A little bit of Cuteness

Just a little bit of random cuteness to be shared...

This picture was taken while Levi was screaming, gleefully, about his Blankieeeeee.
They came up with this one on their own. I was making dinner when they came in and asked if I would take their picture. So totally creative!

Levi has taken to thinking that Buckets are for hats. This was the first time I had caught him doing it. Once again, all on his own idea. I was making dinner and talking to Landon when I turned around to see what Levi was playing with. This is how I found him, bucket on head, stripped down to his diaper. Just a random cute moment from my Levi man.

Ellen's Dialogue Life

Go figure that my little reader has a hard time pulling herself out of books and into the real world. I started to notice a couple of weeks ago that Ellen narrates her life in dialogue. I have caught her many, many times playing a game and narrating as she goes along. This has happened for years and lots of kids do that. But lately, she has taken it to a new level.

For instance:

Mom: "Ella, come here for a minute."
Ella: "Coming mom....she cried."

She adds narrative to the end of her words. It is really funny to hear.

Ellen: "Daddy...she shouted."

The narrative is always a little lower and more under her breath, but it is there. What a crack up!

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving 2010 brought with it another huge snowstorm to Pocatello. Go figure! Thanksgiving this year was in Boise with the Kunz’s. Katie left on Tuesday with the kids to try to head over. Because of all the snow it took her 6 hours to get to her parents when the drive normally takes about three and a half hours. The kids were good and they just took it slow. Landon joined us on Wednesday night taking the long drive which he managed to do in about 5 hours. Better than the day before, but still long.

The stay in Boise was really nice. Especially for me. I have to admit that by the time Thanksgiving came around I was feeling really wiped out. I was really looking forward to some time in my parents house and having someone take care of me for a change. Don't get me wrong, I don't go there and just let it all go. At least I try not to, but when you are at your parents' house you can't help but feel the safety that comes with that. It is something that I miss terribly here in Pocatello. There are times that I wish I could just zip up to one of the parents' house and just feel that sense of security for even a few hours. I left early so that I could spend some extra time with my parents and feel of that comfort. And my parent's did not disappoint. I felt very loved and had a ton of help with my kids. It really helped me gear up and recharge a little.

All of my siblings were able to come make it to my Boise. It is a healing time when we are all together. We miss terribly those that are not with us, and believe me, we notice the absence of Shelly and Connor, but it is also healing to be together and regain that perspective that we are an eternal family. I am so grateful for the sealing of my parents' that keeps us all together.

Landon had to head home on Thanksgiving night to make it back to work. (Peak Season at FedEx!) Katie and the kids stayed until Saturday so that Katie could participate in Black Friday with her sister. She started out at the midnight sale at Walmart and then took a break until 5 am when she headed back out with Annie and Jason. I love Black Friday and Annie and Jason are even more die-hard of shoppers than I am so it was fun to be with other marathon shoppers like myself. Many deals were had and the bulk of Christmas was done by the end of the day.

The holiday was so enjoyable and I am sad that I didn't really get any pictures. Our camera has been acting up, so I had to rely on others for the pictures. These were the only ones I have been able to scrounge together. Maybe I can pull a few more out of my family later, but for now. This is what you get.

On the first night I got to Boise Joe and Gretchen dropped their boys off so that they could go on a date. This picture was too priceless as they all sat watching a movie in their PJ's waiting for their parents to return. (Ellen, Eli, Will, & Trevor)

Levi wouldn't stay on the floor long enough for me to get him in the picture, so I took one of him just being cute.

The whole week one of the big exciting things was Baby Riley. We had only met Riley one other time, so it really was a big deal. Ellen begged to hold him all weekend long.

Levi wanted his turn with Baby Riley as well.

On Thanksgiving morning after we had stuffed ourselves on Breakfast and waited for the big meal to arrive all of the kids went outside to play. Mostly they wanted to play with Annie and Jason's dog Peek-a-Boo. Trevor and Will have always been the ones most enamoured with the dog so they stayed out after all the other kids got bored.

What cute boys! I am glad that they can be good friends with their cousins.

Playing in the Snow

The first big snowstorm of the season came to Pocatello in mid-November. And boy was it a storm. In fact, it was one of the biggest snow storms we have had in recent years. The kids couldn’t wait to get outside and start playing in it.

When we finally decided it was warm enough for them to go play in it all of the kids were soooo excited to get their snow stuff on. Even Levi, but when we went to go outside...

...this is what I got. He was not happy to be outside in the snow. He cried and wanted me to hold him the whole time we were out there. I forced him to stay for a little while and stand on his own just so I could get his picture. This outfit is too stinking cute to pass up a picture.

Ellen and Trevor on the other hand spent a good portion of a Saturday afternoon pulling each other on the sled, having snowball fights, and building a snowman.

This picture was the end of Levi's snow experience that day. He came in with me right after I took this picture. Although it was the end of his playing in the snow, it was not the end of wearing the snow suit. He wore his snow clothes for about another half an hour inside before I forced him to take it off so that he could take a nap.

The kids snowman was my very favorite part of their snow playing. It ended up being just a little mound of snow that they pushed together. Then, Ellen would send Trevor inside to ask me for the items they needed, a hat, mittens, a carrot, and buttons. Of course they couldn’t ask for these things all at once, so Trevor kept getting sent in the house each time Ellen decided they needed something new. They both loved it and played until they were too cold to go on and it was getting dark.

Primary Program 2010

November started out with a fun happening for us with the kids Primary Program. This is a big deal for our family because not only were Trevor and Ellen in the program, but Katie is still the Primary Chorister. It went well and the kids were both very cute. Ellen’s part was to sing with a small group of three other girls the song, “The Holy Ghost.” Of course she rocked it, but she did add her own little flair to the rest of the program. Any time the primary got up to sing a song she would do her own actions with her hands for each song. No matter how much I glared at her while she was doing it, she was oblivious and continued with her show.

Trevor got to say his own part, which was the same as the rest of the sunbeams. “My name is Trevor and I will follow Jesus.” He had no problems remembering it and did a smash bang job, especially since half of his class wouldn’t say their part. Trevor also made his own time to shine during the whole of the program during the first song. During the chorus of “I Know He Lives” Trevor really let everyone know that he believed that Jesus Lives! He sang his heart out nice and loud. It was all I could do to hold it together while leading. I have to admit, I was a really proud Mama.