So, I attended a reunion party for my madrigal group from high school. It was a fantastically good time! In the process of telling old friends about my life, I realized that Logan will be 5 in February. Now it may not seem like a big deal, but 5 is a BIG deal! It's much older than 4, which is still little and sweet. 5 year olds go to school. They have friends I've never met, and talk to adults I'm not familiar with. 5 quickly turns into 6 which is mouthy and oppinionated. And while I am having a panic attack about this birthday, I think about my sweet little boy and envision the kid he will inevitably become. And then I picture him as a teenager, and even older, becoming a daddy himself.  And I start to feel very old. But then my little boy runs up the stairs all excited to tell me about the latest episode of story book factory, which is his favorite cartoon right now. And I calm down a little, and remind myself that he's still only 4. He won't be 5 until February, and even then he'll only be 5. I still have years of driving him to birthday parties, and soccer games and tee ball. And he still calls me Mommy, and needs me to help him tie his shoes. And I still have work to do, so that when he is a teenager he'll love school and be nice to his sisters, and when he does become a daddy he will be the very best. No, my little boy is not grown yet, and 5 isn't that much older than 4. And Logan is going to LOVE kindergarten. :)

Be Drug Free week

Kati's school did a Be Drug Free spirit week. They had a crazy hair/hat day. Kati wanted crazy hair, which I thought was fun because she usually just wants to wear hats. So she came up with the idea for her hair all by herself. And she looked adorable. :) Then they had silly sock day. And then wear red day. I think she looked so cute in her red outfit. Until this day, she would never wear that jacket, because I bought it without her, but now she loves it. I think it was because her friend told her it was adorable. :)

Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins for family night.

Kati picked a cat pattern. She marked it out and did most of the carving by herself. She's very proud. And it turned out very cute. Logan picked a spider pattern, but it was too big for his pumpkin, so Casey recreated it for him. I thought it was an amazing job freehand. Logan tried carving but it was a little too much for him, so he poked the pieces out after his daddy cut them. His spider turned out very cool.

Family Pictures

 We went on a drive and took some family pics. Hailey had a little diaper mishap so we didn't get any pics of the whole family. Another day...

A day at the lake

The mud people. :)

Hailey, after eating her weight in sand.

Having a very serious conversation

Building a sand castle with Uncle Rick and cousins.

Logan stirring up trouble. Nothing new here. :)

We went to the lake for a picnic to enjoy the final days of summer. The kids had a blast playing with cousins. They found a patch of clay and proceeded to smear it all over each other. Fun times! I must say I am going to miss summer when it's gone, but we are looking forward to going back to school, and our regular routine, with great anticipation. Kati will be going full day now for first grade. She is excited to eat in  the cafeteria and I am excited to have 6 hours between drop off and pick up. :) I am also looking forward to Fall. It's my favorite time of year for pictures, and hosts some of my favorite holidays. Casey is currently driving a day run, which means he is home every night. We are loving the new schedule. With any luck he will get a permanent day run this fall. Cross your fingers for us!

Updates

I recently had the opportunity to photograph my first wedding. It was an excellent experience and the pictures turned out great! It was a fun way to pay for a vacation to Vegas. I always love visiting family.

Kati has a fun week ahead of her. The end of school is sneaking up on us and they have a bunch of fun stuff planned. I am hoping it will be warm enough for their water day and field day.

The weather here is miserable and cold, so we have yet to plant most of our garden. There may not be a growing season at all this year with this freak weather. I really miss the warm sun.

Hailey has started saying a few words. She says "Thank you" and "uh-oh" and "Hi". She has such a sweet little voice. She's a bit spoiled because she's so dang cute it's nearly impossible to be stern with her.

Casey has decided to go to school fo the culinary arts. He is looking into becoming a caterer. I think it's a great idea. He cooks dinner every night he's home, and when he's gone I just heat up his leftovers. :)

Logan

My Logi is the most boyish boy I have ever met. He loves to run and jump and scare people and is always making up some story about how he beat up a giant, or how much stronger he is than superman. He has a heart of gold and does the sweetest things, but he also really likes to antagonize people. Especially people who cry alot. He's a big helper around the house. He loves to wash walls and windows, and that chore has saved my sanity on more than one occasion because he will keep at it for hours. He is a rambunctious little guy, but I sure love him.

Hailey

Hailey is one year old now! I can't believe how quickly the time goes. She is such a joy to me. I can't even imagine my life without her. She is a quick learner and already loves to run and climb. She loves bananas and most other food too. She's a big eater. She loves to pretend with the toy cell phones around our house and is always trying on everyone's shoes. She loves to be outside and is happy for hours just playing in the dirt. And lucky for me, she also loves playing in the bath! She is such a sweet baby, and is adored by her brother and sister, who both love to "babysit".

Easter

We had a really fun Easter this year. Casey did a scavenger hunt from the "Easter Bunny" and we decorated eggs. The kids were old enought o really enjoy this year. So much fun!

Christmas

For Christmas every year we spend Christmas Eve at Casey's Grandma's house, amd Christmas night we go over to his parents house. Lots of fun with family and good food. Our Christmas morning usually consists of getting up early, opening presents and having breakfast together. This year, Casey got held up at work because of bad weather, so he didn't get home until Christmas morning. He was sooo tired he couldn't wait up for the kids. So, when the kids got up, I had breakfast with them, and we waited for Daddy to wake up. We watched christmas movies and made treats. When they couldn't stand it anymore, we went in and woke up daddy. I was proud of them because they made it until almost 2pm. Then Casey got up and we opened presents. Then we got dressed and went to his parents house.

Hailey enjoying her new blocks, and some tasty cheerios. YUM!

Logan got watercolors, and couldn't wait to try them out.

Kati got some glitter glues and used all of them on her first picture. It was so sparkly!

Casey making a chocolate melter for his sisters Christmas present.

Proof that I do exist. And I do attend our family functions. :)

Hailey was so tired. And, I guess she knows how to take her diaper off. Looks like it's feety pajamas from here on out.

November

We've had a nice relaxing November. I took the kids to Las Vegas for Thanksgiving. Casey couldn't come because he had to work. :( But we had a fun time anyway. We went to a park that had dinosaur fossils in the sand box and a river and waterfall. And Geese and turtles. It was so fun to see the kids playing with all their cousins and having such a good time.

We also went ot a park in Boulder City that has mountain sheep. So cool. They came down while we were there and we got to see them close up. Then it started to rain, so we went back to Grandma's house.

Casey wrestling with Mocha
The kids pretending to sleep while they watch a movie

Hailey and Daddy just chillin'

Halloween

We had a super fun Halloween this year. kati had a parade at school, and then a big party with her class. We went to a trunck or treat at the church, and then we went trick or treating with cousins and had a yummy dinner. And Daddy got to be with us this year so that was a happy surprise.

Updates

It's been forever since I posted last so here are a few highlights of the last few months.

Hailey learned to pull herself up to the furniture. (after only a week of crawling, i might add.)

Kati had hat day at school, and she was just darling. She loves school, and insists on attending even when I try and bribe her to take a day off. :)

Kaitlyn and Logan just adore their baby sister. Kati likes to haul her around whenever she gets the chance, and Hailey seems to enjoy the attention. She smiles big whenever Kate picks her up. The older kids are such a big help. They always fetch clean diapers and changes of clothes, and they will throw nasty diapers in the garbage with minimal complaints. They're nice to have around.