the holidays are coming...

well, now that thanksgiving is over, we are settling into the holiday season...
we had a great laugh when clint emailed this to us.
click here to see just how excited the kids are for the holidays!

happy thanksgiving!

we had a wonderful, quieter than usual, thanksgiving with my parents and little sister samantha. lots of delicious food and relaxation.
we have so much to be thankful for, we really are so blessed...
i'm grateful for a holiday to remind us!
happy thanksgiving to all.

outer mongolia...here he comes!

today was the day...cuyler finally left the MTC for mongolia! he has been in the MTC since the 5th of september, and i think he was really ready to go! we went and stood on the hill and waved as his van drove past on their way to the airport. it was literally only a second as they honked and we all screamed and waved...we really didn't even get a good look at him, but nonetheless he saw us and the sign and balloons...etc. later tonight we talked to him on the phone for a bit during his layover in LA...he sounded great... a bit nervous maybe, but very excited to get there.

we miss you uncle cuyler...but can't wait to hear about your adventures in outer mongolia!

October 2007

Here are the highlights of the past month... all the many things that have been going on and are to blame for my major blogging break.....no, i haven't been reading the twilight series...they are still sitting on my shelf unopened...i still don't have the courage to let my life come to a screeching halt just yet...

Halloween
the boys got to dress up for school and they had a fun parade we got to go watch. ethan (peter pan..with a dagger that daddy made that morning) loved watching the parade and cameron loved showing savanna (tinkerbell) off to all his friends. we went to help in cameron's class and then spent the night trick-or-treating in our neighborhood and grandma's.





clint and I went to a super fun party with some friends the weekend before halloween... it was a load of fun and laughs! oh and thanks for the pics, sandee!


Sick Kids
the kids all had a tough battle with some icky virus and savvy had 2 ear infections this month. one week cameron missed 3 days of school and really wasn't feeling too well. but, cameron being the nurturer that he is, went out of his way to take care of me. i went to pick up barrett from school and came home to this on my bed. cameron met me at the door and told me that he thought ethan fell asleep on my bed and i needed to go check on him, but really he had made me lunch, "because I haven't seen you eat lunch yet today, mom". cameron really is a sensitive and thoughtful little man.



Teething and Playing

check out those babies comin' in! we also can't play hard enough with this little doll. she loves to play peek-a-boo, so big, pat-a-cake, so much..etc. she also gives the yummiest hugs and kisses. she is still army crawling all over the place and once in a while she'll crawl on all fours. she also just started pulling herself up to standing...yikes! get ready for some bumps and bruises...

Barrett turned NINE!!


holy cow, we have a nine-year old...and what a handsome one! i cannot believe nine years ago we had our first child! it feels like only yesterday, yet i do feel a lot older now than i did then! as new parents, i think we have so much to learn and the first child is our guinea pig. barrett wasn't an easy infant and definitely forced us to learn many things from the very beginning. i am grateful for that, he really helped us adjust quickly to all that being a parent entails...and we are still learning lots with him. barrett is a great student and is loving third grade. barrett is an energetic and inquisitive boy. he loves learning about everything! he absolutely loves reading right now and speeds through a book about every day. barrett is growing like a weed...most people cannot believe he is only 9! he is going to be taller than me any day. he is a great big brother and really tries to do what is right. barrett had a great birthday. he is really enjoying his new mountain bike, since his last one he got when he turned 5! he had a fun, spooky halloween party with a bunch of friends.
we sure love you barrett...thanks for keeping us laughing and learning!


Fall Days and Friends
i love fall. i love the colors, smells, weather, food... it is quite possibly my favorite season. this fall has been especially long and beautiful....we have tried to enjoy these beautiful days by getting outside...but alas, as it is starting to really turn colder, i am wishing we would have spent more time outdoors this past month.




A weekend in one of our favorite places....Cache Valley
seriously, in my book, there are few places as beautiful as cache valley, especially in the fall. we went up to see old friends and visit grandpa and grandma barrett and i think we hit the timing just right for those fall leaves. it was beautiful! we had a nice time and hauled off a bunch of stuff for the grandparents... we love and miss that place.




A Week of Fun in Sunny California

we had a blast in the OC. we spent many fun filled relaxing days at Disney and a day at the beach. It was a lot of fun to be there with many of my siblings and parents. We really just love this place. our little ethan had a blast and went on every ride he was tall enough for without hesitation...splash mountain was his favorite, but he also loved tower of terror, space mountain, big thunder railroad, star tours, the matterhorn...the list goes on and on! check out ethan's "thumbs up" in the tower of terror picture...it was hilarious! i love watching the kids enjoy disney the first time they are old enough to really enjoy it. we all had a great time and lots of fun! here are some slide shows of our fun week and a cool video of barrett and cameron who were chosen to train as jedi's and got to fight darth vader and darth mal at the same time! they had a blast!

nine months, nine days

savanna had her nine-month well check today. here are her stats...

18 lbs.
28 inches

that puts her between 25 and 50 percentile in weight and 75 percentile in height.
i am actually suprised how little she is and slowly she is growing.

definitely not following in her big brother's footsteps...

here are some other savvy facts at 9 months old

• sleeps through the night about 70% of the time
• is happy about 99.9 % of the time
• has the dang cutest giggle... giggles whenever she realizes she is getting what she wants...usually food
  
• LOVES food... she hasn't really been too picky and eats just about everything, including everything on the floor
  
• still has no teeth...getting close though!
• plays peek-a-boo
• growls! really, it is cute and sounds like a tiger...
• loves to dance
  
• is so so playful...i can't resist playing with her all the time, which is to blame for my slacking in other areas...
• says "da-da" and is definitely a daddy's girl! she responds to her daddy a lot!
• has mastered the army crawl and gets into everything now
• has beautiful blue eyes and crazy strawberry-blonde hair that just keeps growing...can even wear it in full piggy tails!
• loves the mirror...probably her favorite toy right now
  
• gives the best kisses!
• claps "hurray"
• waves bye-bye
• LOVES her big brothers!
• is SO incredibly loved and adored by all of us.
  

fairy-tale cake

remember that cake the 3 fairies tried to make in sleeping beauty without their magic? well, we were lucky enough to experience that cake for real! here's to
my-super-crafty-talented-domestic-
I-don't-know-how-we're-even-related-sister
who just knew her chocolate cake could beat out mine! while she was here visiting, we both made cakes and i'm pretty sure she must have left her magic wand in seattle. i definitely took the cake on this one -- if you know what i mean! just the other day i was making this delicious cake again and ethan was begging me to make the sleeping beauty cake instead. i had to explain to him - i just didn't have that magic touch...

and of course, for your sweet tooth, the recipe to my award-winning chocolate cake!

favorite chocolate bundt cake

1 (18.25 oz.) pkg. devils food cake mix without the pudding in the mix

1 (4 oz.) pkg. instant chocoalte fudge or other chocolate flavor pudding mix

4 eggs

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, sour cream, and water. Beat with an electric mixer on low until just blended. Beat on medium speed 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Stir in chocolate chips.

Pour into a well-greased 12-cup bundt pan. Bake 50 - 60 minutes. Let cool 10-15 minutes in pan, then invert onto a serving plate and let cool completely. Sift powdered sugar over top.

Enjoy!

he's seven!

cameron turned the big seven today!
he's seven? i swear, time just keeps going faster and faster. cameron had a fun day with cool presents, and of course the birthday that lasts all week with a big outdoor pirate-themed slumber party with the cousins this weekend!
cameron loves anything to do with science, soccer, basketball, arts and crafts, riding his bike, playing with friends, and staying busy.
he usually gets bored while watching tv or playing video games.
cameron has sure brought us some fun times these past few years! he is such a creative kid, always thinking of something to make or do...really original things.. mostly made out of trash! we have a lot of fun waiting to see what cam will come up with next! cameron is a good brother and is usually thinking of others before himself. cameron is already an excellent babysitter! no, i don't leave him home alone with the little ones... but he has always had a soft place for babies and absolutely adores savanna! it isn't unusual to find savvy missing from where i last left her...and find her wherever cameron is. we sure love you cameron!
it's been a wonderful seven years!!

colorado cousins

a couple of weeks ago we had a great trip to beautiful colorado to visit uncle clayton (a.k.a. uncle daddy), aunt gina and the cousins: addyson, abigail, gracie, baxter and burk. we hadn't seen them for too long! in fact, we were going to meet baxter (14 months) and burk (4 1/2 months) for the first time! it was so much fun to spend time with them and let the kids get to know each other better. the smalls made the trip too, which of course, only added to the fun. we definitely made some great memories and had a great time.

thanks colorado dorny's for being such wonderful hosts!

we spend the first day at a way fun pool. the kids couldn't get enough of the whirlpool...oh, the dads too!! afterwards, we went home and made very delicious pizza on the grill! i have to say, clayt and gina are quite the chefs...they spoiled us with very yummy food the whole time!

the next day we drove to the top of Pikes Peak...wow! it was soooo beautiful and quite the drive!

the next day, sunday, precious little burk was blessed and we were grateful to be there for that. shortly after, we loaded up and hit the road for the long drive home. what a fun weekend... time spent with family is truly priceless.