Braids

I just spent the last hour braiding Madeleine's hair. She asked me to do it on Saturday, which I did, and we took them out on Sunday and her hair was just gorgeous. Tonight she wanted me to do it again, but wants to keep them in for two days. I said ok and she is so happy!

Halloween carving time

Carving pumpkins is a highlight for the kids. Though this year Austin did not want his carved, this being said after I had already cleaned out the inside. After understanding he would not get a candle in it he changed his mind.
We had a great family home evening. Our theme for the month of October is gratitude. This night we talked about our stewardship for all of the wonderful blessings we've been given. We focused on Recycling (we went to the recycle and waste center to drop off a vacuum and printer), voting (it was voting day and my First time voting!) and the privilege to be a citizen and member of our community. The night went well and finished with carving.

Leaves

I thought these pictures were precious.



Madeleine has tried to have such a good attitude this Fall as there just aren't many mature trees in our neighborhood that shed their leaves. You know how fun it is to rake those sharp and pokey dried up leaves into a pile and then jump on them only to get some down your back or pants which cause you to itch....I mean those wonderful piles of leaves that you bounce, slide and lay in (I really did like to do this as a kid).
Madeleine has gathered up the hundred or so leaves from our young aspens and made leaf piles for Olivia. And might I add, the piles are only for Olivia, poor Austin was sternly rebuked when he tried to touch them. Olivia has loved this.

Princess Olivia

This is the sign that I found taped to the back window of the van, I loved it.
Their art exhibit...in cardboard boxes. It doesn't get much better than this.

Little Olivia's princess box made for her with love by the neighborhood girls.
Olivia's box was complete with a blanket, a window and some food.
This evening the girls came over for some pizza. We often have someone extra at the lunch or dinner table.
Madeleine has become quite close to a few of the neighborhood kids (Brooke, Spencer, Makena, and Cadence). For the most part they are at our house, who am I kidding, they are rarely anywhere else, which is great most of the time. It is amazing how often they are quickly called home and Madeleine is left with cleaning up their creativity. I do have to say they impress me with their ideas: lemonade stands, home made art exhibits including precious stones (our rocks) necklaces and ancient artifacts (whatever was found on the driveway or at the lake, complete with descriptions of their origins and of course a price. They are always ready to make a buck if they can. They have, on numerous occasions, drawn pictures or written stories that they have then tried to sell on the corner of the street. I think Madeleine is the only one to actually fork out any money to buy something. Though I have pointed this out to her and have asked that money not exchange hands anymore.
I have enjoyed when they take Olivia out for walks, especially when I am trying to get dinner done. Olivia has had a fascination with toilet water for over a month now, gross as it is to me, she thinks it is fantastic and oh so yummy. Her favorite thing is to take some toilet paper, sometimes the whole roll, dip it into the toilet water (whether clean of dirty) and then such the water out of the paper. Yesterday was the worst! I was so grossed out when I found her in the toilet after Austin had had a poop! I won't say any more than that I hope all of this exposure produces some great immune benefits in the future!

Two is better than one

This is Ava and Austin playing their version of Manacala. They had an absolute blast moving the rocks around and just laughing for no apparant reason.

This is Austin and the Orr twins, Bronwyn and Annika. The three of them have such a good time together. You should see the fun they can have in a fabric store!
Austin is such a joy to have. He is cuddly, loving, kind, and of course always "hungry". The poor kid is so skinny and knows that he has to eat all he can during the day because the dinner time rules is strictly enforced (rule: you must try a bit of each dish, if you do this you may have fruit or veggies) not even whining, manipulation or caniving can influence us :) Even though sometimes we really do want to give in, especially with Austin who could use more meat on his bones. Unless there is a desert on the line Austin will stick to his guns and go to bed, not infrequently, without dinner. I try so hard to feed him lots of food, good food, throughout the day so that he won't starve.

Soccer Time

Justin's team getting to know each other.
Austin with his new team, the Blitz.
Justin's game began first so this is the family trying to watch through the mesh netting.

Justin's team is called the Flames. He is on it with his neighbor friend, Josiah.
Olivia kept us busy as she was everywhere. Madeleine was a huge help as my back has been acting up AGAIN (to my disappointment and frustration), and would catch and bring her back. It was a bit challenging to watch two games at once. I was so glad Eric was able to be there to not only see but help out.

Austin is now 3 and old enough to begin soccer. He has been carted to almost every soccer game of Justin's and Madeleine's since his birth and now it is his turn. He has been talking about it for months and it became a reality on Tuesday. His coach, Mrs. Martinez, seems so kind and enthusiastic. She definitely had her hands full and managed so well. The little kids had a hard time understanding directions so the following of directions was practically impossible without a lot of explanation and physical demonstration.
Typically their games will not be on the same nights, but tonight they were.

Best Friends

Olivia and Austin playing wrestle with each other and the stuffed animals. Yes that is Olivia under Austin. They are a fairly good match with Austin weighing in at 29 lbs and Olivia at 26 lbs.
This was so fun to watch.
It is difficult to find any clothing that match for Madeleine and Olivia. It is not only the 7 years in between them, but also that Madeleine is the size of a 10 or 12 year old. So it is challenging. I found these horse tights and got them.
Our attempt at a family photo before church and Livi was a bit upset as the toothbrush she was chewing on was taken from her.



Livi and Austin are such good friends and I thank the Lord daily for them. Austin watches out for her, makes her laugh and treats her like a princess. Olivia loves him so much. She gives him the biggest hugs and kisses and knows her brother loves her. It brings me so much joy to see them play, smile and laugh. What angels I have!

Mischevious Livi

I don't know exactly why but she loves to open our movie drawer and climb in.
Livi likes to eat the dirt in the potted plants.
"Look what I can do Mom! You didn't think I could fit in this drawer, but I can. The oven handle makes a good bar to swing from too." Little Livi has opened my eyes to what a handful a little one year old can be. She is doing so much more than any of the other three did. If I look away for a few seconds she is gone and into, onto or eating something she shouldn't be.
I do not keep the drawer under the oven very clean at all, oops.
We have had to really harp on the kids to keep the bathroom doors closed as one of her favorites is to grab the roll of toilet paper and dip it into the toilet water (which is not always flushed, I know gross!) and then start to eat the soaked toilet paper. I have even caught her hoisted on the toilet with her head almost in the water, trying to get a drink I think. This just makes me so sick and so we are quite vigilant now.
She loves to eat everything and is quite indiscriminate about what it is: dirt is her favorite, rocks are a close second. She eats anything we eat, it is rare that she shakes her head no. This is a treat as the other three are getting pickier by the day.

Justin's 6th Birthday at West Wind Gymnastics

We celebrated his birthday as a family on Tuesday, his real birthday, and gave him his gifts.
The first hour is spent in the gym playing on the equipment and the second hour is in the "party room" where we served fruit and veggies, chips, cheese and cake. We then had the pinata, which of course, they enjoyed whacking.

The great big foam pit. They spend most of their timing swinging from a bar into this, launching themselves from a trampoline into it and having a blast trying to avoid landing on each other (or maybe they were trying to hit each other:).

Justin was thrilled to be having his 6th birthday at this Gymnastics center. The coach was fantastic and knew just how to help them to have a fun time jumping in the foam pit, on the trampoline and on the other equipment.
Justin was allowed to invite 10 people. He chose 8 boys and 2 girls. Well, little did I know, that Justin was going to school telling ALL of the kids in his class that they were invited. How did I find this out? I received an email from his teacher three days before the party concerned with what was happening at school: she informed me that not only children but a parent was also told, by Justin, that their son was invited but they had not received an invitation and wanted to make sure what was going on. Feeling trapped and frustrated, but also understanding his excitement, I began to fill out more invitations to his classmates. I quickly had to run and buy more items to fill the additional party bags, and in the end everything turned out really well. I think he understands now that sometimes you just can't invite everyone, even if we want to.

A Few More Family Photos