We loved getting the house ready for Christmas this year. Violet especially couldn't wait. We set up the Christmas tree about a week before we actually put any ornaments on it and it just about drove her insane. She insisted on "decorating" it herself with socks, toys, pieces of paper and whatever else she could find.
She was so happy once we finally decorated it as our FHE activity.
I left the kitchen for one minute and Ginger managed to climb on the counter and attack the block of cheese I was about to grate. Say cheese!
We haven't even lost half of our leaves from our gigantic tree out front. Guess we'll have a lot of leaves fall into the snow this year! Jaxon likes to rake leaves to earn a little extra money and this time Ginger joined him.
We got as many leaves as we could before the snow hit. And did it hit! The kids were thrilled that there was enough to start the sleds going down our backyard hill again. The kids just love this, and I love how I can just watch them from the kitchen window. :)
We spent a very fun Thanksgiving with Mamie and Papa and most of my siblings this year. The night before we let the kids have a "sibling sleepover" together (we stuck them in the playroom).
In the morning we peeled lots of potatoes. Jaxon was a real sport and he didn't mind it one bit.
We all met up at Aunt Sessely's house and sat down to a yummy dinner followed by lots of conversation, pie, and cousin-time.
We were so glad to be together and especially that Jasmine and Nate could make it down from Montana with the twins. It felt so good for everyone to catch up over wonderful food.
The kids were VERY hyped up about Halloween this year... Jaxon was a pirate, Violet a ghost, and Ginger was a pumpkin (a very cute one if I do say so myself).
Jaxon was not in a mood for photos
It was kind of funny- one day Violet randomly told me, "Mom, do you know why I don't want to be a princess for Halloween? Because I want to be scary!!!" We didn't even mention anything about being a princess, she wanted to be a ghost from the start.
We had our traditional Halloween dinner/smores at Mamie and Papa's house with cousins and all went trick or treating together.
Before the big day we had some more fall fun getting in the spirit of things... like a spooky (and wet) FHE up the canyon.
We were "boo-ed" by some anonymous neighborhood friends so we played along and "boo-ed" another neighbor with Halloween cookies.
And of course it wouldn't be Halloween time unless we carved pumpkins!
They already can't wait until next year's Halloween. Really, Violet is still greeting people at the store with "Happy Halloween!" Oh these kids.
School is in full gear and we've got our routines down (more or less). We've also been able to enroll in a couple extracurricular activities.
It is SO HARD to find an extracurricular activity to fit Jaxon's interests of anything mechanical/electrical. And that's basically his only interest. Luckily after much searching, I found a robotics class that fit the bill. He's really been enjoying it so far. The class is small and he gets lots of one on one help to guide him through the projects he makes.
We enrolled Violet in BYU's Creative Dance program again after getting a small taste of it last spring. She's so excited to take the class with Laykin! The two of them are so cute dancing together.
And then there's this one who is so happy to follow me around town dropping off and picking up siblings all day.
School has officially started! I can't believe I have TWO kids in school! Jaxon is in first grade and Violet is in preschool.
"The Spooky Wheels on the Bus"
Violet absolutely loves her preschool and her teachers. She still can't speak much English other than "hi", "bye", and "come on!" but I know she'll catch on quickly. And it doesn't prevent her from having lots of fun in the class.
I don't think his favorite book has changed from last year...
This school year has been one we've really been looking forward to ever since we found out Jaxon was accepted into a nearby elementary's Chinese Immersion program. It's not our boundary school, but we knew that Jaxon needed to be challenged more than the typical first grader so we decided to apply.
I've been so impressed with the program so far. The Chinese teacher doesn't speak any English to the students- she'll even speak to the parents in Chinese if there is a student present. It should be a great experience for Jaxon.
Treated ourselves to some ice cream from the Creamery to celebrate the occasion. :)
This handsome boy turned 7 on Friday. He was so lucky to celebrate it over two days!
We had the actual cake, ice cream, presents on Saturday, but on on Friday after school he packed to go on a special camping trip with Travis (his special "one-on-one with dad" we've started this year). Jaxon LOVES camping. We presented him with his first camping knife and then they were off for a fun over-nighter up the canyon.
Can't believe how much this- I want to say "little" boy is growing, but now it's at the point where that doesn't sound right! He's not so little anymore. Sniff...sniff... We love Jaxon's unique dynamic to our family. He is such a bright, curious kid with a mind that is always ticking...He's a big help to mom and dad, and a wonderful older brother who loves to play with his sisters.
The trip to Idaho was the big finale of the summer, but we still had a couple weeks of August to enjoy before Jaxon and Violet started school (yes, Violet too! *sniff). I asked the kids if there was anything else they had wanted to do this summer that they hadn't had a chance to do yet. Jaxon said there was ONE thing left. A sleepover at Mamie's house. I asked my mom if it would be possible and she said send him over!
My parents made it much more than just a sleepover. They had pizza, watched "Buscando a Nemo", went out for snow cones, made cookies... He was definitely spoiled.
My mom sent me this picture. Lucky kid!
I was feeling pretty good that Jaxon had finished everything on his summer bucket list. Until he said, "Mom, can we PLEASE have Britain and Laykin over for a sleepover before school starts?" So I asked Sessely if it would be possible to squeeze a sleepover in on a weekday (because the one weekend left of summer was already busy). So glad it worked out!
Dinner and a movie
Somehow ended up in the same bed...
And then we had to use a coupon for the Discovery Museum we got back in April which was going to expire by the end of the month.
In a helicopter
There was really only one thing left to do before school started, and that was berry picking at McBriar's farm! We were so lucky to find so many blackberries this year. We had fun canning blackberry syrup.
And would you know it, the VERY, VERY last day of summer vacation the kids ended up with a fever and cold! So they spent their last day of freedom on the couch. I was scared Jaxon wouldn't be well enough to go to his first day of school, but luckily he pulled through. It was definitely a crazy summer, but as the kids get older I feel more of an urge to make sure they make memories and have fun. I feel we did that this summer. :)
We ended summer with a bang this year. Every other year we like to go to this particular cabin in Cascade, Idaho. To say the kids love it would be an understatement- they absolutely adore it. After the first couple of days Travis and I were saying that they'd probably prefer the cabin over Disneyland.
The first day we unpacked and just relaxed around the cabin. We bought a new hammock just for the trip and it was a big hit!
Ginger just loved the squirrels and chipmunks which are everywhere.
We actually saw a family of deer visit our cabin a couple mornings! A doe and two fawn would come by and eat around the cabin. The third morning we were there, Travis and I awoke to sounds coming from our window. We opened the curtain and the entire family was RIGHT THERE eating at some vines growing up the cabin! It was amazing!
You can't see it, but the doe and her fawns are down by those rocks.
Day two consisted of more relaxing/playing around the cabin and then down to the lake to cool off! We got a small inflatable boat to tow someone/supplies when we went kayaking, but alas, we couldn't take the kayaks this time (we couldn't fit them along with all our other stuff), but we did bring the little boat!
On Wednesday we went up to beautiful Ponderosa State Park and had a fun family hike. Where did this little chubby boy go?
2014
2018
A usual highlight of these hikes is picking huckleberries along the way to use in our pancakes the next morning, but this year we were so surprised to find a record number of them! Violet was eating them by the handful.
That night after a delicious dutch oven lasagna by Travis, we had s'mores around the fire pit.
The next day the kids helped Travis make our traditional huckleberry pancakes. So good!
In go the huckleberries!
Delicious!
Then it was another day of outside play and an afternoon at the lake. Can't get enough of it. Before, however, the kids found Finding Nemo ("Buscando a Nemo") downstairs and asked to watch it during Ginger's nap. It's now their new favorite movie (Christmas idea!).
Travis cuddling with Violet and catching some Zzzzs...
At the lake I couldn't figure out why Ginger was so upset. Then I realized it was because I forgot to put a swim diaper on her! I was going to do it once we got to the lake and I totally forgot. The poor thing felt so uncomfortable with this GIGANTIC wet diaper hanging off of her. "Terrible mother" moment right there.
I'm so sorry, Ginger!
Unfortunately, Friday came too fast and we had to leave. However, that was not the end of the trip! We planned on stopping for the night at Lava Hot Springs (at a some-what shady place, but it's was just to lay our heads) and go tubing on the river the next day! Oh my goodness...SO.MUCH.FUN!!!
I was hesitant to let Ginger go, so we originally planned on Travis and I switching off with the older kids. But after Travis went the first time he felt certain that even Ginger could handle it, so we tried it! She was a little indifferent to the experience but it was so fun to share a huge tube as a family. I'm so sad I didn't get pictures of it. But next time we will!
We went down about 4x's before the kids started to get tired. We had lunch at their local restaurant that's famous for their scones. After that we had planned on going to the local pool, but we decided we were all too tired and decided to call it a day and head home. But not before stopping by the local playground.
It's a horse made from a tire!
We had an amazing trip! It was certainly the highlight of the summer and I know the kids will always remember the memories they make here!
