Salsa

Growing up, my mom made and canned the best homemade salsa. It was a staple in our pantry. When I was a BYU, I brought a case with me and my roommates quickly fell in love with it. I don't know why I haven't thought of making it myself, I guess that was just something my mom did.

My friend brought me some tomatoes, peppers, and jalapenos from her garden. Bingo! I called mom, got the recipe and Halle and I got to work. I made 15 pints...not near enough, next year I will have to make multiple batches. It's a little piece of heaven every time I open the jar.

Scouts

Isaac worked hard on his Scouting this summer. He enjoyed Scout Camp (wahoo!!) and has a few good friends in the ward that make it more fun to go every week. We had a Scout Court of Honor a few weeks ago and  he moved up 3 rank advancements (Tenderfoot, 2nd Class, 1st Class). We are proud of him. Tradition has it that for every advancement the Scout is supposed to give his mother a kiss on the cheek. I should have gotten 3...fat chance from Isaac. So I tried to kiss him, this was what I got...the shaft.

Cedar Point

Ever since we moved here, Isaac has had Cedar Point on his bucket list. When Papa and Nana came and went to the Hill Comorah Pageant with us, we had a day set aside to go to Cedar Point. Unfortunately the day we were supposed to go there were thunder storms so it shut down for lightening. Oh the disappointment! I think the only reason the kids didn't throw fits was because we had already prebought tickets so we HAD to go back.

We picked a weekend in September when Aaron had the whole weekend off and we headed up. The boys missed their football games (their teams lost without them), but we had a good time!

They had it all decorated with Halloween.

The girls and Hayden wanted to ride the farris wheel while Isaac and Aaron went on the Raptor. 

They waited almost 2 hours to get on this crazy ride. We got to hit lots of smaller rides while waiting for them.

We had a great time. The weather was fabulous, the crowds and lines were huge, but we got to ride almost everything we wanted to. Our boys and Halle are quite the thrill seekers...Caite, not so much! The kids are already talking about when we can go again.

Aaron scored on a hotel room. Maui Sands Resort. It was super cheap because they are redoing the indoor water resort. We didn't have time to use it anyway. The best part about this hotel is the Family Suite. There was a king bed for us and a separate room with 2 sets of bunk beds and a TV just for our little people. It was fabulous.

 

So our mini vacation was wonderful. The kids got to cross of an item from their bucket list and we got to spend the weekend together. Win. Win.

Sundays with Dad

It's not too often Aaron has a Sunday completely free. He usually had 2 Sundays off a month, but they are usually filled with Church responsibilities and meeting. Not too fun for us (or him). Every once in a while he has the whole day free to spend with us. And this is what the kids want to do.

Gardner Wrestle Mania

Halle and School

Last year for pre-school we did a little co-op with 6 other mom's in the ward. It was fabulous. This year some of those kids went off to kindergarten and the others wanted to do a more formal pre-school to prepare the kids for kindergarten. I knew our budget didn't have room for the expensive pre-schools around here so I  kept Halle home and have been diligent at doing our "home school". She loves it and loves to learn. She has worked hard on writing her letters and numbers and is doing a great job.

 My friend Rachael mentioned she has always put her kids in a pre-school ran by high school students (supervised by real teachers). It's 3 days a week and only costs $35. I was excited until she said that it's in the afternoons when I have my 4 daycare kids either napping or getting on the afternoon kindergarten bus. So that wasn't going to work either. Well sweet Rachel called last week and said "just listen before you say no." She has talked to 2 other moms in the ward who are going to take their kids and they have all agreed to pick up Halle so she can go! At first I felt a little guilty not pulling my weight in carpooling, but I'm thrilled she gets to go. And I am, once again, blessed to have wonderful friends who see a need and fill in where I lack. So starting Tuesday, Halle gets to go to pre-school. It starts this late, because the high school kids have been "training" and getting lesson plans together. We are ALL thrill!

My loves

I have a lot of them, but right now I LOVE...

...that Isaac wants a green smoothie every morning for breakfast.
...that Caite has a note pad and pencil on her night stand to write down the things she thinks about at night so she doesn't forget them. (just like her Nana)
...that Hayden tells me "I have run for my life at recess to get away from the girls chasing me!"  (good thing he's fast!)
...that Halle loves to do school at home and is all about figuring out letter sounds and writing letters.
...that Aaron's schedule will hopefully slow down a bit next month. This month has been incredibly hard on him.
...that I doubled 2 of our meals this week and froze the leftovers. It will make for quick meals down the road. (Why don't I do that more often?!)
...that it's football season. "Rise and Shout the COUGARS are out!" and "GO Mason Saints!"

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

Back to School 2012

Hayden 2nd grade

 Caite 3rd grade

 Isaac 6th grade

 He wanted a picture of his "awesome" new digs for the first day of school.

 Waiting for the bus. I say it all the time, but I LOVE our neighborhood. There are so many kids. I should have gotten a picture of everyone at our bus stop, it was crazy with kids and parents. We have about 25 kids at our stop! 3 stops in our neighborhood and the bus is full.

My hope for our kids this year is that they have integrity, high self esteem, good work ethics and that they are kind, hard working, smart, faithful, diligent, respectful, happy, and fun.

Here's to a great new year!