Thanksgiving Break

We have much to be thankful for!  We have great family and friends.  We are healthy and employed.  We have a very good Thanksgiving break.  It has been actually relaxing.  

 Leah is hanging out with her cute pink cowgirl boots and reading her favorite Carl book.  We have been so blessed.  Leah has received so many hand me downs, and they are so cute too!  I don't know that I would have bought pink boots, or any shoes really at this age, but they sure do look cute.  Thank you friends and family for sharing clothes with us.

 Dallin and Joshua playing in the fire truck tent.  They love it.

 We had a great Thanksgiving dinner.  This year we did one dessert a day. Today we are doing the apple pie.   It worked out well.  We had Jenny and Tony over for Thanksgiving.

 Leah loves blackberries.  She had her own meal separate because she slept during the Thanksgiving meal.

 Joshua didn't have school so we went to the Arboretum.  It was so fun.  Dallin and Joshua got their face painted.  They usually don't want to, but this time they went for it.

Joshua got a football and Dallin got spider web eyes.  This is Joshua's friend Ameila they actually share a Birthday.  They are so cute!  We listened to the lady sing songs and the kids had scarves and shakers.  They also had a petting zoo set up.  We had a great time.

Michael had his friend Paul come over and help us fix our lawn mower.  It was so nice!  It is running and we got our lawn mowed.  yea!!!  Thank you Paul!!!!  We also got some shopping done and a Birthday cake made for Tony.

Now we will got back to work and school tomorrow.  We won't set up our Christmas stuff until after Joshua's Birthday, so now you all have fun new posts to look forward to.  :)

9 Months

Well technically 9 1/2 months. :) We went in for Leah's well check today. It was quite the adventure. She is diong well. She is 18 1/2 pounds, and is 29 1/4 inches long. 90th percentile for height and 75th for weight. She is crawling with speed and even throws in a bear crawl every now and again. She is also pulling up to a stand, so my shelves empty out on a regular basis. She loves to clap and wave for us. She has 3 1/2 teeth. She is an awful teether it has been hard work for these teeth to come in. She didn't have to have any shots, but they like to do a blood draw for their 9 month check up. They started with her arm and the vein blew. It will be a nasty bruise in the next few days. Then they pricked her finger and filled up their little vials. She screamed and screamed. It was awful. She got blood all over the place. Then I wanted to stop at the grocery store really quick to pick up our turkey. Today the sale started where they are 29 cents a pound. I thought I could just run in and grab it. Leah, who was in the cart bit off her band aid and got blood everywhere. It was gross. She was covered in it and our cart was covered in it. Who knew a finger could bleed for so long. I don't know why none of my kids like band aids. Now we are all cleaned up and Leah is down for a nap.

If you want a comparison on all three of my kids click http://mwestfamily.blogspot.com/2009/04/9-months.html.

Everyone always tells me she looks like Dallin, but I think that is because they didn't see Joshua as a baby.  I think she looks so much like Joshua.  They are all so cute!  I love my kids!

Family Camping

We went camping this weekend as a family. I was so afraid that it would be disastrous, but it worked out really well. We had five families total share one spot. It was great to spend time with friends and eat yummy food.

This was Leah's first camping trip. She did pretty good. She did wake up crying in the night and Michael took her to the van where she spent the last two hours of the night sleeping. Dallin and Joshua went right to bed and didn't wake up Leah. They did great! My boys really love camping.

We went on a little hike. It was fun to walk and see nature. I love getting out of the city.

Joshua wanted to go fishing so bad. We do not have poles and Michael hasn't fished much, so he isn't as excited about it as the boys. We will have take the boys another time.

It was so fun to be with our friends. The little ones all went to bed pretty good and we got to sit around the fire and talk. It was so nice.

New Things

We had a very exciting week. We tried a few new things.

 Dallin and Rayna went to the Arboretum with Michael. They didn't have any other siblings with them. Dallin had a great time. Michael said he was happy up until they went to pick up Joshua from school. I guess it crushed his dream of being an only child. ;) He must have enjoyed his one on one time with Dad. :)

I got 25lbs of tomatoes. My friend Elise came over to teach me how to can them. It took me until about midnight but I did it, and enjoyed it. I made it into tomato sauce.

It was Raytheon day at Six Flags. We asked Tony and Jenny to come with us. It was so fun! They traded us off and on so we can go on bigger rides. We are so glad that they came with us.

Leah did great! She handled the day so well. Leah was only allowed on one ride. The steam engine. She was such a trooper.

Dallin was a little slow to enjoy the rides. When he finally decided that he could enjoy himself he loved the trucks! I think he rode them like 8 times. I know it doesn't sound like a big thing but he also used his first public restroom. He hates using public restrooms. I think that may be why he decided he could enjoy himself. Silly boy! He had a good time though.

Joshua had an amazing time! He loved this tower ride. They go up and drop you down. He went on four different roller coasters. This is coming from a boy who is afraid to jump out of the van. He also went on this ride where you go up about 200 ft and then they drop you down in a parachute. Michael wanted to try it, but was scared. Joshua asked Tony to go with him and loved it! When Michael and I went on it, Michael kept saying "if Joshua can do it, I can." Michael did great. He didn't even get sick. Jenny got a little sick. I got in a few big roller coasters which was fun since I think the last time I went to an amusement park was over 6 years ago with Jenny, Michael and his brother Paul. There were hardly any lines at the park. No lines is really the way to go!

The other new thing this week is I have a new job at church. I am now going to be a nursery leader. I was released as a counselor in Relief Society. I am told that it will be a good break for me. I am not sure about the break part (kids and break don't usually go in the same sentence:), but a change every once in a while is nice. I was told that I needed a break, which is probably true but almost embarrassing that people noticed. :) It should be fun change, but I will miss the people I worked with before.

Happy Halloween!

We have had many parties and Halloween activities.  It has been great!  Thanks to our friends and family for inviting us.

 The boys picked the faces for the pumpkin.  I had to convince Michael to do it outside.  He didn't want to at first because he told me it was too cold.  It was over 60 degrees.  I thought he was from Idaho.  ;)

 My very proud boys.

 Leah the fire house dog.

 Michael the fire chief and his fire fighters.  I am the victim that was rescued with the fire house dog.

 Uncle David invited us up for a carnival.  We had a great time.  The putting was Joshua's favorite.

 This is cousin Vivian she is fishing.  She is so great with my kids.

Joshua fishing.

My Cute Kids!

Busy Week

Joshua had to big firsts this week. He had his first cavity fixed. He did so great!! The dentist was so impressed that she allowed him to pick out two toys. He decided to pick out one for him and one for Dallin. He is such a sweet boy! I also had my first parent teacher conference. It kind of makes me feel old. He is doing really well. Joshua's teacher loves how he is so well behaved. It makes me feel like I got an A in parenting. ;)

Dallin is learning his letters. He pretty much just loves the letter D. He doesn't care much for any other letter. We took the kids to the carnival at Joshua's school. Dallin was so good all of the tosses. He is our little athlete. He has decided that he doesn't need to nap anymore. It has been working out okay so far. He needs one about once or twice a week, and usually will tell me.

Leah is crawling around and putting everything in her mouth. She will pull the electric outlet cover out and put it in her mouth. Silly.

We were invited to a costume Birthday party yesterday. We had a great time! The boys are being fire fighters for Halloween so they got to wear their costumes to the party. They have actually worn them quite a bit. They just like to play in them. They are big fans of fire fighters. Joshua will talk any fire fighters ear off if given the chance. Leah is going as the fire house dog. She is a cutie!

Michael took the Scouts camping this weekend, and had a good time. I think now that the weather is cooling off life is getting busier. :)