Celebrating Lucy!

Lucy is six! She woke up this morning and crawled into my bed like she does everyday. I told her the story of when she was born and as special as that moment was six years ago, I am so glad that I wasn't in labor this morning! We got the girls dropped off for school and I went back to Lucy's class and took in Oreo Balls. Dipped in orange chocolate per her request. I was up past midnight making them. THAT is a labor of love! The class enjoyed them but who doesn't enjoy oreos and cream cheese dipped in chocolate?

They sang "Happy Birthday to You, cha, cha, cha!"

Lucy had a cute birthday crown and was excited to share her treat with her classmates.

After school, we went to the park with more friends and played. Lucy had chosen a park that we haven't been to for a couple of years...and I was sure the water would be off since summer was over. It wasn't. And there was sand which meant kids got wet and dirty. But we had warm giant chocolate chip cookies and a fun time with friends! Everyone's fingers were frozen so we left to get changed and ready for dinner. (We were not as frozen as we would be in snowy Utah today...hmm, I just remembered it snowing on Lucy's actual birth day as well! There are pictures with Kaylee in the bumblebee costume holding a snowy pumpkin. I am going to have to find that!) Lucy opened a big surprise present and off we went to dinner and the mall! I love the facials and the pure joy and surprise on her face!

We ordered calamari as an appetizer and the girls were chowing down and loving it. They thought it was chicken and once we told Kaylee what it really was, she suddenly didn't like it. Lucy still loved it! The restaurant brought her some vanilla ice cream- her favorite- and we all sang.


Next: the mall. While I was taking all of the pictures of the piercing, I was sure I'd notice when the pokes happened...but Lucy's facial expressions didn't change at all. After they were done, I asked her if it hurt and she nodded yes. I asked her if she wanted to cry and she just burst into tears. You can watch it here:






We finished the night opening presents. She loved everything and would examine it and set it out just right on the couch! Orange shoes and an orange purse make this girl happy!

It was so much fun celebrating Lucy's birthday all day. She is such a calm, easy going, friendly girl that just wants others around her to be happy. She is thoughtful: last night as she went to bed and I was going to the store to buy stuff to make Oreo balls, she gave me a hug and told me thank you for making them. It made it worth the late night. She is growing and learning so much this year in Kindergarten and is anxious to read and write. Her face brightens each day that I'm there to pick her up and she just glows with love. Ever since I saw her dimples for the first time when she was only minutes old, I've been in love with this little girl! Happy Birthday, Goose!

Halloween Carnival

Our stake has an amazing Halloween Carnival and Trunk or Treat each year. We start with carnival games, eat dinner, a costume parade, and then trunk or treating to end the night. There were so many people this year that most cars ran out of candy! It was the place to be.


I think my favorite part is the awesome photographer that takes pictures of the kids in their costumes and prints them for free. Maybe next year we'll dress up. Did I say that last year?

Once! Once Para Hoy!

That was my facebook status today. Once is a lottery ticket in Spain that blind people sell. The literal translation is "Eleven for today" and today is Eric and my 11th anniversary! He came home early from work and since he had given me redwood compost a week earlier, I had to get him a gift. That grin for the pancake griddle is purely sincere. One of our best friends, Will, gave us a griddle 11 years ago that we have gotten so much use out of. It finally died and each week we keep saying we need to get a new one. I couldn't find the same one that Will had given us, but this one is family sized for our little family.

We dropped the kids off to a friend that was so kind to watch them and went to dinner at Jack London Square to a delicious restaurant called Cocina Poblana. Anything with just Eric would have been delicious! We don't get much time without the girls, so we enjoyed ourselves and had some great food and conversation. (I really do love being with my girls and how well behaved they are when we do go out to eat...but it was just nice to not have to take potty breaks or cut up food or...)

The two of us have different philosophies when it comes to dipping chips in salsa. Everyone knows I'm a dipper and Eric had to get a picture of it. Yum! Must be a family thing. The chip is only the means of getting the salsa to my mouth. I could probably eat it with a spoon. He barely puts anything on the chip.


After dinner we headed to the Temple. We try to go do sealings each year on our anniversary to help us remember the promises we've made. It was nice to be in a quiet room together! I insisted on taking a picture of us together because that rarely happens. To finish the night, we hit up Walmart to get some final Halloween costume items and Eric couldn't get out of there fast enough! I'd have to say it was a great anniversary. It wasn't a trip to Costa Rica like last year... but it was a wonderful day... and I loved spending an uninterrupted evening together with my best friend!

Redwood Compost

The next step in the yard was mixing some redwood compost in and loosening up the clayish dirt.

It took two truckloads in Eric's little truck to get all that we needed. Side note: I went and picked it up and did the backing up required in the yard for Eric to unload it. I was pleased with my maneuvering skills. It looks like I'm not doing much to help, but I am. And I take pictures of everyone else helping, too!

With our anniversary coming up, I asked Eric if we were going to get gifts for one another and he told me I was getting mine early: redwood compost. I never thought dirt was so beautiful and I am anxiously waiting for the next steps to be completed!

California Redwoods

Kaylee had a her first big research project in school. She chose to research the California Redwood Tree. She wrote a wonderful paper and made a clay model with a little car driving through it to show the scale of the tree. (Eric loved helping with this part!) The other part of her project was a power point on the Utah State Capitol Building. I was working in her class and was able to watch her presentation to her class. She did a wonderful job and she learned that breaking up a big project into smaller pieces makes it much easier!

Super Busy Saturday

Saturday is one day that we get to spend together as a family...sometimes. Eric's work schedule is pretty demanding right now, so when we realized we had a Saturday together, we filled the entire day up!

We woke up early and Eric cut the dead sod with a sodcutter which we then rolled and put in the trailer.

Everyone worked hard. Once we showed the girls what needed to be done, they couldn't be stopped! Sofi's work included staying inside out of the way!

After filling the trailer, we headed to the dump and unloaded 2 tons of dirt, dead sod and old brick. Things looked much better after getting all of that dead grass out of there...but there is still so much to do.

We came home and changed clothes for soccer games. The girls love playing and it is fun to watch. They have learned a lot this season! Kaylee played against one of her friends from school. They would laugh whenever they saw each other on the field.

Sofi is getting a little bit crazy watching all of the games and going to the practices...but she loves it. As soon as the games were over, we rushed to the next activity.

We decided to go to the corn maze and pumpkin patch.

Sofi wasn't so sure about it at first. She started by riding on Eric's shoulders and then decided to walk but insisted on holding my hand.

We had a good navigator that would tell us where to turn according to the map.

At one point, there is a bridge that you go over and can look down on the picture cut into the corn. Don't the girls look thrilled that I want to take a picture of them?

Sofi finally got comfortable enough that I was looking for the orange skirt at chasing her.

I think the horse, cow and pig are pretty cute!

Lucy was in heaven with all of the orange around her. All three of the girls found perfect pumpkins to sit on.

The corn "sandbox" was a hit with the girls and they spent a long time playing and burying each other. It was much better than sand !


We stayed clear of the animals because of allergy issues...but the girls did practice their roping skills. It was a very productive Saturday and everybody was tired by the time we made it home.

For some reason, these girls LOVE to sleep on their floors instead of their beds. A favorite weekend activity is sleeping on the floors together...and this time, Sofi joined them. I am glad they have each other to grow up with and I love the relationships they have with each other!

G & M with Kindie Class

Lucy's kindergarten class went to G & M Farms for a field trip and I got to go along with her.

We took a hayride out to a corn classroom where we learned about how pumpkins grow.

After running around in the hay maze and playing in the corn kernel "sandbox," the kids picked out a pumpkin, a gourd and dried corn.

Lucy wanted a big and round pumpkin. We went through rows of them before we found just the right fat pumpkin. Mrs. Starr teaches the kids some math back in the classroom about weight and measurements.

It was fun to spend the day together with friends and our favorite Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Starr!