I finally scanned in Gracies school picture. I think it turned out pretty cute. Wish I would have been able to be there so I could act like a freako behind the camera man to get a real smile but whatever. She is growing up so fast.
So soccer is over and Saturdays are a little less busy. Gracie said that she had fun but that next year when I ask her if she wants to play she will say no. We shall see. She pretty much just wandered around the whole time she was on the field. Sometimes she would stop and pick up a piece of trash or leaf or flower and that would keep her busy for at least ten minutes. Everyone loved her and tried to cheer her on but she just didn't really care. One game she did actually play. She ran after the ball, kicked it several times, followed the swarm of girls ... and she had a huge smile on her face the whole time. It was terrific. But that only lasted about half the game and then she was over it again. When the season first started I was seriously upset and frustrated with her lack of motivation and competitiveness but I had to get over that really quick because I realized it wasn't helping anything. After a couple games I gave up and just laughed. Sometimes the ball would actually run into her and she wouldn't even notice. Hopefully she will want to play next year and will get into it a bit. Lucy can't wait to play next year and I am sure that girl is going to be our go-getter!
I was actually not in town the morning of soccer pics. Gaye had to get her ready and take her and she said it was the hottest day we had seen all summer. Perfect. Hence the rosy checks and totally worn out look. 
Team shot.
From top left: Jaycee, Jaidyn, Gracie, Allyson
Bottom: Jaylene, Erin Skyler
Friday we went down to LA and stayed at the temple apartments so Neil and I could take turns going to the temple. It really is such a fun little overnighter. The girls love a new place and they love to walk around the temple grounds. This weekend was super busy on the grounds because they are decorating it for Christmas. 
The thing they liked most was the bath in our apartment. Our bath has been under construction for so long that they get giddy just looking at one. Showers are efficient and fast but kids just love to play in the tub. 
She is a blast. 
We had a busy Halloween. Thursday we had our ward trunk or treat. Friday Gracie got to wear her costume to school for a parade and then Saturday was the finale. We got invited to a friends house for a little get together and after dinner the guys all took the kids around the neighborhood for trick or treating and the girls stayed back to pass out candy. It was a super fun night but I have no pictures. Boo. The only pics are of the ward party. 
So much fun. And just for the record ... I had all costumes done a WEEK before Halloween. Definitely a record for me. ;)
For family home evening we decided to paint our pumpkins this year instead of carving because the girls can't carve anyway. I think we will make this an annual tradition. It was so much cleaner and the girls had so much fun. 
They even decided that they needed a little paint on their faces as well. 
Now we can just put the pumpkins in our garden and by next October we will have a bunch of home grown pumpkins!
Our chickens are all grown up. Actually they are huge. I can't 
About 6 days later we did FINALLY get our first egg. It was so exciting. We were just getting one for a few days and then another started laying. We now have three hens laying and get about 3 eggs a day. Every couple days one will skip. Its so fun to go outside and gather eggs. The girls love to call Neil and tell him how many eggs we got that day. We always have about a dozen in the fridge at any given time. This is a picture of our first egg. They are all brown but vary in shades. This one was a little pink. 
Seriously it wasn't my or Andees favorite 3 minutes - it made us both very nervous and we were both very happy when the ride was over. It was free because my Uncle gives all the bruised apples they have from the carmel apples to the elephant people. 
The car rides both ways were great. On the way there was only stopped once for me ... I needed a drink to get rid of a headache. And on the way home we stopped for lunch and to stretch our legs. Seriously are girls are fantastic travelers. 
Now we are home ... the kids are in bed and I am pooped! Whats new?
Mens tshirt to baby layette
black knit tee with handmade flower detail and ruched sides
The king of Pop glove from white knit tee 
Neil and I got to escape for the weekend. A friend of ours in our ward was going to the temple for the first time and asked us to be there with her. She wanted to go to the San Diego temple and since Claire always saves a room for us at her house we couldn't turn it down. We decided to kill a couple birds with one stone and went up early to get our dental work done (by the best dentist in the world) go to the beach, visit my sister, visit with the Snows and go to the beach (again). It was so nice and relaxing and the temple was of course beautiful. Totally weird to not have the kids ... nice but weird ... we missed them. Also super cool to just hang out with Neil and have him all to myself for a couple days. I sure do love him. When we got to the beach there was this sand wall behind us with names carved all over it and words of affection and Neil mentioned that that was the only good graffiti ... I figured that was my hint to also express my affection ...
Before heading off to school with her requested bologna sandwich in tow we snapped a couple pictures. Is it just me or did she really grow up last night?
For her birthday celebrations we decided to do a fancy party. I decorated my bathroom a little bit to kinda look spa-ish. We had mints in a dish and drank ice water out of glass goblets. 
Gracie picked a friend to come over and get dressed up with the works: fancy clothes, nails done, hair done, make-up on ... everything. This is the before picture of all the girls. 
We totally played the part and we talked fancy with English accents and called each other dear and darling. They also called their water refreshment (came up with that all on their own!). First was clothes on then nails painted.
Then make-up and hair. 
They LOVED looking in the mirror. All of them!
Here is a couple after pictures.
We then loaded up and headed over to Rosemarys to have sundaes. She should have seen all the looks we got. 
It was a really fun time. Not everything happened the way that I had planned but it all turned out okay. Gracie had invited her other best friend to come but Bella was unable to make it. (She has plans to come over tomorrow for a play date instead) And I was planning on taking them to the beauty college for mani-pedis but the college is closed on Mondays so they were stuck with me. Gracie was totally thrilled and my favorite part was how easy it was on the ol' pocket book. 
And a picture of when she was just 5 days old:
They grow up so stinking fast!
Last minute we call a call from Mrs Connie De inviting us to the Dodger game with her family. We were really excited to get away for the evening with friends and not have to worry about the kiddos jumping off the railing or climbing the seats. 
Well not the BIGGEST - because this guy is pretty special too...
But this guy sure was tasty ...
Not that Neils not tasty but .... oh nevermind. 
And this last picture is for my Dad ...
I have been waiting for this day. We actually weren't going to sign Gracie up this year because I had missed the registration dates but we found out late Thursday that they were short a few girls and were desperate to fill positions and so we jumped on the 
while we stayed home and got lots of things organized and clean - THANK YOU LETTI!!! After the lawns were mowed we set up the slip-n-slide. Always fun with that hill. Later we went and got In-N-Out and then went back to the Sr's for more swimming. Letti and I made her girls their halloween costumes ... they are going to be SO CUTE! They left about 8. So sad to see them go but so happy that they came! We LOVE spending time with cousins!
We finally took the girls up to camp wilderness for our ward camp out. 
That girls have been looking forward to it for weeks and were so excited to finally get in the car and go. It takes about 2 hours to get there but the drive up is really nice and VERY scenic. We stopped several times to let the cows cross the road and the girls got a kick out of that. Gracie loves the window down and the wind in her face. 
Once there we played games and ate snacks and the kids ran wild in the big A-frame. We didn't get to bed until after 10 which is WAY late for our family. We stayed in the cabins and it was really nice. The girls slept pretty well - woke up once because they kicked the sleeping bags off and were cold but other than that it was good. The nights are my least favorite part about camping. They never seem to end ... I wasn't too comfortable sharing an air mattress with Neil and the girls. I am not used to sleeping with my kids. Its too hard. Fun memories though so it is worth it. 
The camp is really cool. A huge main A-frame (learned my lesson the first time I went and won't ever sleep in there again ... too many critters crawling across you while you sleep!) with a fully stocked kitchen and hot water showers. 
And a bunch of sleeper cabins (where we set up our air mattress). 
The next morning we got up and built a fire to defrost over and had breakfast. We stayed around a little bit and then packed up and took off down the road a little ways to find a fishing hole. Neil being the lucky guy he is caught one pretty quick after we got there. 
The girls weren't too impressed with fishing and so took their clothes off and went for a dip instead. The water was freezing but they didn't seem to mind too much. 
After a while we cleaned up and headed home. The girls were totally pooped and slept almost the whole way home. It was a fun little camping trip and I hope to go up there again for a little longer next time. On the way home I got an exciting surprise phone call from my cousin Letti ... they were headed to our house and would be there in about 30 minutes .... yippee!!! ...
My baby is already SIXTEEN months old! Crazy quick but also I can't wait until she is 18 months old so she can go to nursery and I can actually get something out of church. ;) 
She is feeling pretty good ... not 100% but I think its teething so ... we will see how long that lasts.
She probably only drank about 15-20 ounces of Gatorade and like three bites of noodles - (and noodles are her favorite) the whole day. I tried everything.
Its so sad to see my baby so sick. I hate it. Hopefully tomorrow (and tonight) will be a little better ... I love that sweet baby.
