Happy Veteran's Day!

My entire life, my father has always made it a point to hang the flag on patriotic holidays. I loved it. I've always thought it was very important to hang the American flag whenever possible, and couldn't wait to start the tradition with my own home. Unfortunately, we live in Las Vegas where all the houses are made of stucco and I missed two major holidays because I didn't have the right equipment. I was bound and determine to get the flag up today for Veteran's Day. We purchased a new drill with more power and today I finally succeeded. I was so proud to hang that flag! I'm so proud of my Dad, Mike, the grandpa's and their families who have all sacrificed so much for our country. I'm so proud to finally be able to show my support and respect for all those who have served and our serving our country with a flag outside my home.

Halloween

I was so excited to celebrate our first Halloween in our new house. Too bad I didn't really do much decorating until the day of, but it was a fun-filled week. The kids certaintly got my money's worth out of their costumes. Between school parties, trunk or treats, and the actual night, I got pretty sick of those things. We were a Star-Wars themed family this year. Jacob was Darth Vader, Jonah was Commander Cody, Elle was Queen Amidala, and Mae was R2D2. A lot of people asked if I made the costumes, obviously people who don't know me too well. I'm not that crafty and don't know if you even really save that much money. Anyway, Elle's costume stole the show I thought, and that little trooper wore the mask even though it would cut in to her little chubby face. Mae picked up on trick-or-treating REALLY fast. Even though she couldn't say, "Trick or Treat" she would go up to the door and shake her pumpkin up and down. It was hilarious. She also would not let me help hold it for her even though it was really heavy. Guess she was on to me. We went around our neighborhood with the Tingey's and Traci and Samantha came too. The neighborhood was awesome and lived up to my expectations. It was a great night.


Oh, how cute is that pumpkin face in the upstairs window? I got the idea from Family Fun. It's just cardboard and tissue paper.

Trips

I don't know why I can't get my act together with blogging. Probably because we've been going through a computer change (we now own our first desktop!) and because I've been borrowing my mother-in-law's camera for the past month (thanks Carol!). But I'm sure my once-a-month posting will change with my birthday right around the corner (you now have a REALLY good excuse to get me a camera, Bud).

ANYWAY, things have been great. We took a couple of quick trips in the last month to Utah and Arizona. Bud had a mission reunion in Salt Lake the first weekend in October and afterwards we spent a day in Park City. It was such a blast! We took the girls on the Alpine Slide and the boys on the Coaster (so awesome!). Mae did so much better in the car and it put me at ease for our Arizona trip just two weeks later.














A couple weeks ago, we headed down to our old stomping grounds in Gilbert, AZ, to see our super good friends, the Fuller's. Our kids got along great and even got to wear their Halloween costumes a week early for their ward's Trunk or Treat. Thanks so much Dana and Chad!









Oh, and btw, has anyone seen the Hoover Dam bypass lately? I think I may have a little trouble driving over that thing! It's crazy tall!!

First Day of School (seven weeks late)

Finally downloaded my phone pics. All the kids looked so cute on their first day. Jake and Jo did great at their new school and noticed funny things like newer computers, nicer lunch ladies, and no cracks in the blacktop. : )













Elle did shockingly well at her first day of preschool. We pulled up and she said, "Bye mom!". I told her I had to take her inside to her classroom and with a sigh she said, "And then you'll leave?". Needless to say, tears weren't really necessary.

Happy Birthday Bud!

Just wanted to wish my dear hubby a happy 34th birthday! You are fantastic at all that you do! We love and appreciate you so much!

Hilarious

I know, I know, I need to post about the first day of school, but I had to write down the conversation I had with Elle and Jonah this afternoon before I forget. I told Elle she was so cute I could just eat her up for dinner. She said, "But if you eat me I won't be part of your family". Then Jonah said, "Yes you will, you'll just be inside her stomach. Then you can come out and start all over again and you'll be smaller than Mae."

Oh kids...

Mae's 2!

My baby turned 2 yesterday. I hate that with each kid, time seems to go faster and faster. I love this little brown-eyed beauty. She's a love-bug and I think she's not really talking yet to make her still seem like a baby to me. Hope you had a great day Mae-Mae. We love you so much!

House Pics

Well, after all the dumb drama over my camera, now it's broken. Luckily, my friend Dana was in town last week and after helping me wrap up some projects, she let me borrow her camera for some pics of the house. Here are some of the most completed rooms. Most of the house is still quite bare, but I've got a LONG time to fill it.

Master bedroom:









Girls room:










Family room:









Kitchen nook:

I'm Baaack

Hooray! I've found my camera (it was in the glove compartment of my car) and have the desire to blog again! So happy! First, a catch up post. Here are the last two months in a nutshell:
Last day of first grade for the twins:

Last days in the Stoddard's house:











Twins got their yellow belts in karate:











First night in the new house:









Fun evenings playing in our new backyard:













Mae had spaghetti for dinner and an ice cream sandwich for dessert. Lovely, isn't it?


Not pictured because I was missing my camera:
Elle's gymnastics recital
Nana and Pogger came home!
Hours and hours of playing with cousins
Lots of swimming
Still unpacking

I'll have a post with some pics of the new house soon!

Lost

I've lost my camera in the move somewhere, which should make me happy since that might make Bud buy a new, better camera, but we don't have time to even think about that right now, so I'm just sad that I'm missing out on little experiences my kids are having like swimming in their new pool for the first time, making Father's Day projects at Home Depot, Father's Day itself, and spending time with their onslaught of cousins. And let's face it, blogs just aren't as much fun without pics.

M.I.A.

I cannot believe it's been so long since I've posted, but moving has kind of taken it out of me. Things went really well, I'm loving our house and new area, but I'm kind of burned out and have come to the point where if you can't see a box from the front door, that's good enough. We're so excited to be here. The boys started cooking camp this past Monday with their cousin, Samantha, and are loving it. Bud's parents come home in less than two weeks so we're spending a lot of time down at their house getting it ready to go. Starting Sunday, the festivities begin. My dad's getting released as bishop, there's Father's Day, we've got lots of family coming into town Sunday, Monday, and Saturday, there's just all sorts of stuff going on. I can't wait! I'll try to post some pics soon, of what, I'm not sure, but Bud has taken my camera and I can't seem to get it back. Anyway, back to unpacking...

6 weeks and 16 days

Today marks 6 weeks until Carol and Will come home! We cannot wait! I've dubbed it the Stoddard Summer '09 since it will pretty much be a party from late June through July. In 16 days we'll offically move into our new house, which is making me feel a bit overwhelmed since all we've done as far as packing goes is to unload our old stuff that was in the storage trailer:

We've been so focused on our new house, getting repairs taken care of, painting, floors, landscaping, etc., I forgot that our stuff won't magically appear there when it's all done. I'm going to need to start packing, but I don't know where to start. So, I'm going to procrastinate yet another day and think about what I'll miss at this gorgeous house.

#1 - The central vacuum system. I LOVE IT! I don't know what I'll do without it, but one day, I vow to have it again.
#2 - The basement. A room where the mess can build, but you don't see it and they can be as loud as they want, but you don't have to hear it - fabulous!
#3 - The laundry room. It's huge, maybe that's why I only did laundry about once a week, because I could just keep piling it in there.
#4 - The three fridges and four freezers. What will I do without my beverage fridge, breakfast fridge and lunch and dinner fridge? So sad.

And #5 - The neighborhood. The trees and birds are amazing down here. I love how lush it all is.

I know there's more that I'll realize as we move and live without, but I'm excited to move one and see what I love about our new house. I know one thing already - we only have three bathrooms instead of five to clean. Yippee!

Hallelujah!

Well, the day has finally come! We closed on our house today - we are officially first-time homeowners! After almost 5 months, we got the house I posted about a couple months ago, and I could not be happier. It is overwhelming and so exciting at the same time. If anyone has good references for painters, plumbers, flooring, and pool fence people, let me know. : )