I've gone to the dark side!

Just kidding! I have decided to go private because we live in a time where there are such evil people out there that would steal pictures off of someone's blog and use it for horrifying purposes. The chances of it happening to my family are probably slim, but I would be mortified if it did. How unfortunate that we have to go to such extremes. : (

Happy Halloween!!

It's finally here! After all of the parties and anticipation, the kids do not have to wait any longer, and I don't have to hear, "how many more days?" anymore. Who can really blame them though?? A fun filled night with friends and all the candy you can eat!!! What could be better to a young child? Probably not much when candy's involved. We started off the night by going to a neighbor's house for a Cynthia/Dorthea Way street party to have dinner. This is the third year in a row that we have done this and it is always a reall fun way to start off the night. Then we headed out for the trick-or-treating! It rained a little a first but that didn't deter anyone, they were on a mission to fill their bags. I'd say their mission was accomplished too, because all three of them came home with VERY heavy bags. They were so heavy that Eliza switched out bags at one point because I just happened to have an extra one with me. Even the boys wanted to, but I didn't have anymore bags with me. We had a great time together and most importantly we all made it home safely.




The boys with Traeden.


Eliza with Elie.

More HaLLoWeeN Parties!

On October 30th we had THREE Halloween Parties to go to, well at least Eliza and I went to all three. Eliza had a preschool party in the morning. They did a little parade and then went trunk or treating by all of the mom's cars and they also sang us some SpOOkY songs. It was really cute. Eliza wanted me to paint her face this time, and we sprayed her hair a blue color but it is kind of hard to see in the pictures. She was a very cute little ghost!

Eliza with Miss Kathy...


and with Miss Nanette...



and of course with Lucy Bleu.


Here she is with her class singing songs.


Then later that afternoon we went to Max's class party. We tried to go to Gage's, but the door was locked and I figured they were out on the playground somewhere. I even looked for them in the cafeteria. It turns out that the door automatically locks if it shuts and I should have knocked (Gage's instructions). Gage was a little bugged that I didn't make it. I felt bad but I didn't know. I love it that they get excited to have their mom come to class and I try to make it as often as I can because I know that soon it won't be "cool" to have their mom there anymore. It will be a very sad day for me when that happens so I am trying to cherish those moments now. Sorry Gage.

As I mentioned we did make it to Max's and here are some pics from the big party. The room mom did a great job putting the party together, the kids had a TON of fun! All I had to do was make popcorn which was nice since we had so many parties and I had also worked the night before.






Here is a picture of a witch he started to color. I like her eyes!


Then later that night we were off to Gage's Taekwondo Halloween Party. We all went together as a family to this one. They had a fog machine (which entertained Gage for most of the night), a bounce house, a costume contest and even a couple of pinatas. The pinatas ended up being a joke though because there were so many kids there. My boys didn't even get a chance to hit at them. They did pass out plenty of candy at the end of the party to make up for it though and they all walked away with plenty more than they needed.



Here is Gage dancing during the costume contest. He's got some serious moves!!

I LOVE the simple things!

I know what you guys are thinking, that doesn't sound like Jaime at all! When it comes to my kids I really do love the simple things though (if were not talking clothes of course!). The other day I was reading a book to Max and as I came to a part that said quack, just to be silly, I turned to him and said QUACK, kind of loud. Well he just thought that was the funniest thing! We sat there and laughed and laughed about it together for several minutes and he kept repeating it over and over. Max is so adorable and has such a contagious laugh, I love it! So for days he kept saying, "Hey mom, remember QUACK?". We would laugh about it all over again! There are several times that I can recall of Max's "Hey mom remember this" special moments with him. Whenever he finds something that I do is funny he asks me that very question with the most adorable smile on his face over and over. Just picturing it in my head is bringing a smile to my face. I could not love him and his sweet nature any more if I tried!

Gage's special moments are usually at night right before bed when we are laying on his bed together reading a book or scriptures and saying prayers. He is so faithful in saying his prayers and really puts thought into them. He doesn't just repeat the same prayer every night, he tailors it to what is going on around us. I love his sweet spirit and his faith in Jesus Christ. I love the time I get to spend with Gage right before bed because this is when we also have some of our best laughs but also when Gage feels the most comfortable in opening up to me about something that is important to him or bothering him. I love Gage so dearly and feel that this time together is especially important as he is nearing his teenage years. I always want him to feel as comfortable as he does now in opening up to me and sharing his life with me.

Eliza has mommy time - ALL the time. This girl does not like to share her mommy! She makes Blake nauseated with all of the lovin' she gives to her mommy but in all honesty, he is just jealous! I have to admit she does get a little cheesy at times but it works, I eat it up! She will say things like, "I just love you so much" as she is stroking my cheek or she'll call me names like her darling or sweetheart. I get an abundance of kisses from her all the time where she is very stingy with them with everyone else. I love it and want to treasure every moment of cuddle time that she allows me to have with her. I fear that someday she will become a daddy's girl and want nothing to do with me so I'll soak it up now while I can. I love her dearly and hope that we will always have a very special mother-daughter bond like we do now.

All of these memories just makes me think that it is simple times like this, of just being together that my kids love and will remember, probably for the rest of their lives, as some of their favorite moments. It didn't cost me anything, we weren't sitting in a dark theater not interacting with each other, there weren't any whines or complaints of buy me this or that. It is just simply being together that matters most and together forever is where I want to be.

Crazy Boy...and Girl!

Oh boy does Max crack me up! He has such a knack for making me laugh and smile. He is always surprising me and keeping me on my toes! I am so thankful to be able to have such happy children. So the other day I am on the computer and Max comes into the office looking like this... he is such a nut! No idea why he decided to put these things on because it wasn't cold outside. Then he said he was trying to scare his friend that was coming over. Pretty scary, huh?!?



Then later that night he decided to pop these lovely teeth in his mouth and I was rolling! He pulled some of the funniest faces I have ever seen! It still makes me chuckle just looking at the pictures.




Then of course little sister had to get in on all of the fun and she was looking just as good as Max was. The teeth were a little big for her tiny mouth but she eventually managed to make it work.




We all had a great laugh over all of this fun! It was the best!

So today I took the kids to the opening day of HSM 3. We invited Blake to leave work early and come with us but he said "that he would rather gargle battery acid than watch that movie." He doesn't fool us, we catch him watching shows with us like ICarly, Hannah Montana, and Suite Life of Zack and Cody when he thinks we aren't paying any attention! Anyways, the kids loved it! They said that it is their favorite HSM so far (they are hoping for another one, maybe College Musical??) During the movie Eliza asked if she can grow up and be like Sharpay. Should I be worried??? Overall, it was pretty cute and like I said my kids enjoyed it. Isn't that why we endure or even enjoy these types of shows with them? I have to say that Eliza and I were a little disappointed they didn't sign FAB-U-LOUS again though!

The 1st of many Halloween parties...

My friend Heather invited us to her family's annual HaLLoWeeN party. The kids had a blast! They played games, bobbed for apples, frosted cookies, did a cupcake walk and ate donuts from a string! Where my family is in California and most of Blake's siblings live in other states it was really nice to be included in a big family get together again. I am so thankful for all of the friends in my life that have become like my own little family here in Utah. Here is some of the fun they had that night...