Pake Lowell

But most people like to refer to as Lake Powell. The kids and I went to Lake Powell with my family and had a great time. I was pretty scared to go all by myself on a trip without Matt to tag-team it with me, but I had so many people there to help out, especially young girls that live to play and take care of little kids. So actually, it was a wonderful trip and I had to do hardly anything, except handle the meltdowns that come with riding on a speedboat, not being allowed to eat candy for dinner or after brushing teeth before going to bed, and peeing in a toilet that isn't allowed to be flushed unless someone goes #2. That last one was a really hard concept for the kids to grasp, which is a good thing I guess. Also, sorry if that disgusts you, but that's how we roll on the ol' Humpherys' Houseboat.

We started the 5+ hour drive at about 8:30 in the morning. Beckett freaked out every time the boat, which was pulled by my brother's truck, would disappear from view or even get more than 20 ft from the car we were in. It was an unpleasant first couple of hours. We put a movie on in hopes of distracting him, which worked to keep him from crying about it, but my dad caught him in the rear view mirror the rest of the way checking on the boat every few minutes or so. At least we know that we will never lose anybody on a road trip with Beckett around.

Other than that, the trip down was rather painless. I guess that is one of the blessings of having older siblings with all of their kids older than mine. I had 2 babysitters in the car, plus my sister and her friend. It was very nice to sit in the front seat and let them handle everything.

Once we got there, we loaded the speedboat with as much luggage, food, and children as we could without sinking it, and headed to the houseboat. It took two trips, but once luggage and persons were all accounted for, we set off into open waters.

Anabelle loved every minute of being on the boat and being with the big kids. In fact, I hardly saw her all week. Even when we were both on the speedboat at the same time, I didn't see her much because she was always up front with the other kids having a great time bouncing on the waves. She is such a dare devil and teenage-wanna-be.

Beckett was nervous about riding on both boats. He was freaking out the whole mile long trip from Bullfrog Marina to the houseboat. Then he was a little uncertain about the houseboat moving. He had to have the doors shut so he couldn't hear the wind (another one of those Asperger things), and for a while, I had to sit with him and help him adjust to the new experience. After about 15 or 20 minutes, Beckett noticed this:

Look at my brave girl, front and center

 
He realized he was missing out on some fun, so he manned up, braved the wind, and ...

I was so proud of him! He rode up there the rest of the 2 hour drive to where we parked the boat.

The next day was a big day. Beckett caught his first fish ever. I don't know if anybody remembers the "Monster Fish" episode we had last year at the cabin, but I was afraid we were never going to get Beckett near another fishing pole even if it meant he wouldn't starve. But he did it. He was really excited about it too, as long as it didn't touch him.

Since we came home from the trip, Beckett has watched this video over and over again. I think he still is pretty excited about it. He actually caught two fish that morning. I guess he realized there are no such things as Monster Fish. :)

Belle and I went on a boat trip with half of the group later that day, and when we got back, this is what we saw:

He surprised me so many times on this trip. Belle did too, but I will get into that later. I am a chronological thinker.

The next day, all 20 of us piled into the speedboat and went to Rainbow Bridge. My dad's boat says it's max capacity is 18, but we figured that the three youngest people put together equaled one whole person, so we were good. Going into Rainbow Bridge it was smooth sailing. There was hardly anyone there and a park volunteer helped us dock our boat. As he saw all of the people in this one boat, he told us that we better be careful, we can get a citation for having more than the recommended amount of people in the boat. Freaked me out a little bit. We then proceeded to hike up to the Bridge.

If you have never had the opportunity to go to this amazing world wonder (no really, we have one of the 7 natural world wonders in our state, how cool is that?!), you really need to go. It is incredible. You can no longer hike up underneath it, because it is a sacred place for the Native Americans, but you can get close enough that you realize how freaking tall that thing is and that nature is incredible. There was another park volunteer at the bridge that told us about the history of the place and how it was discovered and the legend the Native Americans have of how it was made. They are neat stories, but I wont bore you by posting them on here. You can just go there and find out for yourself (incentive).

When all piled back into the boat, there were more people that had shown up to see the Bridge. Normally that wouldn't be a big deal, but we forgot about this one spot in the canyon that Rainbow Bridge is located in that is super narrow and can only fit one boat at a time. The problem with us being so full is that if there were big waves (which are really big if there are tour boats going through that spot, which isn't a rare occurrence.  Those things are massive, I've seen speedboats catch air off those waves), there was a real possibility of water coming up over the front of the boat, which would be so very bad. We were all holding our breath as we went through, much like in 7 Brides for 7 Brothers when they are going through the pass during the winter and don't want to start an avalanche. Obviously we made it through, but I have to put some kind of thrill factor into my story.

After Rainbow Bridge, you have to go get ice cream at Dangling Rope and make the fish smoke (aka - feed the fish ice cream and it comes out there gills and it looks like they are smoking). Beckett thought that was just the best thing ever. First, the carps there are huge, so that was pretty exciting for him. Second, he thought it was hilarious to watch the fish fight over the food and to listen to the sucking sounds they make in the process. Anabelle loved it too. In fact, I think there was one point where I was afraid she was going to fall in, she was so engrossed in watching those fish eat. Kids make everything seem new and exciting.

Afterwards, we stopped in a canyon half way to the houseboat and went swimming. We had a blast. Beckett didn't last long in the water, but he did get in (a success in my book). There was a small sand dune, and that is where he spent most of the time during the pool party.

Belle did a little of both. In the sand, in the water, you know, typical kid stuff. She had so much fun with her cousins. All of my nieces and nephews are older than my kids, most of them by at least 5 years, so Anabelle just loved having them play with her and getting to act like one of the older girls.

After the swimming party, everyone was all tuckered out.

You will notice that Beckett is riding in the front. I was absolutely floored that he rode up there. I had to force him onto the boat. I tried to trick him into getting on, but he saw right through it, so I had to just drag him on (that was one of the more difficult moments of the trip, I wanted to give up and just stay on the houseboat, but luckily everyone was super supportive and we made it onto the boat). He was crying and really hated the loud sound of the boat. I had to hold his head against me the whole 2 1/2 hour drive to Rainbow Bridge. For him to ride up front, that he decided on his own, was amazing and I just couldn't believe it. I was, and still am, so proud of him.

The next day was a chill day, full of games and water fun, especially for Anabelle, the Thrill Seeker.

Can you believe that?! Those are two different times that she got on that. Granted the boat went slower than molasses, but she did it. She is braver than her mom. I wouldn't even do it. I am blown away by this girl and how adventurous she is. I am so proud of my little Thrill Junkie.

The next day was Escalante day, my personal favorite. Escalante Canyon is the most beautiful of all the canyons in my opinion. Case in point:

My brother and his wife offered to stay on the houseboat and watch Beckett for me. So Belle and I went and had a great time in one of my most favorite places on earth. We saw Cathedral in the Desert and La Gorce Arch (pictured above). We also did a little exploring trying to find some Native American ruins in the canyon and discovered some beautiful arms in the canyon we had never seen before. I wish we could have explored more. I do need to show you some silly pictures from our trip. Here is Belle's ensemble for our trip that day:

I love when kids do that. Too cute! And now I have to put one of me because it is only fair:

My head was hot and I did not want it to burn, and then it got out of control from there. This is one of the more normal pictures we took.

When we got back to the houseboat, my brother that had stayed with Beckett told me that Beckett was playing on the inner tubes tied on the back and fell in the water (life jacket on, no worries) and that my brother quickly got him out and told him that he floated because he had on his life jacket. Apparently that was all that needed to be said to him because Beckett just kept on playing on the tubes. In fact later that night he played with Anabelle and some cousins, and they all had a blast.

He wasn't even phased by that fall either. I panicked and made you all sea-sick for nothing. He got right back on the inner tube and kept on pushing his cousins off into the water. Belle had tons of fun playing on there too. She would jump from the houseboat to the tube and was so cute. I wanted to post a video of Belle being super cute on the inner tube, but it is a little long and this post is long enough as it is. Oh well. If you really want to see the rest of the videos, you are welcome to come over. Beckett will be more than happy to put them on. He loves to watch them. He even has them memorized.

One more thing about them playing on the inner tube. I am so sad I didn't catch it on the camera. Beckett had pushed Jessica (the older cousin in the video) and she was going to climb back on the tube, but first she said to Beckett teasingly, "Now you aren't going to push me off, are you?" Beckett said, "No." So she climbs on and he says, "SURPRISE!" and then pushes her in. I still laugh hard every time I think about it. Who knew Beckett could be so witty.

One of my other most favorite thing about Lake Powell is the stars. They are incredible. You can see the Milky Way and at least one shooting star. I loved to just lay on the top deck and watch them until I would fall asleep. It didn't happen much on this trip. I kind of had to go to bed when the kids did. Lame. But I did attempt to take a photo to show you blog followers.

Beautiful aren't they? You can see all of the stars.

Early the next morning, Belle decided to throw up. As most of you know, Matt and I have a deal, I change poopy diapers, and he takes care of throw up. He does not like poop but isn't bothered by throw up, I gag at the sound and smells of someone puking but have no problem with stinky diapers. Everybody wins. Unfortunately, I had to deal with this all by myself. It was not fun. Also, it was my last chance to go fishing. I had bought a fishing license (not cheap) and had not caught a single fish. The mornings that we had gone, there were boils all around, but I got nada. (Boils are when striped bass "corral" small fish at the surface of the water and then just start attacking them, with the fish jumping out of the water giving the appearance of boiling water) Most of the other guys had caught at least one. I really wanted to get one that morning. I couldn't leave Belle alone, and I didn't feel right about waking someone else up to take care of my sick child. She was acting better, so I took her with. She did fine. She only threw up once or twice while we were out, which is actually pretty good considering we were on a boat, stopping, going, turning lots, chasing those boils. Typing this out makes me feel guilty. Oh well. I think she had a good time. I don't think she was sick sick, I think something was just upsetting her tummy, so it was fine. And I did catch a fish. Only one, but mission accomplished. So it was all worth it. Right?

After we got back and had breakfast, we packed up to go home. Then we all loaded up in the speedboat and headed back to Bullfrog Marina. 

I told you we loaded up the boat. There was no leg room. We were all crammed in there with all of our bags and stuff. Tons of fun! No really. It really was one of the better trips to Lake Powell I've had. I wish Matt could have come, but maybe next time. 

Out with the old, and in with the new.

Merry New Year! It sounds like everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I guess that is one of the advantages of doing my Christmas post this late, I have already read all of yours, and now I will try to outshine you all.
Christmas started with Matt's work party at the beginning of the month. Santa showed up and "surprised" us. He gave Matt his Christmas gift from the company ($50 gift cert. to Chili's - I kind of felt like Micheal Scott picked it just for us - and some chocolates). Then, all the kids were invited to go up and sit on Santa's lap. Belle was hesitant, but she still did it. Beckett was placed on Santa's lap and would only remain there as long as Matt was next to him. Oh, and as long as Beckett didn't have to look at Santa either. See what I mean.

Belle on the other hand, couldn't stop staring, possibly out of fright.

Our next encounter with the jolly red guy was at WSU's bookstore. Santa came to visit and brought his reindeer and a lot of student elves, to help the kids make some Christmasy crafts. We made a picture frame for our pictures with Santa to go in and Beckett won an ornament craft to take home and do later. Pretty cool. Then we stood in line for the Big Guy. We waited probably close to an hour. I was able to get the kids sit in the stroller almost the whole time. I was surprised how well they did. As we got close to Santa and could easily see him, I held each of them up so they could get a good look. Belle got to see the crying, frightened children when she looked, so as we got closer, the more she wanted to run away. When it was our turn, it was all I could do to keep her from crawling over the top of me and running down the aisles of the bookstore. I tried to convince her to just sit in the stroller while brother saw Santa, but she kept trying to climb our and run away. I quickly got her to the other side of Santa, so Beckett could get his picture taken (which they still haven't sent me - grr). I was afraid Beckett was going to freak out having to go up all by himself, but he marched right up there, sat on Santa's lap, told him what he wanted (a train toy), and gave a wonderful smile for the camera. I was amazed. Santa then gave us our candy canes and I quickly got out of there so as not to traumatize my daughter any longer.

Outside of the school's bookstore, they had set up a Grinch Stole Christmas photo shoot thing. The kids loved it.

After our photo session, we went outside to see Santa's reindeer. I think this was Anabelle's favorite part. She does love a good craft though.

You can just barely see that she is smiling really big

We were able to get together with Matt's roommates the week before Christmas. It was wonderful, full of good food, lots of laughing, and of course, "School of Rock", their movie from when the boys lived together. We ended up staying the night because we were just having too good of a time and couldn't leave. Thanks Sam and Jenny for having the party and letting us crash there, and thanks Caleb and Jessica for coming back from Omaha so we could see you guys. We had a wonderful time and Matt is now boxer-puppy hungry.
The last Holiday thing we did before the big day was go to the Christmas Village in downtown Ogden. If you haven't been there, you should go. They have some really cute displays. Dress super warm though. I can't believe how cold it was. I was surprised the kids wanted to go through the whole thing and didn't complain once of freezing. I for sure complained, especially when the Coffee shop taunted us with their fire barrels that you can't use unless you bought something. How Christmasy is that?! It was fun though.

We spent Christmas Eve with Matt's sister, Analisa and her family. We had a wonderful time. We ate delicious glazed ham and my yummy new gourmet mac and cheese. It was quite the feast. Then the kids painted ornaments. Beckett had a Santa Claus and Belle an angel. In the end, they were unrecognizable because they just mixed all the paints together and so they turned out a funky brown-grey. They had a blast though. I was just glad it was at Ana's house and not mine, especially when she said she loves to let her daughter paint and get messy.

After that, we did the Jacob family tradition of busting open a pinata. Not your standard Christmas tradition, I know, but it is super fun. After the candy all fell out, Beckett quickly grabbed a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup and immediately started to chow down on it, as if that was how he was going to keep all of his candy. Matt had to explain that he needed to pick up the candy and put it in his sack, then he could eat it afterwards. Lucky for him, the only other children there were Anabelle and their cousin Ally, who is a month younger than Belle, so there wasn't much competition to worry about.

Then we let the kids play downstairs (not with their candy), while the grownups played games upstairs. It was great. Finally, we read about the Christmas Story and our little family headed home. This was our first Christmas night spent on our own. It was really nice. The kids fell asleep on the way home and went straight to bed. Santa came and put out all the presents and Mom and Dad got a wonderful night's rest. It was awesome. I know this wont last for long, but we definitely enjoyed it this year.

Anabelle's gift from Santa

Beckett's gift from Santa

 Our living room is typically set up with the couches against the wall. Santa decided it might be nice to have them surround the tree and make a nice little nook for us all to be close and enjoy Christmas together. Unfortunately, I think it kind of upset Beckett because when he woke up and came out of his room Christmas morning, he said, "Oh no, what happened to my room?" He repeated it a couple more times until I could jump out of bed and go tell him that Santa had come. Then we grabbed Belle and Matt and proceeded with the festivities.

Belle got her art easel, chalk and crayons for the easel, Candyland (which she loved and we played that morning), and play food.

The children enjoying their toys after all of the unwrapping was done

Beckett got a Gordon train, a car for his Dinosaur train that came with a dinosaur, cars (for his road rug), a Sponge Bob Memory game, and a big model train that let off steam from one of his uncles that just couldn't help himself. The model train was his favorite. He played with that all morning. It went too fast around the track for him to really watch the wheels go or keep it's cars attached to it, so he took it off the tracks and held it in place while he watched the wheels go around. Unfortunately this broke it. It no longer goes. It still gives off steam, but doesn't move. I felt bad when it happened, but honestly, what do you expect from a 4 year old. Besides, he has more fun making it move himself while it is making noise and puffing steam.

This was Christmas night

I got a beautiful new Thomas Kinkade 1000 piece puzzle (which I will never get to do until I no longer have children, believe me, I tried) and some new puzzle books. Matt also ordered me a kitchen tips book (totally awesome) and a vegan recipe book. I actually wanted a vegetarian cook book, but he gets an A for effort. I can't decide if I want to exchange it or keep it. I am trying to incorporate more veggie dishes in our home and try to have a little less meat, so I need recipes to help me with that venture. The vegan book has some tasty looking recipes in it (especially the soups), but it is a little extreme (they don't even let you use honey or sugar!). Plus they look super complicated. I want recipes that I can just run to the Stop and Shop down the street and get what I need (which, by the way, does not carry Asiago cheese. They hadn't even heard of it! What is wrong with those people! So maybe it will be Smiths that I run to)

Funny story, Matt and I both ordered each other books from Amazon, and all of them did not arrive in time for Christmas. Luckily, I had a brilliant idea. I got two empty boxes and printed off the pictures of the two book I got him. I cut them out and placed them in the boxes. I was going to just wrap them like that, but then I thought, he will get suspicious if they are both lite as a feather, so I went and grabbed our clothes iron and placed it in one of the boxes, on top of the picture. Then I wrapped it up. I put the other picture in an empty Quaker oats bucket and wrapped that up. He had no idea and was mad that my gifts had arrived before his, especially since I ordered mine the day after his. His face was so confused when he opened the one with the iron in it. I was laughing so hard. I told him to move the iron and then he saw the picture. It was some pretty smart thinking on my part. In case you are wondering, I got him books written by his favorite TV show, Top Gear, the British one (which is much better than the American one). He also got Bananagrams, which is one of our new favorite games. We also bought each other Lindt chocolates for each other's stockings, his milk chocolate and mine hazelnut. We are too much a like sometimes it is borderline cheesy.

We spent the rest of the weekend with family and had a wonderful time. Possibly one of the best Christmases so far.

I cut my hair during the week after Christmas, but you have already seen those pictures, so no need to put them on here again.

Matt had to work New Years Eve - Lame. But we did get to spend the night with my family playing games and making a cornucopia of delicious foods - fondue cheese, shrimp, clam chowder (I would not have ordered this dish), salmon, and I made brushetta for the first time (which was awesome, I am so going to make that again). We also watched the fireworks going off all over the Bountiful valley. It was wonderful and made up for the fact that Matt had to work that day.

On to the new year. I was able to visit with my roommates again on New Years Day and see some of them that weren't able to make it to the last one we had in November. It was great. I love those ladies. They all have super cute kids too.

Things have been pretty quiet so far, which in my opinion, is a good sign. My counselor has gotten mad at me for not doing my assignments lately, so I am starting the year off with making those my goals for the new year. One of those is making sure Matt and I have a date once a week (one of those can be one where we stay home and after the kids go to bed, we have a datish night, playing games and watching movies). Last weekend, we went bowling up at WSU. It was fun, but you could tell we were out of practice, both at bowling and dating. We acted so normal, not at all like the flirty couple we used to be. I think it might be because most of the dates we have been on since having kids have been to the temple, and you can't really flirt much there. I am positive this will improve as we go on more dates that don't involve the temple, not that we aren't going keep up the temple dates, just have other ones too. :)

My reason for bringing up the dating thing is because of this picture:

My little sister came up and watched the kids for us while we went on our date. When we got home, they all wanted to sleep together in the pull-out bed in Beckett's room. This is the results. Precious!

Remember our friend that was in the Doritos Xbox contest? Well he got 2nd place, but because the games did much better than the companies expected, both finalists were given the 1st price winnings. So everybody won. And now his cute wife has quit her job so she can be home with their cute little boys, who I have been watching for her two times a week (which has been nice to add a little extra income to the budget). This week was her last week. Their oldest is a couple months older than Anabelle. We joke with our friends that they are betrothed. This picture was taken on Tuesday, as they were leaving.

Wont that just be so cute if they do get married? I mean, how cute will that picture be at their wedding reception.

One more thing, Matt has started up school again this semester. Hopefully he can be done next year in the spring (fingers crossed).
Well, we are all caught up now, and hopefully I can keep it that way. Happy New Year to you all and I hope this year brings you all much joy and happiness.

And now for October





So October was a big month. The most exciting thing that happened was that I finally decided it was time to potty train Beckett whether he liked it or not and it is done. I am calling it official. He made it through church last Sunday in his underwear without an accident, so I am calling it. We are still having a problem with poop, but that will come with time (I hope). How it happened was this - one day I was at the grocery store all by myself and I saw all this Halloween candy. I was looking at and thought that they would make great potty treats, so I bought a few bags and went home. The next day, I told the kids that if they sat on the potty for 2 whole minutes (with a timer going) they could have a potty treat. Anabelle was all over that idea. She already loved to sit on the potty, so the treats made it all the more sweeter (literally). Beckett was much more willing to sit on the potty, but he wasn't too thrilled with the rule that he had to do it sans diaper, but he got over it real fast when he saw the Nerds packages. I did that for about 4 or 5 days, with zero accidental pees or poops in the potty.  I was about to give up on my plan, when I talked with my counselor about it, and she told me that really it was me that had to be "potty trained". She said it is really the parents getting so tired of changing diaprers that they finally buckle down and get serious about potty training. I thought about what she had said and it made sense, but I was still a little affraid of the accidents that I knew would follow after I made that decision.

As it turned out, a few days after that conversation with my counselor, we were about to be completely out of diapers for Beckett and I was on the fence about going to buy more. Matt basically replied, "Nope. Let's just do this." With hesitation coming from me, we went forward and just put him in underwear after we changed his last diaper. Beckett wasn't too thrilled, but he got used it, probably because they were Thomas underwear. Matt gave him lots of juice and then promtly left to do something at a friends house (what a guy), taking Anabelle with him (thank goodness). Beckett was playing on the computer (big surprise) with a towel underneith him (I believe in being prepared for these kinds of things) and of course, he started peeing. He kind of freaked out and quickly stopped. I put him in the bath to clean him up. Of course, he thought this meant that he was free to pee as much as he liked. He did have enough smarts to try to get his feet out of the water as he did this. Oi! Naturally I promptly took him out of the tub and put him in clean underwear and sent him back to the computer with a fresh towel under him. Not too long after that he started to pee again. This time I got wise. I immediately took him to the potty and set him on there. He was okay with it, until he accidentally started peeing again, and this time he had no control of stopping it. He didn't know what he was doing and it kind of got on his foot, which really freaked him out. This experience really didn't seem encouraging to me because he seemed really upset about the whole experience. We told him we would go get a toy for peeing in the potty. After he picked out his new toy (a dinosaur train, his new favorite show) he started to see that this might actually be an okay thing to do.

We did the sticker thing for him to earn his next toy, a motorized Thomas. Unfortunately after he got his toy, he stopped going potty. That is mostly my fault because I put him in Pullups instead of underwear. So on Monday I hit the potty training hard and he has been doing ever since, with of course an accident or two. Now I need to start thinking about when I am going to potty train Anabelle. I think I will wait till next year. Give myself a little break before I start the whole process all over again.

Beckett modeling his new underwear

Now on to the rest of the month.  We had a sleepover with some cousins. My sister-in-law Marcey and her girls came over for a visit one Friday afternoon and they ended up staying the night. We had a blast. I think we should have people sleepover more often.

L-R: Julia, Jessica, Beckett, Anabelle, Josie

 My sister and I were making a red velvet cake one day and Anabelle wanted to like the bowl (she is just like her mother).  



I bet you didn't know Anabelle was a vampire



Another big thing that happened in October is Matt turned 30. We celebrating by going on a date to a murder mystery party. It was a disco themed one and it was extremely unpredictable. I was a hussy that slept with a lot of guys and would kill them when I was done with them. I was also a martial arts expert and a member of Chuck's Angels (reference to Charlie's Angels). Matt's name was hilarious - Knight Feva. He was a bar tender and a gigolo. He also turned out to be the bionic man because he had a run-in with a shark. I couldn't believe all of the twists they fit into that storyline. They all gave us some really good laughs. Thanks Shana and Sharice for putting it together. I think Matt really enjoyed his birthday. I am kind of mad I didn't take pictures. Oh well. Maybe we can recreate them and take a picture.

The next morning we went out to breakfast with my parents to the Segolily Cafe in Bountiful. The only way to describe their food is good old home cooked food, done gourmet style. They make all of their food and sauces there. We wanted to have their sweet ricotta cheese spread so that is why we went for breakfast. It is so good. I had their cashew french toast. Unbelievably good. I don't remember what Matt had, but I know he enjoyed it. I highly recommend that place. The place itself is really cool too. It is an old victorian home redone to make it a restaurant. I love it.

One present from my Dad was to come up and help Matt do some handyman stuff around the house on the 30th. I guess this gift was more for me than Matt. Matt's friend Kevin came over also and helped them work on our furnace and ducts. I really appreciated both Kevin and my dad coming and helping out. I know Matt couldn't have done all that work all by himself.

Later that day, I got the kids all ready for Trick-or-Treating that night. My little sister helped with Anabelle's makeup.

Anabelle is a ladybug. That costume was worn by my little sister when she was about the same age. Her nickname was Bug and so the costume was perfect. It was kind of surreal to have Anabelle wear it 15 years after my little sister did and she looks just as cute, maybe more, but don't tell Sara I said that. Here is proof:


Here is Sara in the costume

  Beckett is a Jack-O-Lantern in that picture. Right after that picture was taken, Beckett immediately stripped down to his underwear so I couldn't get a full shot of him. He wouldn't put it back on and then wanted to be a lion. I didn't get a picture of him in that because as soon as we got to my brother's house to go Trick-or-Treating with cousins, he freaked out when one of his cousins came in dressed as a clown, face painted and all. That did it for him. He refused to go out and just stayed downstairs playing with the train set. So just Matt and Anabelle went out. She didn't last long. Matt said she just stood their with her bucket and wouldn't say anything. She would say it when he practiced with her, but I guess she had stage fright when it came time to perform. Also she came back with only like 10 or 12 candies. Beckett promptly took half of it. Oi!

After the kids had been back for a while, they were all downstairs playing. They sounded like they were having tons of fun. Suddenly, Matt came upstairs with Anabelle in his arms and her head was bleeding. She had fallen off of a chair playing with one of those basketball, arcade games. She somehow gashed her head open. Luckily it stopped bleeding quickly, which surprised me, because head wounds are known for bleeding terribly. Once it was all cleaned up, you could see how wide and deep the gash was. Another lucky things was that we were at my brother's house, who is a doctor. He looked at and said it wasn't bad enough to go to the ER, thank goodness. He had some small butterfly bandages (I highly recommend you have a stash at your house) and got it on. Then we iced the goose egg. I couldn't believe how brave Belle was the whole time. She was obviously crying when Matt brought her up, she stopped while we were cleaning it up and that was it. She totally let me put the ice on her wound and didn't fight Matt pushing the wound together to put on the butterfly bandage. (That is how they work by the way. I have never used one and didn't know what they did, but they work to pull the wound back together and leave a minimal scar on deep wounds. You do have to give it some help though by squeezing the skin together and then putting the bandage on. Kind of a cool thing.) She was such a trooper.

Well, I think that about wraps it up for October. I am all caught up now and hopefully stay current on here from now on.

August Update

Here we are again. Another month gone and school is in session again. We started the month out by going to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. I had a friend on Facebook that said she had some extra tickets for the very last day it was open, so we totally took advantage of it. It was so beautiful. The outside reminds me of that little model of Solomon's temple at the visitor's center on Temple Square. Inside it has so much glass. The sealing rooms had fogged glass doors and one of the big sealing rooms had a fogged glass wall on one side of the room. I have never seen that before in a temple (not that I am a temple connoisseur). The kids did better than expected on the tour, but I think they still got pretty bored. I hope they still felt the spirit of the house of the Lord, despite being tired. Also, they had cookies at the end of the tour. How awesome is that!

After almost every other mom has blogged about going to this place, the kids and I finally went to Discovery Gateway. We went with some friends that have some cute kids too. They had a blast. That place is pretty awesome. There is so much to do and look at, it is a wonder that the kids don't go into sensory overload. Here they are playing with balls that you can put down all kids of tubs that do all kids of things. These particular holes make music when you put balls in them.



This was the kids' favorite part. It is a big water play area. They have ping pong balls that you can watch float down the pipes and lots of water toys. It was a huge hit. Anabelle's chest was soaked.




In the area geared more for the big kids, the kids found more fun stuff to play with, such as these magnetized shapes so you could create boxes and other 3-d shapes. Belle just thought they were cool to hold.




In that same area, they had a this wall where you could take tubes and make a route for balls to go through. Beckett tried to put as many balls in the tubes as he could old in his hand.





Over all, it was a fun time. I think we will go back, hopefully when it isn't so crowded (yeah right).

The 6th of August marked our 5 year Anniversary. It was wonderful. Matt planned the whole thing and did a great job. He got a babysitter for the weekend (thanks Ben & Kim) and we got out of dodge. I knew we were getting away for the weekend, but he surprised me with where and what we did. He took me to Logan and to the musical/operetta "Mikado". Matt thought I hadn't seen it before and so was extra excited to take me to see a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta that I hadn't seen yet. Unfortunately, I had, but I loved it anyway. It is one of those shows that is done differently every place it is performed. It was so fun (and a big sacrifice for Matt, he does not like musicals).

We stayed at the Crystal Inn. One of our favorite places to stay in Logan. (Check out getawaypackage.com for a great deal at this hotel from September to the end of April) They have free breakfast and they now have a lite dinner too. We only had to buy lunch on Saturday, which was a feast, both for the eyes and the stomach. We went to a sushi restaurant. And it was to die for. I loved it. Unbelievably good. It was so beautiful to look at too. Like art that you can eat. We had to take pictures.



The restaurant had menu of sushi rolls named after movies. The one at the top of that picture is called the Last Samurai. That one is the best of all. The one in the middle is a spider roll and the bottom one is your standard California roll (which was the least tasty of them all). After we ate that plateful, we had to try some real raw fish, so we talked with the chef and he made us a plate of "French Kiss" which had raw salmon on top with extremely thin slices of lemon on top of it. This one was the most beautiful to look at.





The avocado just makes it look so beautiful. It was well worth what we paid for it, even if we did go over budget. Probably the highlight of our Anniversary.

Other things we have done this month is hang out with family. Here is Belle playing dress ups with her cousin Allison (Munhall that is. We have one on each side).




I got to have a girls night out with some friends from college. It was a blast. I had such a good time. We ate at the Spaghetti Factory and then went to a concert in the park by the church office building. We didn't listen to the music much, there was just too much catching up to do.



Matt both finished and started school this month. He will hopefully be all done in May and then we'll see what happens from there. We have started some rumors that we are moving to Omaha, but they are only rumors right now. We haven't decided completely yet. It will be sad for me to leave my family, but I think it will be a great learning and growing opportunity for me. And I think it is about time Beckett and Anabelle got to know more of the Jacob side of the family. (It looks like by the time Matt's mom gets home from her mission, almost all of her kids will be back in Omaha)

I finally gave in and gave Beckett a haircut. It was my sister's Sara's fault it happened, but I am glad she made me do it. His hair was so long and shaggy. She tricked him by telling him we were going to have a party, a hair cutting party. He climbed up onto the stool and let her put the apron on him. Christa was a good sport and wore one too so it really did seem like a party. Then we put on music and danced while Sara snipped discreetly at his hair. Eventually he got suspicious and wouldn't let her do anymore. So I busted out the clippers because she was only able to get the crown of his head. He did okay. He cried the whole time, but didn't try to grab it or push it away. So it turned out okay in the end.



I have a new favorite room in my house. It is my new office/craft/train table room. My wonderful sister-in-law Ana, came over one day and helped me totally organize and de-junk that room (which was no small task). It looks awesome. I can't even believe it is the same room.





Later that night, I had Matt help me hang some curtains in there so now the room is pretty much done. I still have some wall hangings to hang and some other little things, but it feels so good to have a room completely organized and useful. Thanks loads, Ana. I never would have done it without you!



Belle is starting to get her molars I think. I can at least feel them through her gums. I feel so bad for her. One major milestone for Anabelle this last month was to become completely weened. I love nursing, but I have always felt that I should start weening when they turn 1. Belle did not like my plan and it wasn't until our anniversary that I was able to make it happen. Thanks again to my wonderful sister-in-law Kim, for helping us quit cold turkey. She said Belle didn't even care that I wasn't there to help her go to sleep and went down without a fuss. When she told me that, I knew that it was over. Belle fought it for a few days afterwards, but finally realized that she could still cuddle with mommy and feel loved without nursing.

Belle is still a little girlie-girl and a climber and trying so hard to grow up faster than she should. She is saying a few more words, but would still rather show you what she wants, rather than say. She is learning more animal noises and loves to listen to Beckett and I make them. She has become quite the little dancer. She will just start bustin' a move whenever there is music on. It is so cute. She still sleeps with all her babies and has now included puppies into the mix. When she wakes up, I have to take her, all her babies, her blanket, and her sippy cup out of the bed each morning. It is quite the juggling act.

Beckett is still in love with Thomas, but has recently added Sponge Bob into the mix. We babysat my brother's kids last month one weekend and they watched Sponge Bob while we were there. He loved it. Since then my little sister has given us her old Halloween video of Sponge Bob and he watches as much as I will let him. He can sing the famous song from the opening credits and says lines from the movies too (like mother, like son). It is hilarious. I will try to catch him sing the song on video one of these days. I still need to get him sing his ABCs, but he wont sing them on command, only at random times when I don't have a camera near me. He sings it so cute.

One other event of this month was that we had a mouse in the house. We tried to get ride of the mouse with a humane trap, and had that out for a while, but the mouse didn't know what was good for him. So we put out these nasty traps that guaranteed death (I wont describe them to you, but they certainly looked like they could make that claim). After two days of having them out, the mouse was a goner. I felt bad for the little guy at first, and then I remembered the poop he left in my unmentionables drawer and I wasn't so sorry anymore. He is in a better place now.

And thus ends our summer. I hope you all had a wonderful summer too.

July Update

Hello one and all. I am going to try something different with this update (logical is probably the better word). I am going to go in chronological order, instead of updating each individual of our family. I will begin with the 4th of July. We spent it with my family up at my parent's cabin.



We had a lovely time. The first night we had a birthday party for all of the June and July birthdays. We had brownies with marshmallow cream and fudge frosting on top. So yummy! Matt got in a lot of fishing. He caught quite a few fish, but we only ate 2 of them. It is very nice to be able to fish without needing to buy a fishing license. On Friday night, we all went outside and had a fireworks show in the gravel driveway. It was beautiful but the kids didn't like the sound very much. Matt had to take Beckett inside (I am sure not taking a nap that day had something to do with it as well).



The next day, Independence Day, we had a flag ceremony and talked about our great nation and how lucky we are to live here and ways that we can help to keep it great. It was special and thought provoking and made me misty-eyed. He is our handsome Color Guard.



Here is Belle saying she is ready for a trip around the lake in the raft.



It was a wonderful trip and we had lots of good food and played lots of fun games. I love getting together with family.

As the summer got hotter, I decided to ask Matt to bring Beckett's train table downstairs. I felt bad whenever he went up there to play with his trains because it is so hot and stuffy up there. Beckett is so happy to have his trains back. I think he plays with them every morning while I fix breakfast. We have put it in what used to be our dining room (I will blog more about this in my next post). I moved our table into our kitchen so the train table could fit in the dining room. I also moved the table into the kitchen so we would actually eat at it. Our dining room was anything but a dining room. It was more our "where can we put this? People are coming over" storage room. So our table was always covered with stuff. Now it is the room where we eat and we can actually eat at it. I like it better this way. I don't know if I will put it back after it cools down.

Belle loves to climb. After we moved the train table downstairs, and the kitchen table into the kitchen, she decided she wanted to perfect her climbing skills. As you can see in the background of this cute photo of Beckett, she loves to climb up onto the train table. She pulls out the little drawer on the side of the table and then climbs into that and then up onto the table (she is a thinker).


Since she discovered her new-found climbing area, she has officially earned her name, "Babyzilla". She loves to destroy Beckett's train tracks and steal his trains. It is funny but it also gets old really fast when you hear Beckett constantly whining about his trains. That is our little Babyzilla.


Something scary that happened in July that has to do with Belle climbing was she fell off the kitchen table onto her head. She had climbed up and was sitting close to the edge when she lost her balance and fell off, landing head first. I was so scared. I called her doctor and he told me what to look out for in case she had a concussion. One thing they asked me to check was to see if her head was mushy where she hit. That freaked me out right there. But her head wasn't, it was hard and getting a large goose egg. I was very relieved. I watched her really close and she never showed signs of a concussion, so it turned out okay. Since the accident, I have been much more diligent at watching out for her climbing up onto the table and getting her off the table as soon as she climbs on.

For the 24th of July, Pioneer Day, we went up to the Cabin again with my mom and sisters. It was actually the night of the 24th and then all day Saturday (Matt doesn't get state holidays off, I'm not complaining though, I am just happy he gets paid holidays, whenever they are). We had a lovely time yet again. In fact, we saw the most animal life we have seen all year. We saw two moose (which is a rarity in and of itself), and a big hawk-ish bird (picture not included).



We ate pizza, which Beckett thoroughly enjoyed (really he did, it's his favorite).





I had kind of a Girlie day on Saturday while Matt watched the kids. We watched musicals like "Flower Drum Song" (I love that one) and "Anne Get Your Gun." Sara wanted to do my hair and take fancy pictures of us. I told her she needs to start a business called "Glamor shots by Sara." Here are the results. I think this particular backdrop helps beautify more than most.



For a while I have been wanting to finger paint with the kids. I wanted to use pudding so it didn't stain and so I wouldn't feel bad when they try to eat it. In fact I totally encouraged them to eat it. We used chocolate and vanilla. It wasn't much of a color lesson, but we had a lot of fun. Maybe I'll use pastachio pudding next time so we have green to liven things up.















The kids have found their new favorite thing. Climbing into the cupboard under the TV. They climb in, close the door and just giggle at each other, like they have found some new secret hiding place that Mom will never find. It is so cute.



One of Matt's favorite things that happened last month was taking down the tree in our front yard. The tree was only mostly dead last year when we moved in. This year it was all dead. So we cut it down, with the help of our wonderful home teachers. They had a great time. Matt climbed up in the tree to cut down the branches up at the top (I am sure that is one reason why he loved it right there). Then they cut down the trunk. When they got to the big main part, they cut into it part way and then tried to break the rest of the trunk off by tying it to the back of our home teacher's truck. Well, instead of breaking the tree in half, they just pulled the whole tree out instead.








That about raps up the our busy month of July. Stay tuned for more updates...


P.S. I just want to let certain family members that don't have blogs of their own know that they can leave comments on here. I made it so you can. I don't know that I even mentioned that when I told you all about my blog. I love getting comments. Not that I am conceited, really. I just love knowing who reads my blog. So everyone feel free to leave a comment.