Happy Halloween!

We had another great Halloween this year. We went to a couple of parties, visited family, carved a pumpkin, and went trick-or-treating. Kaylee dressed up as a purple fairy for two parties, then decided her costume bugged her, so she found a cat tail and ears in our halloween box and was a cat for her school party and trick-or-treating. Cameron and Jace were Jazz basketball players, and Mike and I were their fans. Trick-or-treating was another first for Cameron this year. He was so excited to go to the first door with the big kids. He got his treat and was good for the night. He was totally content with the one treat.

We hosted a party with some friends and family this year. Mike wanted to come up with an original Murder Mystery game for the party. And it turned into a Hypnotism game instead. It was still really fun. It was the first time playing it, so there are a few kinks to work out. I was amazed that he could just make up a fun game like that so quickly. We'll have to find some more people to hypnotize someday soon!

Hogle Zoo!

Kaylee was off-track for the first 3 weeks in October, so one of the fun things we did was go to the zoo. Mike took a Friday off so the whole family could go. Apparantly we weren't the only ones in the state of Utah who had that idea! The place was packed! We bought tickets to ride the train and never ended up using them because we didn't want to wait in the long line. The weather was perfect, which is good for the animals and our little monkeys, too. It was Cameron's first trip to the zoo, so it was fun to see his reaction to all the animals. I think he liked the monkeys the best. They had a lot of baby animals this time. A baby giraffe, three baby tiger cubs, and my favorite, a baby elephant. She was adorable! The highlight of the afternoon was watching a howler monkey pee from the top of a tree, and his friend below reaching his hand out to touch the stream. It was pretty funny! I wish I had it on tape!

Gotta Love the Pumpkin Patch

We hit the pumpkin patch early this year, one of the first weeks in October. There's a great pumpkin patch in Riverton that has a little corn maze for the kids to run through, tractors to climb on, and tons of pumkins! Kaylee and Jace had a great time in the corn maze and picked out some green and white pumpkins. You heard me, GREEN and WHITE! Whatever. Cameron was more interested in the "Titty." It was a fun Family Night activity, and I'm sure we'll be back there again next year!

Cheese!

Cameron went through a stage where he would make this cheesy grin. So cute!

Happy (late) Birthday Kaylee!

Still playing Catch Up! Kaylee turned 6 on August 23rd! All of her friends are 6, so she could NOT wait to be 6 like them. She had a friend party the day before. She loves doing art, so we thought it would be fun to have a Flower Power party and do flower related art projects. We made flower necklaces, finger print flowers and coffee filter flowers. They all seemed to have a good time. Our AC motor burned out the day before, so we had the party in our unfinished basement! Later that night we had a party with my family and played games. Apparently Kaylee had a few too many sweets that day and barfed in the middle of the party! Poor girl! She was pretty embarassed about it. Then on her birthday we had a party with Mike's family. We gave her a doll house and thanks to family and friends we were able to fill it up! She loves it so much and is currently earning money so she can buy more stuff for her doll house.

A Camping We Will Go!

We got ourselves a tent this year and actually used it a couple of times. In July we went to Jordanelle with some friends and camped out there. The first night was horrible! Cameron woke up crying a bunch of times. Let's just say no one got much sleep that night. The second night our friends let us borrow a pack and play for Cam and he slept the whole night. Amazing! We had a great time at the lake, we made s'mookies and s'mores, and no one got hurt. (I was a bad photographer and didn't take a single picture).

Our next camping trip was up to Idaho for a Liljenquist Reunion. We stayed at the Apen Acres campground in Squirrel, Idaho. It was a nice place to camp. It was right on a golf course, which Mike and my brothers took advantage of. The first night was great. My parents and Erin and Krista camped by us. The kids had a great time with their Aunts as usual. On Saturday, after the reunion, we went to Cave Falls. The falls were cool to look at, we used to be able to walk in the cave near the falls, but it was blocked off. So, that was a little disappointing. Kaylee was so excited to be so close to the falls. As we were leaving it started to rain and hail. We were hoping the storm went around or campsite, but it didn't. When we got back our tent was completely caved in with heavy, slushy hail. It was still raining when we got there at about 5:30 and on the menu that night was hot dogs, of course! We waited in the car until 7:00 until the rain died down. Mike was able to make a small fire with the couple of logs we had left in our van. We had sort-of cooked hot dogs, bundled ourselves up real good and went to bed. It was so cold! The kids did surprisingly well. In the morning we got up and went in the van to warm up. We spent most of the morning in the warm van, packed up as quick as possible and drove up to Yellowstone. We happen to be up there on Free National Parks weekend, which was nice. On the way to Old Faithful we had some silly buffalo running up the rode, the kids thought that was pretty cool. They were also quite impressed with Old Faithful as well. It was still really cold that day, so we saw Old Faithful and drove home. Overall it was a good trip. It was colder and wetter than we had planned, but we still had a good time!

(We let Kaylee take some pictures on the road to Old Faithful)

Holy Toledo!

We had a major wind storm this summer that brought down a boat load of tumble weeds! We are at the top of the hill so we got more than anyone else on the street. It was insane how many tumble weeds we had! I filled up our garbage to overflowing and started making a pile next to it, (hoping the garbage man would take care of it). Which he didn't, but our neighbors flagged him down and he was kind enough to make two trips to our neighborhood that day.

First Day of First Grade!

Aaaaah! I can't believe Kaylee is in first grade! We are on year round school, so she had a whopping 3 weeks for summer break. I needed a few more weeks to get used to the idea that she was going to be in school all day long. On her first day Jace was sooooo bored! At about 10:30 he asked me if it was time to go get Kaylee yet. No Jace, just FIVE MORE HOURS! Jace hasn't taken an afternoon nap for over a year, but during that first week he got so bored he zonked out a few times. Now a days he stays busy. He is constantly asking to go play at a friends house.



I am amazed at how well Kaylee is doing this year. She gets all of her homework done and is getting so good at reading. It's amazing how quickly she picks up on it. This is the first year she's had spelling tests. She gets 100% every time!

Petting Zoo at Gardner Village

We went to the petting zoo at Gardner Village with some friends. This was Cameron's first petting zoo experience. He didn't quite know what to think about those goats. We went in the middle of July. The animals were so hot and we were melting in the heat. We lasted like 5 minutes and Kaylee had a pony ride.

Mookie's Haircut

For as long as we've had Mookie we haven't known whether or not to cut his hair. Pomeranian don't need to be groomed, but Shih Tzu's do. With it being so hot this summer we decided to give him a buzz and see how it goes.




He looks so different! He looks like a completely different dog! We miss his cute hairy look, but the shorter hair is so much cleaner!

A Day at Lagoon

We went to lagoon on June 26th with Mike's family. The kids had a great time there. The weather was nice and the lines for the rides weren't too bad. The kids loved the swings. Mike took them on the log ride. It was a little scary for them. Tanya and I took Jace and Kaylee on the Tilt a Whirl. It spun us around so fast! Faster than any of us expected. I wish I had a picture of the kids' faces. It was so fun for the kids. They got to go on a lot of rides. We'll have to start going every year. We hadn't been for 5 or 6 years, so a lot of the rides were new to us. Mike and I, and Tanya bounced back so we could go on all the big rides with out kids. My favorite rides were the Samurai and Wicked. Good times!

Foul Ball!

After Jace's party we went to a Bee's baseball game with Mike's work. It was a lot of fun! We sat up pretty high out by the 1st base. Early in the game Mike said there was no way we would get a foul ball up there. After a while the older kids were getting a little bored, so Mike took them to ride the train they have there. While they were gone, I sat Cameron in between Tanya and I. He was having a good time. I taught him to say, "Hey batter, batter, batter!" He would say, "Hey ba, ba, ba!" So cute! While Mike and the other kids were waiting in line for the train, a Bee's player hit a foul ball our way. It hit the wall behind us brushed Tanya's neck, hit the back of the head of the guy in front of us, and landed in Cameron's seat! He caught a foul ball! He was so excited. He loves balls! I was so mad that I didn't have my camera with me, but we took a couple pictures of him with his ball when we got home. He also liked the Bee's mascot, from a distance. He was waving at it saying, "Hi!" He couldn't take his eyes off him for a long time, so I finally took him over to meet him. The bee put his hand up to Cameron to give him a high five and Cameron screamed! He was so scared. Over all, we had a good time and would definitely go again!

Jace's 4th Birthday!

Jace turned 4 on June 24th! (I know, I know, it was like a month ago, but it's never too late to blog it, right?) He wanted a Hot Wheels birthday, . So, we invited some of his friends in the neighborhood and his cousins and had a fun little party. We made cardboard box race cars for the kids to race in. They were so cute! Thanks to friends and family who came and for the presents. He got a lot of fun toys. For days I couldn't get Kaylee and Jace to sit and eat their meals, because they were to busy playing with his new toys!

Cameron's First Birthday!

I can't believe my baby is one! They grow up way too fast! Here are some of my favorite pictures of him over the last year:







We had a fun birthday party for him. Both grandparents were able to come as well as Alissa, Ava, Tanya, Jeff, and Erin. Thanks to everyone for coming and for the fun presents. He loves them! He got a rocking horse that he loves. He clicks his tongue when he rides it.



He got a lawn mower and a tractor truck that he likes to push around.




I didn't get a before picture but here is the after picture after eating a cupcake. He took his first bite and said, "Mmmmm."



We love our little boy so much. He's turning out to be a little comedian. His rocking horse's mouth moves when it sings and the kids were pretending that it was eating their fingers. Cameron stuck his fingers in its mouth and pretended like it was eating his fingers too. He thinks he's so funny!

Since he is one now I gave him his first Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. He loved it! But his body didn't. He got hives on his face and arms. We had him tested by an allergist and turns out he is allergic to peanuts and eggs. It's a mild allergy and we're hoping he'll grow out of it. But for now no nuts or eggs! Which is unfortunate because he is our best eater. He'll eat most everything.

I Want That!

I'm always saying how Cameron and Mookie are so much alike. Here is another example. I was doing the dishes in the kitchen and had the gate up to keep Cameron out of the cupboards and drawers. I have enough dishes to do already, right? I look over and Cameron and Mookie are both trying to get their hands and paws on Jace's Easter basket. Cam was sticking his little finger through the holes and Mookie was sticking his snout through, but they just couldn't get it! They both wanted it so bad and were fighting for the best spot to grab it. Neither one was going to give up! I did give Cameron a jelly bean for his hard work and dedication.

Happy Easter!

I'm a terrible mom and didn't take any pictures this Easter, but we did take the kids to have their pictures taken in their cute Easter outfits. We had a great Easter this year. The Easter Bunny hid eggs in our house on Saturday morning. Kaylee was the first one up and she woke Jace up. The two of them found most of the eggs before Mike and I wandered in to help. Cameron even found one under a table. He was so excited and loved shaking it! We had a neighborhood egg hunt later that morning at a nearby park and that was fun. Then on Sunday Grandma Robinson and Tanya came over for another egg hunt! Mookie helped with this one! We had dinner at my parents' home. It was fun to be with my whole family, minus James. My testimony was stregthened again this year as I thought about and taught about Jesus Christ's love for each and every one of us. I know He lives!

Mookie + Gorilla Glue = Not Good!

We don't have our fence finished yet. (The posts are going in this weekend!) Mookie has always been really good at staying in our backyard without the fence. Over time he's gotten more brave and has wandered to the other side of the fence. One afternoon I noticed him laying on our back porch chewing on something. I was surprised to see he had gotten his paws on a bottle of Gorilla Glue. Where in the world did he find that? We've never owned a bottle of Gorilla Glue! It was all over his mouth and on his front paws. I snatched the bottle and let him stay out until the glue dried. The label said something like "harmful if swallowed may be fatal." I called Mike to tell him what happened and he looked online and found multiple articles of dogs who have swallowed Gorilla Glue. It expands in their stomach! One dog had a mound of glue removed the size of a cantelope! There wasn't very much missing out of the bottle, maybe a half ounce. So we watched him carefully watching for signs, lack of appetite, vomiting, and troubles going to the bathroom. Three days after he ate it he threw up 3 times. It was the weekend, so we waited until Monday to call the vet. The other dogs we read about had to have surgery to remove the glue. How much is that going to cost us? How much is Mookie worth to us? It was hard to think about possibly putting him to sleep when he has so much life to live! We love him too! Luckily when I called the vet they said as long as he stops vomiting and is still eating he should be fine. And he is! If you ever have this stuff in your home, keep it away from pets and children!

Silly Kids!

I think I've mentioned this before, but Jace is always saying the funniest things. What a fun age! I wish I was better at writing them down. The only thing I can think of that he's said recently is "What in tarnation!"

Cameron has discovered a secret hiding place. Under the sink in their bathroom is completely open for him to get in and crawl around. After bath time on Tuesday Kaylee and Jace joined him in his secret hide out. He loved it!






This is the silliest song and dance Kaylee has ever learned. All I can say is, "A tutie ta!"