Tired Little Girl

Jared tucked her in.

There are times when you wonder why they have 3 Ward meeting in one church building. We are currently on the 1-4 rotation. It's is absolutely horrid for my little Sicily, she get's SOOO very sleepy. About once a month Jared is able to get her to go to sleep during Sacrament Meeting, but sometimes it's not even that often.

This Sunday was not one of those Sundays. It didn't help much that Jared and I had meetings after church so we didn't even head home till after 5:00. She finally zonked out on the drive home. She slept like this, on the couch, all through dinner and we just carried her upstairs and put her to bed. She slept like a baby ALL night. But I tell you, skipping dinner, she was VERY hungry the next morning. :)

Another Halloween Party

Can you tell who he's supposed to be? If you can't....that's just sad.

INDIANA JONES!!! Come on! You had to have guessed that one. I've decided I love London ever so much, because he picked the easiest costume in the ENTIRE world. Just love my kid. :)

This was actually a Birthday Halloween Party right next door and filled with 9-11 year old neighborhood boys. Football players, Dr's, Vampires, and of course Indiana Jones. Jared was out for the night so I was home with the other kiddos and just watched the happenings through the window. They looked like they had tons of fun.

And I swear we now have enough candy to pass out on Halloween night due to all the parties my kids have been to lately.

Happy Halloween!

Feeding Oreo

We got an awesome new cage for our rabbit from our next door neighbor. Did a trade for our Hampster cage we've never used.

Anyhow, Sicily is now in Heaven. Because Oreo is right at her eye level. The problem is she keeps playing with her food bowl and won't let Oreo eat. The poor little thing had to keep hopping back and forth as Sicily moved her bowl all around WHILE she was eating.

Obviously from that little grin you can tell she did not feel guilty in the slightest.

Head Hunters

Spirits and Headhunters: Vanishing World of the Amazon

After seeing the Terra Cotta Warriors we headed downstairs to a much less crowded but just as interesting exhibit. I am just loving the Science Museum lately. Of course you can't take your camera in there so these are the outside shots.

We saw AMAZING bird feather head dresses (they keep the birds as pets to get the feathers, I was happy not so many birds were dieing for the sake of their cool hats), earrings that were a foot long (the rod that went through the ear holes was made of bamboo), weapons that were so intricately decorated I'm surprised they would actually use them (they even had a harpoon type spear that was pretty cool), and so very much more.

Oh! And we learned how they make shrunken heads and why. But I'll only write about that if people want me to, I don't want to make anyone sick. :)

It's just amazing that places and people like this still even exist in our world today.

London DESPERATELY wanted to buy this for Aunt Marlene for Christmas. She has SEVERE arachnophobia! Little stinker.

Watch where you stand Phoenix! This is what he's asking for for Christmas. I'm all for it, but they are just a bit out of the 4 year old Christmas size budget.

Terra Cotta Warriors

One of the Top 5 Exhibits in the Nation, a Must see! It was amazing! My brother, Evan, had the awesome experience of seeing these in China, in their actual burial plots. After seeing these in the museum I hope we can get to China one day.

We had a heck of a time finally organizing ourselves to get to this exhibit. What with soccer games every Saturday and about a million Birthday parties lately, we finally made it. But only because it was the final weekend so they stayed open round the clock. Thank you Houston Museum.
Phoenix was especially excited that these guys were WARRIORS! So cool: swords, armor, ninjas. Every 4 year old boys dream.

But you have to have a Master She-fu in every group (that's from Kung Fu Panda if you didn't know).

Feeding the Birds

Picnics in the park are just not fun unless you get to feed the birds. And these birds would eat just about anything.

Funniest Ducks in the world! I used to think Ducks were separated by breed just by color. But the little cotton ball tops never cease to crack me up.

I think these are the most tame pigeons I have ever seen. Sicily just about had them trained to eat right out of her hand.

I loved this shot of Phoenix. He has an easy GQ way about him.

Try to guess what's in the mouth and in the hand. Jared guessed an apple in her hand and a chunk of apple in her mouth. Any other guesses out there??? That's a boiled egg in her mouth and an apple in her hand. Yep...that's my girl. They never do seem to learn how to take small bites that go with their small mouths. Not sure if she actually finished that egg. I think the birds got the most of it in the end.

Houston Fire House Museum

My wonderful sister, Marlene, took my kids to this awesome Fire Museum while Jared and I were in Guatemala. Well, while learning about Policemen and Firemen in Preschool we decided to go on a field trip.

So much fun!!

You get to play on pretty much everything in this museum. Which rocks for preschoolers!

So after MUCH, MUCH coaching Phoenix FINALLY climbed up that ladder and slowly, with my help, slid down the pole. He went up after that multiple times. But I was required to help him down the pole every time. I honestly don't know why he kept doing it. Don't really think he even enjoyed it.

Sicily on the other hand, LOVED IT!

She also enjoyed a little dance on top of the Fire Truck!

Where Phoenix LOVED swinging off the Fire Truck! I told him this was how the real Firemen did it.

Fire Ladies though ... just look too darn cute in Uniform.

Columbus Day at the Zoo!

I just love free days at the zoo. And if you get there right when it opens you don't have to worry at all about a crowd. I took just Phoenix and Sicily because the other 2 were in school, they were not too happy about that. But us 3 had fun all the same.

We met some other Moms there and ended up splitting our group in half cause the kids just wanted to go different directions.

Phoenix's favorite is definitely Cheetah's, Lions, Tigers...pretty much anything that can eat you.

Sicily and I loved these little chipmunks and the cute tiny armadillo (first one I've seen here alive actually).

The aquarium has the coolest tunnel right through all the fish. I swear those are piranhas (I told Phoenix that anyway). Sicily wasn't too excited at first. So after I snapped the shot I rushed to the other end to coax her out. After that she just kept going through over and over. Funny kid.

Gotta play with the Ground Hogs. Phoenix's first, dark tunnels are not usually his favorite, but he liked it this time.

These otters just swim ALL day, I swear. Every time we come to the zoo I have to click on the video for these cuties.

But this guy was my favorite. Cute Orangutan, hiding under his blanket eating his lunch. He'd lift it up and peak at all of us for a bit then cover up and start eating again. These guys are always so entertaining.

And so you all know we got rained on a lot this day. Got trapped under a cover by the elephants for a good 15 mins while it just dumped. But the kids didn't mind, we got to watch the elephants take a bath. Sorry though, the pictures just did not turn out.

Avril Lavigne

All my friends seem to be going to concerts lately. We are just not that lucky. But my kids frequently do put on concerts for our entertainment.

Aspen got invited to a Hannah Montana, Pop Star Birthday Party this weekend. After finding just the right clothes, and styling the hair just so we were not quite sure which Pop Star she was. Avril Lavigne came to mind. :) So I popped in the CD for her to listen to and she was hooked.
Now I know Avril is not the best role model on the planet. But I really do like her music and she has some really fun outfits. :) So it's all good.

Hiding!

Our "little" Charlie, all 100 lbs of him, is rather afraid of Thunder and Lightening. We've been living in Texas long enough that we know when it's going to be that kind of storm, so we always bring Charlie in before the real noise starts. Then, bless his little heart, he follows me all over the house to make sure I keep him safe. :)

That being said, I don't think he was hiding from the storm in this shot. Pretty sure Phoenix was chasing him around the house either trying to lasso him, or tie something to his tail. Poor thing, he's just loved too much for his own good.

New Hair Do!

London and Phoenix told Aspen she looked like a hedge hog when I got done putting these in. So when Jared came in the room we told him, "Look, Aspen has a new Halloween Costume." Now I'm not going to tell you exactly what he guessed she was going to be, but let's just say it'd involve some Black Hair Spray Paint and it was not a Hedge Hog. :) Needless to say, that will not be her Costume as it would not be very appropriate in the South. But not wanting to put in curlers that night, we went for a softer bun type curl for school the next morning. Aspens hair, though straight as a board, takes curls rather well. But spongy curler curls last much longer on this girl. By the time she got home from school at the curls were gone. Alas! But she enjoyed them while they lasted.

Caught Another One

If I start pulling them out of his pockets when I'm doing his laundry, I will not be surprised. This shot was taken 2 days ago. This morning at 6:30 am he caught another big ol' frog while helping London feed the dog. Maybe we just need to move away from the humidity then we won't have so many critters to capture.

I'm envisioning squirrel traps in our future.

Breakfast at my House

Jared came home last night and pulled out the jug of milk. "Why is there a fork in the milk??"

One word: SICILY!! She is a curious little bugger and getting more inventive every day. I swear, we have another Aspen in the making. Cracks me up!

Tennis Stars

We had some time to kill Saturday night. The weather FINALLY decided to act like fall, actually dropped down into the 70's, so we grabbed all the rackets and headed to the local tennis courts.

The kids absolutely loved playing tennis. Sicily was in Heaven chasing those balls all over the place. And I honestly think we may have finally found London's sport. We're signing him on for lessons ASAP. Phoenix, it must be said, will do much better as a Baseball player. :) Aspen spent more time running down the near by hill than playing tennis.

And somehow, with all of that action going on, Jared and I still managed to get our heart rates up playing a game ourselves. We're not good enough to keep a proper score just yet, but I'm pretty sure I won. :)

No this isn't actually my dog, but I could totally see him doing this. Usually he's got his football plus a few stuffed animals jammed into his mouth all at once.

Volleyball Tournament

We had our 2nd Annual Stake Relief Society Volleyball Tournament on Saturday. And I must say our Ward gave it our best effort.

We totally rocked the 1st half of our first game. Given I am the most awesomest server ever, I know, I'm being modest. ;) I totally can't overhand serve, which means I would bomb in any pro games. But when it comes to church ball, I ROCK!! I can aim it straight at that one crappy player 6 times in a row. Then when they all think that's "just where she serves" and they're all congregated around that spot, I hit it into their rather unprotected areas. :) Hee Hee!! So sneaky! Then they're all sorts of confused, it's pretty funny to watch.

Needless to say, my amazing serving skills were just not enough. The tournament was double elimination. We lost 2 games in a row so we were out. But we gave it a big fight. Loads of fun, but we're just not pro. :(

Lost Another One?!?!

I didn't even realize it was that loose. Aspen has lost 6 teeth and only the bottom ones have grown back in. She's now working on the 2 side bottom ones. Seriously!! This kid is going to need dentures before too long if those teeth don't grow in soon.
Now she just sings, "All I want for Christmas is my 4 front teeth!" all day. It brings new meaning to that song with the lisp is for real. :)

Frog Races

What an adventure Den Meeting was today. I never knew how much boys have changes since my time. The other Den Mom said, "What has happened to kids these days." None of my 4 Bear Boys would even touch those frogs at the start of the race. We literally had to place one in each of their hands. They're 9 for goodness sake. They're supposed to be outside with BB Guns and they can't even pick up a frog.

I think this one eventually touched the frog, but he never would hold it.
London, aka Mister Joe Cool, only held the frog after one of the other boys went first. Very true to form for London.

Here's our first holder showing off his stuff. And since he got first dibs he also got the tiny frog, which was the fastest, even though it never did hop in a straight line. Always making a bid for freedom.

I gave this one the fattest and slowest frog on purpose. I thought if I could get him to hold it I didn't want it to jump out of his hands too much.

On your marks...Get set.....GOOOO!!

And a kiss for the "almost" winner!

I'm Going on a Frog Hunt!

Seriously!

I'm the Den Mom over London's Bear Den. We're learning about Jungle Safari's this month so I thought I'd kick it off right with some Frog Racing. We live in such a humid climate that every night, when I take my dog for a walk, we pass at least 3 frogs...at least! They just split my Den down to 4 boys, which works for me. So I caught 4 frogs! Which was lucky since that's all I saw.

Those little buggers are quick though. I was glad I brought the butterfly net or I'd never have caught them. And, to my credit, I didn't even have to touch 1 to catch all 4. Yeah me!!Frog Race pictures will be posted tonight. We have Den Meeting this afternoon.

Air Hockey!

By far, the best $30 I ever spent. You just gotta love Garage Sales.

Our little city had a city wide garage sale. Whoever wants to participate pays $15 for a parking stall, puts all their junk in it, and starts selling at 7:00 in the morning. I purchased this little baby at about 7:05. Gotta get there early if you want the goods.

And I'm not sure if Jared or the boys were more excited about this purchase. It's been constant noise ever sense. We are currently the neighborhood boy hang out.

I only wish now we'd found a way to save it for Christmas. But honestly, how the heck do you hide something this humongous?

Dang Spaghetti

You ever notice how the spaghetti is rather slippery when you open the box. And those boxes are really hard to get open! I swear I dumped half the box on the floor, so annoying.

10 Years and Running

On September 3, 1999 I married the man of my dreams for Time and all Eternity in the Bountiful, Utah Temple. And I have never looked back. I love my Jared so much, it's just amazing. Like every couple we've had our ups and downs. But 10 year, 4 kids, 10 homes, and many States and Countries later we have one rather AWESOME marriage with plenty of stories and even more memories. I can not even imagine what the next 10 years will bring! I love you Jared!I know you're thinking these are the funniest looking flowers you've ever seen, and yes they are, but they come with a story. Let me share.

When Jared and I were dating I came home one day from the worst day of school and work ever. I was completely grumpy and not happy at all. As I walked into my house there on the kitchen counter were some flowers. You know how they usually wrap flowers in celophane? Wll these were wrapped in Newspaper, so I couldn't see them. And there written in magic marker it said, "To Suzy." I was so excited and knew they were from Jared, so I started to opened them up and the phone rings. It's Jared of course, acting all sweet and inoccent to my question of if he left something for me.

Now, like every girl I was expecting Roses or Daisys or something of the like. But instead I find the biggest Mum/Dandylion/Sunflower thing I have ever seen. I swear the stem was as big around as a quarter. All I said to Jared was, "What the Heck is it?!?" He busted up laughing. Which is exactly what I needed that crappy day.

He said he ment to buy me some Daffodils, which are my favorite, but when he pointed out what he wanted to the flower shop lady she thought he ment the Mum thing. She then went all off about how glad she was he wanted them, how she thought they were so pretty and no one ever bought them. Jared just didn't have the heart to tell her that he didn't want them either. He's such a sweetie!

So yes, for my 10th Anniversary flowers I did not get Roses or Daffodils, I got a big HUMONGUS Mum, and I love it.

Picking on Brother

Phoenix does get his just deserves every now and again. These 2 have so much fun together.

Fire in the Neighborhood

About 8:30 yesterday morning I got a phone call from one of the working Mom's on my street asking me if everything was OK. I had no idea what she was talking about but she said there was a fire in my neighborhood happening right then.

We stepped out to take a look and sure enough, Fire Trucks everywhere. This was the end result.

All sorts of gossip flying around now, but man! Check this out, it's crazy. They think it was arson, that the couple was splitting up so the man burnt all her things. They were only renters and the owner lives in London, I sure hope they all had insurance.

I'm mostly sad about the house though. Every night when I walk my dog I love walking past this home, it's so pretty and the landscaping was so nice. So sad, I hope they figure out what happened.

Little Brothers

Whether they're older or younger, brothers are still just brothers.

We came home late the other night to find this big ol' frog on the drive way. Phoenix is rather brave when it comes to critters, so he chased it down. We brought it inside to have a closer look and he promptly chased Aspen through the house with that ugly thing. She was screaming bloody murder while Phoenix laughed the entire time. He's 4 1/2 and she's almost 7! Why do brothers do this? I will never understand.

Jared tried to convince Aspen that if she kissed that ugly frog it would turn into a Prince. She was NOT convinced!

Singing to Her Baby

Happy Birthday Sicily, Again

This little girl LOVES babies, real or toy it does not really matter. So it was rather easy to decide what to get her for her Birthday.

All the baby supplies required for a little 2 year old Mommy. So excited!!!We love the baby carrier, rather convenient. And about 10 bottles later these babies will be well fed.Happy Birthday again little Lady!