Katelyn....

This is Katelyn.
I call her Kate. Or Katie. My kids call her Aunt Kate. She is my baby sister. (I can refer to her as that because there is a 13 year age difference.) Katie was 7 when I got married. I'll pass on letting you know my age when she got married last weekend. Because she was so young when I left the house, we don't have your typical sister type relationship. She would come spend some long weekends with us and it was like a vacation to her. (I think). I've always enjoyed Kate. She is very laid back. And pretty calm. It's hard to ruffle her feathers. At least I've never seen it. My kids adore her. So. When she called to let us know she would be tying the knot, Shawn and I opted to drive a bazillion hours to witness the occasion. And meet the guy that stole her heart. Cory.

Who is adorable himself. And one lucky guy to nab Katelyn as his wife. (Odd that I don't have a picture of them actually together on their wedding day.) But I do have one of us together. Man. I need some sleep. Or botox. But Kate. She is breathtakingly beautiful. Especially in her white dress.

The entire family showed up for this wedding. The first time in a few years we've all been together. My brothers obviously adore Kate. You can tell by the looks on their faces as they watch her. Ben. Matt. Charlie.

They love me too. Matt just shows it in public.
And then the sisters. Me. Kate. Lyndsey.
Congratulations Kate. I'm happy for you that you found your prince charming. We all are. Thanks for letting us enjoy your special day with you. You two are the perfect match. Next in line to Me and Shawn of course. I can't imagine a match more perfect then ours. But I'm sure you are right up there next to us.

Landon's Big Day...

Landon. He cracks us up. Saturday was his birthday. He's been looking forward to November 14th since January when Jackson had a birthday. Saturday morning when he came into our bedroom I yelled "Happy Birthday Landon!" He asked "when do my friends get here?" I told him that on Monday they would come over to celebrate with him. His reply? "Then I'm not 4 yet." Hmm. So. He really didn't turn 4 until Monday. I guess parties are what dictate age.

Thank goodness I had planned on having a party or he'd be eternally 3. Superhero theme, with serious Iron Man undertones was the party he wanted. He was very specific. His friends donned their own super hero masks and colored in Iron Man coloring books for a few minutes. Just to get the party started.

We played a few games. Jumped in the bounce house. Opened presents. And then had the cake. This year? I ordered the cake. I'm not sure what made me venture out of the norm. But I did. Transformers was the chosen one. And it met Landon's every expectation. And more.

When the older kids got home from school we continued with a family version of Landon's big day. We headed over to the local college and ate Chik-fil-a in the student union building, followed by Landon's favorite sport. Bowling. Couldn't have been any better.

Landon is such a laid back little soul. He's so easy going. Every so often he just says out of the blue "I love you Mom". Especially when we are doing something that he enjoys doing. I'm finally starting to really get to know him this year. I've always thought he was a certain type of kid, and lumped him in with Jack. Now that Jack goes to school all day, I'm learning what Landon likes and dislikes. He's actually a lot more shy than I thought. And he likes structure. And isn't a fan of changing routines quickly. He takes his time. We love this little guy. Can't believe he's already 4 years old. Yesterday he kept saying to me "Who's the big 4 year old boy? I am! I am!" Then he'd make me ask it over and over so he could sing "I am!" at the top of his lungs. Apparently 4 is where it's at. We love you Landon. We are glad you are a part of our family.

The Royals...

Waaaay back in September we had the opportunity to attend a Royals Baseball game. Some friends were able to get us a few free tickets, and then they got us the military discount for the rest of them. Connections. I love it. Thanks Larson family!

The kids had never been in such a ginormous stadium before. They were in awe. And very well behaved. Presley had just barely started walking at this point in time and wasn't very confident in her ability, so she was easy breezy. (walking makes them so un-content when contained). She was in her "clapping" phase which fit in nicely with the crowd. I think she clapped the entire time we were there. Adorable.

I brought a bazillion snacks for our little crew. Still expected the typical "can I have that" demand for ten dollar cotton candy. But. Nobody whined for anything. It was unbelievable. And appreciated.


This stadium was built for kids. On one entire side they had miniature golf, a merry go round, batting practice, and a playground. Unbelievable. My kids were having a great time without even knowing these other things were an option. During the 5th inning we ventured over to the play area sans the husbands. They stayed in their seats watching the game.

My kids each played 1 round of mini-golf, and then played on the play set. We made it back to our seats just in time for the fireworks show they happened to be putting on special for that night. Glorious. We had such a great time. As a family. An entire family. It's nice that Shawn can now participate in some of the fun he's been missing.

Halloween....

This year I planned ahead. Way ahead. As in. Every single costume was bought, thought up, mostly made, everything ready, by October 2nd. Unusual in my world. Usually it's a night-before-school-party-scramble around here. I made tutu's for my girls. Because they were oh so easy. And adorable. The boys each wanted a store bought costume. This year I didn't deny their wishes. And we had them in our home before every single one sold out at Walmart. Unusual. Sadly, the day before Halloween, I got sick. The same headache, fever, body ache, exhaustion my children had been feeling previous to this day. Lovely. Now they learn to share? So I missed the ward party. I kept Landon and Presley home with me. They were both on the mend still. And besides. Church parties are easier without the 13 month old. That explains our absence in the photo shoot done at the party. (Thank goodness for these or people might not think we celebrated this year)

Kennedy went as Frankenstein's bride. Her tutu was floor length and she looked perfect.

Too bad she isn't standing to show off my skills. (Can you tell I never make anything? And when I do and it turns out good, I'm proud).

The boys were Mario and Luigi. The night before the parties started, Ethan decided he wanted to be something different. Nope. Not this year. Remember the early planning? Next year we'll probably go back to the scramble. It adds more excitement.

I still put Presley in her costume and took a few snapshots. She loved it. She would dance a little jig. Then twirl too fast, get her feet caught, and fall. Over and over and over. I loved watching her. Oh. And she is supposed to be a bumble bee. I didn't get to making the antenna's yet. Next year. Next year.

After the kids got back from their pre-Halloween candy festivals, Presley discovered that the bags they were toting contained desirous objects. Like suckers. She found one on the floor. I watched her put it in her mouth with the wrapper. She left sucking on that. She returned to my room a few minutes later with the wrapper in one hand, the sucker in the other, and a huge grin. I said "Presley, you aren't supposed to have that...." and she turned and high tailed it out of my room so fast. I've never seen her little legs run. She was practically sprinting. How could I deny her after that? I put her in her high chair to finish.

She obviously fits in with the rest of my candy mongers. We have enough sugar to last us until next Halloween. If I'd keep my hands out of their buckets....

(Just so you know. Landon was IronMan. No surprise. And he's been wearing his costume since September. I tired of it. No photoshoot for little man. But he's still adorable. And I still love him, even though he isn't documented in this post.)

Kennedy's Baptism.....

Kennedy turned 8 this year (way back in August....). For her birthday she received everything she wanted, and more. Scriptures is an 8th birthday tradition.

Grandma Deb got her a little white baptism necklace, a girly scripture case, and cinnamon bears (because they are good).

She had mentioned once upon a time that she would like a camera. She had one once. But it was a cheap little thing that we could never get the pictures off of. Worthless. I was thinking a cheap point and shoot would be perfect. Only. I called Shawn and had him stop to get it on his way home from work. How many times do I put Shawn in charge only to regret my decision? Too many to count. Sure. He bought her a camera. Not the one I would have chosen. Simply because I don't think my 8 year old daughter should be taking pictures with a better quality camera than the one I have in my possession currently. She loved it, of course. And it does take great pictures.

We had a little cake and ice cream and enjoyed Kennedy's evening really low key. Remember. I'd already celebrated this birthday with a full on slumber party back in June.

Her baptism needed to wait until September. Only because that is when Shawn would be done taking boards, and that is when Grandma and Grandpa Crook would be able to attend. So. September 3rd was the big day.

I loved this baptism. It was perfect in my mind. Remember. We were still pretty new to town. It mainly consisted of us, grandparents, and the Bishop. The primary president attended, as well as two friends and their mothers. Short. Sweet. And to the point. Just as it should be.

Kennedy. I'm proud of your decision to get baptized. We love you very much little girl. More than you will ever possibly be aware of. (Until you become a Mom. Then you might get it. A little bit.)

Pres-a-lina....

Presley is in the full toddling phase. You know the one. The one where you get out of the shower and find your Tupperware bowl on the floor next to the open bathroom drawer. You head to the living room and find your mascara next to an empty basket of toys. You find a stray toy next to the dumped over garbage can. You then find empty wrappers next to your shoes in your closet. Your shoes......blah, blah, blah. Point is, you can trace the girls steps by following the items you are missing. My floor is covered with paraphernalia from various locations. I can't keep up. It takes me 30 minutes every night to replace all her findings. And because I'm not really into this kind of pick-up game, it takes longer when I actually get around to it. Crazy. It's happened with every one of my kids. And I know that it lasts until close to age 2. This time I'm trying to appreciate it. She's got to learn somehow. Even if I am tripping over spoons and spatulas in my bathroom.....

She loves to eat. Anything really. I feel like I put her in her high chair countless times throughout the day. Goldfish is a favorite. And they vacuum easy.

She has started to fight sleep. What do kids think they are missing? Honestly. So. She tends to fall asleep when she's contained longer than 10 seconds. Like car rides. And during lunch...

But her favorite. And I'm talking absolute favorite thing to do. Find stuff in the garbage can. Yesterday I was folding laundry and she came in sucking on a used drinkable yogurt container. When I ran into the kitchen I found the garbage can tipped on it's side and everything we'd eaten the previous 12 hours spread all over the floor. Lucky me, she had diced pears for lunch. She hadn't finished them. Yuck. I didn't take a picture. But I should have. This afternoon I was making sugar cookies. (Don't praise me, they are for Young Women's) Landon was helping out (by eating the extra dough) and Presley was just toddling around. She came around the corner giggling like she was having the time of her life. Trouble. She had the empty sour cream container I had just thrown away and was drinking out of it like a cup. I took it away and screaming ensued. Mean mother that I am, I went to find the camera. Then gave it back to her for the photo op. She was pleased as punch. Until she realized I was once again taking it back. The photo was worth it.

We all love this little miss. Pres-a-lina is her nickname. It's fun to say. And she's fun to have around. Keeps me on my toes. But fun to have around..

Think-a-bility...

I've lost my ability to write coherent sentences. And the desire to try to do so. Sad. I used to love this little blog. I've got pictures backed clear up to early September that I haven't even written about. I didn't include them in my September montage because I thought they deserved their own post. They still do. But will they now get completely left to gather dust? Can they gather dust if left on the memory card of my camera? See. Scattered thoughts. I'm all over the place lately. To give myself some credit, I have taken on a few new things this last month. I got called to be a counselor in the Young Women's presidency at my church. I'm over the beehives. (No, not the buzzing kind that produce honey. That is code for the 12-13 year olds) Though, they do buzz with excitement. I also joined a little preschool group for Landon. He is going to a bonifide-accredited-I-pay-tuition preschool on Tuesday and Thursday. But these girls asked. And Landon really could use at least 4 days of interaction. So. I teach every 3rd week on Wednesday and Friday. It's really low key. And there are only 3 of them. Perfect little group. And I'm enjoying watching Landon interact with the other kids.
Little miss Presley is toddling all over the place. She walks with her front half leaning forward like a little old woman with a back problem. Shawn says it's because she's just learning to balance. Whatever the case, she's adorable. It does always startle me when I'm trying to escape her (what kind of mother am I?) and as I go to shut the door to which I'm hiding behind I discover her right on my heels. Walking gets her places faster than crawling. It's taking some getting used to. And I've had to speed up my escaping.
I find myself being pulled 384,652 directions at once lately. Like I am constantly doing, only nothing ever gets done. If you asked me what I do in a day I don't really think I could tell you. But. I could tell you that I never really sat down. Except for when I'm in the car toting people to and fro. Crazy. Cry me a river. Life is good. Really good. Unless you hear how it really is from my oldest Ethan. "I hate my life. I hate all the rules this family has. Why can't I just do what I want! I can't wait until I can move out and make my own decisions!" Hmmm. I feel like this is starting a little early for my taste. Not even 10 yet. I guess he has always been a little advanced. But this is ridiculous. I've found that my heart isn't as soft as I thought it was. I find it easier to stick to my guns when my kids are argumentative rather than apologetic. Or whiny rather than kindly questioning. Good thing Shawn is able to make appearances more frequently than he used to. This parenting stuff is starting to get hard. I remember back when I thought 1 year olds were so hard because they just wanted to be wandering everywhere. Presley is in that same phase and she is by far my easiest.
My time in the blogging world is up for tonight. I have 7 loads of laundry to fold (I only wish I was joking), and a book for book club that I haven't even had the chance to start yet (it meets tomorrow night). Truth? I started this post 48 hours ago. It only took me 2 days to finish writing this tiny little bit. Sometime this week I will escape from all my duties and blog about Kennedy's baptism, the Royals Game we attended, and put some pictures up of my toddling beauty. Unless someone decides to get sick. Or I decide to run away from home.