A Day

Today was a normal day for myself and the little ones. Nothing out of the ordinary. We walked to pick up Tyler from school. Harder than it sounds with: a double stroller with a flat tire, a puppy and 3 youngens. But, we got our exercise for the day and it felt good to be outside. We stopped by the park on the way home and enjoyed a little picnic. Lack of bathrooms sent us on our way after an hour of playing. I love just "being " with the kids. Their good, their cute and their mine. I love it.Could they be any cuter??



We wore poor Maggie out. She's not used to our crazy house!


You know how you have a friend that you look up to- someone who has walked in your shoes and knows just what your going through? Well, my friend WendI is that friend for me. (shout out to you , WendI!!) She had 4 kids very close together just like me- 3 boys and a girl. They are older now, youngest is 7. I love talking to her and picking her brain. She is a great mom and her kids are so well-behaved. We were chatting a few Sunday's ago as I was out in the hall with Carter. She reminded me that although it's hard now, it will be so fun later. I love hearing that. I love my kids' ages and the things we are doing now, but I'm also excited for "someday" when they're older and doing different things. I love watching her with her kids and thinking about how my kids will be when they're that age. So much to look forward to!

Flour Power

We are always looking for new games for family night. A couple Mondays ago I was racking my brain for fun games I played as a kid and I remembered the "Flour Tower." So fun!! Do you remember playing this as a kid?
If not, here you go. Pack a cup with flour. Turn the cup over on a cookie sheet or plate. (I put the plate on top of the cup and then turn the whole thing over.) Then set a penny on top of the tower. Now each person takes a turn with a butter knife and cuts away a slice of flour. The person who knocks the tower down has to find the penny in the flour, with their mouth!! It was so fun and we all got a good "flour-y" laugh out of watching each other sticking our nose in a pile of flour. Try it!!
Warning: Please DO NOT laugh or breathe in hard while your face is in the flour. The consequences are not pretty.

I love Jake's face in the picture below- priceless!

prayers

This sweet baby needs all of our prayers.

http://thegledhillfamily.blogspot.com/

out of the mouth of ... addie

Any of you faithful blog readers out there, know that we call Addison - "goose." We have since she was a baby and she gets called that several times a day by all of us. After picking up Tyler from school today we were crossing the street and I was walking behind the kids. Addie turned around and said, "Come on Mama Goose!"

I think I have a new name.

My Valentine(s)

I am super sneaky!!

At the beginning of last week I covertly contacted Aaron's good friend, that he works with, and had him set up a "Business Lunch Mtg" for Friday. Instead of finding his work buddies there- it was me instead! Surprise! At his place was an envelope that said, "Your bag is packed and your schedule is clear for the rest of the day- Your all mine for the next 24 hours!" We enjoyed our yummy lunch (sushi at Ken's- where else??) and then we headed off on our adventure. He really had no idea where we were going!

Our bed and breakfast is the while one up on the bluff- with a full view of the ocean.


The view- lovely!

We drove to Dana Point and checked into the Blue Lantern Inn. We have always wanted to stay there- but never got around to it. I think our 12th Valentine's Day together was was the perfect reason! That afternoon it was rainy and cloudy- which I loved. Perfect for the cozy fireplace! It was freezing, too! That night we went to the mall and walked around and ate at Cheesecake Factory. Then we watched a movie in our room. The next morning was beautiful- sunny and chilly. We enjoyed the buffet they provided at the bed and breakfast and then walked around down at the harbor. We ended our romantic weekend with a trip to Home Depot to pick out a new front door. We must be getting old! I thought it was fun though- just me and my hubby strolling through Home Depot- no rush and no kids.

When we got home Aaron worked on our car (another post in itself) and I put a Valentine's dinner together for the fam. We ordered spaghetti from our favorite local Italian restaurant and opened a few small presents. Aaron had tickets for the hockey game that night so he took the 3 older kids and Carter and I snuck out for our own Valentine's date. A little shopping at the mall with my sweet baby was the perfect way to end a perfect weekend.

Bubbles and a Baby Boy

The boys brought home oodles of Valentines, candy and Hannah Montana cards today. One of the best little trinkets was a tiny heart-shaped container of bubbles. Tyler started blowing and Carter was mesmerized. I realized this was Carter's first time seeing bubbles. His fat cheeks and pudgy hands were too perfect to not document. I loved watching him discover something totally new- and oh so fascinating. I'm so glad I have a new Valentine in 2009!

New Years Eve- a month late

I never put up pictures of New Years- oops just remembered!

We did the annual New Years Eve dinner at Rainforest Cafe with the kids. This year the Lackey's and Eschers joined us. They do a fun celebration for the kids- with a "knee-high"buffet that includes all the kids favorites. Then we went home and put everyone to bed and headed over to our friends new home- for a little "adults-only" get-together. We played the Wii, chatted and enjoyed some yummy food. It was a fun day and we really enjoyed spending most of the day with the kids and then sneaking our for some grown- up fun, too. We sure feel blessed to have so many great friends where we live!

Carter-man's shirt says "I may be small- but I rock."

Family picture at Rain Forest Cafe- notice Addie's shoes and my cardigan. We fit in perfectly with the animal theme.
All the cute kids!


We also hosted the 4th annual Youth New Years Eve Waffle Breakfast. We started this tradition after Aaron was called as YM President. After the youth New Years dance, the kids head over to our house (at midnight) for waffles, bacon and OJ. They are a great group of kids and I really enjoy having them here.

Our awesome bishop- he comes every year and brings his spotless waffle iron. I hate using it because I am so worried I am going to get it dirty. I actually windex-ed it when I was done- I've never even done that to my own waffle iron!The official bacon cookers. They cooked up a lot of bacon that night!They used the left over waffle batter and fried up some pancakes in the bacon grease. No thank you!!
A group of kids- hanging out in the kitchen.
Another group in the family room with the Wii.
The waffle support team- Ronda and Keri.

Hope everyone's New Year is going well.
I love the New Year- fresh motivation to try harder and do better.
Happy 2009!