Halloween fun

We had a fun Halloween! It was an exhausting week. Busy, busy. Trunk-or-treating at the church, trick-or-treating in the 'hood, and lots of school stuff for both boys. I am so excited for all the fun festivities of the upcoming holiday season! Nothing is funner than Christmas with kids :o)

Here we are in our costumes.

The kids: An astronaut, Iron Man, and a princess in her pajamas :o) Surprisingly, she kept the crown on the whole night at the trunk-or-treat. She knows she is a princess!

The adults: Napoleon Dynamite and his girlfriend, Deb. I might add that Mike won two costume contests -- one at a Halloween party and another at his work, which earned him $30. Totally worth growing his hair out for 6 months! :o) You can't really see the moon boots in the pic, but he found some at Goodwill for $5! He nailed it!

Sami's first real haircut (approx. 10 months)

Back view

Top view
She has such beautiful curls! And her hair has gotten so light!

Front view :) She has the sweetest (biggest) smile! If you look closely you might be able to see a front tooth emerging. Her bottom two are already in. She is standing up now, but not yet cruising. We are in no hurry here. She can crawl like a champ and has absolutely no trouble keeping up with her big brothers. She is every bit as spunky and active as they are :) I saw her fighting over a toy with Grant recently, and she definitely held her own!

These Two Boys...

are so fun! They are a little obsessed with costumes, so you can imagine the excitement around here with Halloween coming up. They have changed their minds multiple times about what they're doing to dress up as. Luckily there abour four or so opportunities/events to dress up for this Halloween, so we'll see how things play out! :)

Grant's Four-Year Stats

Okay, so it took me a little while to get around to posting these (he's almost 4 1/2!) :)

Weight: 41 pounds ~ 78th percentile
Height: 41.1 inches ~ 51st percentile
He has a body mass index of 88 percent :) Grant has a solid build. He is a strong little boy!

Sami's Nine-Month Stats

Weight: 17 pounds, 10 ounces ~ 22nd percentile
Height: 28.2 inches ~ 61st percentile
Head circumference: 44.3 centimeters ~ 52nd percentile

Sami is looking great! Her front two bottom teeth are in, and her top two front teeth are coming in. She is pulling herself up and crawling all over the place. She has a fun, playful, feisty personality. She has kind of a deep, raspy voice.

Knock, knock. Who's there?

Aaron's kindergarten teacher!

His teacher Mrs. Malm requested home visits over fall break, so I invited her for Aaron's family birthday celebration. He didn't know she was coming, so you can imagine his surprise when he opened the door and saw her standing there :) After snacks, cake, and ice cream, we played a game of Memory and then Aaron and Grant showed her their bikes in the garage. Mike and I were chuckling because Grant was showing off for her a little throughout the night. She was a gracious sport through it all :)

We just love Mrs. Malm! She is very compassionate and has good control over her class. She is a very sweet woman. (I see her in action every so often as I'm lucky enough to volunteer for his class.)

It was a fun night!

Sweet Siblings

These two have the sweetest bond. Sami gets lots of attention from Aaron. He loves her and is big into playing with her and keeping her entertained, which has proved quite helpful to me! :) Sami is unbelievably sweet -- we all ADORE her. She is the princess of the house, and rightfully so! I seriously don't think she could get any sweeter :) What a blessing she has been to our family, she has reminded us of what truly matters. I mean, look at that face! :)

Nina Visits!

We had a wonderful visit with Nina Mathis. She was here for about a week, arriving on Mike's birthday. The boys were in heaven! She treated us to a scrumptious dinner at a Thai restaurant for Mike's birthday and purchased donuts from our favorite donut shop for his donut cake, a family tradition (so we eat donuts about four times a year) :o). She helped with shuttling the boys to and from school. We also went bowling while she was here, she took the boys swimming, and she and Mike took the boys to a movie one afternoon. They also went bike riding a lot! We had a great visit. Come again!! Thanks, Nina, for all of your help! We loved having you!

(Aaron's Backyard Safari Outfitters vest & gear are from Nina -- his early birthday present.)

Funny conversation between the boys

This evening the kids and I went for a walk while Mike went to get some work done on the van. On the way home the boys had the funniest conversation. It went something like this:

Grant (who was dressed up as Santa Claus): "Santa's just your imagination."
Aaron: "No, he's real!"
Grant: "No, he's just your imagination."
Aaron: "Then who brings us our presents?"
Grant: "Santa."

:) Innocence prevails!

Our cowboys

The boys had so much fun horseback riding a few weeks ago. A man from our church congregation kindly invited us over to ride horses. Aaron and Grant felt very in their element, cowboy hats and all, and Mike was a great guide. We learned that a girl in Aaron's church Primary class is a very talented equestrian! (She is pictured below with Aaron.)

Sami's bathtime

It is so fun getting this little girl nice and clean! It helps that she loves the water!

Before church

Sami

Seven months and such a sweetie!

Interview with Grant

Age: 4, preschooler

Favorite color: yellow, blue and orange
Favorite food: broccoli and grapes
Favorite drinks: water and milk
Favorite activity: having fun with mom
Favorite sport: basketball
Best friend: Mom
School teacher: Miss Malia
Favorite thing to do: play with Mom and Dad
Favorite thing to do with Dadddy: go places with him -- swimming, going to Costco
Favorite thing to do with Mommy: cuddle in the morning
Favorite thing about Samantha: "I play with her sometimes."
Favorite thing about Aaron: "He plays with me."
Favorite part of school: When we play outside, and we get Gummies when we get in.
Favorite Primary song: the birthday song
Favorite Book of Mormon character: Captain Moroni
Favorite book: Book of Mormon Stories
Favorite holiday: Easter, Halloween, my birthday, Christmas
Favorite thing to do: play with Daddy

Interview with Aaron

Age: 5, kindergartener

Favorite color: orange
Favorite food: homemade ice-cream sandwiches
Favorite drink: root beer
Favorite activity: doing crafts
Favorite sport: basketball
Best friend: Grant
School teacher: Mrs. Malm
Favorite thing to do: play outside with Grant and Oliver
Favorite thing to do with Dadddy: go bike riding and swimming
Favorite thing to do with Mommy: go on walks
Favorite thing about Samantha: "She lets me hold her and doesn't start crying, and she's always so cute."
Favorite thing about Grant: "He plays with me."
Favorite part of school: Playing outside
Favorite Primary song: "Book of Mormon Stories"
Favorite Book of Mormon characters: Nephi and Helaman
Favorite book: Dangerous boy book (from Uncle David Mathis)
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Favorite things to do: go hiking and camping
Excited about being a Boy Scout in a few years!

Sunday best family photos (minus the mom)

Samantha is seven months old already. Hard to believe!!

Funny Story

Last night for Family Home Evening we had a lesson on the Holy Ghost. We read a story from The Friend magazine about a boy who avoided getting seriously injured because he heeded a prompting of the Spirit. We talked about the importance of trusting our feelings and listening to the still, small voice. So last night after the boys were tucked in bed, Aaron emerges from his room. We were wondering why he was out of bed. He whispered in my ear something like, "A voice told me to leave my room!" Nice try Aaron! :) (At least he was paying attention during the lesson though.) ;)

I love this quote: "We cannot afford to neglect this heaven-inspired program [FHE]. It can bring spiritual growth to each member of the family, helping him or her to withstand the temptations which are everywhere. The lessons learned in the home are those that last the longest.”

~Thomas S. Monson

 

Fun in Utah

We had such a wonderful trip to Utah and created so many great, lasting memories! We started the trip with a stop in Cedar City to see my brother, his family, and my parents. We were there one night and had a really fun time! A special thanks to Jon and Kathryn for graciously hosting our gang :)

Then we traveled up north to attend a Stathis Family Reunion. It was great fun to spend time with the extended Stathis family and enjoy the amazing food spread that was there! The Greeks know how to have fun and how to eat well!

While in the Salt Lake area, Mike was able to connect with his good friend and former bike buddy Jay Lewandowski. They had a great time reminiscing and catching up. We also saw our good friends the Ambroses. I was also able to stop and see my dear friend Mindy briefly.

Up north we also attended another family get together on my mom's side, which was wonderful! Then we headed to Price to spend three-and-a-half weeks with Mike's parents at their beautiful new home. (Mike was only able to stay one of those weeks.) We had a really great time doing all the things the kids love! Activities included swimming, bike riding, playing outside, going to parks, visiting the dinosaur museum, spending time with extended family, camping in the backyard, gardening with Nina, and just generally having a great time! Oh, and regular trips to Wal-Mart. ;) The boys also got to ride horses and ride on a zip line at Uncle Boyd and Aunt Mary's house, which they loved. Oh, Nina and Papa also took the boys to the rodeo one night! We had a great time and enjoyed attending their ward there. The weather was awesome, and it felt like a relaxing trip. Thank you so much to Wayne and Dianne for such a wonderful stay. We really enjoyed it and greatly appreciated their hospitality and help with the children. Thank you again!

Here's Aaron with a grasshopper that he caught!

The boys -- and men!

We visited the grave stone of Aaron Mathis, Michael's younger brother who passed away and after whom our Aaron is named.

We also saw Jonathan's family (minus Jonathan) who happened to be in Price at the same time as us visiting Kathryn's mom. It was great fun to see them!

When it was time to leave we decided to stop in Sedona, Arizona, to break up the drive home. It really was SO beautiful there, and it was fun to have some family time all together before Mike had to return to work.

Those are real mountains in the background -- that's not a picture! We had an amazing view at dinner (well I did anyway!) Mike was gracious and gave me the good seat! :)

We couldn't resist these tourist photo opps, especially with a family full of cowboys and now a little cowgirl ;)

Fun trip indeed!