What has been going on around here?

It has been a crazy couple of months around here.  We had 5 kids playing soccer on 5 different teams which meant I had to get kids to practices 4 evenings a week.  They had fun but I'm glad it's over!  Every Saturday morning I would take a picture of the game schedule so I knew who had to be on what field when!

1.  I have started babysitting a little girl in our ward a couple of times a week.  She is 3 and hangs out with Corbin most of the day...they get along great.  She has been an easy addition.

2.  Kessiah has been enjoying practices for the cultural celebration that will take place for the Phoenix Temple.

3.  Ryan and I were able to go to the Phoenix Temple and help usher during one morning of the open house.

4.  We were able to go as a family to the open house of the Phoenix Temple.

5.  My parents came down for a week in October to see some soccer games and a piano recital.

 They were also here to watch us carve our jack-o-lanterns and participate in Dracula's Diner!

6.  We have lost a couple of chickens and a rabbit to our dogs!

7.  We have started boarding horses on our property.

8.  Kessiah started her second round of braces, Jenessa was disappointed that she had to wait a little longer for hers!

9.  I have been called to be the Primary Chorister.

10.  We have been plugging along with school.  For the most part we have our routine and follow it!  We enjoy the coop that we are a part of.

11.  I loved watching the boys go outside to rake the leaves...I think it was Logan's idea and he got his brother's involved!  They were having a lot of fun!

12.  We went to Out of Africa.  Feeding the giraffe was definitely a highlight!

13.  Ryan finally held a tarantula without gloves!  He has been wanting to do that almost since we moved to Arizona!  Jenessa was actually the first one to get brave enough to hold it!

14.  My boys put on a puppet show for me!  The Three Little Pigs.

Soccer Season 2014

Wow!  5 kids...5 teams...4 evenings a week for practices...5 games every Saturday!  It was a fun and busy season and YES, I'm ready for a break! 

Corbin Funnies

1.  Corbin was helping me to shuck some corn for dinner.  He had taken all the husks off the corn but it was still attached at the base of the corn...he showed it to me and said it was an octopus!

2.  Corbin came to dinner one night wearing the safety goggles we use for nerf gun wars!  I guess he wanted to be prepared for anything!

Weekly Wrap Up

Monday we had our usual morning...gymnastics and then piano lessons.  Jenessa's soccer practice was cancelled due to rain.  The girls' piano teacher has been doing a contest with her students...the students earned a ticket for a raffle for various activities.  That evening we discovered on facebook that Sienna won a fish from the raffle!

Tuesday we picked up the fish...there was a lot of excitement over this little goldfish!  Sienna had the fish in her room and I think it was too accessible to the boys.  When Ryan got home that evening, she went to get the fish to show him...the water was looking kind of murky and there were a lot of food flakes in the bottom of the fish bowl.  (We suspect some little boys were trying to feed the fish!)  We cleaned out the bowl and hoped the fish would be ok with the fresh water.  But...poor "jaws" was found the next morning floating on the top of the water.

Wednesday was our 20th wedding anniversary.  I would have loved to celebrate it somewhere wonderful with Ryan...and I did (although maybe not the "somewhere wonderful" that I may have imagined!)  We have a nice "new to us" home" and a wonderfully busy and healthy family...I really couldn't ask for more.  I am truly blessed.  It was a busy day with school, getting Kessiah's and Jenessa's stuff to EXPO, Mason's soccer practice, and youth activities for Kessiah, Jenessa, and Sienna...made it so Ryan and I didn't get out that evening...but he did bring me home some flowers and some easy to make dinner (chicken cordon bleu, rolls, and cheesecake).  He is so good about bringing me flowers...this time I put them in a bundle to dry.

Friday morning I got up and went shopping first thing in the morning.  Sienna came with me because I had promised to replace her fish (once...if this one died, she had to replace it with her own money!)  So, 2 new fish in one week!

After a picture taking session at the Healing Field we enjoyed a family movie night.

Saturday morning Ryan and Kessiah left early to go take down the flags.  I left soon after with the rest of the crew for a morning of soccer games.  Ryan and Kessiah made it back in time to see Sienna and Corbin play.  After lunch, Ryan took Kessiah and Jenessa to pick up their EXPO projects.  The girls both got blue ribbons for their sewing projects.  Kessiah got "best of class" for her coconut lemon bars and Jenessa got "reserve best of class" for her caramel popcorn.

That evening Ryan and I were able to get out and go see a movie (The Giver) and go out to dinner (Red Lobster with some gift cards that our realtor had given us after our house sold).