Kids Look Like This Now

Some pictures.

Before church. Really, it's quite impossible to get a good picture of multiple children without serious photo shop.

Philip's Wedding at the Oakland Temple

BYU Football

Greta's perfect face is now permantly blemished since September. She ran her lip into a metal table while trying to climb on the metal bench. The stitch was debatable, only 1 stitch. Grandpa happened to be working a shift so I took her in. He said because it's only one stitch, one needle poke, she didn't need to be numbed. Either one poke to numb and then another to stitch, or just one poke to stitch. The worst part was the burrito bind they put her in to keep her still. I couldn't stay in the room. She was fine as soon as they let her out of the burrito and fortunately for Grandpa she forgot or didn't care that he inflicted so much torture. Went right to him the next day. Even with the stitch it's pretty scared. Hopefully she won't ever care. Fingers Crossed.

Bed Please

She ignored all my whiny signals.

So I suppose I'll crash here.

BOO!

I should have pulled a scarier face, but o-well. This was taken at the 3rd Annual Rollins Family Halloween party! Thanks momma Rollins for all her hard work preppin' her house and making an enormous amount of chili!

Miss Lady Bug

Sunday afternoon activity

The pre-trick-or-treating posing.

The cutest Lady Bug with pig tails tails I think I've ever seen.

Waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to bring their pizza dinner.

Greta preferred her lolli-pop and didn't even try to catch up with her brothers. Later that night Ben took her home to hand out candy. He says she insisted that he open each lolli-pop. She would take a lick or 2, put the sticky mess on the table and then tell him to open the next one, take a couple of licks, on the table and then on to the next one until all lolli-pops (about 5) were tasted and tested.

It was a fun and busy Halloween. Lots of activities. Ben loves the dressing up part of Halloween and is already plotting our next costume. If only our costume budget was endless. Then he could really have some fun!

Other Party Pics

Melanie and Spencer

Bo Peep and her Lost Sheep

Cousins, Ammon (age 5) and Caleb (age 5) --NINJAS!!!

Brad and Karlee. Holy Toledo!! Brad actually agreed to not only attend the party, but dress up, play a stupid party game, and what!?! Maybe enjoy himself!?!

The toilet paper mummy game

John, Amy and Family

Rapunzel, Flynn and her royal parents

Eric and Meleana

Devil's Advocate and Witch

Jenny, Ryan and family

Dan, Kristie and family

Bob

The Luchador,

and costume winner

Beeson family

Grapes

*Yes, there is a child in that little cluster and she's adorable!

Sorry other friends and families that came. I wasn't so good at getting a picture of everyone. I blame Ben. I'll do better next year! Gotta document.

For Grandma

Some pictures for Grandma Carol since she just learned how to find our blogs and use email!

This is Greta a few weeks ago when visiting Gardner Village. We went here last year, Grandma, when you were visiting in October. All the cute shops and witches...

This is Caleb playing soccer a few Saturdays ago. He likes it. Kinda.

This is us last month in Vegas at a botanical garden. We stopped here overnight on our way to San Diego to accompany Ben on a business trip and also go to SeaWorld, Legoland, and the beach.

The boys at the beach in Oceanside. They loved it all. The waves, the sand, the sun. They were filthy, tired boys by the end of the day.

Greta did not like the beach. She refused to even touch the sand and when we forced it for pictures sake she screamed like this.

She did like sitting on the blanket and eating PBJ. Shortly after this she took a nap in her stroller under the umbrella.

This is Luke back in July. He busted his wrist when running through the yard and tripping. We drove up to Layton and Dr Grandpa wrapped it up!

This is 'May Ma' (what Greta is currently calling Grandma) at Farmington Festival Parade back in July.

This was taken on the Salt Flats on our way to San Jose back in July. Ben had another business trip so we went to visit with friends!

There's a quick update of the last few months. I'll try to be better!!!!

Once Caleb said...

• while hiking, "We sure are fast-pokes!"
• while driving and shielding his eyes and mad at me for driving that particular direction, "Mahhhm, I can't look frontwards because the sun's in my eyes!"
• when getting dressed, "Mom, should I put the unsleeved shirt on first?" (meaning t-shirt)

Logical, right?

Manners

Yesterday, dinner-time went a little like this...

Caleb: giant belch
Ben: (sternly) Caleb, if you do that again I'm taking you to your room.  Do you ever hear Mom or Dad...
Greta: (interrupting) giant fart; Bursts of laughter from all 3 children
Luke: (immediately following fart, while laughing) No, but Greta does!

Oiy.  I predict this scene has happened millions of times, but there's no denying it's hilarious when viewed personally.

Awesome.

Yep, that's my girl playing next to the chemicals.  The child lock only works on one side.  It's funny that, in my opinion, first time parents are so careful to baby proof the house and really it's not as necessary as it is for the 2nd, 3rd, 4th.  It's easy to keep an eye on 1 kid, not so easy to watch 3.  I'm not so panicked as more kids come but maybe I should be as she is in far more danger than Luke ever was what with mommy so preoccupied and all.

Don't trust me with your kids.

Lesson Learned

I often tell the boys to hurry and put your seatbelt on because if the police officer sees you without a belt then he'll be upset with me.  Today when I reminded Caleb of this he said, "that would be sad if they took you away.  Because, did you know that police officers always take away the beautiful girls and moms and the handsome boys and dads?"  "Are the police officers going to take me away?"  "No."

Never fish for a compliment from your 4-year-old.

Bleaaaaack. (me after being sick)

Me at a YW overnight retreat with the stomach flu.

Ben drove up to Heber Valley to pick me up early.

Enough said to employ your sympathies.

Also, my new calling...YW Girls Camp Director

Go ahead, laugh, Ben did.

Come Snuggle Me

1st - SICK! (said with gagging disgust not just a statement of her condition) I've said it before and this just reconfirms that slimy snot triggers my gag reflex way easier than a poopy diaper.  WAAAAY easier! Really, I can hardly stand to look at the picture.

  

2nd - How she managed to not smear that across her face like most babies do escapes me.

And 3rd - Imagine her crib sheet tomorrow morning.

Humidity Pleeeeaaase!

My naturally dry skin, combined with a hard water system, combined with Utah's terribly dry atmosphere, combined with having turned 30, is doing a number on my skin and it is NOT pretty.  I'm telling you I could put straight Crisco on my skin and not break out.  Do the ashy appearance, flaky elbows, magnified fine lines (Do you like that description?  I'm not calling them wrinkles quite yet.  Maybe when I reach 35, but for now they are just fine lines.  Got it?), the itchy, enhanced eczema bother me??  Yes.  That is, everywhere except my hands, which are possibly more dry and aged than anything else on my body.  Why, do you ask, am I not bothered by my 'oh, not so pretty' hands?  Because like my mother and my grandmother we have hands that mature faster than our age.  And so, when I look at my hands I'm reminded of them and where I have come from and it makes me smile.

Also...

My babies are dang cute!!!  And Paul takes great pictures!

The Rick and Kari grand-babies.

Luke (6), Perry (2 mo), Henry (1), Greta (1), and Caleb (4)

The Rick and Kari Family (December 2010)

10 happy and very eventful years!  Still love him lots!

10 Years!!

Sweet Mexico!  Why can't you be more safe so that all would take advantage of your beauty and culture??  Unlike some, Ben and I throw caution to the wind, pack up and head south to the drug-lord driven country when the opportunity presents.  For our 10th anniversary we took a 'Mom and Dad Only' trip to Cancun.  Turns out we picked a very safe week to go with the United Nations Global Warming Conference going on.  Lots of extra machine gun toting military roaming the streets, which doesn't really make me feel more safe given our experience with Mexican cops in Monterey, but the locals all assured us it's "very safe right now."  Maybe.

A day at the Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza.  Perfect weather for a beautiful place.

An afternoon boating in the Lagoon and snorkeling off the shore near the reef.

An hour of swimming with dolphins and then we played at Wet N Wild for awhile which is like a Raging Waters.  No pictures of us with the dolphins as cameras were not allowed and it was $70 for a picture they took and provided.  70 bucks!!!  Ben talked them down to $30 for a single picture - we haven't scanned it in.

We spent time on the beach but not as much as I would have liked.  First, Ben gets bored after too long and second, it was a little colder than I would have liked.  If the clouds covered the sun and a breeze picked up I was cold.  I swam in the ocean only because we were at the beach and it was pretty not because I needed refreshing from the heat.

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It was a wonderful trip and I'm very glad we were able to arrange it.  Huge thanks to Tammy, Grandma Rollins, and Grandma Dutson for watching, feeding, changing, and entertaining our kids.