missed because I had to work late...bummer). I haven't laughed that hard in quite some time. So much so that by the time I got home I was ready for bed!

Random stuff

So as you can see there hasn't really been a whole lot going on around here. It has actually been kind of nice really. But I figured I would do a quick update since I haven't posted in almost 2 weeks!

My mom got to go to Richfield Springs, NY from 11/3 thru 11/10 to see my sister and her husband and 3 boys. And as most of you know, Nana is our daycare for Emma, so that gave JR and I an excuse to take some time off of work! He took that Mon and Tue off to spend with Emma and I took Wed-Fri off. We had a blast just hanging out around the house. On Fri Emma and I did get out and go have lunch with my friend Lew. And I so did not want to go back to work on Monday! But Emma was very happy to see Nana and Grandpa again.

Kayla decided she did not want to play basketball after all. Being tall does not make you an instant bball star by any means! She is doing great in school and is on the honor roll! It kind of shocked her because she did struggle a little in the beginning with all the freedom and responsibility she had compared to elementary school. But she fixed it pretty quickly and came out on top of course! :)

Eli is also doing good in school. The grading system isn't the letter system yet (that will happen next year in 3rd grade) it is a system of pass/fail basically. All of his are Proficient or Advanced which is great! I took him along with a couple of neighbor kids to the schools Literacy Night a couple of nights ago and they had fun. The school provided pizza and cookies and soda.....I'm sure the neighbor girls mother was cursing me as I sent them home loaded full of junk and bouncing off the walls at 7 PM! :)

Emma is learning new words every day. My mom and I are working diligently at teaching her to say "love you" and she just isn't cooperating! She will repeat, or at least attempt to, just about everything else but that little phrase! A couple of the cute things she says though is Moo or Mow for Mal (the dog's name); she calls for Eli, which sounds like Ei, in the morning to help wake him up; she will say "where's daddy" and put her hands up in an I don't know fashion; she will tell you go when she wants to get out of the house or even just out of her crib! I could go on all night but that gives you a hint at least.

Took the kids to their 6 month dental appt and found out that Kayla needs braces! I think that is just one more notch on the Kayla is growing up pole! I wasn't prepared for that so soon since she is only 11! I did however find an orthodontist that has an office right across the street from her school so I am hoping and praying that he is good and that we like him and he doesn't try to rip us off! I guess I will be spending the next couple of weeks trying to get appts and getting quotes and what not. And what surprised me most of all was that Kayla was kind of excited for this! I think she is crazy but who am I to judge?!

Guess that is it for now. I'm sure I will have pictures from Thanksgiving to share!

A day at the park

Sunday was a really nice day with our high reaching 74 degrees! Considering it is November we figured we should take advantage of the day since we probably won't have another one for a while. At least we shouldn't.....

Anyways, we took the kids to our favorite park - America the Beautiful - to fly a glider that JR purchased for he and Eli to play with. The summer kind of got away from us but they finally got it out! He and the 2 big kids flew the glider while I got to chase Emma all over the park. I made the mistake of taking her out in khaki pants......let's hope the Spray and Wash did the trick! :)

And she's off!

Swinging....I really think she just humor's me on this thing....she could probably do without it

JR and kids

Daddy teaching kids how to fly the glider

Eli sending it off on a flight

Kayla....she was supposed to be flying it but of course would rather pose like a super model!

This is what Emma did.....over and over and over and over.....

Trick-or-treat!

For those of you who grew up in Colorado, you know just how cold it can get on Halloween here. If it isn't snowing, chances are it snowed a day or two before and there is still some on the ground, or it will start snowing just as you walk in your door after trick-or-treating. It wouldn't be Halloween for us if one of the above didn't take place. This year was only a little bit of an exception. Here is the funny (not really) part of it.....from Sunday through Tuesday, the temps were in the low 70's. Highly unusual for this time of year but we will certainly accept and enjoy it! Forcast for Wed high only in the low 50's if we were lucky and a cold night! Of course! When we shop for costumes here, we have to find the best ones for layering. They have to allow for at least 1 whole sweat suit to fit underneath. And if the kid is lucky, they might not have to wear their jacket so everyone can actually tell what they are! But, like I said, it would seem weird if it were any other way! This year, Kayla and Eli's costumes worked perfectly for layering and for jackets. Emma's jacket didn't really go with her costume but the baby didn't even get out of her stroller so it didn't really matter. I would like to know what she was thinking about the whole thing though....has to be quite confusing for her. We stick her in her stroller to go for a walk yet we keep stopping at every house. Kayla and Eli go ring the door bell, yell something out, get handed stuff and we do it again at the next house! She was a trooper though and never once complained about being cold or just having to sit! So here are those pictures.
Goth fairy Kayla

Motocross Eli

Ducky Emma

Had to post this one because it just looks freaky!

Getting ready to head out!

This is pretty much what the night looked like for JR, Emma and I......

Halloween Party

OK so I am still a little behind on my posts....but at least I am putting stuff up there! :)

We had a Halloween party at work last Friday for all the families at work. The kids all dressed up....I did not....and I am glad because the only people dressed up were 1 of the sales guys and his wife! They grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and we all brought a side dish. They had a dessert contest too. Kayla made this really yummy carmel apple cake that I forgot to take a picture of. She won 2nd prize for it (the prize was a Starbucks gift card) so the lady that one 1st prize traded Kayla her Starbucks card for a card to the Citadel Mall. And let me tell you, Kayla could not wait to get to the mall on Saturday! She purchased herself a cute pair of shoes and then bought everyone candy from the chocolate store there. She still has some money left on it that I am sure she will be spending soon! They also had tons of games for the kids to play. Kayla and Eli came home with bags full of stuff. And the adults played this game called Bunco. Since Val and I didn't know how to play we decided to sit it out and watch. It is a very fast paced game but looks like tons of fun! We will join in next time for sure!

Anyways, I forgot to take my camera to the event so I had to rely on the pictures that one of the guys took. Here they are.

Kayla the Goth Fairy

Eli the Motocross champ

Emma the duck watching.....

Her BFF Morgan the Red Lobster (who had just finished a bottle as you can see by her lip)!

Carving Pumpkins

Sorry this is so late....attempted to post this earlier last week but blogger wasn't being nice!

JR's friend Mark came down from Boulder last Saturday to carve pumpkins with us. He has done this just about every year with us so he is keeping up tradition! It was messy but fun! Emma even joined in after a bit....and ate some pumpkin too! She got a hold of a hunk that came out of someones pumpkin and gnawed on that for a little while. Here are the pictures from that.

Emma conquering the pumpkins! That baby will sit on anything that will hold her!

The kids with their pumpkins...look at how cute Emma's is!

JR carving and Eli getting the guts out

Emma contemplating digging in

Kayla with guts in her hand....ewww....and the ever mysterious Marks leg......

Emma diggin in...she found that spoon was great for digging seeds to eat! I caught her each time before she could actually do it...I think you need more teeth to be able to chew a seed....

Here are our pumpkins lit up...mind is the dim one on top...it just says MOM...then JR's, Eli's, Mark's, and Kayla's. You can't see Emma's because I didn't carve it, I just wrote her name on it.

The kids and the pumpkins

The big 3-0

Yesterday was my 30th birthday - yep you read that right I am ONLY 30 - and I was asked to post a blog about it....so don't think I am THAT full of myself! :)

Anyways, I had dreaded this age for so many years that by the time I got to it...it was nothing! I welcome it!

My entire family wished me a happy birthday in the morning before work/school, I got to work to a happy bday email from my mom (JR is the one that drops Emma off so I don't typically talk to her until after school/work), got a call from several people throughout the day, a card from my coworkers welcoming me to the "30" club (heehee I was one of the last!). My mom watched the kids while JR and I went out to dinner. The funny part about that was we went at 4:30 but we went to Texas Roadhouse which is impossible to get in at any other time of day! Then the family did cake and presents for me. Sorry but I only got a picture of the cake...I am usually the one behind the camera! Then after all that I went and hung out with a couple of friends for the evening! Overall a good day and was treated wonderfully! Naturally! :)



Here is my cake that Kayla made while she was at Nana's house. That should give you an idea of just how crazy this week has been....that was seriously the only time to do it!

We didn't have 30 candles...nor did we think it would be such a great idea...so I only had to blow out 1!

Final track stats

So sorry it took so long for this update considering track was over as of the 10th but I had to wait until the awards ceremony just to find out the standings.

On Monday the 8th the classic's (used to call it city) started. Kayla did not have any activities that day but she did go to show her support. I went and sat with her for a while and then we took off. On the 9th, she didn't have any activities but wanted to go really bad and I did not. So we let her spread her wings a bit and she got to go to the stadium by herself and hang out with her track buddies. Finally on the 10th she was doing the long jump. She didn't place in it, but she did try!

We had the awards ceremony with a dinner done by the families which was yummy! It's always fun seeing what people come up with for these things. Anyways, the Irving girls came in 4th overall which is pretty darn good if I do say so myself! The 9th graders came in 4th, the 8th graders came in 3rd and the 6th graders came in 2nd! Woo hoo for them considering this is their first school sports experience!

Here are pictures from that last track meet and from the awards ceremony. I tried to get pictures of Kayla doing the long jump but I couldn't get close enough so you just get to see her pretty face sitting next to me in the stands!

Here she is after doing the long jump - at least she is till wearing a smile!

Here she is receiving her award....look close she is in the blue shirt....

Here she is with her certificate of participation

And here she is with her letter! She has a little track pin to go on it....but no jacket yet......

Notice how she looks a bit worn out.....here is a glimpse into her day....

She wakes up at 6:20 to get in the shower and start her day.....gets to school at 8:10ish, school goes from 8:45 to 3:40....she goes from there to basketball practice (which on a regular day ends at 6) and was let out at 5:15 so we could go to the ceremony. Wears me out just typing it! Oh yeah...and somewhere in there she has to do her homework and have a minute to relax before starting the cycle all over again!

Emma is ready for winter!

Emma was loaded after her birthday....girl had more money than I did! So the original idea was for her to buy a winter coat with her money but Nana and Grandpa decided they would buy it for her. Which meant that she had all this money with nothing to do with it because she is in NEED of nothing! She decided she wanted a little kid couch that folds out to a bed....she rode through Wal-mart with the couch in the cart and her sitting on it. I did get a picture of it but it was with my phone and it isn't letting me send the picture anywhere so sorry for that! And then while trying to figure out what to do with her leftover money I decided that to get a hat and gloves would be a good use of the money and passed the CUTEST pair of boots for her. Well naturally, I have to play dress up with her as though she is a baby doll. So here are the pictures of that.

She looks so darn cute in her hat alone that I had to get a picture right away.

Here she is in the entire get up....aren't those boots cute?!

Awww so sweet....Kayla was wearing her jacket because she truly was cold....she is still working on kicking the tail end of this stomach flu that blew through our house last week!

It's finally done!

Back in March or April I started to crochet a baby blanket for a friends baby shower and very quickly realized it wasn't going to be ready by the shower let alone by the time the baby was due to be born. So I decided to make her a fleece tie blanket and figured I would finish the crocheted blanket for Emma as it was girl colors. Now just to give you a bit of background, my mother has tried to teach me how to crochet many, many times. That lead to my ability to crochet a chain a mile long....but was never able to wrap around to the next row. I do believe she tried to teach me that several times too and that got me nowhere. So I really couldn't tell you what made me decide to attempt a blanket this time other than I think I was feeling a little crafty at the time.

Anyways, I had put the blanket away (with only the trim to finish) in the summer because it got too hot to have that thing laying across my lap! I got it back out this weekend and finally finished it. I have to say that I am quite proud of this thing as my craft abilities are pretty darn limited. A pro can look at this thing at a glance and see my errors but I didn't make it for a pro....I made it for my baby! And now I am making one for Eli in the same "pattern" but with blue and green colors. I am also doing a different stitch so this one shouldn't take as long and will look a little bit different!

Here are my pictures of the blanket I finished!

Here is the entire blanket - it turned out quite big

This is a close up of the trim...I had to get a refresher course from my mom yesterday

And here is Emma laying on her blanket.....she isn't happy because I pulled her shirt down instead of letting her belly hang out!

Overalls

So I was going through a box of kids clothes not too long ago looking to give stuff away to a friend of mine for her little girls and came across a couple of outfits that Eli wore when he was a baby. Among these outfits was a pair of jean overalls that both Kayla and Eli wore. So naturally I had to have Emma wear them at least once...which is probably all I will get out of them since they are size 12mo and Emma typically wears 18mo. I put her in them today before I lost my chance and got a couple of pictures. I don't have a scanner so I had to get creative and took pictures of the pictures that I have of Kayla and Eli in them! Here they are!

Here is Kayla in the overalls....she is 12 months old here

Here is Eli in the overalls....he was only 6 months old....what a chunk!

And here is Emma in the overalls......and she is 12 months

So now these overalls will be put away so that maybe a grandbaby or two can wear them. That is if the kids don't think I am a big dork still by the time they have kids of their own! :)

Track Stats

Sorry this is so late but as you can see I had some blog catching up to do!

Kayla had a track meet last Wed (the 26th) and this time the team came in 3rd as a whole. Which is still great considering they are a team of 50 girls going against teams of 100+ girls! So the odds are against them but of course they rock! This time Kayla did the long jump and the 4x200. She was disappointed in her long jump so she can't even tell me how she scored (they don't let parents out on the field and I didn't hear the results over the loudspeaker). She did really good on the running though. I love watching her try harder and harder every week. I can see the improvement every time.

So she has 1 more meet on Tuesday the 2nd and then the next week are the classics. I don't know exactly what day yet.