Thanksgiving Week

Brynn had a blast doing Thanksgiving crafts and treats with her friend Jadyn.



We were so excited to get a package from Grandma Staples. We had fun doing Tim Tam Slams that we did in New Zealand.



They couldn't remember doing the Tim Tam Slams when we were in New Zealand but they sure loved trying it out. How can you go wrong with chocolate.



We try to make a tradition to help out with the Thanksgiving Meals with the Salvation Army. Kamren loved serving others.



Even Brynn got to help pass out food and put them in boxes. The canned foods were a little too heavy so she helped me pass out the stuffing.



I was so grateful to see the children serving and enjoying it. It brings so much joy. We filled 600 boxes in 21 minutes. That was a record for Salvation Army.



For Thanksgiving we had a family over. We made pilgrim hats and Indian headbands to decorate the tables. The kids loved celebrating this special holiday.



The kids loved getting their package from Grandma Woolwine. They get a dollar for each holiday and they love saving it.






Kamren had his first piano recital after taking a few months from Sarah. Kamren loves his teacher and he loves playing the piano.



He chose to play a Halloween song, Thanksgiving song, and Christmas song. He was able to memorize all three songs. It was so fun to listen to him.



We were able to take a temple trip this weekend and the kids loved it. The weather was so beautiful. It was a much needed trip for Kevin and I.





After the temple we went to Frankenmuth. It's a cute little German town. We had fun walking the streets and watching the beautiful horses pulling carriages through the town.



We stopped at the World's Largest Christmas store. Wow, was it amazing. It felt like it was a free museum for us to visit. I loved watching the children just be amazed at all the fun things you can decorate with.



They wanted to see Santa but it was a two hour wait so the statue had to do. There were alot of people there getting ready for the Christmas season.

Go Blue!!!!

This is me at five months.

Today we just found out that we are having a little boy. We are so excited to have another little boy in the family. We will have 2 boys and 2 girls in our family. Kamren is absolutely thrilled to share his room.

We actually wanted a boy and I decided not to let myself have any instincts this time since I've been wrong with our three children. I've had four dreams that it was a boy and my mom also had a dream that it was a boy so I was for sure we were going to have a little girl since I'm always wrong. I dressed all the girls in pink today, even myself because I was for certain it was going to be a girl.

The lady told us it was a for sure boy and I was shocked. I had her look again to be sure and she said there is no doubt it's a boy. Kevin saw the picture and guessed it was a boy before the lady told us. We really like the name Andrew Warren. Warren is named after Kevin's amazing grandfather who we admire so much.

We are thrilled to have another sweet little son coming to our family in April!

Weekend Treat

My sister was telling me about these cute pilgrim hats to make. We made them before our skate night and ate them when we got back. They were easy and fun to make. Oops! I forgot to turn the stripe cookie over so the rim of the hat was all brown but the kids didn't care, they tasted just the same.



Kamren and Ashleigh really wanted to go to their school's skate night. We've never gone to it before and it was a fun night. Kamren really hasn't roller skated before so it was a challenge to skate at first but by the end of the night he was able to skate much better. I have no idea how many times he fell but he was sore the next day. He really can handle pain well. He begged to go to the next skate night. Kevin and I had a great time smiling and laughing.



Ashleigh was a little hesitant at first to go out on the rink but Kevin and I took turns walking her around and by the end of the night she was showing us how she could get around. She really wanted to go again.

We really had a fun filled weekend. Kevin and I felt that the kids already had enough toys so they didn't really need more for Christmas. We asked the children if they would like to go to a waterpark instead of gifts for Christmas. We thought it would be fun to have a family memory. They were all fine with it so a friend told me about this waterpark that was close by and we got a great deal. The suite was normally over 200 dollars but we got it for 99 dollars and we stayed an extra night because it was only an additional 40 dollars. The gift was a little early but the kids didn't mind at all.



The kids loved hanging out on the two bunk beds that we had in our room. They loved the television right by their beds.



One night we went out to eat and for the other time I brought the food for all of our meals because they had a little kitchen. The kids loved going out to eat since we don't do it very often. We all loved the chicken. We got to try a lot of the traditional Amish foods. We actually ran into one of our friends at the restaraunt and she took our picture.



Brynn hasn't been eating much at dinner but give her some chicken and homemade rolls and she's good.





The kids loved getting on the wooden rocking horses made by the Amish people. There were perfect sizes for all of them. We actually ran into our neighbors in the lobby. They got the same deal we did.



Ashleigh and Brynn loved going on the kiddie slides together. Ashleigh is our little nurturer. Everytime Brynn went down the slide Ashleigh wanted to help her up and Brynn is our little independent girl and pushed Ashleigh away everytime letting her know that she could do it. They both have their own personalities.



Kamren loved the lazy river and of course the big slides. He loves to swim and make new friends.



One night they had a girl's nail party and they had a blast getting pink nails. Brynn stopped every stranger she could see and showed them her nails. She isn't shy at all.



Kamren loved playing Wii with dad. It was a fun treat for him since we don't have video games at home.



Kamren entered the ski ball competition and had fun just getting the tickets. One little boy was so nice and gave Kamren a ton of tickets and then Kevin found some for Ashleigh. They went away with a few little trinkets to play with in the room.

The kids also loved watching the Amish people ride in their buggies. Brynn couldn't get enough of the horses. It was a fun trip to be together as a family. We would love to do it again.

First Snow Day!

We loved the snow today. It was so beautiful and peaceful. It reminds me to be more gentle and kind because the snow falls so gently to the ground. Ashleigh loved making snow angels.



Brynn didn't care to be outside. I distracted her with the bunny across the street and the dog, Lucy. Brynn loved wearing her new boots a friend gave her. She loves how they light up.



Ashleigh loved going down this little hill in our front yard. She did it over and over.



Kamren loved making a big snowball and he used all of the snow off of our front lawn. He just loves to be outside and play.



We couldn't stop laughing last night. Brynn is into putting her clothes on by herself so she found her goggles and swimsuit and ran around the house over and over. She is so much fun. Later she found her swim diaper and put that on too. She loves to swim!



Here's how she put on her swimsuit!



Ashleigh is our crafty girl. Everyday after school she loves to make or do a craft. Today we painted pumpkins together to hang up for Thanksgiving. She did such a great job and she had a blast with the paints. She even cleaned up all of our mess. That was a treat!

Soo...Grateful

Since it is the grateful month I thought I would blog about a few things I am grateful for.



I'm grateful for Ashleigh and her sweet enthusiasm to be creative. Every year starting November 1st we cut out feathers for each day leading up to Thanksgiving. Each morning the children write down what they are thankful for and we add it to our thankful turkey. Ashleigh just loves doing this every morning and reminds everyone to do it. Ashleigh is also holding some of our name tags we will use on Thanksgiving Day.



I'm thankful for friends who give me such cute ideas to decorate. I just made this Give Thanks sign and it didn't cost me anything. I just used cardstock, my computer, ribbon, and my scraps from scrapbooking. It's fun to look at it each morning.



I am grateful the Young Women's program was a great success and it's over. I was in charge of coordinating it. I just work with amazing women. They all did such an exceptional job. I'm grateful for the testimonies of the young women and their love for the Lord. The theme was "Like The Stars" so the young women hung up stars all over the room and hung up some Christmas lights to represent light.



They also had a red carpet with stars all over it so they could walk to the front like a star. It was a cute idea that the young women came up with.




I am so grateful for the note that Kamren wrote me the other day and secretly put it on my dresser. I was decluttering my scrapbook stuff so the kids would have a scrapbook bin to create things and one night they were making things and Kamren was writing cards but I had no idea he was making one for me. I just cried when I opened up the letter to see that he was telling me how special I am. I am grateful for his spirit in our home. I am also grateful for his kindness. His letter made my day!


I am grateful for Brynn. We went to the YMCA today and she pointed to the blue floatie so I put it on and she jumped in and started swimming all on her own. It is so fun to watch her grow up and love life! She made all the elderly women just smile while she was playing in the water.

So much fun!

I really love to decorate and I love to get a good deal. A friend showed me how to make my piano bench look a little nicer and all I spent was 2 dollars on the fabric and borrowed a staple gun and stapled away. It looks so much nicer without any holes and it adds more color to the room.



Something was missing at the top of the stairs and my friend suggested to get a big wreath. Well, I had my eye on one but it was way too expensive. I just went into the store for something else and I saw it was on clearance. I got it for 15 dollars (normally 50). I added some more flowers to it but I was so grateful to get such a bargain. It was the last wreath of its kind. It's so fun to walk down the stairs now.



This is how the wreath looks at the top of the stairs. Everyone in the family noticed it right away. It was fun to have something new.



I just thought it would be fun to warm this corner up.

Happy Halloween!

It was quite a busy day on Halloween but it was alot of fun. Brynn and I went to Ashleigh's parade in the morning. When Brynn saw Ashleigh she just ran to her and gave her a big hug. It just made Ashleigh's day. They really do love each other.



We tried to have everything orange for lunch just to be festive for the holiday. We ate orange eggs, orange milk, and orange mandarin oranges.



Kevin and I had fun watching Kamren in his parade. He didn't seem thrilled to see us but we asked him if he liked having us there and he said he loved it. I was also able to help with his Halloween party at school which was a lot of fun. The kids were so good at the party.




Well, Brynn is wearing her third costume (thanks to her siblings costumes from years before) She loves the "Five Little Speckled Frogs" song and loved wearing that costume.



Well, Brynn is wearing her third costume (thanks to her siblings costumes from years before) She loves the "Five Little Speckled Frogs" song and loved wearing that costume.



Kamren loved organizing the candy just like Ashleigh. They had fun trading their candy too. I remember putting all the chocolates together and the lollipops together and trading them with my sister. I was always quick to eat mine first and my sister would always save it. Kamren is more like me with eating the candy quickly and Ashleigh loves to save it like my sister.



Brynn just loved eating the candy.



Ashleigh loved putting everything into different piles.



Fall isn't Fall until you jump into the leaves. The kids loved doing this for a long time on Saturday.