Christmas Concert

This year I thought Riley would be old enough to come to the Kansas City Symphony's Magic of Christmas concert. It was such a great concert!!! Even after 4 performances, I was not sick of it. It was very entertaining. It started off a little rocky for Todd and Riley though. After the first two numbers, Riley turns to Todd and says, "Is it over yet?" But, by the end of the concert Riley said, "I wish I could listen to 10-more minutes of this!" When asked what was his favorite part, he said that he loved the syphony's version of The Polar Express and he loved it when Santa gave him a candy cane.

Santa Claus

Look who popped by our house last night!

 

Ava's Christmas Dress

Thanks to Grandma Charlene, Ava, Audrey, and Kara all had the same darling Christmas dresses to wear this Christmas. Ava absolutely LOVED how puffy this dress is. She loved to run in this dress. I wish I had had my camera at church because she would not stop running up and down the halls. We all love the dress Grandma. It was a big hit!

 

Swim Lessons

We have finally put Riley into swim lessons. It has taken a while, but we feel he is finally ready. Ever since he was a baby, he has absolutely LOATHED getting his face wet. I'm talking red faced screams, flailing arms hatred. Most kids hold their breath on instinct when water gets on their face. Most kids that is except for Riley. When water gets splashed in his face he ALWAYS inhales. We have been working with him a lot on that for the past 6-years and he is finally more comfortable with water near his face. He still doesn't like it, but he can handle it with no problems.

In his swimming lessons this week, he was supposed to dive under the water (in the super-shallow end) and get a diving stick. Well, Riley was not going to have any of that. Instead, he figured out how to pick up the stick with his feet and started teaching all the other kids how to do the same. It was hard not to laugh :)

Recital Pictures

Here are some pictures from the recital. Most of the pictures were taken by my friends. So, when I get those pictures, I will post more.

 

 

Riley's First Recital

Riley had his first piano recital tonight. He made a few mistakes, but his attitude made up for it all. (I won't even mention that he had two weeks to learn the darn song but refused to start practicing until Friday night!) That kid is quite the performer! My favorite moment was at the beginning when he made a few mistakes and then start laughing and said, "Just wait". Let me tell ya, he was the only one who was not bothered in the slightest by his mistakes. I loved it. The bow at the end, however, pretty much did us in. You don't get to see the other kids perform, but they were ALL very subdued and nervous. Well, not little Riley. He is 3-years younger than my youngest student, so maybe it is just that all the insecurities of youth haven't had a chance to settle yet, but he showed no fear...or maybe he just has some Mike R. in him :) Hopefully this is just one of many recitals that Riley will perform in. I'm thinking I see Carnegie Hall in his future :)



You can't really hear it, but Ava came up at the end and added some of her own notes to Riley's song. Riley just laughed. He thought it was great.

Ava Says Choo-Choo

It figures...one of Ava's first words is "Choo-Choo". This video is the best we could get her to say it, but she says it super-clear all the time. What is it about kids NOT doing what they normally do as soon as the camera turns on?



And, total side note, but isn't her headband totally adorable? Thanks Aunt Annastacia and Grandma Charlene; We love it!

Dr. Love

Today I was informed by Riley's kindergarten teacher that Riley has been playing a game, with all the other boys, called "Doctor Love". Apparently they go around and try to kiss Maddie...who actually is pretty darn adorable. However, there is a strict no kissing rule for kindergarteners in Mrs. Deets class. Todd and I are totally not ready for all of this to start yet, but we think it is so funny and can NOT stop saying, "Dr. Love" over and over with all the soap opera'ish accents we can think of. Dr. Love...Dr. Love...Dr. Love. Seriously, you gotta try it. :)

Evolution of a Family Picture

Why is a good family picture SO hard to come by?

And finally...the only decent shot in the bunch. :)

Mmmmmm.....

Mmmmm...chocolate.

The Arboretum

We enjoyed a day at the Arboretum a couple of weeks ago and I'm just now posting the pictures. This place is like a little slice of heaven in the middle of a city. It is wonderful.

Turkey Treats

Todd and I made these darling turkey cookies for Riley to take in to his class today for a Thanksgiving treat. They caused quite a stir. We had a hard time keeping the kids away from them until snack time, and all the faculty were in awe over them...even though several of the turkeys looked like they had been through electric shock therapy! Here is the link to these cookies if any of you want to make them too.

Has Anyone Seen The Boys?

This is CLASSIC Riley and Tanner! Gotta love it :)

Little Buns

I just couldn't resist!

 

Boo at the Zoo

We had a lot of fun going to Boo at the Zoo on Saturday. We didn't know that kids were going to dress up and that there would be trick-or-treating, and I'm kind of glad. It was too hot for the kids to wear their costumes AND I didn't want to deal with trying to keep them clean. Blech! It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun.

Kindergarten Halloween Party

Riley had such a cute party in his class for Halloween. It is my first experience being a room mom and it was fun. I made delicious sugar cookies with spider webs on them and brought in a whole bunch of spider rings to pass out...which I did not get any pictures of. (Hey, I'm still learning how to do this room mom thing). All of the kids in his class looked so adorable, which you would know if I had taken a picture of the whole class (there's the learning curve thing again). The day started with a school-wide costume parade for the parents. (Riley's teacher is the slice of pizza) Then it was off to recess while we set up all the games and activities. It was a fun party.

We're Back

Our computer is finally fixed...hooray!!! Which, of course, means that I can start blogging again. Whew! I have a lot to catch up on. :)

Trunk-Or-Treat

The boys had so much fun at our ward trunk-or-treat carnival. So much fun in fact, that I did not feel bad in the slightest when they did not trick-or-treat on Sunday. The boys loved their costumes! They were so excited to dress up and go play and get treats. Our next door neighbor Joshua (Zurg) came with us. It was a lot of fun.

Ava was Dorothy, though we had some trouble with her ruby slippers. You see, our children are born huge. Everything about them is huge, including their absolutely adorable marshmallow feet. Every one of them had marshmallow feet when they were teeny, including Ava. The poor thing can't fit into any shoes except the Robeez leather ones. So, I fashoned some red fabric with red glitter onto her shoes...which lasted all of 2-minutes before they came off. Oh and don't even get me started on her hair. One of these days I'll get the hang of getting an even part on a girl who won't sit still for anything.

We took a lot of videos, but didn't take too many pictures. So, here is the token picture and one of my favorite video clips.

Riding Bikes

Guess who can ride a bike with no training wheels? Riley! He practiced all weekend and is now able to ride like a pro. He is so proud of himself and wants to ride ALL the time. Tanner also loves his bike. He especially loves to ride in the street. (sigh...)

 

 

 

 

Grandpa Jim

My Grandpa Jim. He lived to be 89 years old and was such a good grandpa! I am so thankful to have been able to go to Utah to celebrate his life with all my family. The only word I can think of to describe the weekend is lovely. Everything about it was lovely. We did a lot of sitting and talking about grandpa, his life, and what he meant to all of us. Grandpa did not want a formal funeral, so instead we had a viewing up in Nephi, a dedicatory prayer at the gravesite, and a delicious picnic afterward. Again, it was lovely. Just perfect. Granpa Jim, you are loved. xoxoxoxo

Halloween Costumes

We just got the boys' Halloween costumes off of Craig's List and they are a HUGE hit! Riley is Darth Vader, complete with a mask that makes the Darth Vader breaths. Tanner is Captain Hook complete with a sword, telescope, and puffy shirt. They are excited!

Darth Vader was bested by Captain Hook...Arrrrr Matey!