McKay's 4th Birthday

McKay turned 4 on November 17, 2009. He chose to have a Spider Man cake. It wasn't anything special, but we did get some Spider Man decorations to go on the sides. McKay picked out the sprinkles, they were his favorite part.


The boys love the Sega Sonic games so I thought this one for the Wii would be similar. I was wrong, the game is totally different. Needless to say, it hasn't gotten much play time around our house.


McKay was so excited to get a working controller for the xbox. My brother gave us the xbox for Christmas a couple years ago and loaded it with thousands of games, but we hadn't been able to play it for a while because we needed new controllers.



McKay had a wonderful birthday. A big thanks to our family for helping make his birthday so special!

Halloween 2009

Parker and Dallin participated in their school's cotume parade. Dallin was The Thing from Fantastic Four and Parker was a magician. Parker was lucky to have a costume since he decided what he wanted to be the day before Halloween. I was up late sewing his cape, cumberbund and bow tie on Halloween Eve. It was worth it though, he really liked his costume.



Dallin switched up his costume for Halloween night and went as a pirate. McKay was Darth Vader (minus the mask) and Sophie was a ladybug. I was so excited to find her costume for $3 at Savers two days before Halloween. She looked so cute!

Hall of Flame Museum

October 24, 2009

We visited the Hall of Flame Firefighting Museum on their free day. I think it's the Saturday before Halloween each year. The kids had a great time and I was surprised at how many people were there. The first thing we did was go for a ride on an old firetruck.


On our way into the museum the boys took turns ringing the giant bell. I think they could have stood there all day pulling on the string, but it was heavy and loud!


Inside there are around a hundred different firetrucks. Starting with very old ones up to more modern versions. Most of the firetrucks are only to look at, but this one was for the kids to climb on and they had a great time. Dallin had a great time too even though you can't tell it by looking at him!




There were also a couple areas where the kids could put on firefighting gear.




Parker loved the firefighter pole. He went up and down a dozen times.


There were also a lot of businesses handing out prizes and we got coupons for discounts on pictures and free bouncing at Bounce U. In the parking lot there were police cars and a helicopter. We had such a fun time and I know the kids would enjoy going again.

Mother Nature's Farm

On October 16 we got to go to Mother Nature's Farm with Heather's work. The boys got to pick a pumpkin out of the "pumpkin patch" and decorate it. Parker chose just one sticker that looked like a P. Dallin and McKay picked lots of stickers to decorate their pumpkins.




My sister Kristi and her friend Racheall also went. Here's Kristi with her kids, Kimble and Karter.




The kids ran through the hay maze several times. Even though it was only up to their chest, some of the kids got a little scared when they didn't know which way to go.


We got to see some farm animals including cows, goats, chickens, and a turkey. Parker, Kimble, and Karter picked hay off the ground and tried to feed the animals whenever they came close to the fence.




We finished off our visit with a hay ride around the farm. By lunchtime it was hot and we were ready to go! We're sure glad Heather invited us along.

Love those smiles!

October Break in the Mountains

Our friends, the Rasmussens, were so great to invite us to spend October Break with them at their family cabin. We had a great time relaxing, catching tarantulas, and getting up with the kids every morning at 5am!

FHE at the Temple

Aaron's Emergency

Late September Aaron came home from work complaining of pain in his stomach. He took the next day off and went to the doctor to make sure it wasn't anything serious. We both thought it might be an ulcer or something stomach related. The doctor wasn't sure what it was, but sent Aaron for a CT scan that afternoon. At the scan they told him he had acute appendicitis and needed to go to the emergency room. So he came home, we took the kids to my parents and headed to the hospital.

We were only in the waiting room about five minutes before they called us back and got Aaron registered. Then we waited in triage about an hour before he was given a room. Once in the room we were told the surgery had been scheduled and was going to take place in an hour. Next we were taken to surgery prep and Aaron was whisked off to have his appendix removed. It all happened so fast and we were counting our blessings that the appendix didn't actually burst. We arrived at the hospital at 6pm and Aaron was back in his room recovering by midnight.

The next day he tried to get up and walk around to get his body moving again. The first time he got up he had to sit back down right away. The second try he was able to stand for a minute and the third try he was able to stand a little longer. After a few hours he was able to walk. He was getting pretty worried that recovery was going to be harder than he thought. Luckily, I was able to be there with him and help him through getting up and about. After having four c-sections, I know exactly how it feels to have to get out of that hospital bed after surgery. He even told me on his first try that I always made it look easy. We were able to leave the hospital in the afternoon and take Aaron home to rest.

This was the first time Aaron had ever been a patient at the hospital since he was born. We are so blessed that he is a healthy guy, it really helped his recovery. He even went to church two days later so that he wouldn't miss Elder's Quorom as he had newly been called as the Elder's Quorom president. I know Heavenly Father was looking out for us in this emergency and we are so thankful!

Family Fun Fair

We thought this Family Fun Fair in Glendale sounded like great entertainment for the kids. The flyer listed all sorts of shows and events that were free. But, we were super disappointed. It was basically a bunch of vendors and some characters to take pictures with and all the fun rides cost money. We wouldn't have cared that much if we hadn't paid a bunch of money to get into the fair in the first place. So, we walked around for a little while, took some pictures, and left. We'll know better the next time it comes around!

Dallin's Glasses

Dallin has joined Parker in needing glasses and got them in September. One of the boys is far-sighted and the other is near-sighted and they both have an astigmatism. Dallin has been really responsible with his glasses until just this week. He usually wears them to school and then takes them off when he gets home. Last week though they went missing. I searched all over the house and couldn't find them. So today I went to the school and they were in the lost and found. Thank goodness! And there isn't much choice in the way of little boy glasses, so they both have the same pair but in different colors.