Williams Family

I can see clearly now ;)

2012-01-26T09:01:00.001-06:00

The time has come for Talmage to get new glasses. Really, I am a slacker when it comes to these sort of things. I think it has something to do with making appointments and also paying for things. You would think that now that Jeff is out of school and has a good job paying for my son's glasses would be no biggie... well, I also don't like dealing with eye Dr.s... let's just say this could have all been done last Oct, but I wasn't happy with our Dr. To make this long story short, he had an apt in Dec with a new Dr. and I got his glasses in January.

I had heard about some online glasses options from friends and decided to try it out (www.zennioptical.com). The frames were just under $10! He needs nice lenses because he has very poor vision, but still the total for everything (high index lenses, anti reflective coating, scratch resistant, etc) was just over $40! This helps a lot with not wanting to spend tons of money on new glasses :).

He also wanted to try the plastic frames instead of the wire ones...

I think they turned out good :)

A nice side view to get the full effect.

I had to have plastic frames when I was a kid and I didn't like them, but they look so nice on Talmage and they are in fashion so why not go with them? He's such a handsome kid!

Kid Stats!

2012-01-19T11:25:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since I have updated on all of the kids. They recently had their well checks and got weighed and measured. It was fun to see how they all lined up... since it's been a while and they've gotten older :)... it's been a few weeks so we'll see if I get the sats right :)

T- 53 inches and 68 lbs. He is 75% for height and 50% for weight.

G- 51 inches and 65 lbs. He is 90% for height and 75% for weight (I think).

S - 47 3/4 inches and 51 lbs. She is 75% for height and 50% weight.

M - 43 inches and 48 lbs. She is 95% for height and weight.

C - 35 inches and 28 lbs. He is over 100% for height and 80% weight.

I think it's odd that Talmage is only 75% for height, but I'm sure it has to do with him being older and his growth patterns. I keep waiting for Grant to pass him, but he just keeps that little 2 inch lead. With this apt the Dr. went over BMI with me and where the kids are on that. The boys were in the 60 to 70 range, which is good. Sandra was also in the 60s I think. Mhari, our little Punkin, was right at 80. I guess with the childhood obesity craze that's going on 80 is the danger level. Hmmm, interesting.

I'm going to just say that I really like my Dr. She told me that my kids are healthy and that Mhari is all muscle and she is very proportionate. I'm sure that if we did Grant's numbers when he was 4 he would have been high like that too. He has slimmed out a lot the last few years. I'm so glad the Dr. didn't freak out at me... and that she realizes the limits of the BMI number. Mhari is a big girl and that can be a good thing too.

Anyway, onto Baby Clark. I knew he was tall... but I didn't expect them to say 35 inches for his 18 month check up! I was kind of surprised he didn't weigh more, but he seems long these days and not so big... I guess it makes sense. He is the average size of a 2 year old and he's wearing size 3T clothes! I'm used to big kids, but he's our tallest yet. I'm very curious to see how tall he will be when he's all grown... maybe 6'5'' or taller?!? That makes me smile ;).

Well, he's growing great, developing more and more every day. He just isn't really a baby anymore... it has gone by so fast! He loves cars, balls, books, playing with his siblings, blankets, stuffed animals, eating, being outside, etc. He is still a mostly calm boy. He is learning more words all of the time and repeating things. Not the things I try to teach him, but when he wants to talk. He is so fun and brings joy to our family every day!

Here's some pictures of him sneaking chips out of the trash... such a little dumpster diver! Wonder where he learned that from?!

He even went around the corner from the trash so we couldn't see him...

Caught in the act!

I don't know if he knows he's not supposed to do that or not... maybe taking pictures encourages it more than anything :).

The other day after a nap his hair was such a mess. This is an hour or so later and it's still pretty crazy! I guess it's time for another hair cut.

They are growing ... good and healthy! We love our kids :)

Two Cub Scouts!

2012-01-16T16:57:00.001-06:00

Grant has been attending cubs for 2 weeks now... and he's very happy to be a wolf :). He has seen Talmage go off to cubs for just over a year so he was excited to join in the fun! Now we have two cubs... busy busy next three years ;)

I was slacking and didn't get his uniform in order until after the first week so that's part of the delay in posting ;).

Isn't he a cute cub :)

For the first week he was there his den was practicing leg wrestling. Let's just say that Grant did awesome! He was so excited when he got home to tell me all about it. I also got a text from his leader telling me how great Grant did at it (as well as her son ;)). Grant had wanted to leg wrestle Talmage after that...

A few days later the wrestling match began:

Here they are in starting position linking arms...

hooking their legs - after three times lifting their legs...

And Grant flipped Talmage! He actually did it a few times...

Until Talmage got the hang of it and flipped Grant.... a few times :)

Well, then Daddy had to get in on the fun... I wonder who's going to win?!

Grant's turn

Talmage's turn

Since it was no fair Jeff decided to take them both on at the same time :)

Then the boys tried using both of their feet.

It ended in kind of a stale mate. The kids were happy to get Jeff's legs as far back as they did though :). I'm glad Grant is enoying cubs... and gets to do these fun activities with his brother... and even his Daddy!

Cuddly

2012-01-13T11:34:00.000-06:00

Clark loves to cuddle blankets, animals, pretty much anything soft. I find him playing with the ribbons on stuffed bears necks, and such. Too funny. One evening after cleaning the kitchen Clark was playing with the swiffer (he is such a good helper) and part of the white cloth had come undone and he was on the floor cuddling it. It was so cute. By the time I got the camera he sat up and smiled... but he was still cute ;)

The kids all love their daddy. I love that they love him...it makes me smile :). The girls were having fun cuddling Jeff and let's just say that Clark needed in on the action. I think he get's jealous.

Such a cutie!

Clark getting in on the cuddling action!

So sweet! Jeff is actually patting his back with his hands... I think Clark really likes that!

Love them!

This year our church meetings are at 1 pm so we get home in time for dinner... and the kids miss out on quiet time. Mhari was so tired she fell asleep in the car during the 5 min car ride home.

Let's just say that Clark loves his sister. He likes her to be awake and playing with him too ;)

A couple of days later Mhari wasn't feeling well. She literally was laying on the floor not wanting to do anything...

Clark thought she was being cute and decided to copy her. He's cute :)

I love that my kids are so sweet and love each other. Clark is at such a fun age... so cuddly and sweet. It's fun to see how much little ones want to be like their siblings! I love my cuddly kids!

Kids - Just Dance!

2012-01-10T10:13:00.000-06:00

The last day with the cousins the kids played wii. It had been a busy time and funny that it took that long to pull out the video games. The boys had lots of fun doing a monster truck game and then the girls got to do Just Dance for kids. I knew Sandra would love it so I'm so glad they had the chance to play.

Here are the girls rocking the dance moves ;) (do you see Talmage in the background?)

They were so cute to watch!

After a little bit one of the girls got tired and Talmage decided to give it a try. He had previously whined about it and said he didn't want to do it so it was funny that he volunteered to play. I think watching the girls made him feel like it wouldn't be that bad. Once he did it he kept playing. It was awesome. He isn't that good with rhythm so it was fun to see him get into it and get practice. We may need this game just to help give him confidence with dancing ;).

Oh, and let's not leave out the baby. Clark loves the wii, but we usually don't let him play with the wiimotes. This game isn't affected by the buttons if it's not the one in charge so Clark was able to play along with the big kids too!

He's going to be too good at electronics way too early!

By the way, Sandra rocked the dancing game. Everyone had gotten tired and stopped, but Sandra was still dancing away! She is such a fun girl - I love that she loves to dance ;)

I'm glad the kids had a great time with each other. They were so good and it was great to let the cousins have so much time hanging out!! It's just too bad we don't still live close to each other!

Fun at the Gardens!

2012-01-10T09:53:00.000-06:00

One of our favorite places in Fort Worth is the Botanic Gardens! It is free admission and even offers Japanese Gardens and a conservatory for a minimal fee if interested. I love taking pictures of my kids in such great gardens. We took Jeff's brother's family out to the gardens to play and take pictures too. Even though it's winter, lots of the trees have already lost their leaves, and the huge tiered rose garden is being redone, it was beautiful and we got some great photos :). I shared most of my kids, but the cousins were too cute not to share ;).

Here are all 8 kids together...

On the bridge - minus Clark

at the lily pond... 3 boys ;)

In the log - well, fake log, but still looks cute! They love pretending to be squirrels!!

girls on top of the log

Punkin

Boys on the wood fence

Family Tree ;)

Me and my SIL - Tiffany :)

Playing with the soccer ball in the field :)

Sandra

Bree

Ella

.
Grant

Mhari

Talmage

I've been getting this face a lot more these days ... hmm they grow up too fast!

Clark :)

Owen and Grant - little monkeys!

Clark and Mommy

no kisses Mommy ;)

Owen

Sandra... she's sad, but almost looked like a smile ;).

Jeff was working, but I really like this hole in the ground so the kids and I got a picture too... even though Mhari is crying ;)

The kids had a blast running around everywhere, but by the end they were exhausted! I'm glad we went and the kids sure went to bed easy that night :).

Hanging at the Stockyards

2012-01-10T09:16:00.000-06:00

With family in town we decided to go over to the Stockyards to get some real Texas experiences :). The was the cattle drive, the petting zoo, shops, riding the bull, etc. I am sharing pictures of the kids. I figure the family can post about riding the bull since it was their turn to do it ;).

The petting zoo is free, accept if you want to buy food to feed them. The animals think everyone has food and are really friendly - until you aren't feeding them, then they just walk away. This one alpaca would come right up to our faces - a little close for comfort... but he never stayed long enough to get petted very well. Grant really tried to pet him though :).

little goats

Sharing food that spilled out of the cups - yes I am that cheap.

While waiting for the cattle drive the kids got to pet one of the "cowboy's" horses.

Clark liked petting it too!

More petting zoo animals...

Clark was cranky and fell asleep by the time we were done so he didn't end up with a souvenir. The cowboy hat sure looked nice on him though :).

It's always fun to spend some time hanging out at the Stockyards with all of the real Texas Cowboys ;)!

Playground Games...

2012-01-06T13:06:00.000-06:00

Part of our Christmas to our kids this year was getting the backyard some more things for the kids to do. The swings had deteriorated and Jeff got them back together again. He also made a tether ball pole and got that set up for everyone. It was all finished when we had company in town so everyone had lots of fun taking turns playing...

Here is cousin Bree

Talmage and Ella

Oh, and let's not leave the Daddy's out... they had to break it in... I mean, make sure it worked :).

They got really into it. So cute to watch Jeff and his brother Nathan.

Talmage and Grant

Tiffany and I... it was a good workout and I have the bruises to prove it! It's amazing how much that rope can hurt if it gets your arm!

The Daddy's decided to make it more challenging by using anything but their arms - soccer rules ;).

Fun times!

Talmage and Ella

I'm glad the kids have more to do outside. They already love it out there and now they get to enjoy one of their parents fun games as kids ;).

The love of Fire!

2012-01-05T16:44:00.000-06:00

I think boys are born with a love for fire... at least that's my only explanation for it. For Christmas Talmage gave Jeff waterproof matches (that he waterproofed by himself) and I think that was probably one of the best presents Jeff has gotten...

He really enjoyed lighting those matches. Not really lighting them - because they are cheap and don't light easy, and also waterproofing them makes lighting them much harder anyways... but Jeff loves the smell of matches. I think there are people out there that agree, I just am not one of them. It's an alright smell, but after like 10 matches I'm done smelling it ;).

Part of the fun of the presents was sharing it...

First Jeff had lots of turns

Then he helped the kids learn how to light a match and hold it.
Here is Talmage

Grant

and Sandra

I would like to add that if my house burns down it's not my fault. I had no intention of my children learning about matches, but I guess it's better to be learned under parent supervision anyway. Hopefully they also learned some fire safety along with all that fun of lighting a match ;). It's great to know that Jeff is so great at sharing his gifts!

8 year old and Baptism!

2012-01-05T16:22:00.000-06:00

Our handsome Grant turned 8 at the end of December. We had Jeff's parents and my mom in town for the festivities which for us included being baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was a special day.

Grant chose to open his presents early in the day so he would have all day to play with them... since the evening would be busy with the baptism ;).

Here he is with all of his goodies!

Jeff baptized and confirmed Grant. It was very nice. Sandra and I said the prayers, Grandpa and Talmage gave talks, and the Grandma's helped with music. It was a small gathering, which was what Grant wanted since he gets nervous in front of a lot of people. We had a really nice day :)

Our handsome 8 year old!

Let's not forget blowing out the candles. We let the kids pick their dessert and Grant picked ice cream cones... so 8 candles got piled on top of his cone... like a fireball ;).

Make a wish!

We even had Jeff's brother and family in town for the baptism so we had lots of fun with cousins... they all got to eat dinner and dessert outside. One of the benefits of a mild Texas winter :).

Happy Birthday Grant! We love you and are so happy with the good things you are accomplishing in your life! Grant loves animals, creating things, running, soccer, his little brother, science, math, reading, and lots of other things. I can't believe how fast the kids are growing up!

Merry Christmas :)

2012-01-04T17:06:00.000-06:00

We have been pretty busy over the break. First we had to prepare for Christmas - somehow amid all of the crazy birthdays and such there was stuff I hadn't gotten done yet, then it was family in town for a birthday and baptism... very busy indeed... but that's another post, or two :).

But we did have a very nice low key Christmas. We decided to open most of our presents on Saturday so the kids could have more time to play and enjoy them since Christmas was on Sunday. Jeff and I did outside stuff for the kids - a tether ball with pole, new swings, and a new circle swing. They have been playing so much outside and it's been really nice :).

Here are some of the presents the kids opened from family...

girls with clothes

boys with science kits and experiments ;)

girls painting horses

Clark with his new noisy toy - driving everywhere!

Boys doing a new game

Every year we trade names for Christmas to do a more personal home made gift... here's how that turned out:

Clark got socktopuses from Mommy :)

The boys got rock monsters from the girls

Sandra got an eagle from Grant (with lots of help from Mommy)

Daddy got waterproof matches from Talmage

Mhari got flowers for her hair from Daddy

Modeling the pink flower

All the kids also got a new animal from us. Oh, and I got a night of Daddy giving Clark a bath from Clark... so thoughtful... and it's already been redeemed :)

Christmas is always fun to get new things and the kids really enjoyed the fun of giving to each other too. We hope everyone else had a very Merry Christmas!

2011 kids pictures!!

2011-12-17T15:50:00.001-06:00

It has been another year and it was time for the annual trip to the gardens to update my kids pictures. I tried to go in November when there were still lots of leaves on the trees and lots of pretty colors, but that plan was frustrated. Then it got cold... and wet... and no good for photos. I finally went yesterday and these are my favorites. They are all growing up so fast!

Clark - 18 months!

Being silly

Cute, but no smile

Mhari - 4 years old!

Such a big girl - no longer a toddler ;(

Sandra - 6 years old!

Wanted a better smile, but that one was blurry :(

Love those dimples!

Grant - 7, almost 8 years old!

So handsome!

Talmage - 9 years old!

What a big kid!

All 5 :)

My 3 boys!

My 2 girls... just one more to add in May ;)

So beautiful!

Oh, I love my kids - They are crazy, busy, fun, wild, and loud, but they make life wonderful. I couldn't imagine my life without them!

Six Year old Chica!

2011-12-17T15:31:00.000-06:00

Sandra turned 6 this last week! It seems like she's just getting more grown up all of the time. She had been counting down to her birthday - very cute ;). I brought her a treat to her classroom at the end of school to share with all of her friends. She really enjoys Kindergarten and is a great helper in her room (I keep hearing stories about how great she is :)).

That night we had homemade pizza for dinner, opened presents and had dessert.

Here she is getting ready for presents.

Homemade crown from mommy, and Repunzel stuff from Grandma and Grandpa.

Sandra with all of her goodies. She was very happy!

Yes, she had to try on the super long Repunzel hair.

And wear it for the rest of the evening... like blowing out candles :). She had buckeyes for dessert because she didn't want cake... that was just fine with me!

And trying on the purple dress so she could really be Repunzel... I wonder if she likes Repunzel?!

Sandra is a great girl and we just really love her. She is reading and getting more confident at it all of the time. She is a good friend and loves others. She is a great big sister! We love you Chica!

The 4 Year old!

2011-12-13T13:09:00.000-06:00

I think 4 is a hard age for me. The child is old enough to understand house rules, not whine, do things by themselves, and enjoy being a big helper. Unfortunately that often translates into taking advantage of time alone and getting into trouble as he/she tests the Mom boundaries!

I guess I need to stop whining about it and enjoy it because Mhari just turned 4!

She was so ready... she'd been acting 4 for a week :/. Really, she is a fabulous daughter and we love her so much! We had a fun time celebrating her birthday...

Here she is right before she opened her presents. What a poser!

Some of the gifts...
long hair from Sandra.

dress up dresses from mommy and daddy

dress up crowns from mommy and daddy

She had picked a pink cake with pink frosting... she really likes girl things ;)

All dressed up.

She also got littlest pet shop animals that her and her sister found homes on our little tree. It was very cute!

Happy Birthday Punkin! We love you!

All Decorated

2011-12-13T12:54:00.000-06:00

Last week we went in search of a Christmas tree. Last year we didn't put ours up... there wasn't room and we really wanted to focus on the nativity. We were ready for a tree again and the kids had a great time helping decorate it. It's a cheap, small, tree, but it works. It's a fun time of year to celebrate and do fun things with the kids.

Oh, and Clark made one cute elf too :).

Merry Christmas!!! - From the Williams Family

Hungry?

2011-12-04T16:27:00.000-06:00

We went out as a family last night to dinner. It is always a treat for me to go out because that's one less night I have to cook dinner :). We went to CiCi's Pizza, which is an all you can eat pizza place, if you didn't know :). The kids ate, and ate, and ate. I must say I did my fair share of eating too... it was all you can eat after all.

Everyone finally finished and we headed home. It was getting late and time for the evening routines of showers etc. I went to get Clark for his bath and this is what I found...

Yup, that's him with an open bag of Cheetos that had been left out. Evidently even after eating all he could eat a few cheetos could still fit.

What a hungry little boy! I was seriously surprised! I couldn't resist the photos! We love our little chunk! I'm afraid to keep feeding my kids as they get into the teen years though!

11 Years into Eternity!

2011-12-02T09:50:00.000-06:00

11 years ago I married my Handsome Prince. The experience was wonderful and it felt like I had been waiting my whole life to marry him!

He is my Pepe :). I love you Hunny!

It's amazing how quickly time flies. I see moms with one or two young kids and it seems like that was me not that long ago. I realize these next 10 years or so will fly by with the kids growing and doing so much. Eventually it will just be Jeff and I again. I look forward to spending our days together, getting older, serving, and loving our growing family. It gives me a glimpse of what eternity will be!

Happy 11 and here's to many many more!

Texas Sized Appetite!

2011-11-30T10:19:00.000-06:00

While we were in San Antonio we decided we needed to visit Big Lou's Pizza. They make 42 inch pizza's - oh, and lot's of other sizes too! It is a pretty popular place and the wait time can be up to 2 hours.... crazy! While we were there, waiting in line, I saw this sign (along with lots of other signs) ~

If you weren't sure you were in Texas, there's no question now ;).

We decided that there would be no way that we would finish, or even get close to finishing, a 42 incher so we ordered a 36 inch pizza. The people next to us had the huge one and I asked if I could take a picture. This is what they had left after eating!

After a little wait - like an hour or so from ordering, our huge pizza arrived.
We were so hungry I totally forgot to take a picture until we were eating...

One slice took up two plates! It was awesome... oh, and tasted amazing!

Clark was starving and I couldn't keep him fed fast enough :).

The pan size of our pizza. There wasn't much room left on our table :).

Jeff staring on a fresh slice... see how huge it is?!

Seriously if you are in San Antonio and want some amazing pizza and don't mind a little wait I totally recommend Big Lou's. We even had a few slices left over for the next day's lunch... it filled a whole pizza box :).

Our other big eating fun was in Round Rock, just north of Austin on our way home. We visited Round Rock Donuts for our Texas sized Donut!

The line wasn't too bad, probably because of the holiday weekend and the drizzly weather. Once we got our donut and made it out to the car we ate it so fast that I of course forgot to take a picture :(.

However, since Grandma and Grandpa were with us they had ordered their own so I got a picture of the full size donut to share with you.

If you can't tell it fills the whole pastery box and is probably as big as a whole dozen!
And yes, it was delicious! Grandma and Grandpa also shared some other tasty donuts that they bought. It was fun to try the huge Texas food. I guess it's true, everything really is bigger in Texas :)

Thankful for ... Sea World!

2011-11-29T11:36:00.000-06:00

For Thanksgiving this year we took a family trip out to Sea World. It was our first time going - and the kids were super excited! It was all decorated for Christmas and all of the shows were Christmas themed... such fun! The weather was perfect too! What a great time. My kids are such animal lovers that this really was a great trip for them. We also invited Jeff's parents to join us... the kids got to enjoy a trip and Grandparents for Thanksgiving!!

Here we are in the main entrance Thanksgiving day. We are excited to get going on all the attractions!

Right outside the entrance there is this display area for their summer water park area. They had baby Manta reys for the kids to "pet". They were soft, or slimy, depending on who was describing them :)

Then we came to this water splash down ride. The kids wanted to watch it. I thought they might enjoy getting a little wet... so they went and stood in the splash zone.
See how wet the cement is! Oh, here comes the boat!

Mid splash picture! - notice how most of the kids are running away.

Let's just say that the HUGE splash scared baby and soaked him pretty good and Grant didn't dry out til that night. That night the boys did go on the ride with Jeff and his dad... and they got wet, but not as wet as this. They really liked it - and went again :)

The kids found some cute ducks and flamingos. They fed them too :)

Jeff helping Clark feed the ducks. He was so cute ;).

While waiting for the Sesame Street show to start the people behind us had some popcorn and a 2 year old son. They offered to share with Clark. Let's just say Clark really liked it... and wouldn't stop "sharing". Grandpa went and bought a couple of bags to share and Clark was very happy! He got to sit with Grandma and Grandpa and bond over food.

We went and found the dolphins and showed up right at feeding time! The kids had fun getting so close to the dolphins :).
Grant giving it a fish.

Jeff with Mhari.

Talmage and Clark

We visited the aquarium area also right at feeding time...

See the guy inside the tank! It was cool to see him pet the sting rays and feed all the fishies!

Then we found the sharks!

Oh, and let's not forget Santa Shamu :)

While waiting for the kids to ride some rides Clark shared his popcorn with Grandma :)

The little roller coaster the kids went on.

And the carousel...

I stood and helped Clark ride his horsey. So cute :)

Then there was the dolphin show. It was pretty cool. We saw Beluga whales, synchronized swimmers, lots of cool dives and jumps, etc.

Oh, and let's not forget the penguins. Sandra found the little animal she wanted as a souvenir. The next day we came back and all the kids got to pick an animal for their Christmas present from Grandparents. Sandra got the penguin, Talmage got a beluga, Grant picked a shark, Mhari got a dolphin... and Jeff got a huge Shamu :). He's still a kid at heart ;)

Clark looking at the penguin exhibit.

Oh, and let's not forget the carnival games.
I wanted Jeff to do the test your strength game - where you hit the hammer on the target and try to ring the bell. He did really well... 92 out of 100. The guy running it has only seen 1 person win it and otherwise has only seen a 91... so Jeff's pretty awesome, but I already knew that ;). He made the 300 lb body builder who went before him look pretty bad - obviously he didn't know how to swing a sledge hammer!

Jeff with his prize - little penguin.

The Shamu show! There were 3 of the orcas. It was a fun show to watch!

Too bad we didn't get wet while sitting in the "splash zone" :(.

Day 2 - Daddy and Clark

Looking at the sea lions

Cute sea otter!

Swimming sea lions

Mhari wanted her picture taken... so she posed like this for me :).

Clark posing too.

This is in the animal sanctuary... and the older kids were holding a huge snake... which I wasn't allowed to take pictures of :(.

We had a fabulous time and the kids really loved all of the rides, food, and animals... Yay for Sea World!!

Sandra's Surprise!

2011-11-21T13:36:00.000-06:00

Last week Sandra came home from school super excited. She came running up to me smiling...

(come on can't you see what's so exciting?!?)

Well, she didn't tell me, but the necklace in the picture above was a pretty good clue! She lost her first tooth, at school! She got to go to the nurse and get the fancy tooth necklace too. Such excitement!

Now here's the look at the cutest little gap in her smile. See, now you can tell right :)? (she even has her tongue poking in the hole)

Yay for Sandra! She's happy to be joining the toothless club with her older brothers!

Pumpkin Picking

2011-11-14T08:47:00.001-06:00

Our friends grew pumpkins this year and harvested right around Halloween. I saw all of the vines and cool pumpkins before the harvest. There were so many pumpkins that I asked if my kids could pick some if they had extras. There were still tons of tiny green ones and some big ones too. Here are the kids examining the vines...

Grant picked the biggest one left. Check out that huge leaf!

Punkin with her pumpkin ;)

Sandra's pumpkin

Clark thought the little pumpkins were balls and kept throwing them :).

Talmage took forever to pick... because his siblings had taken all of the last big ones and he didn't want a tiny one :(.

This one was a decent size still. Look how big it was in my hand... there were tons that were the size of grapes.

Clark loving being outside!

Clark looking at the pumpkin vines.

Talmage finally settled on a collection of pumpkin flowers, tiny pumpkins, and cucumbers. Here he is showing off 2 of the flowers :).

Clark - because he's just too cute ;)

Happy Fall! Thanks again to our friends who shared their harvest with us... it was tons of fun!!

Fencing

2011-11-07T09:56:00.000-06:00

Our red fence has been slowly deteriorating. Here in TX there are tons of wood fences and so they all eventually rot and fall over - great times. Too bad the dirt is too filled with sand and clay to do a better fence because I would love a block fence I never had to worry about again!

Saturday was the day of the fence project. Jeff decided to take down two of the panels that had lost the post in the middle. It had been windy again and we figured the fence would be falling down anyway so why not get it fixed right?

After a couple of hours of work - most of that work removing the old posts and cement, here are the finished posts! They looked fabulous! Next to finish up with some wood next weekend....

Well, that was the plan until our home teacher showed up with the missionaries to help with our fence project. We had called him because he had a jack hammer - almost a necessity when working in TX soil - man rocks and cement are nasty down there. Well, unfortunately the jack hammer wasn't working, but bringing two strong missionaries was almost the next best thing.

They started by removing the rest of the wood panels - that is a big pile of fence if I do say so myself :)

Then it was time to dig out the remaining 11 posts! Some were easy... and some took way too long!

Such a hard worker!

Bro Blair with is long metal pry bar - that extra torque came in handy!

The boys had a great time helping too :)

So cute when they work together. They had been Jeff's helpers with the first two posts - they really do work hard!

Baby had fun hanging out during all the excitement!

Everyone working! Good times!

Well the posts are set and today the kids finished filling in the holes with the remaining dirt.

It really is great to have little helpers!

I am grateful for a hardworking husband and family! It was such a blessing to have our extra helpers come by too! It is hard for me right now because I'm not able to do any of the physical help and it could have taken Jeff a really long time to get this far by himself!
It's exciting to see this project coming along ... maybe soon enough I'll have a fence to show for all of that "fencing" or rather, de-fencing we did ;).

Dancing Soccer Players...

2011-11-02T19:49:00.000-05:00

I guess that's not exactly true, but the kids were Dancers and Soccer Players for Halloween this year ;).

It was a great idea for Mommy because they each already had uniforms/outfits from their teams and classes! Seriously the easiest Halloween ever! Here are some pictures of the cuties:

Sandra and Mhari

Cute Mhari - bun hair :)

Silly Sandra!

Oh, let's not forget the soccer mascot - the Giraffe! Clark sure was cute in the giraffe outfit (that we had used when the boys were little - again, no work for me!)

However, he didn't love wearing it. He is not happy in this picture.. he had already gotten the hood part off and was working on the arms :(

Then the whole thing - silly Baby.

Let's not leave out the handsome soccer boys! What cuties!

Here they are after making the rounds at the trunk-or-treat at the church Saturday night.

Oh, and Clark finally gave in and left the costume on :). He was adorable!

Daddy was the soccer coach, or fan, and I was a soccer Mom - very appropriate ;).

Here are the kids before going out in our neighborhood Halloween evening.

The kids also painted pumpkins that afternoon - so much easier than carving!

They had some fun faces on them too!

After all the trick-or-treating fun we ended up with a couple of "cow" girls trick-or-treating at our door. It was a fun night hanging out with them!

Oh, and now the eating of the candy begins... for days and days. Clark is really enjoying this holiday!

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

O Baby!

2011-10-28T14:29:00.000-05:00

It is time to share the family news...

Williams Baby #6 is set to arrive by May 7th, 2012.

So far things are looking good. Here is a quote from my Dr. "There is 1 healthy heartbeat." And that would be music to my ears. I was not really ready for #6, but especially not ready to repeat my last pregnancy experience... that had started out as twins (and possibly triplets). I'm feeling mostly well and starting to get more obviously pregnant. I'm finishing up my 12th week... already done with the first trimester!

We shared the news with the kids Sunday night and they are all very happy. They really enjoyed helping us talk about baby names. I'm sure this will all go by very fast... it seems like May will be here before we know it! My baby is getting so huge it will be fun to have a small one again, even if it's only for a little bit before it grows!

Class performances... 2nd Grade!

2011-10-28T13:07:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again... time to share the kid's school performances. Grant's was this month, Talmage's is next month. Grant did some of the same songs Talmage did last year, but they also did some different ones too...

Here are some pictures of Grant doing the songs:

First, waiting to start. He's on the top row third from the left.

The first song they did was about Autumn colors. They each had a different colored streamer to wiggle at different parts of the song.

Grant's was purple... not his favorite color, but the song looked really cool :)

Here is kind of a wide view of most of the kids so you could get the effect of all of the streamers wiggling :).

This was the repeated song... I think it's called "Them bones." I think Grant liked it because he got to use a musical instrument.

I think this is from the itsy bitsy spider... more movements.

There was a part where he was supposed to dance and twist... let's just say he didn't do that. When I asked him about it later he said he doesn't like dancing... accept for the chicken dance ~

Which is what we ended with. The audience even got to participate - yay :).

It was a fun night and Grant did a great job. He's still shy and doesn't like to speak in front of people or dance, but he's come such a long way from when he wouldn't even sing during his pre-k year. Way to go Grant!

Independence!

2011-10-23T14:39:00.000-05:00

Clark is really becoming more independent every day. He will go upstairs by himself and play or go find something else to do. Mostly this is good and only occasionally do I find him getting into trouble. It probably helps that there are so many kids in the house that he's rarely alone :). Here are some fun pictures of what Clark has been up to ....

I found him in the girls room the other day. First I found him on Punkin's bed reading books - couldn't get to the camera fast enough though :(. Just a little while later he was playing with Mhari's animals. Too fun. He was having a great time hanging out in the girls room!

Happy boy!

Clark still loves books! I mean, LOVES them! It's fun, and usually he's really nice with them. He get's possessive too... that's hard when it's a book he shouldn't have though. Here he is enjoying "Green Eggs and Ham"

He also often looks at the books upside down... funny kid!

Oh, and while he lays down too!

Punkin was being cute and tried on Daddy's boots. She does this often... well all of the kids do, but I couldn't help but take a picture. She's growing up so fast!

The other day someone left a bag of chips in the living room. When I heard Clark crinkling something and went to check on him this is what I found...

Just enjoying a nice little snack on the living room floor :)

He likes his picture taken if you hadn't noticed ;).

Clark is really growing up. He's still a sweetie! It's always fun when they learn new things and start being more independent!

Time to Celebrate!

2011-10-21T10:45:00.000-05:00

Talmage was well enough on the evening of his birthday to open his presents ;). He was really very excited about it all! I'm sure it helped that Grant knew what his presents were and kept telling him how awesome they were. What a good brother!

Opening Mommy and Daddy's present - a little aquarium with little sea monsters. He's very excited about it!

He also got a fingerprint kit, magic cards, skeleton dinosaurs, silly gross teeth, and money from grandparents.

Afterwards he laid down and went to sleep on the couch... and then to his bed for the night.

Last night we did the birthday dinner and cake! Talmage had said on Monday that he knew what the best birthday present Daddy could give him was. He said he wanted Daddy to cook his dinner - hamburgers and hot dogs. I thought it was so cute and also a nice treat for me to not have to cook ;). Jeff did a nice job on dinner!

Then it was time for the cake and 9 birthday candles. I was also anxiously awaiting this cake - 4 layer pumpkin cake. I was very happy when Talmage picked it because it's so yummy!

I hadn't thought about taking a before picture until Jeff started doing the candles...

Putting the candle back into place.

Make a wish!

We love you Talmage and had a great time celebrating your birthday with you! You are a fabulous 9 year old!

Birthday Surprise!

2011-10-18T16:22:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to our awesome Talmage! It has been 9 great years of having you as part of our family!

Today I decided to buy a fun birthday balloon to surprise him with when I picked him up from school. After getting all of the other kids Grant told me that Talmage was in the nurses office, he had thrown up :(.

So instead of getting a cute balloon for a surprise Talmage got sick instead.... well, he got the balloon too!

He's feeling mostly better, but still kind of down.

We may have to postpone some of our birthday fun for another night this week.
That's not the kind of surprise anyone likes for their birthday :(. Hopefully he'll be better soon!

Sweet Dreams!

2011-10-17T12:54:00.000-05:00

The other day for quiet time Mhari fell asleep... it was too cute! She wore those potato head glasses all day too. Oh, and it was a warm day, but she insisted on not taking off her jacket. She is her own little person! I just love her!

Another day Grant was home not feeling well. I went check on him during quiet time, but I couldn't find him anywhere. The last thing I had seen was him eating and then coloring. Seriously, I checked the whole house, asked Mhari and still didn't know where he was. I decided to go back to where he was last time I'd seen him...

I don't know how he fell asleep there, but it was really funny because just walking by you never even notice he's there!

Here's the under the table view :)

The chair he was using for his head. Silly boy!

Last of my sleeping beauties...

The other night I checked on the girls before bed. Everyone was sound asleep - priceless...

Oh, and sharing one bed.

I think Mhari just waits for Sandra to fall asleep so she can share her bed. Silly girl. Someday they'll be too tall to share!

I love my kids.... especially when they sleep ;).

Little Dancers

2011-10-10T09:31:00.000-05:00

Last fall the boys got to play soccer. They had a great time. Well, we figured it was time for the girls to get to do something. Welcome to Dance class! Sandra and Mhari are taking dance (ballet and tap) from the local rec center. Last week was their first class and they loved it! The parents were allowed in for the first class so that was fun too ;). I got some fun pictures of Mhari...

My little dancer

Stretching

So cute - the whole class stretching with their teacher, Miss Tracy.

Um, ya, Mhari's legs are supposed to stay down, but she kept lifting them up when they rolled back to this position. Too funny. Seriously, this was great entertainment for me ;)

More stretching

Learning how to do First Position. They are sprinkling "magic dust" onto their feet, their toes open and they can see their sticker that was hiding - creating a first position pose.

By the time it was Sandra's turn for class Clark didn't want to sit still anymore so I didn't get to go in and watch her. Her teacher said she did good :).
Later I had her model what she had learned for me ...

Doing a Plie. Um, Mhari can't quite do this yet ;)

First position.

Dancing sideways around the living room.

The girls are enjoying dance and the boys have time to run around and play with their soccer ball while they wait. It's going to be a busy time, but fun for the next 6 weeks! I'm excited to see how much they learn and how much natural talent they have - especially Chica ;).

Kitchen Clean Up!

2011-10-04T09:02:00.000-05:00

So this is another baby post, because he's so fun and cute. Here he is on the couch with Mhari. See, cuteness!

Clark loves to "help" with the dishes. Really he loves to play and steal the silverware. We have to really watch him since sometimes there are knives in the silverware basket.
He also thinks he's very cute when he does it ;).

Sunday after dinner he was running around (without his shirt because I didn't want dinner all over his white shirt, even though he had a bib on too) with the spoons he had stolen.

See, too funny!

He came back for more.

concentrating

So happy

Um, yes, into the mouth.

Adorable

He knows that every night the kids do the dishes, which means he gets to do the dishes too. I'm glad he wants to help, but it will be great when he actually helps instead of making the jobs harder ;). We love you Baby!

More Cabinets

2011-09-27T13:32:00.000-05:00

So a while back Jeff redid our kitchen cabinets and I have loved the darker color ever since. We've had the paint on hand just waiting for the desire to get the project done. We have lots of projects we would love to do... but they cost money, sometimes a lot :(. So, since this one was free I decided to get painting!

I am often bad about taking before pictures. Probably because I don't know how well the job will turn out and I don't want to have to post about it. I figured why not use the most recent one with the cute baby in it ;).

This is our downstairs guest bathroom. Don't you just love that walnut color?

Here's a close up of the color - not my favorite.

I tried to do the same angle to show off a good comparison shot. The problem is getting the same color in a photo that it is in real life. (They are not purple)

It's nice and dark, and we redid the hardware (to match the new kitchen hardware too).

Here you can see the red, but it's not that red... just the flash helping out.

Here's the master bathroom cabinets... no before shot, just imagine the first pictures again...

Close up of the drawers

Overall they turned out well. I don't know if the paint didn't go on as well since it was a few years old, or if I didn't do it as well as Jeff did, but at least it's a step in the right direction. I would also love new counter tops, sinks, facets, flooring, toilets, etc. There is always a project waiting, now to have the funds to do them all ;).

Playing in the Rain!

2011-09-21T09:40:00.001-05:00

Last week we had a very nice rain storm. The kids were playing inside and were getting ready for bed. Clark loves water and had never been in the rain before. I figured it was time to take him outside for some fun. It took him a minute to figure out that their was water everywhere. He was so cute! After a little bit I sent Mhari in for the camera and I got a video too... however I'm having problems uploading it :(. If that changes I'll get it on here...

Until then here are the pictures:

Pushing the cozy coupe car.

more rain

drinking the rain off the table - gross, I know, but so funny at the same time!

So happy!

rain footprints!

He's so fun and it was great to see him enjoy the rain! I would like to take this opportunity to say that I have posted 2 other things before I did another baby post ;). I love my little family!

Dinosaur Land

2011-09-19T17:36:00.000-05:00

Saturday our family took an afternoon drive over to Dinosaur Land - just outside of Dinosaur Valley. The kids got to do a dino dig where they were allowed to keep 3 fossils (sea fossils). Then we went on a walk around the park to see all of the dino statues. They had tons of dinos, it was really cool. We ended inside with a dino museum with real fossils. The kids had a blast and it was great to spend the afternoon on a family outing!

I have included a slideshow at the end with more photos, but I figured I would also include some pictures to high light the day :)

Sandra digging for fossils.

Grant in the play area riding the dino!

Clark really wanted to get on the big swing! He was so cute :)

While we were out walking around Grant would see a dino and say what it was before we even got to the name plate. I was surprised how many times he was right! I guess his dino obsession is paying off :)
One of the dino statues.

Inside the museum - a velociraptor egg

A mold of a T-rex skeleton

At the end of the day the kids got to pick something as a souvenier... well, really the selection was limited because I'm not paying $3 for a tiny toy. Anyway, they all ended up with dinosaurs and Clark got some balls... he was a good sport hanging out in the stroller we figured we'd let him enjoy a toy at the end of it. And, yes, he loved them ;).

I've also included some photos of Grant's collection of paper dinosaurs. He has been tracing, cutting out, and coloring them for quite some time. It's great when he gets them all out... they fill the whole kitchen table, and that's saying something - that's one huge table!
It was a fun dino day!
div>

Garden Princesses

2011-09-19T15:59:00.000-05:00

The other day the girls were outside and Sandra came in to show me her new hat :). It was too cute! The next day they were outside again and Sandra made Mhari a "hat" too. Jeff took some pictures...

Love it!

Helping her little sister.

Then I saw them and took some more pictures.
Sandra's hair curls with a little bit of humidity - so awesome!

Mhari's hat turned into a necklace - glad she's happy with it!

We love our beautiful girls and their awesome creativity! Now to have a garden pretty enough for the girls to actually pose in ;).

Rock'n out!

2011-09-14T15:04:00.000-05:00

I think one of these day's I'm going to do a post that's not so much about my cute baby, but since that isn't this post I will just get on with it ...

Baby was on the rocking chair the other day and he figured out how to rock it.

Seriously it was too cute ;).

Had to include the classic finger sucking picture!

Rock on Baby!

Grant was being funny that day too (see I have more than 1 child). He climbed into the dinosaur bucket and was playing around in it...

Then I put Baby in with him, since Baby was looking really interested in what he was doing :)
They really do love each other!

Grant was tickling Clark. Too fun.

Baby thinks he likes food so one day while I was trying to get dinner on, or something like that, he was needing food and I wondered what he would do if I gave him a whole graham cracker. Let's just say that he really liked it!

Sorry it's a little blurry.

Playing with the cracker.

That was our fun, more baby stuff. He keeps our life fun ... and it helps that he's so cute!

Holiday, Owie, Books, and Balls!

2011-09-07T17:24:00.000-05:00

For the Labor Day holiday we enjoyed our time as a family. We cleaned up the backyard in the morning and the kids played outside - our weather was beautiful, we were in the 70's! That afternoon we went bowling and ended up at CiCi's pizza for dinner. We ended the night with FHE and Wii. Somehow I ended up with no pictures of the bowling :(. I guess holding kids and keeping up on our turns for bowling turned into no time for the camera.

In the middle of all of the business Clark fell out of his booster seat. Well, I had removed the booster seat for cleaning and I totally forgot to re strap it in :(. So the he was buckled safely into place when the seat tipped off the chair and he hit the kitchen floor.

He was sad and took a while to calm down. I saw some blood on his shirt and then I had to figure out where it came from...

Yup his chin hit the floor. It was a pretty big gash too. I sent Jeff out and we got some liquid bandaid stuff to seal up his wound. He's done great with it, but still it's sad :(.

After bowling and dinner Mhari fell asleep in the car. She wouldn't wake up either. I thought her position was priceless. Just couldn't help taking a picture... and sharing it!

so lady like ;)

This morning after the kids were off to school Clark was hanging out with Mhari on the steps. That's when I saw him with the books. He loves books! Last night when we were all ready for dinner Clark was upstairs sitting with a pile of books, silly boy :).

Just too cute!

I got to thinking about books and realized that Clark reminds me of Talmage these days. He always has his head in a book!

Sometimes it's annoying when you're trying to get stuff done or get him to help out with stuff, but I'm glad he likes books and learning :). Cute boy!

Then Clark was playing with the ball. He still loves balls!

So happy!

Dropping the ball.

So cute!

Posing for the camera!

Every day there is something happening. The kids are growing up so fast!

10 things I LOVE about YOU!

2011-09-02T10:19:00.000-05:00

Here are some of the great reasons I love you Hunny...

1. Strong Priesthood Holder - the gospel makes our family eternal and you are the leading role in that!

2. Beautiful Blue Eyes - really, it's everything, you are just Handsome ;)

3. Dreamer - really anything great or grand in our lives has come because you are always dreaming and planning and thinking about new adventures. That has made me a better person too!

4. Hard Worker - because you are a dreamer and a hard worker you actually accomplish those dreams!

5. Great Daddy!! - you really are so sweet with our kids and I couldn't ask for a better Daddy who loves them and wants to lead them down the right path!

6. Active - you don't want to sit around lazily and do nothing... it's great to get us out and doing new things together!

7. Determined... this could also read stubborn ;). I'm glad you know what you want and you are willing to make it happen, even when it seems unlikely.

8. Hugs! I love a good hug and some days I need one more than others... you give great hugs ;).

9. Dancing! I know we don't get the chance that often, but dancing with you is one of my favorite things! I love being held close moving to the music and having you tap the beat on my back ;).

10. Silly! I know not everyone knows this about you, but it's true! You say silly things, you laugh like a girl (sometimes), and you love stuffed animals... really, it keeps life fun.

Just to show how you're silly you cuddled up with one of the kids animals as a pillow - so funny :)

Just wanted to remind you that I think you are Awesome!!

~ meme

Water fun!

2011-08-29T09:50:00.000-05:00

Baby is still in love with water :). I love this about him... he's so cute when he finds water! We washed our cars the other day and this was Baby's first time with us outside while we washed cars. He found the soap bucket really fast and splashed and splashed... so I ran in to get the camera!

Here he is with some residue bubbles on his face and hands :)

going back for more!

While we were working the boys found a grasshopper. I guess catching grasshoppers is funner than washing cars.

Here is Talmage holding it.

Then Grant got a turn.

It really matches our dead grass too ;)

Baby found where the water collected on the running boards and was splashing in it.

He was very involved. You would think the water spraying like that would scare him...

Nope, he loved it!

The girls did help, but somehow all of the pictures ended up being of Baby... not sure how that seems to happen ;). It's nice to have clean cars and get to teach Clark more about water, oh and how to not run into the street. Fun stuff!

3,2,K

2011-08-24T19:25:00.000-05:00

The kids are back to school and we have one in 3rd grade, one in 2nd grade, and one in Kindergarten. They met their teachers the week before and have been excited about starting school since then!

Here they are on the big day!

Sandra, Grant, and Talmage

Talmage is in 3rd grade and has 3 teachers he switches between. He really likes his teachers and even has lots of friends from the previous years in his class. He has lots of goals for this year... hmm, I can only remember one: Read at least 150 books for AR. He is a very goal oriented kid and I'm sure he'll accomplish all he sets out to do!

Grant is in 2nd grade and switches between two classes this year. He has different teachers than Talmage did so that's a fun change (even though we really liked Talmage's teachers). Grant is loving his class and his teachers - especially his home room teacher, he says they are her best class ever and that makes him happy! His goal for the year is to not get any notes home and to do his homework! He's a great kid.

Sandra is officially in kindergarten. She likes her teacher, as do we. She only has a couple of friends from her pre-k class so that makes her sad. Her goal this year is to read really well and make lots of new friends. I got a note from her teacher yesterday about how Sandra had a great 2nd day of school and wrote a story all by herself. Sandra was very pleased with herself. We're looking forward to Sandra really blossoming in reading and writing this year ;).

It's nice to have the routine back and the little ones are enjoying their day, even if Mhari asks lots of times when it's time to go get the older kids from school :). The days are going by fast. Happy back to school schedule everyone!

Wii Party

2011-08-23T12:20:00.000-05:00

Our family has been living life with the very basics over the last... well, forever. Jeff and I decided it was time to get a flat screen TV that we could use it to show pictures - like a big digital photo frame, in our living room. When we were picking out which one to get Jeff suggested that we also get a Wii for the family. That sounded like a great plan to me :).

We had one week with our wii before school started so we tried to get some good playing time in. Our first Wii night was for FHE and the kids weren't really good at Mario Kart, but we also got Wii Sports and they had fun with that.

Here are some pictures of the kids bowling - some with a little help from daddy :).

Mhari.

Sandra

The new TV (32 inch).

Grant

and Talmage

It will be fun to have more Wii parties with the kids, they just won't be as often with the school schedule. It's been fun to see the kids learning how to play the games :). Jeff and I have even had some fun when the kids are in bed... even a few wii nights with friends. Fun times ;).

Baby accomplishments!

2011-08-19T11:20:00.000-05:00

Baby has been growing up so fast. He keeps doing new things and before I know it he'll be too big to call "Baby." Here is an update of some of his "accomplishments."

He knows how to throw a fit... he even crawled under the stools and throw a fit!

He was so darn cute doing it too ;)

He is also a great thief. Maybe that's not something to be proud of, but how can you help it when he's so cute! Oh, and he's a trash thiefer... maybe the better term would be dumpster diver - see, not really a thief at all.
He got the celery out of the trash (it had been left out from dinner and just wasn't worth keeping, unless you're a baby).

He really had a good time with it too!

Even got some chewing in on it too (I know, gross, sorry for the baby eating from the trash picture).

This one really doesn't count as an accomplishment, but just too cute not to share :). Every one of our babies has a picture in Jeff's Michigan hat. Well, I guess we forgot about it when he was younger so we did it now. Let's just say he's not as cooperative with having hats on his head anymore. It's fun to take them off though!

Just before he grabbed the hat.

When I shower the girls, Baby gets to hang with Daddy so he stays out of the way. This night Daddy was on the bed so Baby was cuddled up next to him with his toothbrush. By the time I was done with the girls Baby was asleep!

What a handsome little Baby!

OK, last one: I discovered this one because he was being too quiet and I went to see what he was up to.

Baby has figured out how to climb the stool in the bathroom. He was super cute up there playing with the toothbrushes!

I wondered why he was so excited about it.

until I saw that he was enjoying seeing himself in the mirror. He was so proud of himself!

Now he just needs to learn how to get off the stool! He gets stuck up there now ;). Silly Baby!

Clark is so great and we just love him! I hope you enjoyed our little baby update ;)

One last stop

2011-08-19T10:31:00.000-05:00

On our way home we got stuck in a traffic jam. At first I figured it was from construction, but with the length of the delay I realized it was from an accident. We were delayed an hour, and after seeing the accident I could tell why. There were two vehicles and they were both really smashed up, especially the sedan. We later found out it was a fatality.

Here is a picture of the truck (it was pulling a boat that was 20 yards down the road).

With that behind us...

Our last place to see on our way home was the Albuquerque, NM temple. It was pretty hot outside, but we enjoyed walking around the temple grounds.
Here are the kids in front of the fountain.

In front of the temple

Grant, Mhari, and Sandra

Talmage

Baby and me

Trying to get a good picture as we drove away... sorry it's a little tilted.

We arrived safe and sound the next evening. It was nice to be home after a long week of travel.

All the Family!

2011-08-18T11:18:00.001-05:00

OK, so this is getting long, but I want to be sure to share the pictures of the family from the reunion. We had a group picture taken and then broke down into smaller family groups. This group picture is of My mom, her kids and spouses and their kids. Let's just say that families can sure multiply quickly!

At the old town area there were some fun photo ops... like locking the kids in the local jail :).

Vance's fiance' Jessica with Sandra :)

Grant as a cowboy

Mhari and Sandra posing in the western girl frame :)

Grant and Talmage :)

Grant and Mhari on the wooden horse and Sandra on a huge piece of petrified wood.

Grant almost standing on the huge petrified wood.

That evening at dinner... all of the family eating :)

cousins bonding :)

My mom with her brother and sister sharing memories of their parents... the ones who started this huge pile of people :).

Deer on the way into the canyon.

Our family tree.

Aunt Shay with Baby and Grant with his favorite cousin :)

Mhari was having a hard day... Uncle Paul helped out and cuddled with her :)

He even got her to take a nap :)

Uncle Westen and his little girl.

Paul and me.

Heather and baby.

Heather keeping baby happy with the cell phone ;).

Talmage with one of his favorite cousins.

The kids, especially Talmage and Grant, had a great time playing soccer with everyone. We have enough people to get a good game going on too!

It was hard to pull the kids away when it was time to go... but we had a long drive ahead of us to get back to TX. It was great to see everyone and build cousin friendships for the kids! Sorry if this was long, but there are even more pictures that weren't posted ;).

Bryce Canyon

2011-08-16T09:11:00.000-05:00

We had a nice time exploring Bryce Canyon. I've always thought the canyon was beautiful. I love the color and the cool shapes. It seems unreal the way the rocks are formed.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy... maybe even help you feel like you had the chance to visit Bryce too :)

The kids had a great time, but we had to be careful they didn't get too close!

One of my favorites!

Mhari

Clark

We did try to hike down into the canyon a little. Let's just say that going down with a stroller wasn't a good idea and I got many a crazy look, as well as comments, from people.

Oh, and needless to say, I didn't make it down very far.

We ran into my Brother and his family just finishing the 1.3 mile hike.

They look like they just went on a stroll! I guess the backpack was a good idea if you wanted to take little ones down that trail!

After our little hike we decided to do the rim trail. This was a nice paved trail along the rim of the canyon, not down it. We made it a lot farther and went to a cool look out point. That's where a lot of the scenic pictures came from. The kids did well on the hike and we had a nice time exploring Bryce Canyon together!

Reunion Fun

2011-08-14T18:01:00.000-05:00

Friday morning we ate breakfast together and then all of the families had different activities to share. It was a fun morning! The kids especially had a blast!

Here is Clark at breakfast eating his first apricot. Um, he loved it and would have eaten the pit if I let him. He had several more by the time we were done at the reunion :).

Sandra and Mhari waiting for the fun to start. I think they are growing into some beautiful girls and they are such good friends too!

Giant Twister!

Face painting! Sandra later had a crown added to her decorated face :)

Clark took a nap for a while... so sweet!

Talmage got a tiger face... he really liked it!

Grant was also a tiger :)

My sister, Holly, being a human sock puppet. Too funny... can you see her "decorations"?

Sandra and Holly playing puppets.

Clark modeling the rosettes that I was teaching. He left it on top of his head too... probably because he couldn't tell it was there ;).

Mhari is a butterfly, oh, and don't forget the pretty fingernainls! The only problem with the face paint is that it blocked the sun so well that Mhari still has a butterfly tan on her face - which is at least better than the butterfly sunburn it started out as!

The picture of all the kids who had their faces painted! There was some cool stuff: dragon, aquarium, lots of butterflies, flowers etc.!

The whole gang who made sock puppets. They all had a great time with their puppets!

That finished the morning. After lunch we were left to our own plans... so it was off to explore the canyon - tune in next time for Bryce Canyon pictures :)!

Reunion Time

2011-08-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

We arrived at Bryce Canyon safe and sound Thursday afternoon. We checked into the hotel, saw some family, and got ready for the evening festivities. We met in the camping area, roasted hot dogs and ate smores. It was a fun night and the kids enjoyed getting to know their cousins :).

Sandra and her cousin, "Princess."

Mhari and her cousin "Buddy"

Uncle Vance playing with the girls :)

Weight lifting the girls.

The girls making their own campfire... out of rocks and dirt. They sure were dirty by the end of the night :).

Grant enjoying an apricot.

Mhari with a cookie smore.

Clark

Clark and I hanging with some of the girl cousins.

My kids bonding with cousins.

Uncle Paul helping roast hot dogs

Hanging with my cute niece :).

Aunt Amanda and her baby :)

Our first night was over and everyone had a great time being outside and eating. More fun tomorrow :)

The desert and wood....

2011-08-11T09:56:00.000-05:00

So that would be the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest and our next main stop along our way to the reunion. I actually need to add a correction to the previous post; the picture of Baby and I was actually taken on this day on our lunch break in Albuquerque, NM... oops ;).

Anyway, so after a long detour, since the off ramp was under construction, we arrived at the Painted Desert. It was also raining (and since we haven't seen any of that in almost 2 months it was a welcomed site, just too bad it wasn't raining in TX)... with the rain and wind it made getting out more difficult, but we managed a few times - otherwise it was a nice car drive checking out all of the cool parts of the National Park!

I just love looking at the red in the desert. Makes it so cool and alive looking :)

One of our stops getting all of the kids out - with Grandma.

See, I told you it was windy!

It was really cool to see the different colors through the dirt.

Talmage

We crossed over to the Petrified Forest side of the park and found lots of cool stuff.

Newspaper Rock. You can see the petroglyphs (pictures) on the bottom of the rocks (huge rocks), made by Native Americans years ago. Really the carvings are so tiny... so you may need to zoom in to see them. They are in the black parts of the rock.

Talamge

Trying to give you some size perspective on how large the rocks were... at the very bottom of the rocks in the black sections are the pictures.

We were up on a platform looking through the viewfinders to get a good look at the pictures. Oh, and Clark was being cute ;).

This is the Agate Bridge. One of the logs that had come out of the erosion and a gully formed under it creating a natural bridge. The cement under the log is to give it support, but eventually it will wear away.

They call this mound of dirt the Blue Tepees (I think) because it's triangular like a tepee and they have blue and other cool colors in them.

Me and the kids outside the Petrified Forest Museum... look at all that petrified wood!

The kids with a huge piece of polished rock, or wood, or whatever :)

Day 2 down. Made it to Holbrook, AZ, ate dinner, and stayed the night ... ready to get to the reunion!

On our way to the reunion...

2011-08-10T20:12:00.000-05:00

Last week was our Westenskow family reunion. I (with help from my mom) took the kids across 3 states to get them to Bryce Canyon. Our first stop was Amarillo, TX... more importantly the Don Harrington Discovery Center. Really it's just a cool kid's museum. They played and played and played until closing (at 4:30 - why so early?).

Here's the photos of all the fun!

Playing with the balls! Mhari and Clark

Sandra, Grant, and Mhari

Clark found a beach ball! - did I ever mention that Clark likes balls?

The spinning discs - Talmage, Grant, and Mhari.

The human bubble.... growing from the ring

almost covering Talmage...

Grant in the full size bubble! Seriously awesome bubble fun!

Clark and I making a vertical bubble.

Grant and Talmage found the dinosaur dig area!

Sandra and Mhari found the face paint. Sandra took the liberty of painting Mhari's face for her ;).

Sandra found a stage to perform on ...

and so did Clark :)

Sandra also found the dress up clothes. She had a blast... there was always something new to do!

They had a machine that made it so you could be in a cloud. Here are the boys in the cloud.

Sandra's turn.

Then Clark got a turn. Let's just say that he was super cute in the cloud!

and here's the video to prove it ;)

They had some cool dinosaurs in the dino area. The boys really loved this part... and they are running away from the t-rex in case you couldn't tell ;).

Grant playing with the electro ball thingy.

Outside the museum after it closed. Man, they would have stayed all night if they could!

Clark and I hanging outside the museum. He's such a cutie!

The rest of the evening consisted of checking into the hotel, getting dinner, and swimming. Then the kids were nice and worn out for bed. It was a good night... and we had completed our first day of travel.
Until tomorrow!

Hat Family :)

2011-08-09T13:54:00.001-05:00

My friend Amanda makes some awesome patterns! I have done this hat pattern for my baby a few months back and my older kids thought they would all like one too... so the time came to make the hats! I decided to repurpose, or upcycle, some of the stuff I had to do the hats. The boys hats came from camouflage shorts with the waist band making the band around the hat - I kept the belt loops, I thought they looked cool. The girls flower pattern was a sun dress that I had bought at a thrift store a while back. Totally cute! They each picked a color for the opposite side, since the pattern is reversible!

Here are the pics of how the hats turned out :).

Talmage

He's so photogenic ;)

Mhari - cutie!

so cute!

Sandra

sweetie!

Grant

So handsome!

Did I mention that Amanda has an adult pattern as well? Well she does and after making so many fun hats for the kids I had to do one for myself! Mine came from a girls pair of pants. I also used the waist band for my hat, but this time I kept the button for the focus and removed the loops. I think it turned out so cute!

If you ever want to try a pattern and you're not sure if you'll be able to do it... I think Amanda, or Butterfly Tree, does a fabulous job of making a very clear easy to understand pattern with tips as you go along too!
We love our hats!

Daingerfield State Park

2011-07-31T15:40:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we decided to do a last minute day trip. The truck needed to drive some to break in the new tie rod ends and ball joints before the long drive next week. We looked in our Texas info guide and decided on Daingerfield State Park. It was about 200 miles away with a nice large lake.

When we got there the kids had fun playing on rocks while Jeff rented paddle boats for the lake :)

Jeff helping Grant get on his life vest.

Sandra

They even had a small one for our baby :)

Loading up the paddle boats. Jeff got Grant, Sandra and Mhari. I had the baby and Talmage. It worked out pretty well.

Talmage

Mhari

the view while out on the lake. Such a beautiful day, even if it was hot.

more scenery.

The last little area we paddled to had tons of lily pads. It was super cool. Talmage, and the others, had lots of fun playing with them - pushing them into the water.

Talmage

Baby and me hanging out by the lily pads.

The view of the lily pads

On our way back we got a head of Jeff. This is what we looked like :)

Meanwhile Jeff had let the kids take off their shoes and put their feet in the water for the ride back to the dock.

They loved it!

When we were all done and hanging out on the dock we met a man who was fishing... and had actually caught a fish. The kids loved it!

Oh, and they loved hanging out with him watching him fish. He was a nice guy to put up with our curious kids :).

We had a great time and will probably do another day trip when it's a little bit cooler :). It's nice to get out in nature as a family!

The tooth story :(

2011-07-31T14:38:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago we were at the store (buying our new table) and the kids were looking at the couches. I was with them and we were going up to join Jeff at the front of the store. On our way out there is a spot that has 4 or 5 steps - cement steps. Mhari was in front of the group and I was at the back with the baby. Suddenly I hear this smack and crying. I put baby down and ran over to her. She was at the bottom of the steps... she had tripped and landed at the bottom - not tumbled, but strait shot down all of her force landing at the bottom of the steps. I picked her up to check her hands and knees, but nothing. Then I checked her mouth :(.

Ya, it was bleeding and her front tooth was loose. Maybe the hard part of having lots of kids is that I'm starting to relive previous accidents... like when Grant was 1 1/2 and cracked his mouth on a folding table at church :(. We ended up in the emergency room and no real answers.

So, I'm experienced right?! I knew it was bad, I could see the lines on her gums around the front left tooth where it had cracked into the cement. I grabbed a wipey and held her trying to keep the tooth in place. Jeff finished up with the purchase and we went home.

She was in pain, but such a trooper. I figured we'd get in with the Pediadentist on Monday and get an x-ray to see how bad the damage was. Well, they were on vacation on Monday so we got in on Tuesday and had the x-ray taken. Yup, the root was broken :(. The Dr. gave her some antibiotics and decided to follow up in a week.

I forgot to take pictures... but this is how quickly she healed - gums and mouth at least. These were taken on Tuesday after the Dentist appointment:

It also broke her lip on the inside. Really, it was looking really pretty good...

Until the next week Monday when Mhari jumped and bonked her tooth on my chin - Owe! Oh, and re-injured it all over again :(. I had to hold her tooth in place and the gums were pretty broken up again.

So we followed back up and did another x-ray and it confirmed that she's going to loose her tooth :(. Her body is starting to dissolve the root and so the tooth will work it's way out on it's own. She'll just be toothless for a few years. I'll update a photo when it finally comes out. Oh, it's sad, but she's such a good little girl. I hope she enjoys having a toothless smile ;).

Creative Kids

2011-07-21T09:35:00.000-05:00

Our kids like to play outside, build things, and use their creative energies. I love to see what they come up with. We have had our swing set for about 5 years and there used to be a circle swing off the end of it. After a few years the sun had weathered the rope and it broke. The kids came up with their own solution for a rope swing:

I'm surprised the hose held up as well as it did!

I love that they made it a loop so they could use their feet to hold them up.

Sandra's turn.

Such creative kids.

Grant swinging.

Jeff and I were talking and wondered what they would do if we just left a rope outside to see what they did with it :).

On another note:

Boys will be boys!

All of my handsome boys huddled around the computer watching soccer. Silly boys :).