Oh....Ouch!

I guess it was inevitable. With a baby girl as active and as full of life as Brooke it was bound to happen sometime. We have our first shiner! She was playing on the couch, slipped off, and landed on the table. Brooke has been so brave and loves to look at her injury in the mirror. When she woke up this morning her eye was swollen shut and she kept trying to rub it open. The only complaint that we have heard out of her is a few "Oh...Ouch!"s when her hand touches the bruise. She is our princess and we think that she is beautiful.....even with a black eye!

My baby girl is growing up!

Abbie lost her first tooth today. She was sooo excited and I was trying not to cry. I know that she is almost 8 and I have had a lot more time than most. I can't help myself, I feel a little sad. She was such a fun, good natured baby and it has been so fun to watch her grow into the beautiful girl that she has become. Our house will be full of whispers and quiet footsteps tonight as she anxiously awaits her first visit from the tooth fairy!

Congratulations Abbie!

What am I going to do with her?

Brooke is our little mischief maker that cannot be left alone for a second. She is my little sidekick and is always on my hip....mainly because I am afraid of what she will be into if I put her down. Today she was out of my sight for 30 seconds, no exaggeration!

I went into my pantry to find this......

After a few deep breaths I ventured out into the kitchen to find this.....

By now I am franticaly calling her name, afraid of where she has made other cute little footprints (the carpet cleaning guy left an hour ago.....of course!)
I found her!



Anyone know how to get flour out of hair?

Amazing! Amazing! Amazing!

Last night Erin and I went to see Carrie Underwood at the E Center. That one word sums up our night.....amazing. We have been huge fans since her days on American Idol and so when I found out that she was coming to Salt Lake I was on the internet the second (literally!) that the tickets went on sale. I clicked "best available" and we found out last night that they were not kidding. I was no more than a foot away from the stage. I could have reached out and grabbed her shoe (a very, very cute shoe I might add!). She has an amazing voice and an adorable personality. It was fun to support an artist that truly is talented and is a genuinely good person. I can't wait until she comes again!

These are pictures from our cell phones that do not have zoom. The pictures are true to life. (Sorry the quality is so bad.)

I know, this picture is really blurry, but that is my hand!

Something that made me smile today.....

This was our conversation....

Me: "Carson, you look sooo cool in Tanner's sparring gear! I'll get my camera so we can take a picture and show Dad when he gets home!"

(I'm thinking to myself, OK this is hilarious, I've got to get a picture!)

Me: "Smile huge!"

Carson: "Mom, I can't, my cheeks are in the way!"

I love that kid and his cheeks.....even if they get in the way sometimes!

Krispy Kreme who?

I am still working on our pictures from our trip to Mexico but had to post about our donut experience. Who would have ever guessed that the best donuts known to man live in Mexico? There are no other donuts in the world that are worth every single calorie! I would sit and watch the cute little Hispanic lady pull my donut out of the oil and still not feel bad about putting it in my mouth 10 seconds later. Everyone that knows me will agree that this is not normal! We loved the chips and salsa, we crave the strawberry daqueris, but there is nothing, I mean nothing in Mexico that can compare to their homemade donuts.

(Yes, I do still have hair, I am not sick, it is just slicked back into a ponytail. I thought it added to the beauty of my just rolled out of bed, no makeup look!)

Falling for fall

Our family has officially fallen in love with fall. The colors, the sounds, the weather, and the slower pace of our lives. This is our favorite time to go to our cabin because the trees look like they have huge gold coins hanging from their branches. The other day I walked out onto our bedroom deck and our backyard took my breath away. I just had to share.

(This is actually Tiff's tree but I get to look at it. That counts, right?)

Fall if we could have just one request.....would you mind staying longer next time? The very next morning these leaves were covered in a blanket of white snow!

Happy Halloween!!!

We had a great day full of fun and sugar! Our neighborhood was packed with kids....we went through over 450 pieces of candy! You can only imagine how many pieces our kids brought home! Thankfully Halloween only comes once a year....I don't think that I could afford the dental bills if it was more!

P.S. Tayler "hung out" with friends all night. He was way too cool to get his Halloween picture

taken.....believe me, I tried!

Caught!

I'll set the scene.....Brooke is screaming, her ball is gone, and we can't seem to find Carson anywhere! Do you think he had something to do with it? This is how I found him... under a bar stool, looking pretty guilty! Brooke's ball is "hiding" in his lap.

The problem was solved with a couple of hugs and ''I'm sorry"s. Who could get REALLY mad at this face anyway?

Go Knights!!!!

Tayler's football team won their championship game on Saturday. The boys were so excited and deserved the win. Tayler has worked really hard and sacrificed a lot this fall to make sure that he fulfilled his commitment to both soccer and football. We are proud of him and of his desire to give 100% to everything that he does.

We love you Tayler! Congratulations on a great season!

Separated at birth?

We were able to go up to our cabin this weekend to watch Conference and spend time with the family. The leaves were bright orange and red and it was beautiful! We have always noticed a resemblance between my dad and President Eyring. He works at the Church Office Building and will often get stares and sometimes comments from people wondering if he is one of the newest members of the First Presidency. As President Eyring stood to speak today, Brooke was resting her head on my shoulder. The second that she caught a glimpse of the television, her head shot up and she yelled, "Papa!". For the rest of his talk, she looked back and forth, back and forth, trying to figure out how Papa could be in two places at once.

KI-AI !!!

Tanner received his red/brown belt this weekend. We are so proud of him. He has worked really hard and stuck to the goal that he made 2 years ago to earn his black belt before he turns 13. He now only has 3 belts left until we take a trip to Texas to the Bushi-Ban Headquarters where he will be awarded his black belt in a special ceremony.

Congratulations Tanner! We love you!

Sleeping Babies

So....I was going through our huge file of pictures and I came to a conclusion. I MUST love taking pictures of the kids when they are asleep. There are so many! I've always loved to hold them and stare at them when they are sleeping in my arms. They look so peaceful and innocent and calm. (Peaceful, innocent and calm are NOT the three words that come to my mind when decscribing them awake!) I have found them asleep in the wierdest places and in the funniest positions!

I love them all the time but there is something about these still, rare, quiet moments that makes me so glad I have them captured forever.

Lazy Sunday!

Today we finally found a minute to sit down and breathe. It was a beautiful, relaxing fall evening and we had fun just being home and listening to everyone play in the backyard. Mindi's kids came over and they played hide and seek for hours. Here are some of their very sneaky hiding places ......

We are so lucky to have cousins that are also best friends! Now we will all brace ourselves for another crazy Monday!

Change of Address

Just wanted to let everyone know about our temporary change of address and post a picture of our new home.

We feel so lucky to have found a place that fits all of us. It comes with a personal chef (any drive thru that we happen to be passing by when the kids are so hungry they can't take it for one more second) and it is very airy and open with lots and lots of windows. I'll try to take pictures of all of the places that we get to visit while we are at this address (All American Gymnastics, HiLight Dance, Bushi-Ban Karate, every single soccer field in the northern half of the state of Utah, piano lessons, football stadiums, etc.). Soooo....if you have called our house and can't seem to ever find anyone home just know that we are happy and healthy. We are just on the road trip that we call "Fall Madness" and we will talk to you in November. Until then....!

Fun With the Boys

Erin and Tayler went on their (almost) annual trip to Alaska during the first week of school. The boys were so sad to see the week end and those that they left behind could not wait for the week to be over! Our freezer is now restocked with white and orange plastic packages and we have tried halibut in pretty much every way that it is possible to try halibut. It is always fun to have them come home with stories, inside jokes and great bonding experiences. Tanner will turn 12 in March and he is anxiously awaiting next summer when he will be able to join his brother and dad. What a fun tradition..hopefully we will be able to continue it for many years to come!

Have you ever had a moment when you were sooo glad that you just cleaned the toilet?

This was my moment!

Dancing Under the Stars

Last Saturday, I took the kids to Dancing Under the Stars at the Scera outdoor theatre. We are huge fans of So You Think You Can Dance, especially Chelsie Hightower. She is the reason that Abbie continues to dance. After all of the votes (and little girl prayers) that came from our house we were very surprised when she got voted off but very proud that she made it as far as she did. Chelsie's mom (and Goodie!) arranged a backstage meeting for Abbie to meet her idol. This picture is her most prized possession right now and, of course, Chelsie fell in love with Abbie too!

Tanner was here.

Since Tanner could walk, he has carried around what we call his "random toy of the day". Every day it is something different and every day he carries it with him ALL DAY LONG! It always makes me smile to walk around the house after he has gone to school and find little reminders that "Tanner was here".

Love you Tan!

"1..2..3..4..5..Are all of those kids yours?"

That was the question of our trip to San Diego. We were stopped at the airport, our hotel, Sea World, in the car and at every restaurant. We finally had to tell a man that, no, just a few are ours, we picked the others up on our way down! How different life is outside our little bubble in Utah Valley! We had a great time just spending time together with no distractions. It was hard to come home to busy schedules and Erin's cell phone! We can't wait to do it again soon.

It was so much fun to watch Tanner in the waves. Our entertainment for the day was watching his face and hearing him laugh when he caught the "perfect big one" again and again. Priceless.

Our "Princess Baby" with her head full of curls. One of the saddest things about leaving

San Diego was knowing that in Utah her curls just aren't the same. Another reason to go back!

Tayler discovered his new love...skimboarding. Just like his mom! I had a lot of fun showing him all of my tricks. Thankfully I escaped the trip without a picture of this. Pretty scary!

Carson was in heaven in the worlds biggest sandbox. He grabbed his shovel and was

happy all day. Please don't ever loose those cheeks!

People ask us all the time, "Is she always this happy?" That smile can light up a room. We won't tell anyone that she was actually better at skimboarding than her oldest brother. SHHHH!