Thankful Interviews

I conducted "Thankful Interviews" this morning. Here are the results...


Aaron is thankful for:-my family
-my job
-my wife, especially
-my health
-the gospel

Danielle is thankful for:-my healthy family
-Aaron's stable job
-that I can stay home with my crazy kids
-my freedom/right to vote
-my testimony
-hugs and kisses

Tyler is thankful for:-the world
-mommy and daddy
-Carter
-the babies that can grow up and make us toys and houses (huh?)
-myself
-armies that protect our world
-toys
-friends


Jacob is thankful for:-that mommy gives him breakfast
-that we bring him to restaurants
-that we take him to Grammy's house
-the games we have in our house
-my family
-my brothers and sister and me
-my baby (blanket), blankets on my bed and pillow so I can sleep good
-my coloring box that has makers in it
-my puzzles
-my friends and my mommy and daddy
-my grandpa and my grandma


Addison is thankful for:
-her monkey (blanket)
-Baby Tootsie
-Carter man
-her family
-snacks
-nursery

Carter is thankful for:

-yummy bottles
-snugly bed
-mommy, daddy, ty, jake and goose
-lots of loves, hugs and kisses!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for all of you!

Countdown to Thanksgiving

Three days left!

.
my mom seriously makes THE best Thanksgiving dinner, ever.
It's my favorite meal of the whole year
and even better is the weather, it's finally getting cold - hip hip hooray!!!

I have promised myself to make the most of this week that the kids are out of school and do some fun things with them. Many days I find myself going to bed and wishing that I had spent more time just playing. Today we did "Pumpkin Pie Play Dough." The boys had fun making a whole pumpkin patch- and the best part is how yummy the play dough smells!! Just like pumpkin pie. A fun, quick activity- with minimal clean-up- I give it two thumbs up!This is a true Jake shot- not prompted at all. He really loved the way it smelled!
Here is tomorrows activity- one of my assignments for Thanksgiving dinner is rolls- so I thought this would be perfect.

Chores- and recovery

I am trying to get the kids on a good chore schedule. We have tried several things. but none of them are easy to do continually. We have done charts with stickers- where after each chore they put a sticker on. They really liked that, but it was hard to keep up, because I/we didn't always remember to put the stickers on and then we got behind. I really want to get in a consistent schedule- so help me out here...What has worked for you all? Do you change chores, between children, weekly or monthly? Do you pay them an allowance and how much? Do you use a chart or do they just know what chores are theirs?

Thanks!!

ps- I'm taking a little break- from just about everything this week. I had a little medical "procedure" done last week and I have been taking it easy and resting. So I apologize for not returning phone calls, emails, etc. I am fine- no worries. I should be back up and running (ok, maybe walking) next week.

I'm a lucky girl

I really have 4 handsome men in my life- but I got to go out with 3 of them last night.

What a fun night we had together! We took the "big" boys to Benihana's for the first time. They were amazed at the chefs with their big red hats and their quick knife tricks. Then we headed over to Ontario's newest arrival- the Citizen's Bank Arena. Aaron bought season tickets to the hockey games (for work) and we got to use them last night. I really enjoy hockey- it's never boring and it moves so quickly. The best part is that the Arena is about 7 minutes from our house and parking is free. Sometimes going to events like that is just a lot of work- driving, battling long lines, paying a babysitter, then drving back home late at night, etc. This was so easy! It is so fun to experience new things as our kids get older. Aaron and I were talking at the game about how the boys are totally different then they were last year. They aren't "toddlers" anymore. They can sit and watch and enjoy- just like us! We don't always have to be watching them. I do love my babies- but having "older" kids is really enjoyable, too!



We went down to the glass to watch the guys warm-up. One of the players picked up to pucks and tossed them over to the boys. Oh my- that just made their whole night. They were thrilled! So now we love #27- plus he scored twice- so he now las life long fans in my boys.

San Fran

A couple weeks ago, Aaron and I flew out to San Francisco for a few days. Aaron had an annual budget meeting and this year, all the spouses were invited. As always, it was lots of work to get the kids ready to be left for 3 nights- but it was such a treat to get away for a few days! The boys had meetings for the 2 whole days we were there. While they worked, the company took great care of the wives- gift certificates for the spa and shopping money! We stayed at the beautiful and historic Fairmont Hotel in downtown. Aaron is blessed to work for such a great company. They take such great care of us and genuinely care about all of their administrators.


The company had the penthouse suite all week. That's where they had their meetings and where we ate breakfast. The view was amazing and the suite was so beautiful.

Eating breakfast out on the deck with my brother and sister-in-law. (my brother works for the same company)
The view of the city.
Shopping in China Town. Wow- there is a lot of junk there! We got some cool toys for the kids.
On our last night there, they had a formal dinner with great entertainment.

The magician was awesome and he pulled my sister-in-law out of the audience to help with a magic trick! He was amazing!!


When we got back to our room, there was a plate of chocolates for us. The little box was all chocolate and the picture of the front is a painting of out hotel. It was so cool!

I definitely think that a little get-away like this needs to be about every 6 months or so. I sure love my kiddos- but a few days away is just what the doctor ordered to "de-stress" and recharge. By the end, I couldn't wait to get home and be "mommy" again.

October- come and gone

November is upon us and here is my October post!!

It sure was a crazy, busy, fun-filled month. We spent much of our time working on Prop 8 stuff- phone calls, walking, knocking doors, putting up signs, rallies, handing out information, etc. This was something that I felt passionate about- so I did as much as I could. It sure was hard, with 4 little ones that needed my attention, but I felt it was worth the sacrifice- since it's mainly for their benefit! Aaron even took all of election day off work so that he could work at the polls- recording which voters had voted, and then calling the rest to make sure they hadn't forgotten- hard to imagine that anyone could have forgotten to vote though! I am thrilled to say that every minute of work was SO worth it- when Prop 8 passed! It was close, but we did it. It's crazy all the stuff that is happening now. I am thankful for a church that had revelation on this issue many years ago. It wasn't a matter of finding out what is right or wrong- but whether or not each of us would take a stand and follow the counsel of our church- which was to get involved- financially and physically. I loved fighting for a cause- and winning. Good thing, because it's only a matter of time before we go at it again!
The rest of the month was busy celebrating Halloween and having lots of fun doing it! Jake had a halloween party/performance at pre-school. I think he wins the award for the loudest singer. It was hilarious. Tyler had a halloween parade at school. We all went to watch and he was excited to go walking around the school. In between kids coming down with the stomach flu (and by the way, we ALL got it, every last one of us), we hurried out to a cute pumpkin patch and then we decorated pumpkins one night. Another night we made a haunted halloween house. I usually try to micro manage the kids on how to decorate, but this year we just let them do their own thing. They did a great job! The day we got back from San Francisco, we hurried home and got the kids ready for our ward trunk or treat. They had fun playing lots of games and trick or treating at cars. On Halloween night, we had a fun dinner- and yes, I did make the mummy dogs and they were a big hit! The kids can't wait until next years dinner! Aaron did quite a job on our house. He worked and worked decorating and getting it just right. Good job!
We met up with some friends and then headed out to do more trick or treating. We love our little sock monkey! And our pretty princess with her golden hair! We stumbled upon some more friends and so we ended up with quite a group. At about 8:30, after we left a house, Addie found a nice soft bumper of a car and laid her head down in her arms, Jake curled up on the sidewalk and Tyler found a cozy piece of grass to lay on. It's times like those that I realize how young our kids still are. We made it home, dressed in halloween jammies and went to bed. What a day!And to top it off, the Primary Program was today. I LOVE being in charge of the Program, but it is quite a chore and I am so excited when it's over. It feels like a big weight has been lifted. I start working on the program in August, so by November, I sure am glad to not have to think about it anymore. The Primary children did wonderful and I was so proud of them. Each year I design the Sacrament program cover and then we have the kids color the front- according to the theme of the year. It's always a hit. Then I print up little "comment" cards and put them in the programs. The adults fill them out and then we read them during our "celebration" sharing time. The kids love hearing what people thought about their performance. This year they were even told that they sounded like the Tabernacle Choir! It made their day- and is sure made mine.

So now that the program, Halloween and Prop 8 are over... what's next???

where to start?

Wow- I'm so far behind, I don't even know where to start. I was just telling my sister that I've lost my "blog fire." I don't know where it went, but I just don't have that burning desire to blog, that I used to. I need to work on it though- because I just love having this journal at my fingertips- and I know that Aaron's grandma would be disappointed if I stopped!

Most importantly, my grandfather passed away last Wednesday. It happened very quickly and I sure do miss him already. We had the funeral service on Saturday. It was mainly just our family and it was very sweet and emotional. I feel sad for my sweet grandma, but family has been around her since that day and she seems to be holding up pretty well. Papa was a good man. We all loved him and my kids thought he was wonderful. I am so glad they all got to meet him and spend time with him. I love you, Papa!



I vow to be a better blogger. I will spend the next week updating- Halloween, a fun night out with our friends, the boys MS bike ride and lots of other fun happenings!!