2012 Blue Jeans Week 43

I love fall.  I love our schedules are a little less crazy right now.  We aren't basketball players in this family, and that makes for a slower late fall/winter season which I like.  We started this week with Ben's birthday and then started getting ready for Christmas.  Yes, I am one of those early Christmas planners.  I love Organized Christmas.  They have a 6 week countdown to Christmas that I have been doing for over 6 years. I love it!  It started on Sunday, Oct 21, so it isn't too late to join.  It helps keep me sane and happy during the holidays and not running around doing things last minute or wrapping everything Christmas Eve :)  So check it out, and enjoy our week in pictures. . . 

Sunday:  Happy Birthday Ben!  We all love you!  How did I get so lucky???  What an amazing guy!

Monday:  Seasons change, purses change.  I am leaving the green one and starting with the pink and brown one.  Always fun to get a new purse.

Tuesday:  This is my Christmas Planner that I use with the Organized Christmas Countdown  I can't live without it during the holiday season.  Great thing about Organized Christmas--it is all free!  Check it out!  Obviously I am a huge fan :)

Wednesday:  Fun craft and lunch day with my friend.  We made these cute "10 minute table runners."   They took us a little over 10 minutes, but we sure had fun!

Thursday:  Snapshot of our lives--this is our laundry room/coat closet room off our garage.  I just wanted a shot of it.  It has our BYU plate and Jimmer poster.  I try to take pictures of the house sometimes so we will remember what it looked like years from now.  Every family member has their own hook, and Ben and I share one.  That key ring was a wedding present.

Friday:  Halloween dance at Miss O's school.  Her girlfriends came over for dinner before the dance and to get dressed in their costumes--they were 'dudes.'  They had a blast!

Saturday:  They had a trunk-or-treat at church tonight.  Mr J is a rock star.  He has a mohawk that changes colors, but is hard to see in the shot.  I need to get a night shot of that.  Miss E is a princess from India thanks to an awesome costume from her Aunt.  Lots of fun!   Halloween here we come!

Thanks for visiting and hope you all have a Happy Halloween and a great week!

2012 Blue Jeans Week 42

Yeah, yeah, yeah, my new camera is here!  I have pictures to share :)  Life is good.  Here are some shots of our week. . .

When my new camera came I thought it would be interesting to get a shot of all the digital cameras we have owned.  The one on the right was our first ever-- a 3.2 mega pixel monster.  We got it in 2005.  The middle one is my Canon Powershot that I loved and was a huge 10 mega pixels upgrade.  I think it got dropped too many times.  The black one on the left is my new Canon, and I am loving it.  Interesting to see the evolution in less than 10 years.

A keeping it real shot--"Seriously mom you are taking my picture while I wash the dishes???  Seriously?"

Not sure about the gangster girl on the end, but she is 12 and in middle school, so that should explain everything.  It was my Dad's birthday this week, and we had him over for dinner.  

Miss E and Miss A helped me count box tops for school this week.  I am the box top lady at the school :)

The kids didn't have school Thursday or Friday this week because of conferences, so today we baked.  We made pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin waffles, and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.  All will go in the freezer to feed us in the mornings for the next few weeks.  We love pumpkin at our house!

Since the kids didn't have school, they decided to have a sleepover in the basement, stay up late, eat snacks and watch a movie.  I had no problem with this since they are in the basement, and I was on the second floor, and I heard nothing :)  I slept very well while they stayed up and didn't sleep :)  but I am glad they have fun together.

Ben and Mr J were enjoying Friday night lights for the last time.  Our last home football game was this weekend.  It was cold!  A perfect fall football evening.  Sadly we lost, but it is always fun to go to a game and cheer on the home team!  

Saturday was Miss A last cross country race.  You can read more about that in my previous post.  She had an awesome season, and we are so proud of her!  She missed qualifying for state by one place and less than one second, but we found out she set a school record for the fastest varsity girls cross country race today.  Way to go Miss A!!!

Thanks for visiting and hope you all have a good week! 

Miss A's Cross Country season finale

So as you may know Miss A is a freshman in high school this year.  She has been running cross country, and even though she is a freshman she has run in the girl's varsity race the entire season.  Sadly she has been the only girl from our school in almost all the varsity meets.  The lone runner.  The one other girl older than her that runs varsity got hurt early in the season and was out the rest of the season.  We hope she is able to run next year!  Miss A has had a phenomenal season especially considering she is a freshman.  She has medaled at every meet she has ran in with the highlight of getting 2nd at the League meet last week.  She is awesome.  So this last weekend was the regional race.  Only the top 10 advance to state.  

On your marks. . . look at that lone girl all by herself.  That is my baby!

Get set. . . Go!

She ran so well.  She was just awesome.  Ben and I were at different places on the course (she runs a 4K) and I didn't realize when I took this picture with my awesome new camera that I got Ben in it also cheering her on, am I good or what?? :)  She was predicted to finish 22nd.  Her coach thought she would be better than that.  She was running in 9th place the whole 2 1/2 mile race until the last 5 feet where she was passed at the last second by two girls.  She got 11th place.  Ugh!  She ran the race of her life--her best time, and was 1 second and 1 place from qualifying for state.  Man that is tough, but I am so proud of her.  The top 10 runners were all upper classmen.  She was the highest finishing freshman of the 80+ girls in the race.  She ran her fastest time.  She has every reason to be proud.  Her Dad and I sure are, and hey, she is only a freshman.  She has 3 more years to be able to make it to state, and I know she will.

And believe it or not this smile was just minutes after she found out for sure she didn't qualify.  What a girl.  These are her amazing coaches that we love.  The guy was actually my cross country coach when I was in high school.  Can you believe that?  Although I am extremely quick to admit that Miss A does not get her great running from me.  I never came anywhere near to being as good as she is, but I did wear that same blue and gold and run under that same amazing coach.  I am glad she gets that experience.  My daughter goes to the same high school I went to.  She even has some of the same teachers I had when I was there.  We had parent teacher conferences this week.  It was kind of weird to meet with some of those teachers as a parent when I had them as a student.  Weird, but it is a great school with great teachers, and Miss A is a great kid, so all around it is great :)

So proud of you Miss A!!!!  You are top in our book always!  

2012 Blue Jeans Week 41

So my new camera is ordered but not here yet. . .ugh. . .it should come Wednesday.  I will be anxiously awaiting my UPS man :)  So even without a camera I was still able to get a few shots with my borrowed camera.  I am filling in the rest of the week with our "I statements" and you can read those in this previous post.  They were really fun, and I am glad we did them, and then here are a few shots of our week.  

  

Sunday afternoons we always enjoy playing games.  Careers was the game of choice this week.

Miss O favored us with her homemade bread for dinner one day this week--yum!  She is really good at baking.

Guitar is another talent Miss O has.  She was rocking and singing today.  Super talented and cute girl.  Love her!

This is a kind of funny shot, but one I have wanted to get for a long time.  This is Mr J's dresser.  He has these funny old egg speakers, a discman, and this fish lamp night light with his Thomas the train cards against it.  He listens to the same music every night when he goes to sleep.  He loves this Jenny Oaks Baker (a violinist) "Wish Upon a Star" CD.  Just a snapshot of our life right now.  

Miss A and Miss O doing face painting at a carnival.  

Also this week the newspaper helped me out and printed a cute photo of Miss A after she got 2nd in the Varsity Girls League Cross Country meet this week.  Yeah!  Way to go Miss A!  She has had an awesome season for her freshman year.

Thanks for visiting and hope you all have a great week!  We are so enjoying the fall weather here--yeah for cooler weather!  We actually had to turn our heater on last weekend--love that :)  

Amazing woman/mother

I watched this early Monday morning and was so inspired.  I had to share.  Enjoy!

'I statements" challenge

I saw this post on Becky Higgins' blog a little while ago and really wanted to do it.  I guess my camera breaking was a good thing because it motivated me to have my family do this since I couldn't take pictures that week.  So here are some of our "I statements" (spelling mistakes and all)

Mr J--7 years old

I was. . .happy today because I got 100 on my spelling test
I am . . .in second grade
I think. . .I want to be a Doctor
I wonder. . .what I'll be for Hallowe
I wish. . . I could fly
I save. . .my 50 cent coin safe
I always. . .eat a snack aftter skooll
I can't imagine. . .life with out flowes
I believe. . . in the true church
I promise. . .I will not drinke beer
I love. . .trains

Miss E--10 years old

I was. . .(and am) very happy
I am. . .short and 10 years old
I think . . .my family is the best in the world
I wonder. . . what I am going to be when I grow up
I wish. . .I could visit Europe
I save. .. pictures to show to my kids
I always. . . read my books
I can't imagine. . .life without my family
I believe. . .in my faith
I promise. . .to keep the commandments and life faithfully
I love. . .my family

Miss O--12 years old

I was. . .mad today because I had to do homework
I am. ..12 years old
I think. . .that peanut butter is delicious
I wonder. .. what I will be for Halloween
I wish. . .that I could fly
I save. . .pop tabs for school
I always. . .want to win
I can't imagine. .. life without books!
I believe. . .that man will someday live on the moon
I promise. . .that I didn't steal E's glasses
I love . . my family

Miss A--14 years old

I was. . .6th in the varsity girls cross country race last week
I am. . .in 9th grade, a cross country runner, and a good student
I think. . .I have the best family ever!
I wonder. . how many dates my history teacher knows!
I wish. . .I could go to the Olympics someday.
I save. . .cards and letters I receive in the mail and money
I always. . .read my scriptures at night
I can't imagine. . .going all day without brushing my teeth--how horrible!
I believe. . .in Jesus Christ and his church
I promise. . I will not marry anywhere but the temple
I love . . .my family, running, reading, Jesus Christ, and the gospel

Ben

I was. . .up at 5:30 this morning
I am. .. glad that is is fall
I think. . .being with my family is great.
I wonder. . .if people will ever live on other planets.
I wish. . .all my kids would be happy, confident people
I save. . .our houseplants from dying.
I always . . .look forward to the weekends.
I can't imagine. . .living in another country
I believe. . .music makes life more enjoyable
I promise. . .to try and be kind and supportive of Jen and my children
I love. . .my family

Me :)

I was . .. walking this morning
I am . . .a stay-at-home mom
I think. . .chocolate is the best
I wonder. . what to make for dinner tomorrow
I wish. . .the laundry would wash and fold itself
I save. . .box tops!
I always. .. love to read.
I can't imagine. .. life without my family.
I believe. .. Jesus Christ is my Savior
I promise. .. to be more patient
I love. . .Ben!

This was a fun activity, and I loved everyone's answers.  It will be a nice addition to our family scrapbook.

2012 Blue Jeans Week 40

Wow, it is hard to believe we are 40 weeks into the year!  Where does the time go?  So, I picked a camera--a Canon.  It is ordered and on it's way, but I needed to take some pictures because my life was feeling so empty without a camera, so I borrowed one from a friend for a few days.  To fill in the days that I don't have pictures I used Becky Higgins 'I statements challenge' suggestion from a few weeks ago.  I wrote down prompts on a card and had each family member fill it out.  It was cute.  I will share those later this week.  It was a fun family activity.  So here are some pictures of what we have been up to lately. . .

Being the only boy with 3 older sisters, this kid has been put through a lot--dress-up clothes, playing the baby, etc.  Today he was their 'cinnamon roll' experiment.  What a cutie!

We love puzzles, and it is a nice stage to be in now that my kids are old enough we can just leave one out for a week until it is finished and not have to worry about anyone eating the pieces or walking off with them.  Miss E and Miss O were working diligently on our Moscow puzzle today, in honor of their Dad who served his mission there for two years.

Miss A took this shot.  After a long day it is nice to just relax.  Mr J was showing me his new favorite game on the itouch.

Love the flowers and pumpkins on the front porch right now.  We finally got the Halloween decorations up!

This is Mr. Boo, and he has been a part of our family for years--since before Miss O was born, so over 13 years.  He is our family's favorite Halloween decoration.  

After our crazy long, hot, drought filled summer, I was afraid everything in my flower beds was dead.  Since it has cooled down and we finally got a little bit of rain, my flowers look great--just in time for the first frost :)  But I wanted to get a picture of this purple salvia that looks great, and also because it is by the new garage door we just got put in.  Nice to cross that project off the list :)

Mr J feeding the chickens.  Notice his footwear?  White and blue socks with his sister's pink flip flops which are about 10 sizes too big for him :)

We had our church's General Conference this weekend which is a wonderful weekend filled with talks to inspire and help us.  I always feel so uplifted and ready to do so much better after then.  They are truly wonderful.  Many people have traditions that go with General Conference.  It only happens twice a year, and we watch them over the internet at home.  We always have Reese's Pieces to snack on while watching the meetings.  This is the only time of the year I buy them to just snack on,  and we devour then.  This year I got the mini pieces.  Yum!

Thanks for visiting and hope you all have a great week!

2012 Blue Jean Week 39

Sadly, no photos for this week.  Still no camera.  I can't decide what I want--decisions, decisions.  I had a Canon before and loved, loved, loved it, but I have seen a lot of good reviews on a Nikon, so I am still undecided.  Despite no camera, we did have a good week.  I took a lot of "mental" pictures this week.

Some random thoughts about this past week. . .

1.  I love volunteering at my kids' school.  I do a reading group with Miss E's class.  We were talking about heroes, and I asked each kid who their hero was.  On kid said, "Well, my hero is dead, but it is Michael Jordan."  Um, I was pretty sure Michael Jordan was not dead, but I could not convince this kid of it.  I said, "Michael Jackson is dead.  Michael Jordan is not dead."  Hilarious!  Brought back thoughts of junior high/high school and singing '. . .like Mike, if I could be like Mike--I wanna be, I wanna be like Mike..." any other teen-child of the 90's remember that song?  I think it was from a milk commercial on school's Channel One.  Anyway, volunteering at the school is fun :)

2.  Mr J was instructing me on the different cool games Ben has on his itouch.  Ben uses it for work, but the kids make sure it has lots of games on it for when he comes home.  I seldom touch it, so Mr J was showing me the fun games he likes.  Those things are just amazing.

3.  My two older girls and I went to a service project and the girls got to do face painting on residents of a children's hospital.  It was a neat experience for them.

4.  As a family we attended a silent film festival.  We go every year.  The festival has an orchestra that accompanies the films live.  It is really cool, and my kids love it.  Silent, black and white films--who would have thought the kids would love them, but they do.  Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are their favs.

5.  Still haven't gotten out my Halloween decorations.  It is still on my long 'to-do' list, but I did get pumpkins bought and on the front porch.

6.  Finally got our new windows painted!  yeah!  Mark that off the very long 'to-do' list.

7.  Watched a very inspiring women's meeting.  I am so grateful for a Savior who will always love me and is always there for me.  What a blessing.

8.  Miss A got 3rd in her varsity cross country meet this week!  Way to go girl!!

Thanks for visiting!  Hopefully next week I will have a camera and pictures to share!