Halloween

Just so you know, this is the first of about six posts, so keep reading!

Robby's mom gave Owen and Jack BYU football uniforms for Christmas last year.  So the boys  decided to use them as Halloween costumes.  The pants didn't fit anymore so I made pants for all three boys and we had to find a jersey for Emmett.  Overall, it was an easy year for making Halloween costumes.

Pumpkin Patch

Robby and the boys played hooky from work/school and we took a trip to the pumpkin patch with Maddie, Isaac and the Corbridges.  Honestly, we're discovering the cousins have fun doing just about anything as long as their all together.  Isaac was not a fan of getting his picture so he's usually just out of the shot.

Emmett's Birthday

We celebrated Emmett's 2nd birthday with his cousin, Isaac, since their birthdays are so close together.  They each got their own cake and we did a little kid's pinata and a big kid's pinata.  They both got lots of fun books and toys and Grandma and Grandpa got them big wheels.

Jack's Birthday

Here's pictures of Jack's 5th birthday.  We had monster cupcakes, and among other things, he got a monster Webkinz.  The kids had all just made tie-dye shirts and wanted to all wear them together.

Back to School!

This year Owen started 2nd grade in Mrs. Gieck's class and Jack started transitional kindergarten in Mrs. Anderson's class.  Although we really felt that Jack was ready for kindergarten, we decided to place him in the transitional kindergarten program.  It's a two-year program for kids with birthdays in the fall.  We don't feel like he really needs it now but we're sure we'll be grateful we did it when he is in junior/high school and the oldest in his class instead of the youngest.  Seriously, I agonized and lost sleep over this decision (and still do).

Anyway, with the Owen and Jack in school, this means I have afternoons to myself in a quiet house while Emmett naps.  It's awesome!  I wish I could say I'm usually super productive during this time but sometimes it's really easy to sit down and read a book or catch up on TV or something totally unproductive.

Happy Easter

Here's a cute picture of the boys in their Easter outfits.  Okay, I know boys don't usually get Easter outfits, but I don't have any girls!

Primary Plinko

So this is just a post to show off my latest project.

I've been in primary for the last 7 years now. First as a teacher, then a counselor, then the president, and now the chorister. Which, by the way, is the most awesome calling ever! I love it. And I've always wanted to make a Plinko game. There's so many ways I could use it. Apparently, my sister-in-law, Augusta, thought the same thing because she got my brother, Jeff, and my dad to design and make one for her. I saw hers when I was in Portland a few weeks ago and decided I had to make one. Jeff was super nice and sent me the plans to make my own.

So on Friday night, I headed to Home Depot, put the kids to bed and pulled out my power tools. (Robby's been working late every night since its the end of tax season.) It took me a couple of hours on Friday night (sorry to my neighbors who had to listen to my miter saw, jigsaw, belt sander, and drill) and a few more Saturday morning. But it was totally worth it in the end because it turned out even better than I hoped.

Here's the final result. Sorry, just an iPhone picture.


I used it today in Primary and it was a huge hit. The kids asked if I would bring it back next week to play again.

Happy 7th Birthday Owen!

We decided to go all out and let Owen have a real friend birthday party this year. He decided he wanted to go ice skating. I was a little nervous about taking a bunch of 4 to 8-year olds ice skating but we did it anyway and it was a blast. They started out with a little party with pizza and ice cream and then went ice skating. We figured the kids would last less than an hour ice skating but they surprised us and we literally had to drag them off the ice after almost 3 hours! Owen got to ride the zamboni, then a sled, then got to race a big tricycle on the ice since he was the birthday boy. We couldn't have imagined a better party and he said it was the best birthday ever, although we've realized he says this every year.

Having pizza and ice cream.

Ice skating lesson before they got on the ice.

Tricycle race.

Singing happy birthday to Owen.

Watching the zamboni.

All the kids on the ice.

Owen riding the zamboni. (You can see his legs hanging off the side.)

Getting ready to ride the zamboni.

Getting pushed around on a sled.

Owen and Mike, the guy in charge of the party.

Jack skating. We're were shocked that Jack stayed on the ice the whole time. He pushed buckets around the whole time for balance and didn't want to leave.

Owen skating. He'd only been once before but he did really well.

The birthday boy.

Christmas

I know I'm a little behind but here's our pictures from Christmas.

The boys woke up Christmas morning and opened gifts from Santa. We then went to church with Grandma and Grandpa Walker and almost all of Robby's family. Then we went to Robby's parents to open up the rest of the presents. As usual the kids got way more presents than they needed. Owen got new shoes (bright blue and green Reebok Zigs that he'd been begging to have for months), Beyblades, a Kings hat, and some books. Jack got a dinosaur, a Kings hat, a Hot Wheels Wall Track and some books. They both got a cool car track from Grandma Jane and Grandpa Jim and BYU Football uniforms from Grandma and Grandpa Walker. Emmett got some new sippy cups, socks, and a Cars race track.

Opening up presents from Santa.

This is what Emmett usually looks like. He sucks his left thumb while rubbing his hair with his right hand. It is very cute.

The boys in their football helmets, new shirts and Owen in his new shoes.

Jack in the full football uniform.

The boys opening presents at the Walkers'.

I've decided Christmas is so much fun now that I have kids. It is so fun to watch them open presents and get so excited. Its hard not to get them everything they ask for.