White Ribbons

Most people who know Licity would agree that she is one of the messiest little girls. Food on her face, no problem. Slobber on her chin, great. Lip gloss up to her ears, beautiful. So as a mother of my first little girl (and a skewed vision of what a little girl entails) I say, "How about a white ribbon?" Luckily, she has always tolerated the bows I put on her. So the next time I hear, "Mom, Licity's getting into your makeup." I just say, "but does she still have her bow in?"...

I've been tagged...

I've been tagged by my friend Melissa. Which should be fun but I'm really struggling to think of 6 things about myself- or really just anything at all interesting so let me see what I can come up with...
1) I love my life! That sounds a bit cliche, but it's really how I feel. I have an amazing husband who is extremely handsome, hard working and honors his priesthood responsibilities and is of course a perfect daddy. And I have 3 beautiful and healthy children who (for the most part) really try their very best to make me happy. Not to mention a beautiful home to live in. What else do you need in life?
2) I have three triathlons on my resume and I'm determined that one day I'll be ready for more. I was 18 for my first one and came in 2nd place, I was 19 for the next one and came in 1st place, I was 22 and one-kid-later for the third one and was happy to not pass out when crossing the finish line. I have high hopes for the next one.
3) I enjoy dabbling in anything creative. I've tried sewing, scrap booking, knitting, quilting, photography, deco page, jewelry making, bow making, painting, wood work and many others that I try to block out from my memory. I love to be able to claim I know how to do things, but doing them well is a very different story.
4) I was quite the rebel growing up, and maybe, just slightly, still am. I really don't like doing things that people tell me to do. My poor mom- I'm really sorry... really, really sorry.
5) I watch soap operas. It's sad, I know. I really got into All My Children and actually record it so every once in a while I'll get behind and then have an All My children marathon. What a great way to numb the mind.
6) My favorite thing at the end of the day is to curl up next to Kyle with a cup of hot chocolate and a little treat that I've managed to hide from the kids and tune in to one of our many favorite (and very addicting) TV shows.

I'm not sure if that was at all interesting for anyone else but that was a lot of fun to take time to think about me. So Amy, Sarah and Lara you've been tagged!

Maci (May) 6 Months Old

I can:

- Roll over (old news)

- crawl/scoot backwards

- Talk in high pitched squeals

- giggle when tickled under my chin (or back, legs, chest, tummy or feet)

- yell at my mom when hungry

- Smile for anyone who's watching

Flashback Friday... Wow Licity!

This picture makes me laugh every time I see it! For anyone who doubted when I told you Licity was a REALLY big baby... she's only 4 months here. (And it's not just the picture, her head really is bigger than Ethan's.)

The art of Halloweening

What is it about Halloween ? There's the costumes, the pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving, the cookie decorating, the Halloween party, the school parties (sugar cookies for Licity, candy for Ethan, games, treats, crafts and pictures for my preschool class). Then there's the actual Trick-or-treating with pictures and candy and... did the kids even eat dinner that night? Needless to say, we are glad it came and we are really glad that it went! Phew!

But, the kids did look really cute!


Halloween

Party in the Park

Pumpkin Patch

The dirtier the better!

We went on the annual "camping on the beach" trip to Doheny, CA with our good friends the Nelsons... it pretty much rained the entire time. Rough on the parents, but SO much fun for the kids! It was dirty and sandy (and snotty), but was honestly one of the best trips all summer! Thank you Nelson family- we wish you were closer!

Ethan loved the sand! Each day he would build "the great wall" and wait for the tide to come up and wash it away.
Licity's vacation revolved around "lil' mermaid". It's amazing how entertaining one doll can be (sing, dance, swim, etc.).

Licity being "lil' mermaid"


Not even Maci could stay clean on this trip.

Highlight of the trip... one of Kyle's famous (way too scary) stories.

I'm back!

Hooray! I finally have a camera again- I'm still not sure how it works, and the lighting is all off on all of these, but I'll get there. So here's what we've missed... Ethan continues to thrive in school. He is so excited about everything he learns and is easily enticed by whatever reward they're using at school. He's started the "Book It" program and is so focused on getting a free pizza (like we don't have pizza once a week anyway) that he will read both morning and night because that's what he thinks he needs to do. I love his determination and know how wonderful it is to not have to fight him on homework.

Licity is as crazy as ever. Her favorite thing is sitting on the counter in the bathroom making silly faces in the mirror, applying mommy's "lip glogs" (see also: slide show from September), or coloring with deodorant all over the mirror. Fun! She also loves her school but for very different reasons than Ethan- I would love to know who Hunter is? She is also impossible to get mad at- not because she doesn't do infuriating things, but because she is always smiling (especially when she's doing something wrong).

Maci is a busy baby. She's well on her way to crawling and is so intent on grabbing anything within reach. She went through a nightmare of a time switching to bottles, but she's adjusted now and is such a happy baby-She definitely has one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen on a baby.