wiggles...berries...tradition

We had a fun filled week this week...and more to come this weekend. Our friends, the Riley's invited us to go mulberry picking. This is a picture of Lucy trying a berry.. unfortunately it wasn't a ripe one so it was a tad bit sour.I knew that anything berry related tends to get messy & stain. (if I were my mother I wouldn't be so worried, because she works magic & can get out any stain...not kidding, it's amazing! Me, not so much..me & stains don't get along). Anyway, so I was going through the kids clothes looking for clothes that were already stained or ready to be tossed out. Lucy was sporting some jammies that had seen better days, Liv was in a little shirt that she out grew oh, 10 years ago & some shorts that had mud stains on the bum from sitting in the mud while camping. Rex, well he wore some clothes that he normally wears, but I think they need to be retired, but he won't have it, so I was hoping for some staining so that I could huck em.

They thought it was funny that their hands looked like they were bleeding. Liv even smeared it on her face until we told her it would stain and she'd have to go to school with a red face...haha, she got a panicked look on her face pretty quick.

Rex was pretty diligent about his picking and not eating. Liv had eaten most of her berries by the time we left and Rex had a good amount in his bucket.

Gabe & Liv

Lucy picked all the berries in sight...ripe or not, they went in the bucket.

Rex with his friend Lewin

Yesterday we went to the Wiggles Play Center for a filming. My friend Laura has a friend that worked for the Wiggles and they needed a bunch of kids to be filmed. It was fun, there were quite a few of us there and the kids played and the mom's chatted and ate food that was provided. Rex was in a pirate segment, but if you know Rex, you know that he is a little bit shy in big groups, so I don't think he cracked a smile the entire time he was in the filming room. I asked Alivia if she wanted to go as well because they needed kids ages 3-8, but she wanted to go to school instead...she loves school.

Enjoying some banana bread

Dorothy the Dinosaur came out and gave hugs to the kids. Lucy was grinning from ear to ear and loving it. My sweet Rex was so concerned because some of the kids were saying that Dorothy wasn't real because they could see a zipper. I explained that it really is Dorothy, but the real Dorothy has someone inside dressed up, that is why there is a zipper, but it is still the real Dorothy.

Lucy got to make her own little pizza during cooking time.

Lucy's chubby grin cracks me up! She always has a smile for me when ever I bring out the camera.

Moving on...Halloween isn't really a big deal here. I have yet to see a house decorated for Halloween (besides mine). They just don't really get into it. I tried to find pumpkins to carve, and the only orange pumpkins I could find were $24.99 each for a tiny one....ummm, yeah probably not. So for FHE we had our own traditional Halloween party. We played the donut game.

Poor Jared is trying to get to his donut that Lucy is holding, but it is pretty much on the ground.

I LOVE caramel apples. I tried to find the little squares of caramel (you know what I am talking about, you can buy them in bulk...i love them!!) No such luck finding any sort of caramel that I could melt. I did find a can of caramel and decided I would experiment. Well, it was more like pudding, never hardened and tasted gross. Oh well. This is Liv's apple...would you like some apple with your sprinkles? :)

I couldn't find little popcicles sticks either so I had to stick knives in the apples, ghetto, I know. Trick or treating isn't really big either and I was trying not to be sad bout it. Luckily we are heading into the city to Jared's work this afternoon and they are putting on a little t or t activity for the kids. Then tomorrow our ward is having a little Halloween activity so hopefully I will have some candy to go through. I know you mom's do the same thing...you tell the kids you need to go through their candy to make sure it's safe and then you fish through it and snatch a few of your favs...the Hershey's bars, the M&M's the Kit Kats & the Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. They have so much candy they hardly notice. :)

Another baby on the way..

Alivia

Rex

Lucy

We are very excited to welcome another little cutie to our family! I should have video taped the screams that came out of my kids mouths when we told them we were having a baby! They are thrilled to put it lightly :)!! The little peanut is due May 11th!! I am 12 weeks and inching my way to the end of my first trimester. It will be nice to want to eat again and not have to take a nap in order to survive the day. I told Jared that I don't remember feeling so sick, but he reminds me that I have been tired and sick with all of the kids. I guess you just sort of forget and do it all over again. :) It's more than worth it!!

lil' sweetie!

I had to post a little pic of our new little nephew and the kids new little cousin. My little brother (he is not really little, but I have to call him my little brother because I am #8 in my fam and he is #9, the baby, so he is the only "little" brother I have.) Anyway, he and my sis in-law just had their first little sweetie. I so wish we lived closer so that we could meet him before he gets too big. Oh well, we are so happy he arrived healthy and well...and not to mention CUTE as can be! :)

Having gratitude in all things

Last Sunday our meeting was centered around the topic of gratitude. The talks were amazing and ever since Sunday I have been thinking about what was said and really trying to focus on the blessings I enjoy every day.

When I was in high school, my sister Debbie was diagnosed with Scleroderma, a disease that was terminal. I can only imagine the feelings that she must have felt, knowing that the Dr. would do all they could, but in the end there was no cure. I remember finding it hard to feel grateful as I watched this disease take over my sister's body. It is sometimes easy to focus on the one thing that is negative or hard to understand instead of opening your eyes and seeing all of the millions of other things surrounding us that we can still be grateful for. That is exactly what Deb did. She had a gratitude journal that she would write in every night. I never really read it, but after she passed away my sister Jo made a copy of it and sent it to me for Christmas while I was on my mission. I remember reading it and feeling so overwhelmed as I read about all the little things that we all take for granted that meant so much to her.

She had beautiful handwriting and as her disease progressed she had a hard time using her hands....but in one entry she said that she was grateful that she could still hold a pen.

She was grateful for her little boy Brian, and even though she couldn't hold him very well, she was grateful that she could look at him and watch him play on the floor.

This journal went on and on for the 3 years. She found gratitude in everything, even though everything else seemed discouraging around her. I always think about how she handled things and how easy it would have been to become angry or depressed, but I think having gratitude in her heart helped her get through the hard times and realize the important things in life.

I read an awesome talk by Pres. Faust. He said, "A thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us. A grateful heart is a beginning of greatness, an expression of humility, a foundation upon which are built virtues as prayer, faith, courage, contentment, happiness and love. People are happier when they have gratitude in their hearts."

I love that! I think it's so true! For me, If I can think about all the good in my life, the blessings that are all around me, then the hard, overwhelming things in my life don't seem like such a big deal. There is just too much to be grateful for!

I also loved a talk that Pres. Monson gave a number of years back & in it he quoted a poem. I wrote down what he said and have kept it for years. Here is just a bit of it.

"Accentuate the POSITIVE

Eliminate the NEGATIVE"

Life is so much more enjoyable when we get rid of the negative thoughts, feelings...whatever it may be.

When I was little, whenever any of us would complain or whine, (which I can only imagine with 9 kids it was frequent...I know I hear my share with only 3 kids. :)...) , my mom would always bust out in song...

Count your many blessings, name them one by one....

It is swimming time

Today was HOT..so we decided it was time for a swim. The water was chilly, but the kids loved it. Rex jumped right in and the girls inches their way into the water.

Rex is part fish! He loves the water and has become quite the little swimmer.

Lucy dangled for dear life on a noodle..it was pretty cute!

Liv finally stopped chattering her teeth and enjoyed the water.

Princess Lucy! We have had a very warm & nice spring so I am sure our summer, which is right around the corner will be a hot one.

the perfect day for a wedding

Michael, one of Jared's co workers married Stephanie on Saturday and we were able to travel a few hours north to attend their wedding. We were gone for about 12 hours and our great friends took care of our kids for us while we were gone.

They were married at a Catholic Church in a tiny little quaint town. Later that evening we went to their beautiful dinner/reception at the City Hall in NewCastle. We sat at a table with a bunch of people from Jared's work & we had a fun time laughing and talking. I think two guys down a couple bottles of wine along with a bunch of beers, so by the time we got to the main course..things were getting pretty funny at our table. It is sorta fun being the one of the few sober ones and getting to see people get relaxed. The food was amazing...courses followed by an delicious dessert.

Stephanie's dress was beautiful. It reminded me of Belle's dress from Beauty and the Beast. Alivia had asked me to take a picture of the bride for her...so this one is for Liv. :)

This was right before we left..the boys were getting jiggy on the dance floor and it was almost hilarious!

Of course we had fun dancing as well and enjoying the live band. It was a fun day together and fun to celebrate Michael & Stephanie. It must have been the day to get married, because we saw...I think we counted about 8 weddings going on around the town. Every corner we turned there were brides and wedding cars. It was a gorgeous day!

lollipop, lollipop...ooooh, lolli lollipop

We spent a few hours with some friends and a play area called Lollipop. It has loads of fun things for the kids to play on, dress-up in and make believe with. They also have food and tons of couches and sitting areas for the parents to chill on while the kids go wild. I try to relax, but that usually lasts about 5 minutes, then I check on the kids to make sure they are ok & not drowning in the bottom of the gross ball pit. The kids had a ball. They had some tea cups similar to the ones at Disneyland minus the fact that they didn't spin very fast. Lucy was in hog heaven. She clapped and yelled yeah the entire ride. She was happy to be counted among the big kids and able to hitch a ride.

fairy dust

Alivia has stubborn teeth. Her big girl teeth grew in almost completely behind her wiggly baby teeth. My mom pulled out one of the wobblers when she was here and Liv has been faithfully wiggling her other tooth ever since. It finally got so dangley that I told her that it was ready to be yanked because she kept showing me how she could push it way out with her tongue. Of course I have no part in the yanking because the whole loosing teeth thing makes me shiver and feel weak. (I can't make a fist...hahaha for those of you who know me well..haha) So on Monday night we were at our friends house who conveniently happens to be a dentist and after some drama, Liv finally consented to letting him take a go at it.

He took a good yank, it wouldn't come out, Liv got nervous and shut her mouth. So that night when she had fallen asleep Jared went in to take care of business once and for all. We are known for getting things done while the kids are asleep. I have removed many slivers, stickers in the feet, anything that the kids freak out over while they are awake, I take care of while they are conked out. My kids sleep so deep that they usually don't even budge.

So Jared went in, tissue in hand, and latched onto her tooth. Apparently she wasn't totally asleep and made a huh?! sound, but before she could say another peep, the tooth was out. She came running into my room to show me the tooth that had a massively long root(her other tooth had the same thing) so it keeps the tooth nice and snug in her gums. Of course she had to show me the bloody, gooey hole in her mouth that I love so much....I have the chills thinking about it.

So then Liv preceded to write a letter to the tooth fairy. I should have taken a pic of her letter, instead I will just tell you what it said...

Dear Tooth Fairy,

I was wondering if I could keep my tooth. If that is ok. Can I please have some of your fairy dust too? I want to know if it will make me fly (we like Peter Pan at our house :)...). Thank you for looking at my tooth and can you leave it by my head.
Alivia Finch

It was really cute. So after she went to bed I scrambled around looking for the perfect fairy dust. My options were craft glitter or sparkly eye shadow. I decided on the eye shadow powder. I sprinkled it by her note and left some money for her. She was beyond thrilled in the morning....but the excitement soon stopped as I heard a NO......come from her room and found that Lucy had dumped water all over her note and fairy dust. Sad day! So she didn't get to try out the dust to see if it would make her fly. I told her that maybe the tooth fairy could make a special trip back to our house some time soon and share a little bit more of her fairy dust with her.

I am glad that her little long rooted tooth is finally out. Now she is showing me how loose her front little buckers are.....more wiggling, wiggling, wiggling...we will keep you posted! :)

One more little Liv story. If you know Livi, you know that she is a little sweetie. She has a kind & tender heart...one of the many things I love about her. Last Sunday we were in my room, getting ready for Church. I like to have music playing while I'm getting ready. A song about the Savior came on and Alivia disappeared into her room for a second. When she came back she said, "Mom, do you ever get tears in your eyes when you listen to this song?" I said of course then she said,"I went into my room because I felt something good in my heart when I listed to the music and it made me get tears in my eyes." We had a little chat about the Holy Ghost. It was a sweet little moment for me, realizing the impact that the music I play in our home has on these sweet little kids. They sometimes are aware and recognize more then I realize.

jervis bay excursion

Our weekend excursion......

Last weekend we went out of town with our friends the Rileys who are also from Utah. Jared knew Ben from doing EFY together as well as from College. We actually went to their wedding. It is pretty strange to think that almost 8 years later we find ourselves in Australia together & living within 5 minutes from each other.

Monday was an Australian holiday and to be honest I have no clue what the holiday was, but it was nice to have. Alivia is on school holidays for 2 weeks so we decided to take advantage of the weekend and go away.

We went to a place called Jervis Bay which is about 3 hours from our house. Apparently it is the home to the whitest sand beaches in the world, so I am told. We were looking forward to some hot weather on the beach, but it rained, and rained and rained pretty much the entire weekend. It turned out fine and we had a great time. The drive to Jervis Bay was so incredibly beautiful. Fritzroy waterfall was one of the stops along the way. It was a beautiful view.

Cute little bridge that had just enough room for cars traveling in one direction. If you came upon it and it was occupied, then you had to wait your turn.

This is the view from one of the scenic areas we decided to stop at. It was an incredible view and the place was surrounded by all sorts of flowers so it smelled so divine.

It rained pretty good, but as soon as a speck of blue sky appeared we headed to the beach which was only a 2 minute walk from the house we had rented. While we were at the beach we saw dolphins jumping in the water. It was such a cool sight. The guys braved the water and were actually able to get pretty close to the dolphins.

hmmm, eggs, bacon and pancakes with gobs and gobs of nutella!

Natalie went on a little walk along the beach and came trekking back with this in her hand....a shark! It was dead and smelled so bad I almost lost my lunch, but it was pretty cool to see it up close.

You can't tell but it is raining. The kids still stripped down and wanted to play in the sand and water. The guys played some frisbee. I was so cold I huddled in a ball on the chair with towels on me.

Lucy lovin every minute! Rex got a snorkel kit for his birthday and was so excited to try it out at the beach. Poor little thing got in the water, went under water for a few seconds, tried to swim around then hopped out with blue lips and shivering his biscuits off.

We took a drive and found a fun little park.

We each took a turn relaxing in the big swing. Lucy was ready to conk out.

Rex, Liv & Laine

The kids love it when Jared pushes them because he launches them a lot higher than I would.

Ahhh, nothing like a long rainy day, then coming home putting the kids to bed...then enjoying a nice game of five crowns and a big goblet of sparkling grape juice.

We went on a fun bush walk and while on our walk we ran into this little, I mean big fella. He was quite big when we stood up.

wherever we go, Rex always seems to find the biggest walking sticks and then he tries to smuggle them into the car to take home. It was a fun, relaxing, beautiful weekend.