More Happenings...

 November 21st was our TENTH anniversary.

We celebrated on the 22nd when he took the day off work and my mom stayed with the boys while Jeff & I went to the temple. We went downtown for lunch before doing some Christmas shopping, then we went to the movies and out to dinner. He also surprised me with diamonds and got me a band to go with my wedding ring.

I'm one lucky girl to be blessed to spend my life with my best friend. He is such a good man and the last 10 years have been the greatest of my life, so far!

 We spent Thanksgiving in Emmett at my parents' house and had a great day full of good food and family. The next day we went to Declo and had 2nd Thanksgiving with Jeff's side of the family on Saturday. Then it was home on Sunday and back to school on Monday for the boys. They didn't want to go back but the fact that they only had 3 weeks until Christmas break made it a bit easier.

I've been going in every Tuesday to help in Ethan's class and then Kamden's while Owen is in Preschool. It's been a lot of fun to see them in their classrooms interacting with their teachers and friends. And every time I got to Ethan's class he would hurry over and give me a little squeeze before going back to his seat. I'm sure the day isn't too far away when he won't be so thrilled to have Mom hanging around. And it was fun to walk into Kamden's class and have all the kids say "Hi Kamden's Mom!" even though they always got too noisy and the teacher had to remind them just to wave quietly.

I won't be going back after Christmas break since I'll be getting ready for Baby to get here...only about 8 weeks left! We are getting excited and a little impatient for the time to pass but at least the pregnancy is going well. 

December brought more birthdays and holidays and celebrating...

first up was my 31st birthday which was spent going to dinner with my Sweetheart and he also took me shopping.

I do not appreciate having my picture taken while I'm preggers, so this is as good as it's going to get:

 We took the boys to see Santa & Mrs. Claus a few weeks before Christmas and none of them knew what to ask for.

 We had a party at my parents' house and went on a hayride while delivering goodies to some neighbors. We had dinner and a night full of games and prizes. 

 On Christmas Eve we went to look at lights with my parents and youngest brother, Jeff. 

This was the only night of the year when Kamden was actually excited when I said it was bedtime. But then he was so concerned that the adults were still up and Santa wouldn't come that he couldn't get to sleep.

But eventually everyone was sleeping soundly and Santa DID come. The boys were all out of bed by 7:00 on Christmas morning:

 Nerf Guns from Santa

 Owen's Christmas wish was for Hulk Hands:

 On Kamden's Christmas list he wrote:

100 more Pokemon Cards

 HULK SMASH!

 They each got a board book with Book of Mormon stories:

 And the movies they asked for:

  And what would Christmas be without some BSU gear:

 Even Jeff got more BSU items to add to his wardrobe:

 Two days later Ethan turned 9 years old!

He opened gifts in the morning and got a bow & arrow set...with that and the Nerf guns from Santa there has been a lot of things flying through the air around here but so far no serious injuries.

 We went to lunch and ran some errands before celebrating that evening with family. Ethan chose Chili Dogs for his birthday dinner, which he now claims are his favorite food. I have no idea where that came from, but he said they were everything he'd hoped for.

 Happy Birthday Ethan!

Happenings:

Several weeks ago the boys had a day off from school and Isabelle was in town. Grandma VanLeuven met us for lunch and then we saw Smurfs2 at the movie theater.

We had a hungry gorilla and an adorable bear show up in our Living Room one evening...

And two tough football players tackling each other...

On Halloween I organized Ethan's class breakfast:

  And did a craft and snack with Kamden's class:

 The next weekend we celebrated Jeff's 32nd birthday with Chinese and a special Sunday dinner complete with fruit pizza:

And the weekend after that the boys had their Primary Program and they all did a great job memorizing and saying their parts.

That same day was Kamden's 7th birthday and he chose nachos for dinner and an Oreo ice cream cake. Thanks to everyone who came and helped us celebrate! 

Seven Things We Love About Kamden:

1. He comes up with some of the funniest things and makes us laugh all the time.

2. He is very curious and inquisitive, he asks lots of thoughtful questions and is eager to learn.

3. He has a kind and tender heart and is concerned about others.

4. On Sundays he does the dishes without being asked.

5. He loves music and will walk around the house with the iPod while doing chores, playing the air guitar and head-banging.

6. He has the most beautiful brown eyes, cutest toothless smile, and sweetest giggle.

7. He loves his family and we are so glad to have him in our family. 

Happy Birthday Kamden!

Happy Halloween!

 This year Ethan & Kamden both wanted to be IronPatriot and I didn't want to deal with any arguments, so they were the same thing.

Owen was Optimus Prime and they made a haul trick-or-treating with Isabelle.

I volunteered to do a craft and bring a snack for Kamden's class, and I somehow got put in charge of organizing Ethan's entire class party. But luckily there were lots of nice parents who came and helped out and all I had to do was make scrambled eggs for 24 hungry 3rd graders. Mom came over for the day and stayed with Owen while I helped at the school until it was time to get Owen to Preschool for his Halloween party. 

That evening we had lots of family and the Missionaries over for dinner followed by donuts and hot chocolate. 

We've got more than enough candy to last well past next Halloween!

Get Ready for Some PINK!

 The moment we left our first ultrasound at 9 weeks, the boys all said they wanted a sister. Every time Owen would talk about the baby he would use "Her" or "She". And none of them were shy about telling people they wanted the baby to be a girl.

Jeff and I, on the other hand, felt like a fourth boy would be pretty easy, seeing as how raising a girl would be a completely new adventure for us, and we have a garage full of totes stuffed with baby boy clothes, blankets, shoes, and all the necessities.

And I wouldn't complain about a fourth little boy running around who is just as adorable as his three older brothers and in love with his Momma.

So, as the date for our ultrasound approached and we got closer to finding out if we would be having a fourth boy or our first girl, I tried to prepare the boys for either outcome.

But mostly for a brother, because I honestly felt that we would be having another boy.

When I would try to tell them that we don't get to choose a brother or a sister and that I have no control over that, Kamden would tell me, "Baby boys are ugly, Mom. Only baby girls are cute."

So I would nicely remind him that HE was a baby boy and that he was cute as could be, just like his brothers.

And when I would try to tell Owen that little brothers are fun, too, and that he couldn't come to the ultrasound if he was going to throw a fit if it wasn't a sister...he told me 

"I will cry." 

So we talked and talked and talked about it and I felt nervous driving to the appointment because I really didn't want them to be upset. After nine months of growing another human, the last thing I think any mother wants is to feel like the gender of the baby is a disappointment to anyone.

Not that anyone else's opinion mattered, but these 3 boys of mine really had their hearts set on a little sister.

So I prayed the whole way there that they wouldn't get upset, that they could be happy and excited either way.

And when the ultrasound tech came in and turned on the machine after asking if we wanted to know the gender, she looked at the first picture and said...

"Well, boys,  you're going to have a little..."

And I held my breath and looked at Owen as she said...

"Sister!"

Owen breathed a loud sigh of relief and I whipped my head toward her and offended her by asking if she was serious.

I just was NOT expecting that at all and had mixed feelings about the announcement. I'd had this picture of a little baby boy, I knew what I wanted to name him and all of a sudden he wasn't there.

Instead we are going to be starting a new adventure with our little girl who will arrive in February.

And I am excited...

I've already bought her 3 pairs of shoes!

Weekly Happenings

 Last week Jeff was in Denver for a work conference and he went to a Bronco's game, a Colorado Rockies game, and went golfing.

It's a rough life, I tell ya.

Meanwhile at home, Owen had his first day of Preschool!

He has been waiting and waiting for so long, he could hardly believe the day had finally come.

He had a great time and has asked every day since then if it was Preschool day and he's trying to be patient waiting for Tuesday to come around.

 On Friday we had a little adventure and went downtown for a picnic and to the Nature Center to see the fish and birds.

 Jeff came home late Friday and we went out Saturday evening while my niece watched the boys and Sunday after Church the boys decided to be shirtless superheros.

It's Time For School!

 We've survived the first week of school.

I guess I should say the boys survived, because I've quite enjoyed it!

Ethan is in 3rd grade and Kamden is in 1st, which has been an adjustment for him to go the entire day. The bus driver took them to the wrong school on the first morning and they were all late. She managed to get them home that afternoon but then she didn't even show up the next morning which threw Kamden off and he didn't want to go. I managed to get him in the car along with some neighborhood friends and I played bus driver that morning. The rest of the week has gone smoothly so hopefully there won't be anymore issues with the bus!

The house has been so quiet with just Owen and I at home and running errands is much faster now that it's just me and him.

He starts preschool on Tuesday and will go twice a week, I'll be helping in the boys' classrooms once a week and then have an afternoon to myself each week also.

It's going to be a great year!

Underwater Adventures

 A few weeks ago my Dad went swimming with Jeff & the boys. He brought his underwater camera and here are some of the shots:

 This one is my favorite: