SAY WHAT?!?!

So last Wednesday we enjoyed our yard looking  like this...

         now these are covered in white

these pictures of thomas were taken while trying to teach myself more about my camera settings and yes I've had my camera for 2 years & I'm just getting around to this

 

     last Wednesday we all celebrated James birthday a few days early b/c he left Friday for his hunting trip that was planned before we even knew we were moving. He has finally caught up to me in age, at least for now.
(see, I don't care that it's dark...that is horrible yellow lighting!)

 i

 look like

 a toofless old man!

 Our indoor lighting stinks for taking pictures so I've been trying to manually fix this & while changing my white balance settings I forgot to change them for when I went outside to capture Amelia loving the snow so I went back outside for the last 2 pictures to show the difference in what the morning light really looked like (b/c it definitely was not bluish)

9AM Wednesday morning

3 girls off to school

1 girl enjoying snow angels in her jammies

1 boy already down for morning nap

1 mom trying to decide whether or not to make her terry cloth robe a permanent wardrobe feature

All of this going on while our fall leaves didn't even get a chance to fall off in the wind. Instead they are being forced by the snow...no, I'm not bitter.



Halloween 2010...

Presenting...

Amelia as Hello Kitty

 and Tessa as a Pirate but when she won an award they announced her as a Gypsy so she said "next year I'll wear this again but I'll call myself a Gypsy"

Eliza changed her costume idea to be the American Girl doll...'Felicity' b/c Aunt Laura mailed her the dress

Summer was a serious Fairy :)

Thomas was too busy eating to be apart of this picture...I was just happy not to have to buy anything for their costumes this year, recycling is the best!

Our little guy was a chicken & this is the only picture I got of him, how pathetic but at least it was a cozy costume whether he liked it or not.

A hay ride with hot chocolate...they loved it even though it was so so cold!

I am always amazed with how every ward pulls off these gatherings but I've never been to one that has a bubble machine...She said she saw one & then they made their own & have been using it for years.
It was so cool.

So now I'm ready to throw out the candy and get back to having baked goods permeate the house!

Look who stopped by for Summer & Tessa's birthday...

First off let's give credit to Summer & Tessa for going easy on me this year b/c they decided they wanted to share a cake and all they cared about was having umbrellas on it...simplest cake ever

 but their favorite news of the week was when I announced that Grandma and Aunt Tammy were going to be here on their 7th birthday! they squealed with excitement.

they were so happy to be spoiled by our guests

 thomas loved being a part of the action

 what he didn't love was how hard Aunt Bam Bam made him work

and work

 and work

 at learning to walk

(no, it doesn't come naturally to my kids)

um, aunt bam bam?

my mommy chooses not to feed me this kind of junk food so you better take it back

Summer and Tessa still say the cutest things and I'd like to keep them little just like this picture.

While driving alone with Tessa we drive through the community gate and she says "that man has a hard job...he has to smile aaand help the gate open. What if he has a bad day...does he still have to smile?"

thomas loved all the personal attention he got from this girl so he started calling her mama.

whatever.

then Tammy had to stay home from church with Thomas b/c for sure he wasn't feeling great ;)

so she reorganized our shelves to look more appealing than how I just unpacked a box & threw stuff on there.

We loved our evenings out but James couldn't really capture the moment & blamed the camera for his ghostly pictures

oh well.

Tammy had him dressed and hair styled by 9am every day & the product she put in his hair made him smell like he just crawled out of a salon.

My Mom is always worried about pictures of her being posted so she always has her make up on before she leaves her room in case my camera catches her but at 66 she has already aged better than me.

she made this boy practice walking everywhere

to be continued someday b/c my blog photo downloader has froze on me. Just have our goodbye photos to end a great week but I am sorry the weather had to turn cold on you guys especially since Tammy didn't even bring a jacket or a long sleeved shirt. Ya, she's funny like that.



So do you trust a $30 gender test or an official ultrasound???

just tell me the facts mom...do i have more dress up & tea parties in my future or will it be a wrestling partner? i'll let you take a shot of my double chin if you tell me now!

Just one look at your older sisters and you will know...

It's a BOY!

(amelia was the only one hoping for a baby sister but she easily follows the lead of her big sisters when it comes to getting excited)

It's really not new news around here since we agreed with the gender test 4 weeks ago, well worth the money when you're impatient like me.

YAY!

A few things that have been enjoyed in the kitchen this week....

mini corn tortillas for some delicious & adorable tacos (every member of the family ate all their dinner & loved it, a very satisfying moment)

these were enjoyed a little too much by me or do I get the privilege of blaming a certain baby whose gender will be confirmed this Wednesday!

mmm...hot chocolate season

& I love our ghostly white pumpkin

(never knew they could grow them albino)

love bowls with leftover dried oatmeal

not really.

Grandma & Grandpa Bruce

visit Reno for the first time! They were so excited that they rented a car for the 10 days so they could see all that they had planned...the only thing that was not planned was having our entire household get sick & sadly we blamed our lovely Sunday dinner b/c Thomas was the only one who didn't catch our bug.

it was horrible.



but the week ended wonderfully. We are all healthy, wealthy, and wise. Healthy, yes. Wealthy, not so much these days. And just a little more wise.