Sweet Little Shepherd

For Christmas, Jed's preschool put on a Nativity for the parents. The kids all had costumes and sang cute little songs. Jed played a shepherd. They were singing a song about giving gifts to Jesus, so he is sticking his hands out to give gifts.

After the show. He was so happy Chris and I could both watch him. He kept waving to us from the stage.

Costume shot. When the show ended, all the parents were clapping. Jed had the BIGGEST smile ever on his face, as if everyone was there and clapping for him. Love this little boy. There is a visit with Santa and some Joseph beards coming soon, stay tuned!!

Conversations with Jed

On the way home from preschool

J: God and Bumblebee are magic.
Me: Hmmm, I think maybe Heavenly Father is powerful.
J: No, no, army guys are powerful because the have whoopins. God is magic.
Me: I think maybe heavenly Father is more powerful than all of them, even Bumblebee. He created Bumblebee, so he is stronger.
J: Bumblebee is magic too.

Jed and Chris were playing about a week ago. Jed ended up kneeing Chris in the unmentionables. As Chris was trying to recover, Grace started in on him. He told Grace she had to wait a minute. Jed looks at her and says "I broke him!"

Holiday Fun

Last night we decorated the tree and made a ginger bread house. Thankfully a wonderful lady from our ward gave us a kit and all we had to do was decorate, so it went well. The kids all decorated a side and ate some stray candy. While the icing was drying we decorated the tree. I set it up and put lights on it earlier in the day, so all we needed was ornaments. The kids were SO happy to help. All they needed from time to time was a lift from daddy.

Our cool hats from Melyssa for Thanksgiving. It was quiet and calm and wonderful.

Jed told me he was going to be a pilgrim when he grows up. Better than nothing I suppose.

Busy

A busy couple of weeks have passed, but they were great fun, and we had the chance to see family. What could be better? Nothing new is going on, we are preparing for Thanksgiving and the kids are writing letters to Santa. Just being cute. A baby is usually attached to her in some way.
The kindergarten at Grace's school had a feast/program for the parents. They sang songs and dressed up. Grace had the only speaking part out of 81 kids. She was so proud!

Cute Pilgrims and Indians.

Jed took it upon himself to draw a face on his belly. Pretty good for a little boy doing it upside down. He follows daddy's lead.

Here is belly face talking to Grace. It wanted kisses.

Ironman Florida

My super hero husband completed his first Ironman this weekend. He did awesome and it was amazing to watch. Here is part of the swim, in the ocean, with big swells. Not so easy, especially 2.4 miles of it.

After the swim, heading out on the 112 mile bike ride. CRAZY!

Almost at the finish line after 26.2 miles of running. He started the race at 7 am, and was done with his 140.6 miles of working out at around 8:30(I think).

After the race. I am amazed at his strength and willpower and dedication. He worked and trained very hard, but always early morning or late night, so he wouldn't miss time with the kids. I am so proud of him and honored to be his wife. I love you babe!

Halloween

Halloween on our street was a little disappointing. There were 2 other houses with their lights on, so after walking the whole street with the kids, we decided to leave for another neighborhood. I left our candy in a bowl by the front door, and we were off. We drove for a bit, and finally turned into another neighborhood, with no luck again.

So we went to another one, and had enough luck to call it quits. The kids had fun. A few people jumped out and scared them, and gave Chris and me a good laugh.

When we got home my bowl of candy was still full! Crazy.

By the way, I asked Jed if he wanted a bandanna for his pirate costume. His reply "NO, I am a captain, NOT a matey!"

Last Week of Soccer

Last week was the last week of soccer for the kids. I saw major improvement in both kids. At the end of the last game they handed out goodie bags for the kids, including a trophy. BIG hit!

Jed still wasn't into the actual mechanics of the game. He just liked to run around and play with other kids. It is fun and frustrating to watch at the same time. You want him to have fun, but you also want him to actually TRY and kick the ball. I did get a shot of him right after he kicked it.

Grace throwing the ball in. She scored the last week and was so excited. It was all she talked about for the rest of the day. I was watching Jed's game, so I missed it, but Chris says it was really good. She had a great time and is even going to play on the same team in the spring.

Carving Pumpkins

I love days when I don't have to cook dinner. It seems so much easier to get important things done, like blog posts. Tonight is trunk or treat, so in a few minutes it will be preparation madness. I thought I would have a rest before the storm.

On Saturday we carved the pumpkins we brought home from the field trip. I was dreading it, and was going to just let them color on them, but they didn't like that idea. Thankfully, the goo inside the pumpkins was easy to get rid of, so it was easy. And they loved it. Grace in her typical cute fashion.
Jed would get grouchy when I scooped out the junk for him. He told me I was doing it all and he needed a turn.

The results, kind of. I cut off the bottom half of the jack o lanterns, but I LOVE this picture of Olivia. I don't know what she was so happy about, but it makes me laugh to see it.

Jed's Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Jed's preschool had a field trip to the pumpkin patch on Wednesday, so Olivia and I tagged along for the fun. It was a beautiful day, bordering on hot, but Jed really wanted to wear his Halloween shirt. We went on a hay ride to the pumpkin patch to pick pumpkins and sunflowers. We then went to the barn to learn where food comes from and then went to another barn to pet some animals. After all that, Olivia, Jed and I tried the corn maze. We came out the same way we went in, but neither of the kids know that, so a good time was had by all! Olivia trying to feed the chickens. She tried to feed every animal we saw.

Jed "milking" a cow. I guess he needed a better look at what was going on.

Jed and his pumpkin

Olivia and the pumpkin she chose.

On the wagon going to the patch.

Olivia

It has been nearly a week since Olivia's birthday, and I am just now getting around to it. I am pretty bad. Even worse, I have no pictures from her birthday. Not even one with her and the cupcakes, which she had for breakfast the day after! At least I was nice enough to have cupcakes for breakfast, right? In honor of her birthday, I have decided to just share a few things about the cutest 2 year old ever. So cute. She loves to be ticked, and then tell you to "stop it" Also requests a book and song before bed and nap.

As I was making dinner the other day, she decided she was not going to wait for me, and took a chunk of cheese. Funny little teeth marks.

She loves to play with Grace's doll house and must have the animals sitting at chairs around the table. I helped her here. She was trying to put plates and cups bigger than the table out for them. She kept telling me "eat", so I guess they needed food on the plates as well.

She plays with her hair when she is tired, and as she falls asleep. We often find knots it in the next morning. This is the worst one I have seen yet.

Her original artwork. The only child I have had that thinks it's okay to color on walls.

Happy Birthday Bugs! We love you and are so happy you are part of our lives forever.

Too Fast

The weeks seem to go by too fast. I swear I just posted yesterday!! I am glad they are not going slow, so no complaints, it is just hard to keep up! This weekend Chris took the kids to a park around here. He said it was amazing and they loved it. This picture was taken on the drive. Olivia just wanted to say "Hi" Here is a shot of the park. It doesn't show all of it. There was another section with a rocket. I suppose the kids were in heaven.

This is what Olivia likes to do during the soccer games. Well, this or run out on the field to give them loves, or put the sideline cones on her head like a hat. One of those is always a good option.

Jed with his team. He is getting better and almost scored a goal last week.

I love this shot. It encompasses all things microsoccer to me. . .fallen kids, a stampede after the ball, coaches trying to "herd cats" , as Jed's coach put it. I am assuming the ball is behind one of the players, and Grace is going after it, but we all know what assuming does.

Random Happenings

Now that school has started and we are in a good routine, I feel like we don't have anything exciting going on. We are more than ready to be done with the heat, but I won't be complaining in January when it is still nice.

The other day we had some work going on outside our house and Jed and Liv were pretty excited to be so close to the action. We ended up opening the van up and having a picnic snack while watching the workers. Jed wants to be a "worker" for Halloween.
We went mini golfing again, and Grace got a hole in one on this hole. She was so excited to get her free tokens. It was too good to pass up a picture. She was SO happy. Love the pose.

Also, the other day we were all in the car, and I hear the following conversation between Grace and Jed

Jed: What color is she? (I am a little concerned hearing this, so I listen even closer)

Grace: White.

J: White? (totally confused, Grace is a little bothered he is questioning her)

G: Yes, white, like us.

J: OH! Shes peach!

I guess they realize there is a difference, but Jed wanted to make sure that we were the right color!

Soccer

This last weekend started an adventure filled season of soccer for Grace and Jed. It was hot and humid and tiring, but also fun, exciting and well worth it. Jed is on a team with 3 and 4 year old kids, so you can imagine the chaos. They don't keep score and have no goalie. They are trying to teach fundamentals and love of the game. It was great.

Here is Jed's team(green) giving 5 after the game. They didn't know you had to walk and stick your hand out at the same time. Jed is 3rd in line. Grace's team doing the same thing. They understood the walking part. She is also 3rd in line in light blue. They are called the Dolphins.

Jed running for the ball. He was so nice and didn't want to take the ball from the kids who were kicking it, so he just ran around with them. When he does get the ball he goes for it!

Grace during practice. She was trying to score, and she did. She had a rougher day because of some mean boys on another tam, but we told her next week would be better. I just hope she doesn't hate it in the end.

Trampoline

As an early Christmas present from their Grandparents, the kids received a trampoline. There was a deal too good to pass up, so we did it now, and maybe will even put a bow on it again for Christmas. Jed was a good helper and put it together with me. It was all done when Grace got home from school, and the night was spent playing and jumping. Some favorite new games are crack the egg, fox and rabbit(a blind fox trying to get jumpy rabbits) and running as fast as you can in a circle until you fall.

I am exhausted already. Hopefully they will be too!

Favorite Prophets

Last Sunday in primary the kids were asked to draw their favorite Book of Mormon prophets during the week, and have them ready for this Sunday. Well, my kids were all about this, and the task was done that night. Jed came up with Captain Moroni, and has even wanted to be him when he grows up. Grace and Jed have played Captain Moroni a few times in the last week. As you can see there is a Title of Liberty in his hand. He is holding a sword in the other hand. The circle with a line in it is a shield, and there is another sword on the left hand side of the page. The box with lines through it is his house.

Grace chose Ammon. She is a little more detailed in he drawings. There are a few very happy sheep, and a very happy Ammon, after cutting off a few arms. Notice on the left is an arm that is holding a sling shot, and well as having a bloody stump. I have to give her credit for knowing her stories.

I think it is awesome they both were able to think of a prophet to draw, as well as remember the story that goes along with him. I guess something is sticking in their brain.