Matt & Viki

TRICK OR TREAT

2011-11-01T09:16:00.000-07:00

Here are the costumes for the kids. Weston was done with the photo shoot after the individual shot but when I told him Evan and Logan and the twins would want to see more pics he agreed to more. Thanks guys!

This morning, Cameron was going through some of his candy and handed me the candy necklace. I don't think he realized what it was because when I had him try a piece of the candy he then thought about it and said, "Mom I will eat the candies so you can have the string." What a little goof:)

The kids really had fun going door to door this year. I was exhausted and got them to stop trying to go to every house by reminding them that if they wanted to go to a haunted house we would have to stop. Thank goodness for the people who do up their houses super scary and let people go through. We went to a guy in our old wards garage and he had a great spook alley the kids enjoyed. Lots of scares and screams, like the one we went through by mom and dads house. Fun Times!

Autumn time

2011-10-25T21:29:00.000-07:00

So, this is at Bauman Farms, down by the outlets. It is a way fun place with lots of things for everyone. Here is Cameron on top of the hay stacks for climbing. I love seeing my kids enjoy climbing hay because it reminds me of the days playing in Grandpa's barn in Ferndale:)
They have these great swings hung from the rafters where the kids can swing far back, jumping off the hay bales!
This was the slide in part of the obstacle course. Cam and Wes loved going down all the slides.
Here are Wes and I climbing up the rope to get to the top of the slide. It was actually pretty hard, I had to help Wes up it. When we went back with the big kids and Matt I was pretty impressed Wes figured it out and went up himself...I wasn't going to do it again:)
Here is another part of the obstacle course with two different kinds of slides. It was a little freaky for the boys they kept trying to hold the sides but ended up turning funny and looking like they would fall.
Climbing the tires was hard for Wes with his shorter legs. He never repeated this little part.
Cam did well on the little rock wall, despite being a little fearful at first.
This is the biggest slide by the parking lot. It starts up by the barn rafters and is way fun. I was a little freaked to go down because it doesn't seem like the little wires holding the tube suspended will hold adults. I had a fun ride though:)
The previous pictures Dad saved me and took since I forgot my camera. These last few are from FHE when the family went and I remembered.
Fun for all!
They obliged me and got together as a group for a minute. Cameron is in this silly pose stage where you have to capture him candidly for real pics or he does goofy faces and hand poses. I made him keep is hands between his legs to avoid half the goof:)
Just had to share the view we get to drive past as we turn out onto Ibach road. I love seeing the aray of leaf colors. It amazes me that one tree can have green, yellow, orange, and red leaves all throughout the branches. Beautiful!

Happy 3rd Birthday Weston

2011-10-11T13:24:00.001-07:00

How we love our "little" Weston:) He is so good natured and happy. He is my little buddy during the preschool hours and likes to do my errands and jobs with me. He is a great friend to all his siblings. Full of personality and spunk. We all noticed how willingly he let them open his toys and build with them and play with him. What a blessing to have him in our family!

Baptism time

2011-09-06T21:13:00.001-07:00

Chris's family and both Grandparents were able to come up for the baptism day. We appreciated it so much and had such fun!
Weston was a little grump through all the pictures:)

The beautiful twin dresses... my mom made one for Jocelyn and Matt's mom made Tenlee's. How lucky are we to have two awesome seamstress's!

Tenlee's little turtle neck:) Unfortunately I didn't recognize this till later pictures and didn't redo these...oops! It was a wonderful day and we are so proud of Tenlee's decision:)

Dolphin Party

2011-09-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

Here are the girls that could make it to the party for Tenlee and Jocelyn.

Some of the girls got a little goofy and decided to put their faces into the cake and ice cream. Tenlee of course couldn't turn down the challenge:)
Donna and family made and decorated the cake. Tenlee and I made the little candy dolphins around the side. I thought it turned out way cute!
We played 4 different water games, made pizza's, ate cake and ice cream, opened presents, and finished by running through the sprinklers. Lots of fun memories:)

Our New Piano!!!

2011-08-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

Conner and Tenlee's favorite song to play on the piano these day is Book of Mormon Stories. At the beginning of the month Matt sent me a link from Craigs list for this piano and I of course was in shock but jumped right on getting in touch with this lady to check out the piano. Turns out that she was previously LDS and had asked her LDS sister to pray for a nice mormon family to buy this piano that she was so sad to be selling. We are THRILLED and love how it looks and sounds. Matt picked it up this week and she had tears welling up in her eyes as she sent it away...awww. She would be happy to know how much we love it!

2011 Lake Powell

2011-08-16T09:05:00.001-07:00

Here is how Matt would load kids onto and off of the wake surf board

Here is all the kids calming down after a days worth of play in front of a movie
We celebrated Conner, Tenlee, and Chads August Birthdays
Chad and Wes playing in sand. All the kids loved the Sand play.
Chris and his great wake board jump picture. I have to brag and say I finally got up on the Wake board this year...hopefully I will be able to repeat that next year.
Cameron got the worst burn the first day despite sunscreen applications. Next year we won't be forgetting the hats.
Aunt Amy and Kim water fighting with the boys and guns.
Matt's favorite part of Powell was helping all the kids ride the wake surf. His arms were sore after it all but it was well worth it! Above is Emma being the rope:)
Weston had no fear and loved the water!
Needless to say, Another successful Lake Powell trip! Conner and Tenlee both loved getting up water skiing and knee boarding. Weston loved going on the slide and Cameron loved riding the wake surf with Matt. Lots of SAFE FUN! (that is for you mom) Of course we did have a bout of flu, on the drive home...one year it will be nice to do without that part....we pray that it is next year:)

Dream night:)

2011-07-31T08:06:00.001-07:00

Today started as most Saturdays do, working around the inside of the house, tears, and complaints, but, in the end, we all get our jobs done. Then we went to a work picnic for Matt's business group. Better than usual, there was good food and a great water fight that the kids really enjoyed:) Then naps, a little school shopping (for Conner, Tenlee, and I), dinner, and then the dread of going outside and making the kids work in the yard. I geared up fully prepared for lots of motivating (threats) and plenty of arguing. It did start out that way but, shockingly, by the night's end it became a happy, bonding time. The kids and I were in the back weeding (Matt was tackling the front) and I was seeing plenty of standing around and hearing plenty of "how much more do we have to do?" Conner was surprisingly doing very well working hard and hardly a complaint. Well I broke the news that we couldn't quit till 2 buckets full of weeds were done and I heard plenty of complaints. But then the attitudes changed and Conner was saying I bet we can get 4 of these filled and by the end of the night the kids had done 13 buckets full. They worked for 1 hour! Our work came to a halt because the sprinklers came on and it turned into a laugh-fest and I still had to tell them we were done for the night so come on in! Shocking but what a Dream! We ended the night with a good run through the sprinklers and spoons full of melted chocolate for dessert. I know it will be a while before this happens again so I had to blog about it to look back and remember this might all be worth it in the end if they learn to enjoy work!

Hawaii cont.

2011-06-26T21:36:00.001-07:00

Hawaii

2011-06-26T21:03:00.001-07:00

Here are a few pics from our trip to Hawaii. The Bamboo forest was amazing to me because is started and stopped so suddenly. I would have thought there would be a gradual few bamboo's growing into more and more but instead you just walk into a jungle of bamboo and it stops just as quickly turning back into the guava and other foliage that we started with. The Zip line was a lot of fun to go on and we got great pictures from the middle platform. When we went to Makena Beach I loved watching this little bird hop around us and come within two feet of us he even climbed up on my flip flop. When Matt and I went walking past all the other hotel's by us one of the places had swans and flamingo and ducks wandering that I loved seeing and got good pictures of. The pictures above this post are some of the flowers I enjoyed seeing. There was a little tunnel we took a picture in at Black Rock beach. Then I have a picture of the six sacred pools that we saw but were unable to go into because of the water run off was so high this year. The kids had a great time with Jenny Ekhart and my parents. I was glad it all went well at home and I was able to relax and enjoy our time together in Hawaii.

Camerons quote

2011-05-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

So Tonight, Cam and Wes each got in trouble and I gave them a spank with a spoon. Cameron is on his way back up stairs crying and I hear, "She spanked my favorite part of my bum!" HA HA HA, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Busy times

2011-05-15T09:34:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photo's of things we have been up to as well. Cameron and Weston have loved when I fill the sink or bath and let them wash their toys. An idea I got from my sis. Ali. Conner made a short story from a book he read for school. Since he wasn't thrilled with the idea of actually illustrating it we took lego picture scenes for the pictures. It was a lot of fun to do. He enjoys reading it to the little boys now. Tenlee is pictured here with a close friend, Abbey Yarborough who recently moved away. Abbey was so embarassed to have her picture taken because they had played at the childrens museum and the play face paint that always came off in the past didn't come off on this day:(

2011-05-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

Matt and I have noticed that we don't have too many videos of our littlest charactor so, we have been getting a few here and there. He is such a little clown and won't quite ham it up like he does without film rolling but you get the gist with these.

Westons Quilt

2011-04-19T14:03:00.001-07:00

For each of the kids I have made a twin size quilt once they move to a big kid bed. For Westons I finally used a piece of "Robot" material I have had since Conner was a baby I think. I loved the colors and boy theme but could never think of the right idea to put it together. Well I took a quilt class our ward did and have been looking through magazines and found an Idea that I was able to adapt to this material and I am very happy with how it turned out. The best part is that Weston loves his Robot quilt and was excited to see me working on it the last few months. I definitely can see much improvement when I compare each of the quilts to each other and have had fun doing each of them.

little of this and that

2011-03-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

So this is a catch up post. We just finished with our spring break here and a few of the pics are from that. We ended up doing a bunch of day trips here in the area. There is one of Tenlee at the zoo, one of our trips. We also went bowling, swimming and on a nice bike ride that week. Another picture is of Weston and the mess he makes with an ice cream sandwich. Weston is also dressed up as a cowboy...he put the outfit all together himself! It cracked me up that we have a house full of boys dress ups but he chose the girl cowgirl outfit. Then there are a few pics of our only snow here in the area. I was proud of myself for being a good mom and braving the cold with the kids to enjoy it. I was really missing Matt that morning. He was in Santa Cruz working, he has always been the one to brave the cold and enjoy the snow with the kids While I welcome them all back in the the warmth with hot chocolate. I really enjoy that role:) I did have a good time with them in the snow and luckily it wasn't below 30 degrees:)

Thanks to crafty family...

2011-02-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

We now have this new little entry way. The top board was thanks to a Relief Society craft. The bottem one Kaela helped me with the idea when we visited Utah and my Dad cut out the piece of wood and mounted it on the wall. I love how it turned out and am hoping once again it solves my coats dropped to the floor after we come in problem....we will see!

Sledding

2011-02-02T08:51:00.001-08:00

This last weekend were invited to go sledding with some friends. The Evans have two boys that are Cameron and Weston's age. Tenlee likes to play big sister to these boys as well. We had a great time sledding and now don't feel cheated that we haven't had any snow this year:) Tenlee was also excited to have a picture that shows her front gap so well.

Just so you know...

2011-01-09T09:12:00.001-08:00

This paint does not come off faces well. It took 48 hours before there was no sign of it. I was letting the kids paint with the dot painters Which I love because it usually is less mess...Weston decided that he needed some green additions and the other two thought it was so great I took pictures of him they joined in:O Tenlee was a little suprised at how difficult it was to come off but was glad that it was the weekend so she wouldn't have to explain anything at school. I think it was cute how much fun they were having. Tenlee also was suprised how long it takes to clean up the styrofoam "SNOW" from around the house. I wish I had gotten a picture of the house but it was a MESS! Tenlee decided to continue breaking up styrofoam and making it snow after repeated warnings of the mess and cleaning up by herself. She even made "snow"angels with the little boys. 3 hours later my house is clean and Ten doesn't think she will be doing this again any time soon:)

Christmas 2010

2011-01-09T08:45:00.001-08:00

Here are some photo's from Christmas this year. We had a great Christmas eve celebration with G-ma/G-pa Thatcher. Christmas eve the boys enjoyed some shooting with the Nerf guns and targets at Grandma's house. I no longer buy these because they end up on the fridge because of misuse so this was a great treat! The girls of the house were treated to manicures by each other with cute stamp decor for the nails a great treat for us! Then there was music and the nativity retold and acted. Christmas morning we were at our house and enjoyed opening presents and eating breakfast together. The kids were all spoiled by Santa and Grandparents and Happy to play with their new things the rest of the day.

Christmas

2011-01-09T08:39:00.000-08:00

Because Grandma P wasn't here to see the final fitting I am posting the dress she made and how it fitted. Tenlee Loves it! The boots were a big hit too! After wearing them all day she asked to sleep in them because they are just like slippers:) Also posted is the black eye that Cameron sported this Christmas because he walked right behind Tenlee while she was jumping rope. We are so lucky he shut his eye in time!

Happy Birthday Cameron

2010-12-12T08:26:00.000-08:00

This week we celebrated Cameron's 4th birthday. Cameron was excited to have his two best friends here to celebrate with us. Trenton is 3 and gets together with Cameron every week for a playdate. Calvin is a month older than Cameron and goes to preschool and primary with him. We had a "car" themed party. We made cars with candy, had a tow mater race, obstacle course speedway, and had a car themed horse shoe game. The kids all had fun and enjoyed celebrating with Cameron. A few things we enjoy about Cameron...He seems to be our clown, always making us smile with his antics. He is very caring and thoughtful of others. He loves to play sports and is persistant in trying to practice whatever he can get someone to play with him. The thing we have been very excited about this year ... he will now sleep all night in his own room! Up till the last 6 months we had a few blankets on our floor that he came in to sleep on between 11 and 2 am. Every am he was there or if we were real tired in our bed. We are so happy he has decided to sleep in his own bed now!

ThanksGiving

2010-11-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

So, a little explaination for all the pictures.. to start we have the kids eating the Thanksgiving meal (Conner, Emma, MacKenna, and Ryan...Matt, Weston, Tenlee, Hailey, Chad, Spencer, and Cameron) The next few are Playing at Chris's house and then building a snowman at Amy's house. The Blizzard that was predicted to be horrid and last 12 hours lasted only 3 and we were grateful. The next few are of us at the old tabernacle, and visitors center at Temple square. Then to finish off we have pictures at 3 temples. The Boise, The Logan, and The Salt Lake Temple. Funny story, Kaela took the pictures at the Logan Temple and really went above and beyond the call of duty. She was climbing a steep snowy hill with the camera in front, Logan in a backpack on her back and trying to click and balance the whole time...she eventually face planted and we felt so bad laughing with her and appreciated her taking the time to do those for us:) It is probably mean of me to even share the story, but I think it will be a fun memory!

Thanksgiving Week

2010-11-29T20:51:00.000-08:00

We have so much to be thankful for! A great family that housed, fed, entertained, and loved us all week. A car that lets us travel. Agreeable weather traveling down to Utah. The restraunt Cracker Barrel that we always enjoy stopping at to break up the long hours in the car. Fun Snow play time. A over estimated blizzard. Beautiful temples. And last but not least, each other.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-30T21:17:00.003-07:00

I love the colors of fall pumpkin patches. Too bad my kids have too much fun pulling silly faces and I am not so great with the camera to catch all the fall splendor...here are our attempts at the patch this year. We had a great time and as always we picked some great pumpkins for Dad to help us carve:) Weston loved going to pet all the animals that were there. Thanks to Grandma for meeting us there to enjoy it all with us. Tonight we had our ward Halloween celebration. Here are the kids costumes. Conner and Tenlee were Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Unfortunately everyone in the area wanted to spray black dye in their hair so we were unable to get any for Conner. Cameron was Buzz light year and because I could not find any Woody outfits in Weston's size under $30. We recycled our Froggy costume that has now been through all 4 kids....well spent $20 - 6 years ago:)

Potty Training

2010-10-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

Skillz

2010-10-29T13:15:00.000-07:00

Cameron is our youngest to start riding a bike without training wheels. He will be 4 this December. The end of September Matt took off his training wheels and he was able to ride straight lines right away. After about a week he would ride to all of Tenlee's Soccer practices at the park behind our house and want to practice the whole time...so much for reading a good book:) He still is a little scary to be around because he thinks we should all watch out for him and everything is the other persons fault...but he is working on it:)

The Great Wolf Lodge

2010-10-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend we all went to The Great Wolf Lodge after parent teacher conferences. It was a BLAST! We got there Thurs. about 1:30 and went to the water park about 2:30. There was a great little kid swim area which Weston stayed in most of the time. Two big 4 person tube slides, two 1-2 person tube slides, and two one person slides. A swim area with basket ball hoops and floaty things for kids to climb and play on. Finally a wave pool that sometimes went back and forth and sometimes side to side. It was easy to lose track of time and before we knew it it was 5pm and time for dinner. Conner, Tenlee and Matts favorite slide was one called the tornado. It was a four man tube that went through a dark tunnel then had a 20 ft drop to a light area where you went side to side like a toilet bowl flush and then went into a tube down to the end again till the end. It was a lot of fun but a little of a stomach churner for me I think because I always seemed to be going backward on the drop. My favorite was a two man tube that went fast with a few bumps. Cameron was able to go down all but the tornado. Lucky tall and brave 3 year old. His favorite was the 4 man tube ride that had music and lights as you went down the tube. At night they had a story time with what Conner called "Cheesy mechanical creatures" that sang a song for the start of it. Then a girl came with a person dressed as a wolf to read a story. "Cheesy" as they might be, all the kids were quite entertained by the show the first time through. The next morning we had a great buffet breakfast and walk where we learned about wolves and bears, and made oragami wolves. After all this we enjoyed another 5 hours at the water park.

Two years old

2010-10-12T08:36:00.001-07:00

Here are a few photos of our favorite two year old. Blowing out the candles was the cutest this year. It took a few tries but he shocked himself and did it. I wish I had caught the moment on camera. A little update on little Weston...now that he is two...
He loves loves to play chase and run. His running stride is all his own, he has a kind of gallop that is so cute to watch. He loves the show caillou and we can get him to do anything using it as a bribe. He is a climber and now loves to sneak out of the crib at naps and night time. luckily he will also get back into the crib at nap time so long as he is unsuccessful at opening his door. He is fearless when jumping off or climbing onto things. Vacuums and halloween decor scare him. I can understand most of what he says and he has a pretty good vocabulary. He is a smiley good natured little guy and WE LOVE HIM!

September 2010

2010-10-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

This month has flown by! Some of the happenings are school starting... a good start so far. The kids love their teachers and, we haven't heard from their teachers... usually a good sign. We had a garage sale with a friend and had fun making a little money, seeing who will get use out of our outgrown things and visiting with friends. I am quite enjoying the extra space in the garage.

A few of the injuries of the last two weeks are pictured above. Weston fell down a small slope at the house we held the garage sale. It was a gravel type concrete and I think he fell on a sharp rock and it went straight up his nose. It didn't bleed too bad but It was pretty ugly and deep. Cameron was crouching on a long skate board down a small hill and got too scared to jump off and connected with the edge of the side walk giving him a little shiner and scraped lip and cheek.

We just got back from a visit with family in Utah. We enjoyed celebrating the 60th anniversary of Matts grandparents. Weston got undivided attention as we left the other three with my parents for the weekend. The kids had a blast at Grandma/pa Thatchers. Wes I think will have withdrawals from all the attention he got from us. We were all happy to be reunited though.

Birthdays

2010-08-26T15:08:00.003-07:00

Sadly we don't have the usual Lake Powell birthday celebration pictures. But we missed it to be able to celebrate with the Neals, Fishers, and Hallstroms who we haven't seen all together in three years. We had a great time with all of them and enjoyed Conner and Tenlee's birthdays. Here are some pictures of Conner and Tenlee in the Clothes Grandma and Grandpa Pulsipher gave them.

I wish

2010-08-26T15:04:00.001-07:00

Oh how I wish I could sleep anywhere, anytime like this. Cam and Wes fell asleep on the bed together and after and hour and a half I decided to wake them Cam would not have any of it but Wes woke, crawled on top of Cam and promptly fell back asleep like this. I thought it was too cute to pass up.

Fir Point Farms

2010-08-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

This is one of my favorite places to visit. They have goats to feed and fun places to play. We struck the timing right this year and they must be getting ready for Halloween because they had extra slides and a bouncy house all for free play. The cousins had a great time playing together here.

So blessed with family!

2010-08-26T14:46:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of the Family Reunion in Linden WA. It is always so much fun to see everyone. I didn't get a whole lot of pictures because it was so rainy and I was chasing the two little ones so much But I did get a few pictures to share. My uncle Ted and aunt Suzanne have the most fun property and are so nice to share and welcome us all. Conner and Tenlee's favorite part the past two years has been the little fishing pond. As you can see it was a big hit with the Neals as well.

2010-08-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a few pictures from our book club section of the home school group we had. We read The Boxcar Children, and the first two Little House on the Prairie books. On this day they acted out the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Similar to a story that happened in the little house books. They had so much fun acting it out and did it several time so I had to break out the Camera.

beach time

2010-07-18T22:06:00.000-07:00

This weekend Matt indulged me and took us to the beach. I feel like there was too much monotony to our Saturdays and the only time we did anything was when there were people coming from out of town. So we decided on a family trip to the beach and it was so fun! Matt of course had to laugh that we were there with swimsuits and coats on because you never see that in CA. I have to agree it just doesn't seem to fit, but we make the best of what we have right:) We all enjoyed ourselves as you see. I was a little sad to have missed the best picture, the end of the day we saw a car in the water with waves crashing onto the hood get pulled out amazingly. Matt got it on his cell but we can't figure how to get it here. Oh well.

I love this little boy:)

2010-07-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

So, the other day we came home from swimming and found a package on the doorstep that had mistakenly been delivered to us. I came in the house and sent Conner Tenlee and Cameron up for baths and went to the computer to get the phone # of UPS to let them know of the problem. I was just calling when Weston came in lifting his shirt and asking to take a bath and I told him no. I saw him leave headed to where the kids were and assumed he would be playing with them. 10 min. later I was still on the phone and decided to check on all the kids. I saw Ten, Cam, and Conner upstairs and then went to hunt for Weston. This is how I found him, giving me a smile when I saw him. He climbed to the counter and went in the cupboard and found his binki and decided he was sleepy and I guess the counter was as good as anywhere so he laid on down. I love that he is such an easy kid to put down for naps. I just give him the binki and put him in bed with a kiss and he is good to sleep. All the other kids required rocking, books, and relaxing techniques. I love rocking my little ones but it is nice to have one go down so easily especially on days like this one:)

Grandma and Grandpa's

2010-07-11T20:25:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks have been fun filled. Grandma and Grandpa Pulsipher came for a visit and we were able to go and do lots of fun things. We enjoyed an indoor water park in Clackamus on Friday. We had a laid back day Saturday. The Fourth we did some fireworks and had a little barbeque. Monday we went on a little hike to Silver Falls. The above pictures are from the Falls. Unfortunately Grandpa didn't get in them cause he was also a picture taker:) Tues. Matt and Grandpa got to enjoy a perfect day for Golf. Sadly, we bid farewell on Tues. but we sure enjoyed our time together and appreciate all that Grandma and Grandpa do for us:)
We have also been able to enjoy a few days of 90 + degree weather and love that Grandma and Grandpa Thatcher live closer and have a pool to enjoy. I included a few pics of them there at the end of the Silver Falls pictures.

Summer School

2010-06-27T22:04:00.000-07:00

What a busy start to summer it has been! I am a little bit crazy I admit. I have been watching some of Glen Beck and have enjoyed being educated on more history. I have also read a few books on home schooling. The research I have done has made me concerned about the history education the kids are getting. One of my friends home schooled her older kids and questions whether to do it with her youngest and has the same concerns I do. So, for the summer we decided to do a little bit for the kids and a third friend has joined with her two boys. Tues., Thurs. we do history and Wed. a book club. Then we do a little math on our own. It has turned out to be a lot of work on our part but I am learning something and the kids have been having fun and learning as well. We started with Ancient Egypt and some of our projects this week included making pita bread and humus, lego pyramids, and wrapping mummies as shown above. The first book we have read is "The Boxcar Children" The kids have been really looking forward to the school days which somewhat suprised me. But I guess it shouldn't be because they get to be with friends and we have been doing a little educating with the majority of the time spent on projects. I had to smile during church today though because one of the boys, a 10 year old did the scripture in primary and mentioned how he learned this week that the 10 plauges were also to disprove the egyptians other gods to prove there is one God and shared a scripture from Exodus. I was excited to hear that and hope my kids are picking up a little as well:) If not, at least I have been learning and am putting forth an effort right? In the pictures...Ryan Brady wrapped Cameron up. We had to quickly take the pic. cause Cam DID NOT like it on his face:) Jocelyn Harper wrapped Nathen Brady up, and Tenlee wrapped Conner up. Hopefully we will have other fun project updates.

First missing Tooth

2010-06-27T21:55:00.000-07:00

Last Summer Conner lost his first 4 teeth and Ever since then Tenlee has claimed to have varying loose teeth. She has had up to ten loose at a time through out the year. About 6 months ago we went to the Dr. and he confirmed that there were teeth under the baby ones that would soon be pushing through and she would have loose teeth soon. Well, about 3 months ago she got her loose tooth that we could really feel and it finally came out just before school got out. We were so excited:) Thank goodness the tooth fairy was able to find it and came the first night.
This other picture is of the piggy bank she made in school which now holds the money from the tooth fairy. They worked a whole week on these and turned out real cute I thought:)

Happy Mothers Day

2010-05-11T13:38:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had a moment when you want to freeze your kids at an age? I really am liking the ages of my kids. Saturday I took Conner fishing and though he didn't catch anything we enjoyed being outside. I had a wonderful Mothers day. In the morning the kids made sure I stayed in my room till breakfast was done then surprised me with chocolate covered strawberries...yum! Funny thing...As I ate my first bites they told me the thing they loved about moms was that they shared and then proceeded to say they never tried those strawberries before...What could I do after that:) Matt made crepes with fruit, nutella and whip cream for breakfast and Conner prepared each one for me before preparing his own. So cute! Tenlee drew great pictures for her card, Conner had fill in the blanks which I enjoyed. The two I liked the most were Your mom is prettiest...When she goes to the temple, and Your favorite thing to do with mom is....watch a movie. He explained after I read it that he put that cause he liked to snuggle during it. Freeze this moment:) After church we went to walk around the temple per Tenlee's request. I really enjoyed that and Matt and I got our pic. taken in front of the tulips just like the end of April 10 years ago. I had to laugh at the kids by the water as you see in the photos above. We got home and watched a movie and I got a back massage from Tenlee and then got to snuggle with each of the kids at different times during it...I know it won't be too much longer for that with some of them, so I really enjoyed it. To finish the day off Matt made us yummy hamburgers.

Dancin...

2010-05-05T20:38:00.000-07:00

Weston has been so fun to watch dance definitely the best mover in our family. Here is a little video of him when Evan and Ali were here.

Baseball

2010-05-05T15:22:00.001-07:00

Baseball season has started and Conner is loving it. We are actually liking it as well this year. Conner has really been good at keeping his focus on the game and has made some great plays that have been fun to watch. His favorite position to play on defense is catcher and when they are batting he has been the best one on the team this year. His team is one of the smallest height it seems and so maybe they are a young team, I don't know for sure. We are impressed with Conners efforts and improvements this year nonetheless:)

Celebrations

2010-04-08T22:48:00.001-07:00

I haven't updated for a while so sorry for the picture overload but I just had to give everybody some time in the spotlight. First we have Cameron's happy news, his new bike. He LOVES to ride and I am amazed at the stamina he has. He went for at least two miles the first time out up hills and everything! We now have a great motivator. Any thing you want to have him do will get done in twice the speed he did before, if you let him go out to ride after. I love this!
Weston is now trying out lots of new words. It is so cute to hear him. He is really good at Daddy makes Matts day when he comes running with arms out streched yelling it when Matt gets home. He gets a really pleased look when he tries out a new work and sees you understand. He is a cutie!
Conner came in fourth in the first Pine Wood Derby for our family. He was so expressive and proud. He would not let the car be out of the box we brought it in at first and then it stayed upside down so the wheels would be in top form for the race. He was so proud of it he made a diorama type display after the race to put in the room. We were all pretty excited for him:)
Tenlee is constantly playing with her bottem front teeth and keeping us updated constantly on how loose they are and how it hurts to eat apples with them. We hope she looses at least one by the end of 1st grade. All year she has been saying she has anywhere from 1-8 loose at one time. We finally feel the front bottem two a little wiggly with her. She was so excited to model her Easter dress and shoes that even though we weren't going to church Sunday we had to get all dolled up for the whole day. When it came time for pictures though she could hardly stand to model. Funny girl...It is fun to get all excited for it all with her.

Recognize me?

2010-02-20T14:29:00.001-08:00

Here is our "big boy" hair...a little shorter than I wanted. At least it can grow.

Before

2010-02-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

I just love this age! Here are a few photo's of Westons GREAT hair...according to his mom.

2010-02-05T22:36:00.000-08:00

Today was more than a little frustrating and seemed to be REALLY busy. So, at the end of it to unwind a little I looked at a few blogs and I am so thankful to those who blog regularly and do posts that lift my spirits and make me smile. I am so thankful for the pictures and videos I uploaded that remind me how thankful I am for my kids and the chance I have to be their mom. I am so thankful for a husband who can give me a hug and help me laugh and look at things less negative. Here are a few recent pics/videos of the little boys. Cameron brought me into my room and wanted to show me his magic trick...this is what it was....made me smile seeing it again tonight. The picture of Weston is also a product of Camerons somewhat devious little mind. Weston woke up and cried a little and I was changing laundry. Then he stopped and so I decided to do a few more things before checking on him. When I came to check Cameron was in the crib with him and had drawn all over Weston and the wall. Cameron had only "painted" his toe nails and finger nails. One of those I am mad but also want to laugh a little moments that made me smile tonight.

The headache...

2010-01-11T08:08:00.001-08:00

This summer as I cleaned the bathroom I noticed some floor discoloration. I had Matt and my dad look at it and we decided it was a leak somewhere so we stopped using the shower for a while. Dad caulked around the bottem of the shower and Matt and I thought that solved the problem so we started using it again. 2 months later we had stench in the bathroom and the carpet by the shower was soaked. I had my dad come check it out again and he noticed the wall was soaked about half way up as well. UGH! Well we now have gone about two months without a toilet and shower. We pulled the carpet up, took out the linoleum and some the top floor board let everything dry and waited till Matt got some time to do some work on it. I am happy to report that thanks to a handy dad we were able to fix it up. My dad came over and worked on it one day with Matt and then spent another day working on it while Matt was at work and then Matt finished the caulking up this weekend. I am so excited to have a working bathroom again! I am thankful for a husband willing to learn and I am thankful for a handy dad who can take things apart and help find the problem and save us thousands of dollars. We are blessed. (The first two are the after and the last ones are the before)

The Holiday

2010-01-11T07:53:00.001-08:00

Two of my favorite pictures from Christmas this year. Tenlee gave Conner a Star Wars Legos Tee Shirt which he was absolutely excited about. Thus the tackling hug that Tenlee laughingly took well. One day over the break my Dad was here helping fix up our bathroom and Tenlee was his good helper, Conner was helping me get all the house cleaned and Christmas put away and Cameron was napping. Conner and I heard some little persistant yells from Weston and went on a search finding him in this predicament. Maybe he picked it up seeing Cameron during all this potty training or maybe he just thought it looked like a fun opportunity to explore.

Merry Christmas

2010-01-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

So, this video is quite dark. Taken in the car after 10 or so hours driving home from CA this Christmas. We just loved how Cameron would sing this song this year and happened to have the camera close by at this moment so took it and couldn't get any better video so decided to post this one. It give you most of the fun expressions and emphasis that Cameron put in this song everytime he heard it. Matt and I smiled and laughed everytime we heard this song from him.

3 years old

2009-12-14T21:25:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of Cameron. He is now officially 3! Some of the things we enjoy about him...His hugs are the BEST. He is pure entertainment to watch eat. He is such a little charactor, for instance...I dressed up in a dress I don't wear often when I went to Matt's work party. Cameron comes and sees me and states "MOM, your princess is bootiful! you wear to church and daddy won't shoot you!" How those two sentances came together I have no idea. He comes up with some interesting little ideas though. His is also becoming so independant. I am enjoying it getting dark at 5 and he immediately states it is bedtime and goes to get in pajamas. We are also working on the potty training ... slowly but surely coming along.

Santa Baby

2009-12-14T21:20:00.001-08:00

Matt got asked to be Santa for the neighbors work party. We of course took advantage of the moment and here are a few photo's of Santa with the kids. The neighbors thought he was THE BEST!

Inspired by If You Give a Cat a Cupcake...

2009-11-29T21:51:00.000-08:00

We read this story over thanksgiving and it inspired us to start our own version. So, Conner wrote this after grandma gave him the idea she got washing off the tatoo Tenlee colored on her.

Wes's talents

2009-11-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

2009-10-25T10:16:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from the pumpkin patch. This patch is one of my favorites. It has a Noah's ark for the kids to play on, a Nut house full of acorns to play in, a small hay maze, and then goats, bunnies, and chickens to pet and feed. We had a great time and got a nice looking pumpkin for each kid. Also pictured is a video of Weston walking. I was so afraid he would walk before one but he hung on and didn't really take off till the week he turned one. I just don't like to be chasing after them too soon and it just seems to grow them up so. It is so fun to watch the effort to balance and the big smiles of pride once they do walk. You can't tell I'm a proud mommy either can you.

Weston Turns 1!

2009-10-10T08:54:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe Wes is one already. We are so thankful that he is part of our family. I have loved his happy disposition, sweet smile and his curly red hair. We look forward to him sharing even more of his little personality with us all as he learns to talk and interacts even more.

Birthday Bash/Baptism pics

2009-09-20T09:27:00.000-07:00

So, I don't usually do a big party for the kids birthday. But I promised them that when they were eight they would get more than one friend and we would do a theme and all. Conner chose a robot party and got to invite 6 friends and Tenlee got to invite 2. We started the party out by making these little robots out of cans. They all turned out real cute and the kids had fun doing them. It is funny how boy and girl ones turn out so differently. The girls all resembled faces and were dolled up. Most of the boys had monster looks and there was always a purpose that the robot had explained...Conner had a basher robot. We had robot dancing and moon rock games as well. The boys really did well on the dance part. I was a little nervous for how it would go. They showed us all some great moves.
The last two pics are ones of Conners Baptism that I enjoyed that weren't on Ali's Blog. Ali and Jeff were great, not only flying up, but taking pictures of the day for us.

Lake Powell

2009-08-30T09:47:00.001-07:00

Below are some pictures from our annual Lake Powell trip with Grandma and Grandpa Pulsipher. We look forward to this trip all year. On the way home from this one the kids were already saying what things they were going to be brave enough to do next year. This year both Conner and Tenlee got up on the water ski's and knee board. Cameron's favorite part of the trip was being on the ski boat . When Grandpa would let Cam drive he was in heaven. He would always brush grandpa's hand away if Grandpa tried to change our course direction from where Cameron was taking us. We couldn't let him drive too much because of that. Weston tolerated the life jacket and swimming with mom (that is all we ask at this age) We got to celebrate Conner, Tenlee, and Chads birthday (Chad turned 1 this Aug.) It can get a little chaotic and overwhelming with 10 kids on the house boat but it is so fun to watch them interact and play with each other. I am so thankful we have such tolerant grandparents who do such hard work getting everything there and making sure there is food and fun for everyone. We are blessed!

2009-08-30T09:45:00.001-07:00

Dinner time

2009-08-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

It is feeding time at our zoo...we taped this cause we were loving Weston's reaction. On review we had just as much fun watching Cameron the whole time.

New toys

2009-08-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

We did a little present opening with a little cake for Conner and Tenlee's upcoming birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Pulsipher gave roller skates and we got a little video of their first time up.

2009-07-06T15:18:00.001-07:00

Fourth of July

2009-07-06T13:09:00.000-07:00

This Fourth of July we made last minute plans and went to Lost lake on Mt. Hood. I was just able to get a few pictures because I forgot to recharge the camera after Hawaii. So I have no pics of the awesome scenery up there but we have good family pics anyway. It was perfect weather and refreshing water. The kids had a great time building a home for and catching salamanders. Matt caught a crawdad for us all to see. I don't think I will ever get over seeing one of these on my steak and thinking "You expect me to eat these?" Weston also started crawling this week. It is amazing how quickly he has mastered it all he is pretty quick now.

2009-06-28T22:17:00.000-07:00

Hawaii

2009-06-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

We made it back from Hawaii. What a FuN filled vacation. On the way home Tenlee was in the back seat balling, "I am going to miss all my friends. I want to live there. You and dad were so nice there." (It was midnight and she wasn't feeling 100% - I don't know where she got the cry when you are over tired gene.) We were all a little sad to come back to reality it was so nice to relax and enjoy the beautiful scenery and time with Grandma and Grandpa Pulsipher. Hopefully they enjoyed the trip as much as we did.

Here is a run down of the trip. First was the 5 hour flight with the kids...which went suprisingly better than we expected...thanks kids. Monday was a relax by the pool and beach day. The place had great pools with areas for every age. Weston is such a little water baby. Swim lessons might be hard this summer because I don't think he will like sitting watching when he knows he could be in the water. Tuesday we went to the Volcano and enjoyed the view and a little history. Cameron received a Hawaiian name, Hokule'a . It means star of happiness. It annoyed Tenlee and Conner that we called him this so of course Grandpa led the way in calling him that as much as possible. By the end of the day someone called Cameron and he turned around and said, "No, I Hokule'a." It was pretty funny. After the drive down the mountain we decided not to do the road to Hana this trip, Conner got so sick feeling with the curvy roads. Wednesday we went to Makena Beach or Big Beach. The waves were too strong for kids to body surf in. It was amazing to watch them crash down. Conner loved building sand castles and having them washed away by a wave or two. Thursday the dads went golfing. Moms and Kids went to the aquarium. We learned lots about sharks. It was fun to watch the two older kids soak it in and have some of their fears relieved. Conner didn't want to swim in the ocean before coming to Hawaii because he was afraid of a shark coming to attack him. He now mentions to anyone who asks that Coconuts falling on you are more common. Friday was a relaxing day for moms with a little pool time in the am and shopping (without kids) in the pm. Saturday we snorkeled at black rock beach and saw some sea turtles. The kids even got to see a turtle. A huge turtle came swimming close to the shore and Matt took Conner and Tenlee to see it. That afternoon Moms were pampered with manicures and dinner out. What a way to end! The flight home went surprisingly well also. Thanks SOOO much to Mom and Dad Pulsipher for a great trip with wonderful memories.

You can't beat starting Summer break this way. Now we are a week into summer break at home. I have been enjoying that the kids have slowly gotten back on OR time. They have slept in till 8 all week....HEAVEN! It won't go on forever I know but wow it has been nice.

May Happenings

2009-05-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I posted and might be a while again. Things just seem to be so busy this time of year. Here is a little update. Baseball season is underway and here we have a picture of Conner with his first Game Ball. He got this for being one of the first on his team to hit a ball thrown by the other teams pitcher and for good fielding this game. He has enjoyed this year despite all the drama the team has had with different parent coaching ideas. He has a great coach now and even though they aren't the team to beat the kids are all having fun. It sure has kept me busy. Two practices a week and two games a week. practices being 1 1/2 hr commitment and games 2 hrs. Tenlee is getting ready for her first ballet performance in Alice in Wonderland. During the next two weeks these two kid activities will keep me hopping; I am wondering how people do it and I just have two in grade school! Yikes!!
We had a great stay at the beach memorial weekend. Although it looked nice it was cooler than it looked so Weston shared my sweatshirt. Cameron had to try drinking the water. Tenlee and Conner loved running away from the icy waves. There was also a nice indoor pool we all enjoyed. Memorial Day started off Crazy. Matt came home from basketball an hour early needing a trip to the ER. Of course the kids slept in so we had to wake them at 7am to take Matt in. Matt had a bad sprain, Fx fibula no one knows if it was new or old. That changed our plans for the day! We got some cleaning done and then the kids and I enjoyed a water fight at home instead of the pool at the gym. Conner is still bragging about his sneaky attack with Tenlee that got me wet.
This Friday Matt went to the dr. and was told to ice and elevate for 2-3 hrs. after getting home from work for the next two weeks...the dr. said it shouldn't be too bad with the NBA finals on. Seriously?!?! Matt said he would need that tx in writing (uh, yah) the md said I could call him at home. (UGH!!) Men stick together don't they. So...Matt couldn't go on the Father and Sons outing this weekend but Tenlee and I still had some of our girls night plans. She had been planning all week. We painted nails did a little make up and got dressed up to go out to eat......wait for it.....at McDonalds. I gave her the choice of cheesecake factory, red robin, carls jr., wendy's, ....in the end it came to cheesecake fact. and mc donalds.. she asked,"Does cheesecake factory give out toys?" me:"No, but we are going to the dollar store where you get to spend your dollar on a toy..." no luck. We ate there and she opened her happy meal disappointed to find the same toy she already got eating out on the beach trip. So it now sits at the bottem of the stairs unopened till tomorrow when I toss it and it will never be missed. But we had a great time eating and sharing a dipped ice cream at McDonalds:) Getting dressed up for McDonalds is a better story than getting dressed up for Cheesecake anyway.

2009-05-31T20:13:00.001-07:00

Ants...

2009-05-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Kids are the only thing that could make me think that Ants are livable with...this might sound weird. We have found a few little ants in our bathroom over the past 2 weeks and they just come a few here and there and don't get out of control. I have found the interaction with Cameron and the ants cute. The bonus...I can get my hair done while he is entertained by them. He will find one by the bath and try to squish it and play and watch it for a while. Then he moves and finds another. I can be in the bath for 45 min and not need to find entertainment or be bugged to watch TV. Win..Win...wouldn't you agree?

April Happenings

2009-04-23T09:26:00.000-07:00

Easter was a big hit with Cameron. He had lots of fun finding the eggs on the grass. More to his liking though, was finding brother and sisters baskets and chowing down. At least two different times he found one of us with candy in his hand and told us, "YUMMMMY!" We would go on a hunt with him to find a nice pile of wrappers and then put the basket at the top of the closet. He is quite the little scrapper these days. I caught him the other day with his finger in the butter. When he saw me coming he quickly tried to grab a handful and stuff it in his mouth before I could get him. " Ask Cameron, He'll eat anything."
Also pictured is how we have found Cameron sleeping. I am so frustrated with his sleeping habits....or lack thereof. He is THE WORST. The few times he has fallen asleep before Matt and I go to bed it is usually because it has been two days of no naps. We find him asleep under a book or with his arms behind his head. It is cute to see. . . If we allow ourselves to get past the battle we had to get him this way.
We have always had somewhat of a struggle getting Conner to eat. There is just too much fun to be had and too much to say to get him to slow down and eat. The newest two methods that seem to work...when I am motivated enough and have time to do them.... is to read a book and only turn the page after a few bites, or I come up with math problems that he can try to do. Each bite he gets one part of the problem. If he misses it he gets 3 bites if he gets it right it is just one bite. I am excited that he has been enjoying math now and that it can motivate him to eat. For a while he had no patience for math. Now it is a strength of his.
Tenlee informed me when we got home from easter she wants to live with Grandma and Grandpa now. I asked her why and she stated that they play with her more and she could swing on the swing all day. I told her we would miss her and she informed me that she would be happy to come over for sleep overs a night or two each summer like she does with G-ma and G-pa. What a sport she is.
We also have pictured Westons latest do. He seems to have a natural Mohawk. His hair has thinned and gotten a lighter shade of red on the sides and back but he still has this thick red stuff right down the middle. A few people are curious what style magazines we got the cut from. Well, it is finally long enough on the top to do the faux hawk look. So, here is our little stylish man.

2009-04-23T09:24:00.001-07:00

The Ring of Fire

2009-04-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

About a month ago we purchased a hula hoop. The kids love for Matt to spin it on the ground and they jump through it trying not to touch the sides. Cameron has picked up on the ring of fire game and we had to post it. We also had to post another of Weston laughing, I just can't get enough of little baby laughs. That sound seems to make everything better.

New Do

2009-03-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

This past week Tenlee has been bugging me to cut her hair. When she told me how short she wanted it I decided this was a professionals job. So she excitedly went today and we both are trying new do's on each other having fun. Here are the before and after.

The Stories

2009-03-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had two big events for our family. The first was Conners promotion test for Tae Kwon Do. He started this class in October and has worked hard. This weekend was the big event. It was so cute, Friday night Tenlee remembered to pray for him to do well Saturday. After the prayer Conner said, "Tenlee that was your personal prayer." So we had a little lesson that we don't just pray about ourselves in personal prayers. After he came home from passing he and Tenlee hugged and he said that her prayer helped. I love little moments like that. The second big event was Westons haircut. Before church Matt encouraged me to shave it but I refused. Well, at church there were a few shocked expressions and comments from various people about how he has lost it all weird. After church I conceded that it was time but I couldn't bring myself to shave it. So here are the results. This is the earliest we have ever had to cut hair. He looks so grown up...whaaa

The hair cut

2009-03-08T16:44:00.001-07:00

Havin' fun!

2009-03-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

Had to post this picture to show how fun Weston is to squish close and tickle. Also we have to thank Aunt Amy for the pretty new barrettes. Tenlee has been doing all sorts of fun styles with her hair and also likes to pretend they are fingernails. I had to bribe her to let me take the funny picture of her nails she only wanted to have pretty ones taken....OH MY.

more laughs

2009-02-19T22:13:00.000-08:00

smile

2009-02-19T18:42:00.000-08:00

a little laugh

2009-02-19T10:47:00.000-08:00

Have you heard...

2009-01-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

of "The Naked Chef"? I have never been interested in finding out more about this guy/girl because of the image that it conjured up. The other morning I was changing the two youngest, Cameron had tried to go potty and got off the toilet while I was changing Weston (usually he waits for me to take him off) So, I am finishing up with Weston when Cameron comes into the room with this play oven mitt on one hand (which he loves and wears often) buck naked and yelling "HI!" I started busting up and grab Matt, Cameron got embarassed and ran out as quick as he ran in. So,I of course chase after him put a diaper on and snap a picture so I can document this cute little moment. I am happy to say I now have a much less disturbing image in my head when hear of "the Naked Chef."
This second picture is of Westons new little moves. We can no longer place him in any seat without a belt on because he tries to roll over where ever he is and ends up in wierd configurations. He rolled over two times this week on the floor and once this weekend on the bed. I am a little concerned, this is the earliest any of our kids has mastered this task. What are we in for?
Finally I just have to update a little on the other two munchkins. Conner has been having a great second semester of school. He went to a fireside on preparing for Baptism the other week and got all excited about the idea of the scouting program. I can't believe he is old enough for all of this already. I was talking with some other moms who feel the same about their kids. We were realizing we really need to savor all the spontaneous kisses and hugs we still get and their need to be comforted still because we know this won't last forever. Tenlee is loving reading books with me now. We have a few of the you read to me, I'll read to you which we do almost everyday together. She is such a little mom with all the boys. They can't get away with anything with her on the watch. She is a great little helper with Weston though and both he and I appreciate that.

Westons Blessing

2009-01-14T09:08:00.000-08:00

January 4, 2009 Weston was blessed and here are a few pictures from the event. I wish I had better ones of him but the day was busy and pictures were done quickly. If my dad or Matts dad have better ones I would appreciate copies for Westons scrapbook. Isn't it amazing how much he has grown already! It was a fun event with everyone. Chris and Brooke and family came and spent some of the week with us. We all had fun watching all the cousins play and getting some parent time at night with just the babies to manage. Grandma and Grandpa Pulsipher arrived Friday and every one enjoyed spending time with them. Grandma and Grandpa Thatcher and Adrienne came Sunday We enjoyed visiting all together. What great family we are blessed with. We appreciate every one coming and making Westons blessing day a fun memory.

Winter Party

2008-12-20T21:55:00.001-08:00

It's C-C-C-C-Cold outside....

2008-12-20T20:43:00.000-08:00

When I was little I always wished that we would be out of school longer for Christmas because of snow. Now that I am a mom, I no longer had this dream (two weeks seems plenty long), but it has come true. Last Sunday we went home from church after sacrament meeting because of the falling snow. We got about 2 - 3 inches and and enjoyed a little walk in it but told the kids no sledding on Sunday. The kids were disappointed that it was not sled-able on Monday. School was cancelled because of ice though and they enjoyed being home. That night the prediction was for more snow Tues. so school was cancelled based on this. Tues. we woke to blue skies and cold weather. By the afternoon some of the snow had melted but the prediction was for more snow Wed. So, based on this the district said school would be closed Wed. Wed. we started with blue skies and they turned gray by the days end. Still no precipitation. The kids were getting quite frustrated that they still couldn't sled. Wed night there was a prediction of snow again so at 10 pm we saw there would be no school Thurs. Thurs. we woke up to gray sky and no snow. We did get 10 min of snow about 11am and then some hail and freezing rain about 3 pm. but that all cleared up by the time Matt got home from work. Now that it was the end of the week I think the district couldn't see any reason to hold one day of school and then start Christmas break so Thurs night we saw it was yet again cancelled. So, this week we have had to do some work around the house done but we have also enjoyed doing a few holiday crafts and playing some games together. Since I have had less free time and more entertaining to do I have not done all the cards and treats I wanted to so hopefully people won't mind these things late. Friday, while school was cancelled at least they still held the Nutcracker Tea Ballet at the community college. Tenlee and I had been planning this girls (and Weston) night out since before thanksgiving. The roads were clear and we only had a little snow the last half mile to the school since it is a higher elevation. We both quite enjoyed this little production done by the older students where she takes ballet. Now that it is Saturday and the start of Christmas Break, we have had snow all day and Finally got to do some sledding! I think this is the most snow we have had since we have lived here. It was a dry snow and the sled wouldn't go that fast but dad was a good sport helping the sledding fun with his strong arms. What would we do without dads! So, now we are just hoping that the snow melts in time to go the Grandma and Grandpa Thatchers for Christmas. Wish us luck!

Cameron's Birthday

2008-12-08T09:16:00.001-08:00

Happy Birthday Cameron

2008-12-08T08:38:00.000-08:00

Pearl Harbor day is also Cameron's Birthday. He just turned two years old. We had a great celebration with family. Grandma and Grandpa Thatcher and Adrian were able to come celebrate too. Cameron loved all the gifts and attention. He is quite the ham with his facial expressions these days. I can't believe how grown up he is getting. Last christmas he was my cute cuddly mama's boy who couldn't walk or talk. He really is the snuggliest, best hug giver I have ever had. While he still gives me great hugs and snuggles at nap and bed time he is now very grown up. He runs around chasing and wrestles with Tenlee and Conner. He can now talk and we understand some of what he says. He looks forward to Tenlee and Conner coming home from school each day so he has more active playmates. He is a joy and we are blessed to have him in our family!

thanksgiving weekend

2008-12-01T09:38:00.000-08:00

This was our first holiday spent with just us. We started the day off with a trip to the zoo. Cameron loves to make the elephant sound and enjoys watching Survivor Africa with us because of all the animals they show. Because of this we have been looking forward to taking him for the first time, plus there is a new baby elephant at the zoo. We timed it about right, we saw the main animals we wanted to see and just finished as Weston got hungry and it started to rain. So we came home and got little ones to bed and dad played a little monopoly with the big kids while mom made some of dinner and snacks. After naps and a little show on TV we all enjoyed a thanksgiving feast of Taquitos and Chile Reano with pumpkin cheese cake for dessert. This meal made it nice for me, Matt is the pro for making Taquitos and did them all...Thanks Hun!

thanksgiving

2008-12-01T09:36:00.001-08:00

Thanks to Grandma Pulsipher

2008-11-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

We just enjoyed a week spent with Grandma Pulsipher. We are so lucky to have such loving help after the birth of our new little one. Sue came and helped cook, clean, hold and entertain little ones, and was great company for me through out the days. The game peanut butter and jelly is now a household favorite Grandma filled her quota of playing for the year this week I think:) We love and miss Grandma Sue.

This is just WRONG!

2008-11-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

OK. I know we all vent a little about day light savings...but I have to just get it off my chest. We set back our clocks why can't we set back our kids too. This picture is how both Cameron and I are feeling the past two days. I just got done feeding Weston from 4:30 to 5 am settle back into bed and hear loud laughter and jumps (jumping from the ladder of the bunk bed) from the other room. I try to ignore it and go back to sleep thinking Matt will be up in 45 min to handle it but it just gets to me and I get out of bed at 5:20 tell the kids they aren't allowed to get out of bed till 6:30. I look at the clock and see it says 7:00 (Conner has changed it to justify his actions---ugh!) So I tell them that they are to stay in bed with the light off trying to sleep till I come wake them at 6:30. I get back to bed for 5 min and hear the laughter start up again. I stomp down the hall and tell them to get up. If they won't let me sleep they are working now so I can sleep later. So I start them cleaning the bathroom and I start making breakfast and lunch. They are loudly cleaning the bathroom and wake Weston and Cameron so we now have the whole house up and about. I guess it could be worse...they could be crying instead of laughing....needless to say I fully expect both Cameron and I to be looking like this picture at dinner time or soon there after. In March or April when we spring forward you will probably get another one of these posts about how wrong it is that just when my kids have learned to sleep or stay quietly in bed till 6:30 for the last month I am expected to now wake them up to get them to school on time because 6:30 is now 7:30 and if I let them sleep they only have 20 min to get ready which is impossible for a girl who takes at least 45 min to eat breakfast and a boy who takes 20 min. to eat and 30 min to get dressed and ready. Ok, I am done...hopefully now I can get a better attitude now that I have vented!

Halloween Fun

2008-11-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

So, here are our little trick or treaters. Thanks to Misty's patterns (their whole family did the star wars theme last year...it was so cute) I made Conner and Tenlee's outfits. Thanks to Target we got Cameron's. The kids had lots of fun and Yoda was a huge hit at the doors. We got several comments towards the end of the night how Cameron even walked like Yoda (he was so tired!) None of Tenlee's girl friends at school knew who she was (they thought she was an angel) but all of the boys in her class did. Such is life when you are the only girl in a family of boys...the things she gets talked into.

Happy Halloween

2008-11-01T16:48:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-21T08:44:00.000-07:00

This week Grandma Thatcher came to help out after the baby. Thank goodness for Grandma's! One of the things I was hoping to feel well enough for was taking the kids to the pumpkin patch, while there was help, or else we just might miss it this year. This is one of my favorite times of year because of all the colors and treats and crisp but nice mornings, so I would hate to miss it. We were lucky enough to go and enjoy. Next time I will have to remember to take the pumpkin pictures first. Conner and Cameron lost their patience with the camera and just about everything at this point. Camerons favorites of the day were the horse rides and the goats. Conner loved the slides and fresh donuts. Tenlee loved the goats, pony ride,and slides. Mom and Grandma enjoyed it all! I have to include a few pictures of Lil' Weston too now that he's a little over a week. Such a good baby so far.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-21T08:31:00.001-07:00

Introducing James Weston

2008-10-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

The pictures below show just how loved and welcome little Weston is. Thursday we went to the hospital at 3:30 pm and got the IV and epidural, had a short rest and at 6:03 pm Weston was born weighing 7 lbs. 6 oz. and measuring 20 1/2 inches long. Kind of a fun way to remember his birthday and weight 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. Already a numbers guy like Grandpa Jim, who he was named after. The kids are loving holding him and have been very willing to help with diaper duty and other things mom and dad need. We see a little of all the the kids in him. Each one of them has had their own unique hair color and he is no different although, he does have the thickest hair of them all. Cameron loves pointing out his eyes, ears, nose. and patting his hair. Whenever he starts to cry Cameron quickly comes over with his hand covering his mouth looking suprised and giggling a little to hear sounds out of this new little one. Tenlee and Conner are very good at holding still with him and singing songs to him quietly. Matt and I are loving the little bit of heaven babies bring to homes.

Introducing...

2008-10-12T12:03:00.001-07:00

Two weeks to go...

2008-09-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

This post is for Ali...She called today and wanted a pic of the prego belly. Since I haven't taken any belly pictures (unless it was in a family photo or something) of any of my pregnancies I decided it was about time. So here I am and I hurried to do it today in hopes that tonight or sometime this week I will have a baby to hold instead of a belly. Don't worry though I am also more prepared this time for it to be at least two weeks or possibly three before we have any good news to share.

tooth fairy time

2008-09-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

So, the big news this weekend was the teeth that Conner lost. He went to the football game Fri. night with Matt and Tenlee and came home so excited that he finally lost his tooth. The tooth fairy came that night and left 6 quarters under his pillow. He was so excited when he saw them in the morning and had to count all his money and found that with just 3 more dollars he could buy another star wars actions figure or legos. I told him he could earn extra money doing jobs for me but he opted to work on the next tooth. Sunday morning he woke us up showing the tooth in his hand. He then announced he is going to try to pull nine out by the end of the year. We will see... needless to say the tooth fairy is pretty cool!

I am thankful for Matt

2008-09-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

What a day it has been. I splattered lunch all over the floor and 3 walls when I took it out of the microwave. Thank heaven no one was near me to get hurt. I took a nap with Cameron and was woken by him pouring water over my face thinking he would help me drink it. We picked up Conner from the bus stop and he ran home ahead of us locking the door behind him. I knocked and rang the door bell for 20 minutes and then went over to the neighbor's house crying asking to borrow the phone so I could call Matt. Now it did briefly run through my head that something might have happened to him but I was more convinced that he had gotten upset or in trouble and was purposely locking the door on us refusing to let us in. So I started crying thinking "what 7 year old does this, am I really that bad a mother?" Luckily Matt came to our rescue and was the first to go to Conner. He came upstairs and opened the door to find Conner playing with legos with the fan on in his room totally oblivious to anything that might be wrong. Matt asked where the rest of us were and he said we were probably down in the kitchen. Matt came and got us and relayed the story sure that Conner just locked the door behind him out of habit. Conner is so grateful for his voice of reason without even knowing it. Luckily Matt can lovingly tease me and help me laugh at myself and then feel sorry for the bad day that I have had. Now I am back home ready to go back to bed after showing up for work 4 hours early. Once again Matt greets me with a smile and kiss and hopes that I can sleep and wake up with things going a little better for me. What a DAY!!

california

2008-08-20T14:38:00.001-07:00

2008-08-20T13:36:00.000-07:00

I am not very good at figuring out how to have multiple pictures and videos on one post. This will be the narrative for all the California posts. We just got home from a 2 1/2 wk vacation to California and Lake Powell. We started the trip off going to Amy and Justin's wedding in the L.A. temple. For more pictures of that you can check out the Pulsipher blog link. The picture we have in our slide show is of the Ape Amy's brothers gave her for a birthday...Always the loving older brother, Matt took a pic. of it in a veil instead of his sister. We then celebrated Grandma O's 80th birthday with the Oberhansley family but have no pictures to document that fun day. Our next adventure was to Disneyland where we got princess pictures with the kids and enjoyed all the rides. Conner didn't want any pictures with the charactors but thoroughly enjoyed the rides and star wars attraction. Both Conner and Tenlee's favorite ride was space mountain. They both mention how fun it was that Grandma got soaked on Splash mountain as well. Cameron did great waiting in lines and walking around in the stroller all day. I was sooo Thankful! The next adventure was to Legoland. Grandma stayed home for this one with Cameron. We were thankful for that because Legoland isn't as suited for the young ones. Conner and Tenlee enjoyed this park and loved meeting up with Ali and Jeff at lunch and going through the park with them the rest of the day. The video we have is of Ali, Jeff, Conner and Tenlee getting soaked at the water park area. Ali tried her hardest not to get wet, but while looking for Conner got half soaked accidentally. So she went up and got fully soaked with everyone after some coaxing. There is a 500 gal bucket that soaks everyone in the area. The next adventure was celebrating Tenlee's birthday at the Pulsipher house. Next we went to Lake Powell which we don't have many pictures of this year but we included a video of Cameron and Spencer on the Houseboat. We ended the trip celebrating Conners birthday on the Houseboat. Sunday we came home ready for a comfy sleep in our own beds. Such a great vacation Thank you everyone for all the fun!!

No Training Wheels!

2008-06-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

Tenlee asked to have her training wheels taken off a week ago. She took off within an hour all by herself! She tries to keep up with Conner of course and has gotten a few scrapes doing it. She gets right up though proud of herself for not crying and more cautiously tries to follow her brother. Conner loves having her to race and ride with. We took a ride to swimming lessons the other day and Conner was very much the gentleman and made sure to stick by her the whole way. Way to go kiddo's!

On the go

2008-06-26T18:01:00.001-07:00

Not to be left behind by his brother and sister, Cameron started playing with their scooters and yelling at them when they were riding them. So, when Matt and I were out to Target picking up cleaning things to end our "hot" date, we couldn't pass up the scooter for Cameron. He is loving it and has started riding like a big boy.