The Pumpkin Patch

We love October because that means that we get to go to the Pumpkin Patch. And we not only go one time to the pumpkin patch, but we go as many times as the kids can convince me to go. It is actually a lot of fun, but sometimes I just get worn out in the 95 degree weather in October. We did go on opening day with our neighbors, Evelyn and Michelle.




Trip #2 was with our cousins to a new pumpkin patch where we went on the train ride and climbed on their big tall mountains of hay. They also had a petting zoo and lots of fun space to run around.

Trip #3 was with Kolby's pre-K class. The highlight of the trip was going on a tractor ride through the corn fields and getting a flat tire. Kolby thought that was the greatest thing ever! He has loved his Pre-K class and his teachers, Mrs. G and Mrs. Palmer have been so great for him.

Trip #5 was to see our cute friend Lindsay perform with her dance group. Kolby and Eliza loved watching her...Kolby's going to miss his little buddy.

Thank you to the Pumpkin Patch for providing so many fun memories over the past 4 years! And thanks for all of our friends who enjoyed it with us.

Happy 1st Birthday, Carson!

On October 3rd, our little bubsy Carson turned 1! I can't believe how fast the time went by. My little barfy baby has outgrown his reflux and become such a happy little boy. Grandma & Grandpa Downen came to celebrate his birthday and his favorite part was the balloons. He just wanted to chase the balloons around the house all day. That was all he needed, even though he did get some cute clothes and toys. He definitely didn't need the cake, as you can see in the last picture. I am 3/3 on making my kids cry on their first birthday by trying to force them to eat their cake/cupcake. Carson is a hilarious kid who is so fun and goes with the flow and he is adored by his big brother and sister. They take such good care of him and were so happy for him to turn 1 so he could start doing big kid things with them. Happy Birthday, Carson! We love you!

Brother & Sister Dance

Kolby was begging Eliza to dance with him to Radio Disney. She resisted until I said I was going to video it. (they have taken on their dad's mantra - "anything for the camera") Warning-this is a PG video cuz her shirt goes up a little. My favorite is that Kolby tries to dip her a few times. So funny.

More About Carson

Two things about Carson:

1. He is such a lovebug. It is so cute too that he loves his Dad so much. It is actually really nice that Geoff took 6 weeks off when Carson was born and now is home with us everyday and Carson definitely appreciates it. They have such a cute bond and he loves to give his Dad hugs, as you can see in the photo.
2. I found the greatest new entertainment for him...The Dustbuster. By the way, the Dustbuster has been my lifesaver since Kolby was big enough to start eating table food and we started getting messes all over the floor. It is an awesome way to do a quick clean up and last night I trained my almost one year old little boy to use it to clean up for me. He did such a great job and went all over the kitchen floor with it until the battery charge was gone. Then he threw a huge tantrum because it wasn't making the noise anymore and I put it back in its charger. Did I mention that he was so well-entertained by it that i was able to get all the dishes cleaned up/counters wiped and folded 2 loads of laundry? I love it when that happens!
   

A New Girl

Today Eliza got a big haircut. She has been wanting me to cut her hair for a while and I thought it was a great idea because she has thin, stringy hair that gets very matted and looks pretty crazy most of the time. I finally got around to actually doing it today...my first haircut in a really really long time. I planned on cutting it to her shoulders, but as you can see in the photo it ended up more like chin-length. I just couldn't seem to get it straight and finally just had to call it good before I cut anymore off. I think she looks pretty cute, but Geoff was not too happy when he saw her. The one who matters the most, though, is Eliza and she LOVES it. She was so happy and was dancing around the rest of the day singing songs and flipping her hair all around. She wanted to show all the neighborhood kids and was really excited to call Grandma and Grandpa and Ashee to tell them about her cute new haircut. I never thought it would have this affect, but it did and it is supercute to watch her be so excited about her new 'do. I'm a little nervous after giving her a bath tonight and seeing it dry by itself...you can definitely tell it is not a professional job. All I can hope is that it starts to grow fast and all my unevenness gets lost in the new growth.

Cute Little Monkey

I am definitely not in blog posting mode, but I thought I would share this really cute picture of Carson. He is becoming such a monkey...always wanted to "walk" around everywhere and climb onto things. I turned away from the dishwasher to put some dishes away and when I turned back around I saw my little monkey had climbed onto the dishwasher and was giving me such a cute little smile that said, "Aren't you so proud of me, mom? Look what I can do now!" He was so excited about it. I of course am not so excited because now it means my dishwasher using time is limited to times when he isn't around. (just what i didn't need...another excuse not to do dishes!) But of course I encouraged his "cute" behavior by taking a picture of him. :-) I LOVE this little boy. He is so sweet and I can't believe he will be one in just a couple of weeks!

Kauai, Hawaii 2008

We were lucky enough to go to Hawaii for a week without kids and with 14 other friends! It was so much fun and soooo beautiful and pretty relaxing. It was amazing to be able to get a full night's sleep every single night. And we rested easy knowing that the kids were in great hands with Grandma and Grandpa. And they had a blast. Now my parents think I am the wimpiest mom ever if I complain about having a hard day with the kids because they just tell me that I have the easiest and best kids ever. I guess that is what a life without rules turned them into. :-)

But, back to Hawaii, we did so many fun things...trips to beautiful waterfalls, cliff jumping off the waterfalls, rope swinging & surfing (Geoff), sea kayaking for 4 hours (resulting in serious prayers that the winds would change and we would be pushed into shore), Waimea Canyon, zodiak boat tour around the Na Pali Coast, zip lining, bowling, karaoke, walks on the beach and delicious pineapple.

Geoff's favorite story of the trip is this: He was surfing on Saturday morning (the day we were leaving) and the lifeguard got on his microphone and told everyone to get out of the water because he had seen a "shark thrashing around out there." Of course he got out and went to talk to the lifeguard, who showed Geoff the 2 places he had seen the shark. The 2nd spot was right where Geoff had been surfing. Kind of freaky. Glad that life insurance policy was all paid up!

To sum it up, we had a fabulous time and it was so awesome to spend time with such fun, great friends.

So that's the travel log...and here are a few pics to go along.

Field Trip to the Fire Station

Last month, Karyl organized a trip to the fire station and we were lucky enough to be invited. The kids were so excited to go and had so much fun checking out the fire truck and even going up and checking out the firemen's digs...the kitchen, living room, recliners, etc. The coolest part of the whole thing was that they actually got a call while we were there so they had to hurry and get in their big truck and pull away. It was so exciting! Here are some cute photos of the day...

Idaho 2008

Every year, my family has a family reunion at the lake in Sandpoint, Idaho. It is beautiful and we have so much fun just hanging out at the lake house, swimming in the water, wakeboarding and tubing and eating lots of junk food! This year was extra special because my sister, Heidi got married. And we got to meet the latest addition to the family, baby Ellie. At first, I was only going to go, but since Geoff was free, the whole family went and had so much fun. It was awesome to see Heidi get married and to see how happy she and Ove were on their special day. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins and being on the boat all day. Kolby was the official "flag boy" and he is really really great at that job. He even got tips from Grandpa at the end of the day and was so excited to pay tithing on his freshly earned money. So cute.

It was nice for us to escape reality and catch up with family, especially since we rushed to put our house up for sale in the 3 days since Geoff losing his job and our going to Idaho so we were ready for a vacation. The good news is that our house had 2 offers on it the first week it was on the market. Yeah!

The trip would have been perfect if I didn't agree to go tubing with Mart...I totally messed up my neck and that put me out of commission. Luckily, my chiropractor sister, Wendy, was there so she was able to help me out a lot, but for the most part, Geoff was on his own with the kids and he even flew home with all 3 kids by himself (and he had a long layover in Phoenix). Pretty impressive, don't you think? He did look very beat when I met up with them at the airport, but everyone made it!

Thanks to Heidi and Ove for making it possible for us to share their special day and to Grandma and Grandpa for providing such fun memories!

Bye Bye Centex!

So on Monday morning, July 28, 2008, I got a phone call from Geoff saying that as of July 31 he would no longer be employed by Centex Homes. I was surprised, but not really, if that makes any sense. He had made it through 5 rounds of lay offs, which was great, but now it was time to leave the homebuilding industry. It was such a relief, yet terrifying all at the same time. 4 years at Centex was long enough...we are grateful that he was employed, but are now very happy to be moving on. We'll keep you posted on what and where we will be moving on to...

Camping in July

In order to beat the heat, Geoff and a few friends decided to take their boys camping up in the mountains. They had such a fun time and you can see how beautiful it is up in the moutains. They even went fishing and Kolby learned how to cast like a pro. So cute. That will definitely make Grandpa Downen proud. Kolby came home and couldn't stop talking about the little bear that he and Aidan spotted. He is definitely at a "story-telling" age. I am so glad he gets to have so many fun moments with his dad. And Geoff did offer to take Eliza, too, but she said she would rather stay home and sleep in the big cozy bed with me. We are in so much trouble with that girl!

Fun Princess Party

This should have been posted so long ago!!! Our little friend, Sammie, turned 3 and had a cute little princess party. I was glad that Kolby said he didn't want to dress up. :-) But the girls sure made some pretty princesses so I had to include a photo. And Kolby looks very chivalrous, ready to defend all the pretty princesses...

Crawling Carson's First Haircut

Yes, he started crawling this past week and is having so much fun exploring! Here is our handsome little boy before and after his first haircut. I couldn't resist last night when he was in the bathtub. And Geoff helped finish it off this morning. Now maybe I can get to all that cradle cap that was hiding under his big mop! (Gross!) ps. i especially love the picture showing his cute bottom teeth.

Funny Kolby Conversation

Kolby loves answering the phone in his grown-up 4 year old voice. A few weeks ago, the phone rang and it was our neighbor. She decided to try and relay her message to me through Kolby and this is what it was: "Mom, Michelle is calling because she is taking some tomatoes to work to give to people and she wants to know if you need any potatoes to make broccoli or if you already have enough." Michelle of course was listening to this and when I got on the phone was laughing, as was I, and she clarified that she was calling to see if we needed any more tomatoes to make salsa before she gave them away to people at work. Kolby came close. I love the way that kids hear and interpret things and wish that I could remember and record about 90% of all the conversations we have. I'm so grateful for my kids and that they make me laugh! And I'm grateful for good neighbors who have an awesome garden and have shared so many of their fresh veggies with us this summer. Yummy!

Trips to the Doctor

It seems like I spent a lot of this week at the Dr. office. That must be why I feel like I got NOTHING done this week, except paint my bathroom.

• Carson has had a double ear infection for 6 weeks and they finally gave up on all the oral antibiotics and gave him the antibiotic shot. One huge long needle inserted into his leg once/day for 3 consecutive days. I sure hope it did the trick. He was so brave! He only cried for a split second (or maybe a few) after getting poked.
  
• Eliza also had her 3 year check up this week and she was so brave too. Didn't cry one bit when she got her shots. She just said, "Mom, that really hurted." And then she was off to the potty to pee in a cup. She has been waiting for this since Kolby's checkup when he got to pee in a cup. So exciting! And of course she loved putting on the little gown at the pediatrician's office. I think she would have worn it home if the Dr. would have allowed it.
• And we topped it all off with Eliza's first visit to the dentist. She was so excited for that too because she went with Kolby for his first visit and thought it was so cool. It helps to have an older brother do all the hard stuff first. Unfortunately she does have 2 cavities! So this week's visit probably won't be quite as fun as the exam and cleaning was, but I'm sure she will still be a champ. (and bribing her with some fun toys at the dentist office won't hurt either!)
  

3 Little Monkeys Sleeping in the Same Room

Eliza has decided that she doesn't like having her own room anymore. She wants to sleep in Kolby & Carson's room. So young, yet so opinionated! We were having a hard time getting her to sleep through the night, but once we gave in to letting her sleep in with the boys, she has been sleeping much better. She told us that she isn't scared anymore because now her brothers can protect her. Interesting...since she never voiced the she was scared in her own room and that was the reason she couldn't sleep. Originally, Eliza just put her toddler bed mattress on the floor in Kolby's room, then somehow worked it to sleep in Kolby's bed with him and now she has full reign of Kolby's bed and he sleeps on the floor on her crib mattress. (If you haven't noticed from pictures, Kolby is a big boy and does NOT fit on the crib mattress very well!) I think Kolby is so tired at bedtime that he just doesn't feel like fighting about where to sleep, so he just lets Eliza have his bed. What a sweet big brother. Carson still wakes Eliza up when he cries but she generally just tells me that he woke her up and then she rolls over and goes back to sleep. It has been two weeks now and we are so happy to all be sleeping better. Hopefully I didn't jinx it by writing this post

Lake Fun

We had such a fun weekend. Our friends, the Welches, invited us out on their boat at the nearby lake. We had a great time wakeboarding, tubing and just hanging out on the boat. We didn't tell the kids we were going until Saturday morning when they woke up and they were so excited...they got ready so quickly and couldn't wait to get on the boat. Kolby assumed his usual "flag" duties and Eliza just hung out like a little princess. Carson was a perfect little boy...slept most of the time. We got some wakeboarding in, got to witness the expert Weston, and did some tubing with the kids. Our kids sure talk big, but when it comes right down to it, they get a little scared. We were proud of them for having a fun time in the tube and for them jumping off the boat into the water to cool off a few times. Thank you, Welches, for such a fun time! And for wearing us and our kids out!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a pretty mellow but fun 4th of July this year. The kids were so looking forward to it because they know that 4th of July means fireworks and there were firework stands on just about every corner around town. I think our neighbors bought out one of the stands and so provided us with a fireworks show on Thursday night, Friday night and Saturday night. It was great!

We woke up early on the 4th (5:30 a.m.) and got everyone in the car and drove out to a nearby small town (Exeter) to participate in the 10K Run/2 mile walk. Of course Geoff is the one who did the 10K and me and the kids did the walk with our friend Dima and her two kids. The big boys rode their bikes and thought that was the best ever, especially since they were allowed to ride in the street a lot of the time. Geoff did great, meeting his goal to finish his 10K in under 40 minutes and won a questionable "3rd place" for his age division. Dima had us over for a yummy breakfast and fun play time and then we came home and everyone took naps. Definitely my kind of day. We ended the day with a BBQ at the York's house, where the kids enjoyed playing on the huge Costco slide (of course we didn't get any pictures of that) and as soon as the sun started to go down, they began to chant, "Fireworks! Fireworks! Fireworks!" and so the show began. An "America" CD blasted in the background as everyone enjoyed lots of fun fireworks in the cul-de-sac. Thanks to the Yorks for a fun night. Everyone came home and slept really well! Here are a few pictures from the day...

Yummy Homemade Bread

We were at a friend's house a few months ago and she gave us some of her homemade bread and Kolby fell in LOVE with it. It was quite delicious, but he thought it was out of this world delicious and has been bugging me almost on a daily basis to get the recipe so that we could make it and have some of our own delicious homemade bread. I thought it was interesting that my 4 year old cared so much about bread, but Kolby is a lot like his grandpa and food does mean a lot to him. It truly is the way to his heart. So I finally got the recipe and it turned out "super duper yummy". It sure didn't last long and as you can imagine, the person who ate the most was Kolby. Thanks, Tevya for letting us in on your family secret and introducing us to the scrumptiousness (is that word?) of homemade bread.

A Special Date

Eliza was needing some "special time" so she and Geoff went on a date. She was so excited to put on a cute little dress and be waiting for her Dad to come knock on the door and pick her up for her date. Kolby, the big brother, answered the door and made sure that Dad knew Eliza had a curfew and there would be trouble if she weren't home by then. They had a fun time going to the mall and just walking around different stores, going to Bath & Body Works and testing out the yummy smelling lotions, playing at the play area and the arcade and then topping it off with some ice cream. She was a very happy girl when she came home. And Kolby was looking forward to his "special time" with Dad...He was watching the clock the whole time they were gone.

Cute Carson

Just some cute photos of our little buddy Carson from the past couple of weeks. He is getting so big. Just had his 9 month check up today...21 pounds 8 ounces and 29 inches long. Also has a double ear infection...poor little guy. But he is the happiest sick kid ever and I am so grateful for that!

Happy Father's Day!

My kids are so lucky (and so am I) that they have the best Dad ever! He loves to play with them, loves to take them to all of his Church meetings and activities with him, is an awesome example for them and loves to teach them all good things (with a few minor exceptions, of course). Our Father's Day was spent having fun together for the first 1/2 of the day and then having the Roaches over for a yummy Cafe Rio dinner and fruit tart dessert. It was yummy! The kids did a great job picking out a new tie and shirt from Banana and even kept it a secret! They loved watching their Dad open their gift and were also very proud of the "lollipop ties" they made for him in Primary. We love you! I am grateful to have such a great Dad for my kids.


My Dad is amazing too...I am so grateful for his love and advice throughout the years. It was fun to see him spotlighted in the Santa Clarita Valley Magazine for Father's Day. It does take a special person to take care of 8 kids. Thanks for all of your sacrifices and hard work, Dad!

Eliza's 3rd Birthday

On June 8th, Eliza turned 3! A few days before her birthday, she went for her first "professional" haircut at Fun Time Cuts and sat in the airplane. She has gone there many times to watch Kolby get his hair cut and now it was finally her turn. She loved it! More than the haircut, she loved playing dress up in the back with the owner's granddaughter and singing and dancing with her. It was so cute.
We went down to Grandma and Grandpa's house for the weekend and Eliza was so excited until she wrapped her entire hand around the HOT HOT curling iron and we ended up in Urgent Care. You'll notice her cute little pink cast in all of her birthday photos. The cast definitely made everything all better. She felt like a very special one handed princess and was so disappointed when we got home from the dr. because everyone was napping and she didn't have anyone to show her cool cast. When everyone did see it, though, they were sure to give lots of sympathy. She had a fun birthday party with her Tinkerbell cake that she helped me make, she dressed up as Belle and acted like the perfect princess through the pin the tiara on the princess game, the princess pinata, the presents and cake and ice cream. Some of her favorite gifts were for sure the Barbie guitar (she wears the microphone all the time in the car and pretends to sing along to all the songs on the radio) and the Tinkerbell bathing suit. She also loves all of her new princess movies and the cute little princess figurines that her cousin Abbey gave her. The rest of the family loves her Dance Dance Revolution game. She doesn't quite get it yet, but Kolby is really good at it and he and I love to practice when Eliza and Carson are napping. I'm sure plenty of you are laughing at that image of me and DDR. It is as funny as you think! It was such a fun, simple birthday party. Just my style!
When we came home from Grandma and Grandpa's house she had a very momentous moment...she threw all of her binkies in the trash can. Yippee...no more hunting for binkies all over the place. She has done awesome. She threw them away and hasn't even asked for them since. We are so proud of our big 3 year old princess! 2 days after her birthday she got to start preschool for the summer. She was so excited and has been loving every minute of it! Lots of fun stuff for this little girl. Enjoy the slideshow.

Happy 34th Birthday, Geoff!

Geoff celebrated his 34th birthday on June 4. We surprised him at work with a big balloon bouquet that the kids were so excited to take to him. The best surprise was just us showing up at work since we rarely make it over there to visit. I'll have to admit, this wasn't his best birthday ever...he picked out his own presents, the homemade ice cream roll didn't turn out as great as I had planned and he didn't get to go to the Dodgers game that he was so excited to go to. On the positive side, he did get lots of special attention from his cute little family. The kids were so excited for Dad's birthday. We promise to make 35 much better for you!

Bakersfield Triathlon

Once again, I should have posted this a very long time ago. Better late than never...right? Well, I must admit that when I married Geoff I had no idea that I was marrying an awesome athlete. He did his first Triathlon in May in Bakersfield when it was 106 degrees outside. It definitely wasn't supposed to be that hot, but it was one of those weird weather patterns unfortunately for him. In that kind of heat, a triathlon is torture (or so I hear), but after his 1 mile swim and his 20 mile bike ride, he still made it running through 10 miles in the mountains. Most people stopped the triathlon after the swim or bike because of the grueling heat, but Geoff was determined (or crazy) and continued on to the end and finished with a very respectable time. Way to go!!! I've attached a photo from a distance because those triathlon outfits are a bit skimpy for a close up. Seriously!

Kolby's Last Day of Preschool May 2008...

...in Miss Joy & Mrs. G's class. This is a picture of him with Mrs. G at the last day of school picnic at the park celebration. He has had so much fun spending 2 years with these fabulous teachers. They have been so great to him. At the end of the school year, the classes all performed for the parents and here is a video clip of Kolby's class. You can see Kolby on the left with his red handkerchief that he was so proud to wear as he sang "Down on Grandpa's Farm." It was pretty funny to see my little boy yelling out the words up there. I remember last year's performance and he didn't even know the words to the songs and definitely didn't want to be singing. But this year was a whole different story...he is quite the performer. We like to call him "Big Marty". What will the next few years bring??? Sorry no video...why can't I load anything longer than 20 seconds??? any ideas???