Bake Sale

Alex is a little boy who was in Sierra's Early Childhood class last year. He is autistic and was diagnosed with high risk stage 3 neuroblastoma on Nov. 20. Since then, he has had surgery and 5 rounds of chemo. He is in kindergarten at LVES and just the sweetest little boy! Thompson's Station Baptist Church is holding a bake sale today to help raise money for the family.

Wow! It looks like the old blog has been a little neglected lately. Guess things have just been too crazy around here for me to give it much thought. We stayed here for Thanksgiving and had a nice relaxing week. The girls needed a break from school and Mark took an extra day too. We played and ate and just relaxed. Black Friday was a lot of fun. I really do love the rush that hunting for a bargain brings. And since I have children old enough to babysit, Mark comes with me! We headed out around 3:00 a.m. and were home before all of the girls were up. We got most of our shopping done in that time, even though we didn't end up with the elusive zhu zhu pet!

We also made some gingerbread houses with the girls and they turned out pretty cute. They got pretty creative and ate way too much sugar, but we had a lot of family fun.

We've decked the halls, made our lists, sat with Santa and we are now just trying to stay on the "nice" list. Isn't it a great time of year to encourage the kids to be obedient?!

Ashtyn is playing basketball and had her first game this past weekend. She is the youngest and smallest on the team, but I think she is having fun. Her team won their first game on Saturday. Sierra started riding the bus home from school. She loves it and gets off each day with a huge smile. My babies are growing up!

We have been to Christmas band concerts, worked on Christmas cards, I've been subbing at the schools and the girls are finishing up the semester projects and getting ready for finals.

On Thursday, my twin sister will be coming for a short visit. We are turning 40 this weekend (What?! Really?!!!!) and are spending our birthday together for the first time in almost 20 years. I'm excited to see her and get caught up. We have tickets to see Rascal Flatts at the Opry and plan to do a little shopping, eat a little cake, and maybe see New Moon again. I'm looking forward to a great weekend.

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Mackenzie! It's hard to believe that she is already 12, ready to leave primary and enter the Young Women's program. Mackenzie has always been my fun-loving, energetic, happy one. She always has such a huge smile! She loves to help others and is so compassionate and caring.

Trip to Disney World...age 3Mackenzie at 4-years-old

Ready to go to her first fireside

Mackenzie will celebrate her birthday at the temple doing baptisms and is very excited! Happy Birthday, Mackenzie! Now stop growing up so darn fast!

The End

Soccer season is officially over after this Saturday. It has been a long, eventful 4 MONTHS, but I am glad to see it end. The girls have all had a great time and improved so much. There's nothing I like more than watching my girls' in their sporting events, unless it's a nice, quiet, relaxing Saturday! Ashtyn and Sierra have had their parties and have gotten their medals. Lauren's high school team had their banquet last week, and Mackenzie's team will be playing for a trophy on Saturday. Good luck, Mackenzie!

(Sorry, I won't be there to watch the final game. I'll be watching "New Moon" instead!)

Help!

Mackenzie will turn 12 on the 24th of this month, and we are trying to plan a little party. Since she is in to all things Twilight and her party is scheduled for the weekend that New Moon comes out, I thought a Twilight theme would be fitting. The only problem is that the movie is rated PG-13, which for some is a deal breaker. Of course I'd like to have them just watch the movie and play a couple of games based on the show, but I'm not sure how many of her friends are as into Twilight as Mackenzie is. Any suggestions? Would you let your 11 or 12 year-old daughter attend a party where a PG-13 movie was the main activity? Other than a movie trivia game, what else could we do?

Party Time!

We had a little birthday party for Ashtyn on Saturday. The weather was perfect, and the girls just really wanted to play outside. Made for a really easy party! Lauren and Mackenzie did a scavenger hunt for them. The prize at the end was a pinata.

We did a craft, let them decorate their own cupcakes, opened presents, and played. Just what Ashtyn wanted and they all had a lot of fun. I can only hope my 12-year-old party goes as well!

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Happy 7th Birthday to my Ashtyn! We love your smile, your laugh, and your sweetness! Hope your day is just as fabulous as you are!

Halloween

This is how Mark went to work on Friday...after scaring the little girls in the bonus room!

Halloween kept us busy this week. Sierra's class had their school party Friday morning. They painted pumpkins, sang some songs, played games, and ate some treats. That was the beginning of our kids' sugar high. We headed up to Mark's work where we trick-or-treated around his office. The girls hit a couple floors and filled their bags to the point where they were too heavy to carry. After a quick stop at the doctor's office where Ashtyn was given antibiotics for an ear infection, we headed up to the ward party. The little girls participated in some more trick-or-treating and a costume parade. Saturday we carved jack o'lanterns and went out for some more candy. Lauren went to the haunted woods with a friend, and Mackenzie went around the neighborhood with a friend, so it was just Mark and me with the little girls. They had a good time until they got a little cold and wanted to call it quits.

Ashtyn's class took their community field trip. They toured the library, city hall, fire station, and post office.

Painting pumpkins...pink, of course!

Ready for trick-or-treating. Mackenzie was an artist, Ashtyn a black cat, and Sierra has wanted to be Sleeping Beauty for weeks. Until we went to put it on and then we had some sensory issues. She was a ballerina for part of the festivities and then a princess for Saturday night.

Sierra's "smiley face" pink pumpkin


Ashtyn's creation

Mackenzie has chosen to join "Team Jacob" and carved her own Jack o'lantern this year in his honor.

Even Princess was forced to join in the festivites as Ariel. She was not happy, nor was she a good sport!

Mackenzie had a couple of her permanent teeth pulled on Thursday. She has had her braces for about 6 months now and the orthodontist decided there wasn't enough room in her mouth. She did really well, although she was very nervous. They had a hard time getting her numbed up. She had to have 5 or 6 shots on each side and then was numb the rest of the day.

This is what she looked like most of Thursday. Her entire face was numb and a little bit swollen. She was a lot better by late afternoon, but she's ready to be out of braces and couldn't care less about how straight her teeth are. Only 18 months to go!

P.S. You can laugh at this picture all you want....we do. And the tooth fairy brought the $10 she needed to buy the ripstick that she's been saving for.