Nicole

Nicole was kind enough to come with me so I could practice a bit on someone who is cooperative. We brought Sadie along but she fell asleep in the car and was not in the mood. Too bad because she was dressed super cute. Santa brought her some perfect clothes for pictures. As Sadie says to me, "Maybe later."

Our Weekend Fun

What a fun weekend! First, we had Christmas and that is always fun. I think that Santa was generous with the kids. I think that biggest hit was Wii Fit. It has been fun for the whole family. We sure are glad that Reed asked Santa for it.

Two days after Christmas, Ashley and Ryan were married in the Washington DC Temple. They were a very cute couple.







Sunday evening Mom, Dad, Nicole and Lisa came over for dinner. After dinner, the pool sharks of the family played a little pool.



Nicole tried out Wii Fit. Let's just say our Wii Fit ages are about 20 years older than we really are. I think we all need to work on our balance.

Can I keep her like this forever?

If only I could keep her like this forever. Sometimes I really wish that sometimes that they didn't have to grow up. She is so cute and sweet right now.

Visiting Santa

Last night I took the kids to see Santa. Our usual tradition it to arrive right when Santa leaves for his dinner break. Arriving as he is leaving is not my plan. It is just how it works out. So our quick trip to see Santa can last 2-3 hours instead of 45 minutes. We get some dinner and walk around the mall for about an hour. We then go back and wait in line for another 30 minutes. Then we finally get to see Santa. Next year, I'll time it better. Though it is better than going on pet night... maybe next year we'll bring Bingo with us.

Sadie was scared to death of Santa. She held on really tight to me and wouldn't look at him. She likes him from a distance. Maybe next year...


If you read Reed's note to Santa, he wrote-- It is better to give than receive. That is definitely Reed's personality. He loves to give his treats to his siblings. Sadie's letter to Santa asked for makeup, jewelery and princess dresses.

Weekend in Utah

We all were able to go to Grandma's funeral except Sara. We missed Sara and wished that she would have been able to come.

Ashley and Ryan, soon to be Mr and Mrs Smith.




Nicole and Jeff also soon to be married. We have such cute couples in our family.

This is after church on Sunday when Lisa and I went out to take a picture of Y mountain. We then took a leisurely Sunday drive up State Street.

So funny!

All I wanted was to get a cute picture of Sadie. Well, she had other ideas. I was focusing; she was jumping. (It is hard to focus on a moving target.) I was changing settings; she was looking everywhere but at me. I was snapping a picture; she was trying to trick me. She would say, "Look, it's Santa behind you." I would humor her and turn around and before I knew it she was in the house. I think that I can see her silly mood in her eyes!

Fall!

Fall can be fun. Just look at all of the fun these two silly kids are having.

Trick or Treat

What a fun day for the kids. We started off with a party in the second grade. Sadie wanted to be in the costume parade with Reed. She enjoyed waving to the crowd.


After circling the soccer field for about 20 minutes, we returned to the classroom. The treat was decorating popcorn balls. Reed does not like popcorn so he enjoyed decorating it and then put it in the trash can. I thought it looked like a happy popcorn ball.




Reed was the cutest Harry Potter. He had just been disappointed when I took the picture so he wasn't very happy here but he had a great day. He looked super cute in his Harry Potter glasses.




Sadie was Little Red Riding Hood. Though if you asked her, she called herself--Little Neighbor Hood. She loved filling her basket with goodies. She and Ryan went out and had fun. She really adores her oldest brother. He thinks she is pretty cool too.

We realized later in the evening that we missed out on a great money making venture. We had lots of kids and parents taking pictures of themselves with our cute Frankenstein. Too bad he only comes out one night each year since he is so cute.



If you are wondering about Michael and Molly. Well, Molly decided that she didn't want to go out and Michael was a camera shy ninja who filled a pillowcase full of candy. He loves Halloween.

Too Quiet

This afternoon it was quiet for about 15 minutes. After a little bit I thought I'd better check on her. Guess who came downstairs very proud of herself. She was thrilled with how she looked. I told her that makeup is for big girls. "I am a big girl, Mom." I love the blush too. Actually I don't think that she did too bad of a job of a four year old. Mascara can be tricky.

She was so proud of it that she said that I could take her picture. I offered to wash her face and I think that she was offended. She wore her makeup for the rest of the evening.

He loves $.

Michael loves to collect coins. He has been collecting the state quarters for a few years now but since he became a boy scout and realized there is a coin collecting merit badge it has gone crazy. He talked his dad into taking him to Philadelphia to visit the mint last Friday. He has ordered zinc pennies from ebay. He wears latex gloves when handles his coins. If you ever need anyone to tell you about your old coins, you know who to ask.

Funny Girl!

Tonight after dinner, she turns to Ryan and says, "Lets watch the Aquabats." Now that Ben is gone, it is a good thing that Ryan has Sadie to hang out with.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

We have had a really busy few weeks. Michael, Reed and Sadie all had birthdays--which means birthday parties.

Michael's party was the easiest. He had a few friends over and they had a Kirby tournament. All I had to provide was prizes and cake and ice cream. Michael did the rest including making his own pinata.

Reed's was by far the loudest. He had 10 friends over and we had a mad science party. We did lots of fun experiements. My favorite was the quick sand experiment.

Sadie has a tea party. That was fun and she loved it. We had a beautiful day and lots of friends.




Reed turned 8 years old and was baptized. It was a wonderful event for our family. We are proud of his decison to be baptized. Grandma and Granpa Olsen came from Utah to see Reed's baptism.

Reed is almost 8!

Every morning before breakfast, Reed asks how many more days until his birthday--we are almost there. He also asks if I have bought his present yet-- not yet. He is so excited. He is the sweetest and kindest little boy. It never fails that if Sadie wants something and starts to cry, even if it is his doughnut, Reed will give it to his sister to make her happy.

Air Dancing

That's what she calls it. She sings and "air dances." She was having a grand time. The fun a three year old can have all by herself!

First Day of School Part 2

This week it was Sadie's turn to start school. She is going Tuesday and Thursday mornings. We are in a Preschool Coop so every 5 weeks it is my turn to teach and have the kids at my house. Sadie also starts speech next week. She is looking forward to going to Reed's school every Wednesday morning. She was disappointed this morning not to be able to go to school but had lots of fun playing with Legos.

On another note, today was the day we said goodbye to Ben. His mom came to pick him up and drive to Nauvoo so he could spend time with his family before he leaves for the MTC next month.

First Day of School

Monday was the big day! Everyone (except Sadie) started back to school. Reed started 2nd grade. We are excited about his teacher. She is very nice and I think will be a great teacher for Reed this year. Michael started his first year of middle school. He is happy to have some classes with his friends and he figured out how to get his locker open. Sadie started her first year of high school. She has a new teacher this year. Ryan was not very happy that I wanted to take his picture too.

Water Fun

When Michael and Reed discovered that their Super Soakers were broken, they found something just as good. I am not quite sure what they are but they work like a giant syringe. They use a big bucket of water to draw up water and then really squirt each other. They did decided that the rule was no squirting the other person when they are filling up at the bucket. Sadie kind of gets caught in middle.

Reed

I can see that the stripes look crazy on my screen but it is a cute picture of Reed.

A few recent pictures

Some of these pictures were taken on our trip to Utah and others were taken more recently at home. Some of my subjects are more cooperative than others. Reed is usually up for taking his picture-- good thing he is so cute. The others are pretty good about cooperating for short periods of time.