Pacie's missing something....

HER FIRST TOOTH!!

Pacie's been working on losing her bottom tooth for a few weeks now. In late summer she was eating corn on the cob and bit hard enough to loosen her little tooth. Ever since it's been wiggly, but not until last week was she ready to brave the actual yank.

A couple of nights ago was attempt number 1. Scott pulled a few times-but it just wasn't quite there.

Then last night....one little tug, and out it came!

As you can see, she was very proud.

The tooth fairy did come and visit, and 4 quarters later, Pacie is one happy camper...minus a tooth!

Better late than never...Halloween FINALLY.

I have been such a slacker as of late with my blog. I am just so crazy busy all of the time that it's one of the things that has been getting neglected. So, even though it is almost Thanksgiving, I shall try to update my blog...and get caught up with our exciting lives.

We had a great Halloween. Since it was on a Saturday, it was kind of spread over two days. The kids had their parade and parties at school on Friday. It was FREEZING outside, so the parade was a mass of shivering kids running passed the parents in an effort to somehow stay warm! I was then able to help out with Pacie's class party. There was tons of candy and treats.

On Saturday, our ward organized a trunk or treat at the church at 2:00. We got the kids all ready to go, and forgot the camera. Everyone had a fun time-and we, of course, were the last ones out of the parking lot. And when we attempted to start our car...the battery was dead. Neither one of us had our phones. So, Scott had to go neighbor searching for someone to come and give us a jump. It was an exciting end to a fun trunk or treat.

We waited a few hours and then took the kids out to a few houses around Osgood, going of course to see Grandma and Grandpa Landon and Mamie and Gramps.

I was really cheap with the costumes this year. I found Landon and Presley's at Old Navy during a Stuff-n-Save weekend plus an additional 30% off. I got Landon the dragon and Presley something that we called the "Love Bug" mostly because we weren't exactly sure what it was. I talked Parker and Pacie into being a cheerleader (my old gear from ERJHS) and a China Girl (Parker's dance costume from last year.) A pair of tights, tennis shoes, and chopsticks later, we were good to go. And I think they turned out darling. Here are some highlights.

**A side note about Landon the green dragon. Before the trunk or treat, I painted a little pink nose and some hearts on Presley's cheeks. Landon said he wanted his face painted too, so I got out the green and got to work. I don't think he expected me to paint his entire face because he was really angry and started crying before we left for the trunk or treat. He had two little white tear tracks all the way down his face. Everyone at the church was very complimentary about his green face and when it came time to go trick or treating, he was all ready for me to touch up the face. Full Green. Funny boy.

Parker the "China Girl"

Pacie, the Cheerleader

Darlin' and Landon with Daddy

The little Love Bug

Pacie with her kitty pumpkin.

Rawr! Dragon Boy.

So mischievous!!

Parker took a time out from her parade and class party to take a pic with Landon and Presley. We took the kids in their costumes so they could wear them more than just once!

Here is Landon at his preschool Halloween party. We painted these Halloween shirts and then everyone wore them the day of the party. I am loving having him in class with me. He is so much fun, and is one smart cookie!!

The kids with our neighbor and Grandmama.

Parker with Gramps

Landon with Gramps

I was kind of a Bronco Superfan. My costume was a jersey, visor, and black under my eyes. So exciting.

The kids with Mamie and Gramps. They gave the kids apples with caramel dip and puddings. Those were a HIT! The kids wanted those over any of their candy.

A Sneak Peek!

Here's my favorite shot from Halloween.

Watch for a longer update later!! :)

What's been going on....

I have been neglecting my blog as of late. We have just been busy-running around and living the dream. You know...work, cleaning house, doing homework, running kids to dance and piano, laundry. The typical dream life. I live it. :)

Here are a few pics of what has been going on.

Practicing our dirty faces at the sisters... getting cheeks painted....

Getting to spend lots of quality time with Landon-both of us sporting our Smart Start Preschool t-shirts.

Going to the pumpkin patch and picking out pumpkins!

We got a new kitty and named her Charlie. Fingers crossed that she makes it! Female kittens have had a hard time surviving at our house.

Making homemade chicken noodle soup...

Making homemade earrings. (Parker is obsessed with earrings-:)

Talking on squash phones...

Carving pumpkins! Always a fun thing to do in our family. This was the first time that Parker carved hers all on her own! :) Will post pictures of finished pumpkins later.

Pacie had to finish up her homework before she could carve her pumpkin. She wasn't pleased..but finally got it done and she poked out her kitten.

Extremes

I was thinking the other day about motherhood. And the extremes that I go through on a daily basis parenting our kids.

Presley is at a really hard stage right now. She is a little destructo. This week alone she has gotten into fingernail polish, lipstick, an entire brand new industrial size bag of goldfish (which she subsequently dumped onto the floor), a loaf of bread, a glass pumpkin lid (which didn't survive and even cut Pacie's foot in the process) and just this morning she got into a box of powdered donut holes and spread them all over the carpet. JUST THIS WEEK ALONE. Here is a peek at her trail of destruction this morning.

And then there's Landon. There are many many tales I could tell about him. Just a couple reminders.....the paper shredder incident and the carpet fingernail polish incident. Another recent favorite is when he and Presley are in the tub and they splash to the point of totally flooding the bathroom. In fact, they've been caught several times doing cannonballs into the tub off of the sides. Please notice the filthy dirty shirt and the crumbs all over the couch. I don't know why he was eating on the couch, mind you...but there you go.

When things like that happen, it is very difficult to keep my cool. I do always try to look on of the bright or the funny side of things. I do try to remember that these moments are small ones and do not have eternal consequences.

And then I see pictures like this:

And have moments like this:

And I know why I have extremes. Because I love these kids more than life itself. All of my kids. These two are just cause the most anxiety at the moment. I love being a mommy. And the extreme frustration and discouragement is completely balanced out by the extreme love and adoration I have for all of my kids.

And I guess it's true what they say: You can't know the joy without the sorrow. You can't know the good without the bad. And I'm sure I wouldn't appreciate the good days without the bad ones.

In the meantime, I will just keep trying to laugh and remember that my kids will be grown and gone in the blink of an eye. And I will miss those powdered donuts scattered across the floor.

Happy Halloween...a couple of weeks early!!

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Happy Anniversary, Scott

Today, 9 years ago, Scott and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple. It was a beautiful sunny day. It was also the beginning of something I only could've dreamed of. Scott is truly my best friend, my biggest supporter, and the most amazing daddy to our kids. I am so grateful that he is forever mine and that there have been "no complaints or doubts". I love you, Scott! Happy Anniversary!