Daddy Daughter date

Cami goes to activity days at our church (like scouts but for girls) and there is a traditional Halloween daddy daughter date every year. The dads and daughters dress up usually in coordinating costumes and play games and eat treats. Cami cooked up a plan to be Hermione (again) and the natural choice for Brent was Dumbledor or Hagrid. Since I was left to find the costume I raided our neighbors basement and my grandma's closet and Hagrid it was. I think it turned out great and Cami was happy. They had a great time at the party and the pictures were blackmail ish enough that I had to post them....

Standing...

It's official-Creed's got "skills." He seems to be a pretty coordinated little man. He pulls up to anything these days and if he is not thinking he will let go. He will walk around chairs or tables or couches. 

He says mama-yes I finally had a child that said Mama first-but he says Dada too (and various other baby babble sounds). He claps patty cake and waves bye bye. He got his first cold but has survived.

 He now can tolerate food that is green without ganging/crying/immediately spitting it out. He loves pita bread and yogurt and his sisters (most of the time). 

And he laughs more readily than any kid I have ever seen. He is INCREDIBLY ticklish and he loves his blankie. His hair is starting to grow in a little and it is so fun to give him a faux hawk. Creed is such a loved baby. We feel really blessed to be able to smooch his kissy cheeks every day and smell his little boy smells. 

And ps-HE is STINKING CUTE!!!!

Taryn, Tarbear, Tarbeargen is 7!!!!

So this totally crazy thing happened...Taryn turned 7. How did that happen? Sometimes Taryn gets a bad rap because she likes to be loud and because we didn't know if we would honestly survive her first year of life.

 BUT Taryn is seriously an awesome child. She is spunky and fun loving and thoughtful and sensitive and graceful and wild and crazy loud and stubborn and sassy and completely immovable once she has her mind made up. She is definitely a force to be reckoned with. And honestly who wants a pansy for a child? Just kidding. But really who doesn't want a powerful dynamic kid who isn't swayed by others (even us parents)?

Taryn is a hard worker and I really respect that about her. She has been working so hard on her reading and has moved up 6 levels so far this year. She has also passed off several (all she has been tested on) of her timed math tests and math seems to be a strength. She also has incredible handwriting and often embellishes each letter with swirls. 

Taryn still wears funkadilly outfits but she tries occasionally to match (as in she will usually change her shirt if I tell her that it REALLY doesn't match the rest of her outfit). She still prefers dresses to pants but she doesn't wear them EVERY day. She still loves beautiful finger nail polish (a different color on each nail) and she loves accessories. 

She has a great singing voice and isn't afraid to use it. She is super open and I love it. I know who all her "crushes" are and who's Cami's are. I also know what she thinks of everything and everyone.-honestly I just hope she continues to tell me all the details as she grows up. 

She is trying to learn how to control her screaming and temper and she is working on making her r sound and th sounds. We hope this will be her last year of speech therapy. 

When I look at how far Taryn has come in her short life I am so thankful for a girl like her. I know she will always have fun and be happy everyday-even when things are occasionally hard. I know is loves life and I love her!

She really wanted a hula girl cake so I made a coconut cake with a barbie stuck in....

Brent has the tradition of taking each girl out to breakfast on her birthday and this is on their way out the door. She was really relieved to have him home to take her after such a busy month before.

Brent ended up leaving again during the day though so I thought a fort in the living room and a movie sounded like a fun way to do birthday dinner...

Some friends came over and joined her...

She did have a great birthday party about 10 days later but somehow I did not take a single picture...Trust me, it was epic....Thanks to Aunt Rebekah for helping out!

Sweet Dreams...the stuff a kids life should be made of..

Some of the best memories I have made are of sweet babies sleeping.-not just because they are quiet and peaceful-I like them when they are awake too...BUT when they are asleep I hope for sweet dreams, feeling loved and secure and peaceful despite the fact that this can be a crazy world. This is what childhood should look like and I feel really blessed I can give these nights to my kids if that makes any sense.

The potty fairy...she swipes pull ups for panties in the stelth of night

Oh how I love this crazy little lady. She is so independent and opinionated. (I say that lovingly and in  a good way-at least I do right now...) For some reason she decided she wanted to start wearing panties....She walked out wearing them and nothing else one day and it took. She has had very few accidents and none at night (knock on wood). 

I was kind of worried she would be hard to train because she was so not interested at all...and then she was interested and 100% committed and it has been awesome. She is so independent I never have really had to ask her if she needs to go. She just runs and goes and comes and asks for her M&Ms (her incentive for going.)

The first night I told her she had to wear special panties to sleep in just in case some pee snuck out while she was asleep. She wasn't happy about it but she did let me put them on her. At midnight when I went to smooch her again she looked like this...panties on, butt cheek hanging out, and pull up on the floor...

After a good laugh Brent and I tried to sneak her pull up back on and panties off. We didn't even think she woke up too much.
 Five minutes later I went in to put something away and the pull ups were off and panties on again...I just left it that time. She knows what she wants and she did great!

Just a snap shot of a normal afternoon

One day I was feeling sad thinking my kids are growing up to fast. I want my babies for ever and Cami is going to be filling out college applications like tomorrow...So I stopped and took a picture of each kid doing exactly whatever they were doing so when I'm old and senile I can remember that one random afternoon we were all perfectly happy hanging out in our own little family.

Jocelyn fell asleep on the way home from picking the girls up from school and we were all thankful she  stopped moving for a second.

Taryn was playing school by herself telling the class how to make their writing fancier.

What a surprise (not at all) Cami was reading a book and thinking about writing a story...

Creed was supposedly playing with the little people but clearly he was displaying his knack for finding off limit items on the floor...

Worst case of pica EVER!!!

So apparently the way to grow a super cute little boy is the same way to grow healthy plants. Just add lots of nice dirt.....

This kid has the WORST case of pica ever. Pregnant ladies can't even come close to competing. I vaccumm everyday, usually more than once and I still have had to do back blows twice for stuff he has consumed and choked on from the floor. He is super fast and super determined...

I am scared for when he walks but maybe the highlight will be that the plants are no longer in his sight path so he might forget to eat his favorite snack...

Soccer!!!!

The most wonderful time of the year...The smell of freshly cut grass and sweaty socks. The taste of Gatorade and the feeling of burning lungs and a healthy heart...Truly soccer season is the most wonderful time of the year.

Soccer season is so fun for me and Cami has had a great team this year. She became better friends with some of the girls that go to other schools and that makes it more fun. She has played more defense than offense this year. Someday I hope to see some aggression out of her-I told her I would give her a reward if she got a red card...she told me she is scared of the refs so she keeps all the rules...yup-sounds like Cami! I just wish Taryn was playing and on the other team and I KNOW the aggression would naturally be there. (instead Taryn is living her dream of jazz and ballet and various other girly pursuits that make her totally happy-it is who she is...) 

Just had to throw this in for fun-Creed hanging out watching and being super pleasant.

You want a piece of this? Ya turn and run for the hills....

Just try and get past this....just try....

Time out for a good time

Brent has been up north a lot the past couple months helping out his parents. We are grateful to live close enough that he can help. In the mean time at our house we have tried to do some fun activities so we don't miss him to much and go completely crazy. One of these activities was swimming in Grandma Rice's hot tub. All four kids got a HUGE kick out of this and thankfully this is the right time of year to be in a hot tub in St George.

They didn't really want to stop for a picture once the hot tub was in sight so this is as good as it gets...

Super Citizen...Super child!

Cami is a super. When I say super I mean SUPER DUPER (child). Each year she is given the super scholar award right of the bat-the award for the student doing homework, doing class work, basically just everything it takes to be a great student. Serious She has gotten it at the first awards assembly of every year so far just because she is a SUPER scholar.

Her teacher called me and said even though Cami was a super scholar she would like to give her the super citizen award. She said she is sure Cami gets the super scholar every year because the first thing you see about her as a teacher is that she is super smart and responsible. BUT she said that she has noticed that Cami is a sweet and kind and caring as she is smart.

Her award said "Cami Weight is our class's super citizen this month. Cami is genuine and happy and pleasant to be around at all times. She is friendly to all, and includes others. She follows classroom and school rules, and kindly encourages others to do the same. Cami is also a good student and works quickly so she can have time left over to lend a helping hand.She can often be found helping other students in a patient and loving manner. She is unselfish with her time and with her talents. Cami truly is an asset to our class. We are grateful for all of her service."

I appreciate that Cami is a good student and I have always been very proud of her. But I actually am more proud that she is a good person and a good friend. I wish everyone noticed the needs of others and helped them as quickly as Cami does. Being smart is a good thing but Cami is also kind and I think that is a better thing! Way to go Cam! 

My super child getting her award without a flash. Incidentally her teacher is a kindred spirit with her and she is very kind and gentle. Cami couldn't be in better hands!

do we have another smaller version of Taryn?

Sometimes the resemblance between Taryn and Jocelyn is striking....like when she decides to wear layers of random mismatched clothing or wears 4 or 5 outfits in a day just because she gets board of what she is wearing....The difference between them is that I have learned the hard way with Taryn that   it is futile to fight it-just let her be who she is and hope that people have had a two year old fashioneasta before....So yes, I did let Jocelyn out of the house in this beauty the other day...Wool tights, a leotard, a Dora undershirt on backwards, another tutu leotard of a different color and all kinds of crazy hair action....Hurray for a child who know what makes her feel beautiful!

"that kind of a day"

Doesn't this break your heart? He is usually such a smiley happy baby...but he looks like this for good reason...

It was that kind of a day the other day...by the end of the day I sat down to check facebook unable to will myself to do anything more productive and this is why...I needed to apologize...
First, to the neighbor children who might have been scared of my buck nakieness....I swear the door was dead bolted and Jocelyn was strictly told not to answer the phone or the door while I showered...I opened the bathroom door to see if Jocelyn was still sitting on my floor with her movie to find a lot of little eyes staring...YIKES!!! SORRY!
and to Creed who was s

lathered in tooth paste from head to toe by Jocelyn on the way home from the dentist today...then tried to rub his tired little eyes and got an eye full...SORRY BUDDY!
and again to Creed for the interrupted bath time when the a fore mentioned 2 year old decided to join him after getting her jammies on....SO SORRY BUDDY!
This is just to list a few of the highlights...there was the usual no nap fight and tantrums and deciding not to eat meals....

Good thing Creed is patient and good thing Jocelyn is so cute while she is being so naughty!

I stopped to take a picture for evidence...

It takes a lot of work to be a princess...

Jocelyn thinks she is a big enough girl that she doesn't need a nap anymore. No matter how hard I battle to get her to sleep during nap time she always wins-pretty remarkable since I am kind of serious about naps. This girl plays hard though and it takes a lot of energy to get into that much mischief...SO I frequently find her totally wiped out on the love sac. It really does take a lot of work to be such a cute little (sleeping) princess....

Bryce Canyon

So a few weeks ago our Ferguson's came to visit and we took a spontaneous trip to Bryce Canyon National Park. It is about 2 1/2 hours away but for some reason we have never gone since moving here. 

Taryn and Cousin Anna had a rock out in the car on the way, listening to Taryn's MP3 player...They can really kill it when they both bust out in "BABY YOU'RE A FIREWORK!" Brent and I were busting up the whole way and I wish I would have gotten it on film. They knew half the words REALLY well-loud and proud. The other half of the song was just silence....So funny. 

When we got to Bryce we stopped for a picnic lunch. Jocelyn who has never really had a juice box had quite the adventure when she accidentally gagged herself with the straw. She totally did a GREAT vomit all over the parking lot and a little on Brent. She was considerate enough to miss her clothing or anything in/on the car. Good girl. 

We hiked to one look out and half way to another one when lightening and thunder kicked in. The rain came down really hard and we could have had wet tee shirt contests.... 

And that was that. We drove home through Zion National Park. It was a super fun, super fast visit. BUT it was enough to peak our interest and we will definitely be going back when we can spend time checking it all out...

On the way we had a good laugh at this...Who wants to go to Fatty's?!?

The rock out...too bad pictures don't have volume...

Jocelyn and Dad taking a walk post vomit...

The arch on the way in with all the cousins and grandma...

Getting ready to hike and lookin' good.

The site we saw....

Cami prettier than the natural scenery...she gets her braces off next week and she is psyched.

Cami and grandma...

Taryn and Anna spreading/sharing the love...

Good-bye swimming

Summer is officially over when swimming lessons are. I tried to prolong it as long as possible, even taking Jocelyn for a few weeks after the older girls started school. BUT all good things come to an end and swimming lessons for Jocelyn were a good thing this summer. 

I knew Jocelyn loved water but I didn't realize she would turn into such a little fish in so short a time. Her ears did bother her a little but not as much as I was fearing which was good-only 2 ear infections. We started using ear plugs and she was good to go (after the first day in which she through a really great 2 year old fit about using them.) Anyway, we are so lucky to have found Miss Kristen.