Haunted House with Grandma Redford

Grandma, Caitlin and Ryan decorated a haunted house a few days before Halloween! It was so much fun! Grandma piped on the frosting and the two little ones put the candy on....  Or put the candy into their mouth..... Or dropped it on the floor for Bella..... Some eventually made it onto the house!

Cute Cait....

Ryan's 'scared' face.... 

Ryans faces are sooo funny..... 

After awhile, Ryan lost interest.  So it was just Caitlin and Grandma who finished up.....

 Pretty Cute Haunted House!

Happy Birthday Shelly!

Torie helped me whip up Shelly's Birthday cake for her surprise party Friday night. We had so much fun creating and decorating together. We used my cricket cake machine....but used paper in it! The party was so fun! Our friend Elizabeth did a great job. It was nice to eat and mingle with friends! Thanks Elizabeth! AND... I got to snuggle with baby Micah all evening. It was divine!

Dough art

Our Sweet Caitlin is an artist! She loves to draw, cut, color, and create. I made pie crust dough for personal pot pies. I had extra, so Ryan and Cait wanted some of their own to make 'pies'.  Well,  this is what Caitlin came up with!

A little girl, the sun, and birds in the sky.

This is a vampire girl. Notice the eyelashes!

And a horse of course! 

"Mom, is this a ...."

Last night Ryan grabbed my onion keeper off the counter..... "What is this mom? Is it a keeny?"

Well, no. (I am trying to figure out what a keeny is....then he did this).....

HA! HA! HA! A BIKINI. That is really funny! And how cute is he? Crazy kid. 

Apparently he is already checking out chicks in nutshell bikinis! 

Happy Halloween!

I love this time of year! The changing of the leaves, the cooler weather, the smell of a wood burning stove... and of course dressing the kids up for Halloween! 

Here is my crazy crew ready for a party and trunk or treating. We caved this year and let Josh and Matt dress up what I consider to be 'yucky'. I don't like horror movies because I HATE being scared! Yet, here are my boys...dressed scary and bloody. They LOVED it. They were forbidden to scare Cait and Ryan if they wanted to live to see another day!   

Matt was a masked axe man. Not so bad!

Joshua wanted to be Jason. Totally creepy!

(He has never seen any of the movies. I am pretty sure the movies would scare him senseless!)

Caitlin was a zombie cheerleader. So cute. Too grown-up looking with that much makeup on.

Luigi. If you know Ryan, this is NOT shocking. The kid sings the mario bros songs constantly!

And what can I say. This kid is such a little gangsta! I love it. His poses are the best!

Grandma & Papa Redford are visiting for the weekend! Yeah!

Cookie Monster - forgotten

I made these cupcakes for Ryan's Preschool awhile back. 

And guess what? 1 kid, only 1 kid new who this was. (Gasp)  

Man - I feel old!

I love Sharpies but......

One morning, Ryan came into my room to find me (I was still snuggling in my bed) . He had just woken up and was hungry for breakfast. He hugged and kissed me, then he turned around.... and this is what I saw.....

What in the?????? I asked Ryan if he knew 'who had dun it'. He had no clue. Well, I figured it out! Matt had gotten in trouble the night before. Apparently this was his way of getting back at me!  He wrote on Ryans neck after he had fallen asleep! It was a good think he was at school, or Matt would have been in big trouble. Little Stinker. Instead, by the time he got home from school, I was cracking up about it! Lucky Duck! What will my kids think of next!

Hoodrat Ryan

I need some gangsta, I'm so thug......

Yes, here is Ryan getting his gangsta on. He was rockin his Mario and Luigi hat with his "no girls allowed shirt". He was just awesome this day. I think I laugh at him everyday, but this day was memorable! :)

Summertime Birthdays!

Matt turned 10 this last July! We had a fun day with all of his friends over for a pool Party. Even though it disappoints him not to have his birthday during the school year, he is the only kid in our family that can have a pool party!  So what are 10 things we love about our Matthew.....

1. He is so sweet with Cait and Ryan. (Most of the time)

2. He loves to give hugs and kisses. 

3. He will eat a whole bag of pretzels....on the sly.

4. His soft brown eyes and dimples.

5. His sneakiness. (We had to put a lock on the pantry door to keep him out).

6. That he still likes to lounge in his robe and underwear.

7. He is usually willing to help mom when I need him too.

8. He isn't a tween yet.  (Thank goodness)

9. He is stubborn and cute like his dad.

10. I'm still taller than him! :)

Mark also celebrates his birthday in the summer! It isn't a big hulabaloo for him and I anymore. But we still do a cake and a few presents for the old man. :) Here he is, sooooo excited to blow out the candles... I wander where our boys get their goofiness? I love you baby! :) Happy 36th.....

Are you Ready for some Football?

Josh and Matt both signed up for Football this year. Yeah! I am such a football mom. It has been so much fun to see them practice and play. They were very excited to get their gear. Josh wore his all the time..... Even to play guitar hero! Unfortunately Josh broke his thumb in a scrimmage game at the beginning of the season and hasn't been able to play since! His team is very good. They are undefeated so far! Go Storm!

Matt is so fun to watch on the field! He has fancy footwork. Doesn't like to get tackled, but he is out there trying hard to get the guy with the ball! Go Matt! He is on the Rage this season! 

First day of school.....I am way behind!

I haven't blogged in so long. I have soo many cute pics of the kids and all the things they have been up too. And I know you are all dying to see all of them. I need to hurry and update!  So here is the first day of school for my kids, which was in August! I wish we started school after labor day. August just still feels like summer to me! :)

Does this picture just say it all?  7th grade, waaaay to cool for school! Josh is such a ham! He loves being a goofball. Have fun in Middle School this year dude! :)

Here is our Matthew. Not wanting to smile big. He looks so suave and mysterious yes? He to is a goofball. Matt is a big 5th grader this year! Good luck Matty! :)

Here is our cute little Caitlin! She starts 1st grade this year. She is very excited! She can't wait to see all of her friends she has missed all summer long. Especially Lupita and Shirley! :) Good luck Kitty Kat! 

And last but not least...our Ry Guy. Ryan! He is in preschool! He's a little bummed he isn't in the big kids school. Next year!  

He is excited to be going to Miss Mindy's and Miss Nikki's preschools this year though! :)

Its almost here!

Back to school! WooooHooooo! I am so excited for school to be starting. We have had a great summer.

Death by Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcake...

I had some fun today with the kids. We made some yummy goodies for my girlfriends...

3 year olds....

Ryan found me in the kitchen yesterday while I was canning some pears. He looked up at me and said, "I want some strange cheese from the kickin." Huh? I finally figured out he wanted some string cheese from the kitchen. A while back he was talking about the 'toremaydoh'. Tornado. Another time he was enthuised to tell me that Bella was not barping (barking) at him anymore. Lately, if you ask him what he wants he will say 'anything'. What he really means is 'nothing'. Very confusing. He also likes to change his mind constantly. I will say "Ryan, do you what ...... la la la. He will say no. Then he will change his mind back and forth at least 5 times before I loose my patience and put it on the counter. Then he gets mad and throws it on the floor. huh. 3 year olds. We love em. But they have a mind all their own. :)

Heavenly Cowgirl...

Last night Caitlin, Ryan and I were driving in the car. Caitlin said "Mom, what will Jesus turn me into?" I wasn't sure what she was talking about, but I said, "When we die we will live with Heavenly Father, and we will look like we do now."

She was very disappointed and said "OH. I wanted him to turn me into a Cowgirl".

Here are a few pictures of one of Caitlin's 'gardening' outfits. This was when Jessica and I were putting in most of the plants in the backyard. She had to get 'dressed' appropriately to help plant the flowers around her cottage. She even did her own hair with bows and everything.

Wow! I wish my legs still looked this cute in a short skirt and boots. Giddy up!

Cowgirl Lessons....

Cait has been taking horse riding lessons this summer. (Again, sooo cute. Isn't she always? Her legs are so short... she has special stirrups. And when she tries to kick to giddyup it is hilarious because the horse can't even feel it.) Anyway, she is funny because when I pick her up from lessons I always ask her what she learned. She never really has much to say...I rode 'Grandma' the horse yada yada yada. But she never really gives me any details. So it is my favorite when she randomly tells me about what cowgirls do, usually we are out running errands or just hanging around the house when she mentions things like....

"Hey mom, cowgirls don't need water bottles. Cowgirls drink from a hose".

"Hey mom, this is how you are supposed to hold the reigns. (Demonstrates to me from the back seat) Cowgirls do it with 1 hand, not 2."

"I think I need those sharp pointy thingys for my boots". (spurs, uhhhh not a chance Cait)

"We should NOT get a bull. It would run us over"

"Cowgirls don't hold on to the horns, just when you want to lasso a cow" - Good to know. I wander if I could round up the kids for dinner that way?

"Cowgirls don't have to go fast, you can go slow if you want to." (Are you guessing she does not like to gallop? Therefor it is just fine to go slow. This is why she chooses to ride 'grandma' everyday.)

So, according to Cait, now you know how to be a cowgirl!

Ryan's Cootie Catcher

So today was Stake Conference at church. A 2 hour meeting with no breaks, hundreds of people crammed into the chapel and cultural hall. I have to admit, with 4 kids it is hard to really feel the spirit or hear anything for that matter, but we do our best. Isn't that what is important? :) Okay, so I was pretty sure the meeting was almost over. We'd heard like 6 people talk, the choir had sung twice, the congregation had sung the intermediate hymn. I looked over at Mark (who I am pretty sure was downloading midnight sun on his phone. Men can get away with that though, they just pretend they are reading their scriptures. uh huh. whatever.) Anyway, I asked him what time it was...10:07. Are you serious? We had a whole nother hour!

So I took Ryan for a little walk. We got a drink. La la la. Got back to our seats, and Mark had made Cait a Cootie Catcher. Very appropriate for Cait. The only friend names from school she can remember are all the little boys. Okay, so Ryan decides he wants 'one' too. Mark won't make it for him, so I told him I would. I am half way through folding the paper when Ryan shouts "I want my Booty Catcher". He will not stop screaming this over and over. I was laughing so hard I could not continue to make it, so he kept screaming, and I kept laughing, and he got so mad he wadded the paper up and threw it across the aisle. The man it hit just smiled. Nice of him to do so since we were disrupting the whole area we were seated in. So I had to pick Ryan up, screaming about his Booty Catcher and haul him out of the chapel. Him and I did not go back in. We went outside to look for weird bugs.

Ryan is probably the funniest kid I know.

Everyday is fun...in all kinds of adventurous ways!

Caits 'Red' Friday

School is back in session. I haven't blogged that yet, or alot of other stuff, I will do a recap later. For now, you get to hear about Cait. She officially started Kindergarten a few weeks ago. SSOOOOOO Excited! She could not wait to go to school like her big brothers. She loves all her new friends. She loves them so much she cannot stop talking during classtime.

The kids start each day with a green light. If they misbehave during the day, they get a yellow light, and if they are really bad (gasp) they get a red light. Well, too many days are Red days for Caitlin. Almost everyday we get a note home from her teacher letting us know how many times she had to talk to Cait about not talking. Cait will say "today, I got really really really red. Like 6 times red". It is so cute it is hard to get mad at her. (You know what I mean if you know Cait.) We have talked to her over and over about sitting still and trying really hard not to talk to her neighbors, but is just isn't working.

On Friday, Cait came home with bad news. She had so many redlights she got a behavior improvement paper aka BIP. Uh Oh. Not only had she talked all day (by the way, I am taking no responsibility for that trait, it is all on Mark. If he wasn't such a chatterbug and social butterfly, Cait would have inherited my quiet shyness and perfect behavior!) Anywho, so she got busted for talking, playing in the bathroom, and cutting off her hair. (GASP...not sarcastic this time) I have been nice mom about everything until I saw the haircut she gave herself during art time. Remember, we did this last Halloween! Fortunately last year she cut hair underneath so that the longer hairs covered it up. Well, not this time. This time she cut off half of one of her ponytails. I WAS NOT HAPPY. So she was grounded Friday night in her room. We cut paper. NOT HAIR! NEVER HAIR!

Long story short, she went to Ellie's saturday. Ellie's mom does hair. She gave Cait a really cute bob. Cait loves it. She can't stop flipping her hair around. So Cute. We love you Caitlin!

She really looks like me in this picture! How crazy. I will have to look around for a similar one of me. She had me take several photos of her with her new haircut. I loved her long hair, but I guess it is time for something new. Cait...you are growing up too fast!!! I wish you could have stayed 4 forever!