Fall break 2019

 This year, the kids' school had a week long fall break.  Usually, we get like 2 days off, but this year, we got a full week.  The kids were really excited about it.  We started the break off right by having our friends the Hatch family over.  They came and played, then we went to the park for a picnic and to try out the brand new play area they had opened just a few days earlier. 

 I love it when Zac has friends that want to play chess and checkers with him.  Mostly because it's not my favorite game, but also because they actually challenge him.  He can beat me pretty easily.  ha ha.

 These girls are the best.

 These ones too!

 We all managed to squeeze onto this little table and eat lunch.  The best part was the chips and salsa that Laurel brought.  Ever since then, my kids and I have been on a chips and salsa kick.  So yummy.

Then on Tuesday, my friend Camille invited my kids and I to go to the zoo with her because she can get some people in for free.  I only had to pay for a couple of my kids to get in.  It was awesome.  It was so nice of her to invite us to go with her and her kids.

 Also, it's just the best having the big kids around to help with Finley.  I forgot to put the stroller in the car, but it really ended up not being a big deal because Sadie or Zac were always willing to chase after her or carry her.  She loves it.  And it was fun seeing the zoo all decorated with Halloween stuff!

 This giraffe spent a good amount of time just licking that wooden pole.  And Finley would not look away from that dragon for a picture.  She wasn't too sure of it.  Her friend Rosie actually screamed and ran away because it scared her. 

 The Nightmare before Christmas decor.  I still haven't seen that movie.  It seems so creepy from what I remember from the previews when I was little.  And how many kids can the lion eat?  Well, there are 7 here...but they all made it out alive...thank goodness!

 The kids liked to stop at every statue.  

 We fit all 10 of them in the nest!  There are actually 2 babies not in the picture.  But they were so cozy in their strollers.  So we didn't bother them for a picture.

 Can you spot Sadie?

 These kids are just getting too big.  I sure love them. 

 Rosie and Finley are such good friends.  We are so sad that they are moving this weekend!  

This gorilla was sleeping right next to the glass.  The kids liked seeing him up so close!

Later in the week, I ran to the grocery store and came home to the kids telling me they had a big surprise for me.  I was excited because I thought maybe they had cleaned up the living room like I had hinted at before I left the house.  This is what I walked into:

 They had built this "pirate ship".  ha ha.  Not exactly what I was expecting, but they had so much fun playing in here for the next little while.  :)

 I think it was Wednesday morning that we decided to go to Gardner Village to look at the witches.  We met up with some friends and started hunting for the witches.

 We took this family picture right at the beginning so that we could get it out of the way and to prove I was actually there.  ha ha

 Then we got all the kids in a picture.

 It's always more fun to do things with friends.  I even splurged and bought a caramel apple from the Candy store.  I never do that!

 And we always have to get a picture by this flag wall.  

Then on Thursday we stayed home in the morning so we could pack for a fun trip to Arches with my parents.  But that afternoon we hit up Rita's and got some yummy italian ice and custard.  I don't think that is what it's called, but that's what I'm calling it. It was the grande opening so it was really cheap. 

Finley really enjoyed hers...well, mine.  We definitely went home and changed her dress because not shortly after we got home, we left for Arches National Park.  

I'll do a separate post about that trip next...

This is what camping with two year olds looks like:

At our ward camp out a couple months ago, I went up with the family but I took Finley home when it was dark.  The rest of the kids stayed and camped with Rob in the tent.  But while we were there, Finley played with her best friend Rosie in the DIRT!!!  Those two got SO dirty, but they had so much fun.

 It was kind of hard for me to watch her just sit in the dirt and throw it all over herself, but I mean, look at that face.  She was in heaven!!!  Nothing a nice warm bath can't fix!

 First, you pick up the dirt with your hands...

 Then you drop the dirt back on the ground. And repeat those two steps over and over again.

 It's really fun.  You should try it sometime!

These kids have beautiful voices. Also they are so brave to go up there and sing primary songs in front of everyone by the campfire. This was completely their idea too.  I think a few more joined them by the time they were singing their last song.  Cute girls!     

Peaches and Puppies

 Back in September, we had the chance to watch my friend's mom's dog.  She's not a puppy, but she was so tiny that we called her a puppy.  Her name was Lilly.  Finley was going through a phase where she didn't love dogs.  She was pretty nervous about the dog being there.  She would say "Go Away" all the time to Lilly.  The good thing was that Lilly was so tiny that Finley knew that she couldn't jump up onto the couches. So for the first day and a half that we had her, Finley just stayed on the couch most of the time.  It was pretty cute.  The kids all LOVED having the dog in our house. 

After the first 2 days, Finley got brave and started to love Lilly.  She loved her a little too much.  Ha ha.  Lilly then learned to hang out by me for protection. 

 Finley would just stare at her.  She loved that dog by the time we had to give her back!

This video is super short but I thought it was really cute.

Rob and I were pretty worried about our peach tree this year.  It had a TON of peaches on it, and we thinned it multiple times.  But as August came, they were still pretty small.  We were worried that we didn't thin it enough.  But by the beginning of September, those peaches were big and beautiful.  Why did we ever doubt?

 The tree was just loaded.  We canned like 20 jars of them and ate a ton, and then we just gave a ton away.  So many peaches.

 We had some of the kids friends over when we picked all the peaches.  It was a little painful watching them drop peaches on the ground, but they all had fun.  This doesn't look like a lot of peaches, but it was so many.  And this wasn't even half of the tree.

This was the size of our bigger peaches.  Almost as big as Riley's head.

We love our peach tree!!

Birthdays- Riley is 5 and Finley is 2

I don't think I ever posted about Riley's birthday (back in July!!) on here.  Riley is such a joy to have around.  She gets so excited about everything. When we do or get something fun, the first thing she wants to do is wait until the kids get home from school to show them.  It is so sweet.  She is the best at giving compliments.  The other day, Emery was wearing plastic purple glasses (just the frames) at breakfast and Zac said something like "those look funny." Right away Riley came to the rescue and said "Emery don't listen to him!  Those look SO good."  What a cute girl.  She loves taking care of Finley. 

On her birthday we just hung out and played in the water outside.  I think we also went to the orthodontist for Sadie's appointment.  The picture above shows the kids at the fountain outside the office.  Riley is sporting her new sunglasses from grandma. 

Enjoying the freezing cold water on a hot day.

I bought Riley's cake this year and it was so yummy! I love that whipped cream frosting. I was feeling guilty about not baking one myself, but I really liked this one.  :)

Here is Riley with her best friend Levi.  He is moving out of our neighborhood in a couple weeks.  That's going to be a little bit sad, but they won't be too far away.  These two have so much fun together.  They can play for hours and I don't think I've ever heard them have an argument! 

Happy 5th birthday to Riley.  We sure love having her in our family!

On September 16th it was Finley's 2nd birthday.  Zac had taught her to say 2 when someone asked her how old she was months before her birthday.  So she was ready on her actual birthday.  Although now that she is 2, when people ask her how old she is, she says 3.  Ha ha.  Oh well. 

These kids all love Finley.  They will pretty much do anything for her...even if they aren't supposed to.  Sometimes I see her sucking on a sucker right before dinner and I ask where she got it and the older kids will answer "well, she asked me and I couldn't say no!".  ha ha.

Finley got some books and a bunny in a purse for her birthday.  She was so happy and has been reading those books constantly ever since.  Since it was a busy day on her actual birthday, we decided to wait a few days until grandma and grandpa were here to make her cake. 

Here she is showing me how old she is.  It's kinda hard to just hold up 2 fingers.

She didn't really know what to do while we were singing to her.  

Then she blew out her candles.  

Finley loves Zac.  I took a picture of him in his suit before church.  She wanted to be right next to him. He is such a good big brother to her.  And just look how handsome he is!

Also, Riley showed me the makeup she put on right before we walked out the door for church on Sunday.  Ha ha.  And yes, we let her go to church like that.  :)

And this is one of Finley's favorite people.  Junie!  She loves when Junie comes over.