Thank you, and thank you, and thank you!

My mother-in-law sent me this cartoon strip the other day and it really hit home (in fact, made me tearful.)
The wife begins by saying:
"Thanks for the great weekend away."
"You're welcome."
"I had a great time."
"Me too."
"And now I'm glad to be home"
"It shows." (with all 3 kids in bed besider her.)

"You never know how good you have it until it's gone."

This little saying spoke true during the month of November. You see, Cam and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary this past month and traveled together to Costa Rica. Oh the time we had! Food at your disposal, sleeping in, snorkeling on the beach; falling in love all over again. It was an amazing trip. We went to a few different beaches, took surfing lessons, zip lined through the canopy of the jungle, and traveled on horseback to natural hot springs where we covered ourselves with volcanic mud and relaxed in the warm pools of water. Paradise? Yes. Except four little things were missing.

Being away from my kids for 6 days proved to be very difficult for me. It took me 2 days to calm down enough to be able to enjoy myself. Then I talked to my kids on the phone and realized that they were having an excellent time with their grandmas and aunts, and not missing us too much. So I could cope and enjoy the time I had with my husband!

It was so nice to give my attention to Cam again, and so great to come home and feel refreshed and renewed and SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL for these 4 beautiful children! Cam and I arrived home around 1am Thursday morning. Words can't describe the joy I felt when the baby woke up in the morning, standing up to her crib and smiling at me with those enormous dimples. I took the baby downstairs (after smothering her with kisses) and soon the rest followed after, giving me hug after hug and telling me how much they missed me. Truly better than any Christmas I can remember. It's so nice to have and give love.

I came downstairs the other morning to find all three kids sitting in the computer chair watching a show on the monitor. Daxton working hard shoveling the steps. Does this photo scream Christmas card or what?! Enjoying the first snow fall of the season. Daxton making a snow angel. And Joshua.

Building Frosty and chowin' down on some frozen goodness.

Triple the trouble.

Joshua

Cam said he would pay Josh 10 dollars if Josh ate a spoonful of the babies creamed peas without gagging. Impressively, he earned the ten bucks. He didn't even take a drink afterward (which makes me think this whole "picky eater" thing is a ploy.) Anyway, Josh really wanted to spend the money at his school's book fair. So, I said go for it. Better he spends it on books than something else, right? He arrived home 45 minutes later than normal, with a couple books in hand and this giant poster that cost $4.50. (If he got it free, he still would have been taken.....) It's hanging in his room.

Josh entered the reflections contest again this year with a music entry. The theme this year was "Together we Can;" so he wrote a song for the piano titled "Together we can build homes for the homeless." (I showed him videos of Hurricane Katrina and asked him what those people would need after something so devasting happened, and he thought they would need a home.) He made the song sound like people were hammering and sawing (playing scales on the piano.) It was fun, and he won!



Josh was a great help while we were gone, and I was told that he really stepped up to help take care of his siblings. Good job buddy!

Daxton

Dax and Ella were playing together in the living room while Daxton had these glasses on. They were playing "house" and Ella said, "Father, where are we going?" To which Dax replied, "I'm not your father. I'm a rock star."

Here he is doing his "rock star" pose.

Dax has started throwing tantrums again. Man, I thought we had passed that phase with few to no casualties. Josh's tantrums peaked when he was 3. It was HORRIBLE. I vividly remember the day before Dax was born, I took Josh to storytime at the library, and left 5 minutes later with boy in arms, kicking and screaming his little lungs out and the whole library staring at me. I could hear their thoughts "Man lady, can't you control your kid?" But wasn't it obvious? Of course I couldn't! Can't you hear him? But Dax never had issues like that. His tantrums consisted of falling to the floor and just lying their, lifeless. But not any more. He'll now yell something like "Fine, I'm never going to play with this toy again!," Then he will run to his room, slam the door, and pull the clothes out of his closet. You think he would learn after picking up his clothes countless times, that he shouldn't pull that one again. But alas, the tantrums continue.

However, my little curly head still oozes with affection. I can handle the tantrums if he continues to ask me if my back needs scratching or if he can cuddle with me. He's very responsible too. He always takes care of himself every morning, getting dressed, brushing his teeth, making his bed and picking up his room. He's always the first to offer his help and continues working long after his brother and sister have finished: shoveling the driveway, vacuming or mopping the floor. He's a good little dude.

Ella

Ella Marie missed me the most. I've been back for over 2 weeks now, but everytime we hug she will say, "Mom, I missed you when you were gone."

Ella is the perfect mix of girly girl and rough and tumble. She will strut around the house wearing my high heels, and posing like this for a picture:

>And then 10 minutes later she is wrestling with her two brothers, pulling out her karate moves and jumping on top of the dog pile.

Ella now has a "pretend grandma" that she talks about quite frequently.

"Mom, I know a lot about parachutes."

"Parachutes?"

"Yeah. My pretent grandma told me. She was little and then she went with her mom and saw some parachutes."

Amelie
Though she has yet to swallow any foreign object, there is ALWAYS something in her mouth that shouldn't be there. Legos, pen lids, carpet fragments, paper, and toy after toy!

This baby is everywhere! Up and down the stairs, in the bathrooms, opening up kitchen cupboards. Here, there, all over the place! It's amazing how quickly they learn and develop. She is giving high fives, waving goodbyes, shaking her head no, and giving kisses. We just had her 9 month check up and she is a heavy weight at 23 lbs 4 oz. (93 percentile). She has two little teeth on bottom and all four coming in on top. She brings so much laughter to our household. Babies are the best.

Cameron
True to form, Cam is a great athlete at anything he attempts. He did an awesome job surfing, and stayed out much longer than I could. He caught on quickly and was soon catching the waves on his own, without the instructor's aid.

Things I love about Cam: he makes me laugh, he knows me better than I know myself, he's an awesome dad, he has a strong testimony, he works hard for our family, he knows how to have fun, he has a love for the outdoors that he shares with his kids, he's handsome, he kicks butt on the slopes, he can make friends with anyone.

Cindy

Did I ever mention that the ocean terrifies me? It's seriously a phobia. So suiting up to go out and surf was quite a struggle. The waves are so big, knocking you up and down, round and round. But snorting that much sea water is suprisingly good for the sinuses. Even snorkeling was difficult, but awesome. My kids love aquariums and I kept thinking how much they would love to be able to swim inside of one giant aquarium! (that is, until we saw a big black eel peeping out of a rock. One long scream, and I was done snorkeling.)

It is amazing how much joy children bring you. Don't get me wrong, it was amazing to be on our own for a bit. Just the two of us again. But man, that life would get old! Kids add so much to the mix, and you get the opportunity to teach and shape these little people. You get to give them your love, and you get so much back in return! What a blessing it is to be a mother.

Dangerous Mobility

Our hayride to the pumpkin patch at Day Farms.

Awaiting the ride to the patch:

All aboard!

Ella found her pumpkin.

Daxton found his.

Collin and Josh found their pumpkins.

Carving our pumpkins:

It's funny the things we stress over for that off-chance that you may get hurt. Put your seat belt on, don't forget to wear your helmet, wear tennis shoes when you mow your lawn, carry the scissors the right way. Yet, here is my 8 month old child who is in constant danger every second she roams my household. It doesn't matter how often I vacuum, there is always something in her mouth: leaves, hair elastics, paper or popcorn kernels. She's starting to stand up to things as well, then will topple over and hit her head on something: tables, stairs, drawers. I think she would be safest completely covered in football pads and a helmet (can you get those in a size 12 months?) Don't get me wrong, she does enter the "baby jail" and bouncing chair every so often, but she's only good for about 10 minutes before she's eager to be free and explore my dirty carpet. I'm actually excited to have her walking soon, thinking that it may alleviate some of the problem....but I suppose that just shows how naive I am.

Joshua

"Dax, if you want to be a man you have to learn how to tie your shoes first."

We were in the car last Friday driving to Provo with my Uncle Larry and my mom to see my sister Kelli perform. Larry was visiting from Hawaii and was talking about the culture there. Because Hawaii is so expensive, many families live together in one household. The parents of the family work multiple jobs and don't buy any frills until the house is paid for. Pretty admirable, no? Then, when the oldest son gets married, he and his wife take the master bedroom and the parents sleep elsewhere......to which Joshua replies,

"Oh, kinda like in the Old Testament with the birthright?"

I'm like, 'Who is this kid?' We were all laughing, and Josh couldn't figure out why.

Josh was the headless horseman for Halloween this year. As soon as it came in the mail he was wearing it. Here he is doing computer games.

Bobbing for apples.

Daxton

"Mom, can I play my game time?"

"Not today Dax, it's Sunday."

"But the clouds are blocking the sun so it's not Sunday anymore."

Dax continues to be sweeter than candy. Now don't get me wrong, this boy has begun to throw tantrums again. They consist of him saying someone isn't being very nice and then running to his room and closing the door behind him. But a few minutes later, he is out again, smiling and ready to apologize. But back to the sweetness of this little curly dude.

The other morning we were up doing the breakfast thing and I was asking everyone what they wanted. My orders consisted of honey nut cheerios, Wheaties, and hot chocolate with toast. About to throw a pity party, I said, "Do you know what I want? I want someone to ask me what I want for breakfast and then I want to sit down and actually have the chance to eat it." (yes, gearing those comments toward my husband who was sitting down eating his breakfast and reading something on his fancy-shmancy phone.) Then here comes Dax, off his stool and over to the toaster. He puts a couple pieces in.
"Dax, what are you doing?"
"I'm making you some toast, mom."

I love this boy. Also, he now asks me each morning if I am feeling itchy, then I stoop down so he can scratch my back.
Iron Man. Bobbing for apples.

Ella


Ella drew a cute picture of me the other day. I went down to grab the laundry, and came back up to look at the picture again only to see it covered in scribbles. When I asked Ella what happened, she replied,

"You got electrocuted."

My little witch.
Playing catch with dad----in a tutu, with a jacket on, winter gloves, and flip flops.

Ella began to steal the neighbor's bike this week. I admit, it is a pretty sweet ride, complete with streamers and white tires. But it was becoming a problem, nonetheless. So, in my attempts to solve the problem, I thought I would purchase Ella her own bike. Browsing the KSL classifieds I found a perfect 12" girls bike, purple and pink for $15. It had no training wheels, but I knew we had some at home that I could attach. The problem? The training wheels were too big and Ella was stuck pedalling in place, calling it her "exercise bike." Well, I didn't want to go to the store and pay $8 to get training wheels, that kinda' defeats the purpose of getting a cheap bike in the first place. The solution? She had to learn how to ride a 2 wheeler.

This girl is a maniac. She now rides that little bike everywhere! Sidewalk, grass, around and around in circles in the driveway. It's fun to watch. I can't wait to strap some skis on this girls' feet this winter to see what she can do!

Amelie
My little witch's sidekick. Amelie with her cousin Topher.

Standing up to dad's legs.

Where did my baby go? I turn my head, expecting to see a little baby cooing and smiling at me, but all I see are enormous thighs shuffling their way all around the house. She's standing up to everything, opening and closing drawers, and even climbed up the stairs today. It's crazy how fast time is flying.

Wow, I love this little chica. She continues to smile all the time. She loves to laugh too, especially at her brothers and sister. They just get a kick out of her, and she them. Her two little teeth have poked through on the bottom too, and she is enjoying baby foods and cheerios. She still has yet to sleep through the night, but we'll get there eventually.

Cameron

Cam took the boys camping and climbing this past month in St. George. The boys had a blast, and I think Cam had an enjoyable time as well.

Cam is in the process of getting us some new bindings so we can rip it up this winter (well, he will rip it up and I will just try to make it down the mountain with no broken bones.) We will both be skiing on ZAG skis this winter (of course.) Cam is close to selling off his inventory of skis. He actually traded some skis to a guy who is going to build us a new deck, so that's nice.
We're 3 wild and crazy guys....(SNL)

Cindy

I hosted my annual Halloween party again this year (much to the chagrin of my husband.) I chose to dress as Tippi Hedren, from "The Birds", though most people had no idea who I was and thought I was just some lady with black birds all over her. Seriously? Am I that old?

And despite the drizzly wetaher, we had a great time trick or treating.

Until next month!