Fall leaves pictures

Liev came home with this cute booklet he made about the fall leaves.  He is getting so good at drawing and writing his letters!

Canning

Canning season has come and gone already and I got a few things bottled this year.  I have quite a bit still in my storage so I didn't have to do everything this year, but I did get the few main things bottled.  We used our last jar of pickles just as the cucumbers were ready for pickling.  I got two bushels of cucumbers from a small farmers market and they were the best!  Perfect size for pickles.  I bottled about 35 jars and I'm sure we'll go through them this year.

We went and picked plums as a family one night and the kids had a blast.  I was going to make plum jam but we ended up eating a ton of them and I gave some away and didn't end up making it.  But we still had fun picking together!

And Beck kept Desh company while we were busy getting our baskets full.

I ended up picking at TON of grapes this year and made so many beautiful looking bottles of grape juice.  This is our favorite thing and we enjoy it all year long.

 And of course I bottled some tomatoes.  Beck was my tomato helper this year and loved being able to be in charge of something.  His job was to pick out the good tomatoes and wash them.  He took his job very seriously and was awesome!

So our storage room is full again!  

Motorcycle hands

Desh is such a funny little guy and has been figuring out his hands and feet lately.  He'll hold his arms up like this for minutes at a time and I think it's hilarious.  It looks like he's been riding a motorcycle for too long!

4 months

Baby Desh is 4 months old!  What?!?  We sure love our smiley, happy baby.  Oh how he has made our life better!  He is the chubbiest thing with rolls all over the place.  I can't stop kissing his cheeks.  And the kids can't get enough of him.  He has completed our family more than I ever imagined.  We love him so so much!

4 months stats from Dr. Erickson:

Weight: 15.94 lbs - 72%

Height: 25.98 inches - 85%

Head: 17.1 inches - 82%

Ice Cream Bowls

One of the many memories that I have of my grandma and grandpa Losee's house as a kid involves these same little ice cream bowls.  I don't know how many times I sat at their kitchen table with ice cream in these beauties.  I asked Grandma not too long ago if I could someday have these bowls and she said I could just take them now.  She hasn't been doing well and said she doesn't have any need for them anymore.  So we took them and I love seeing my kids using the same bowls I did as a kid!  A perfect memory to pass along to them!

Uncle Greg

Uncle Greg has been a part of our lives for as long as the kids can remember.  We met him before we had Rease and have been close ever since.  Our kids love him like he is a true member of the family.  He is moving to Seattle soon and we are so so sad to see him go =(  He came to church with us this week and we snagged this picture of him and the kids before.  Such a great picture of them all.  We love you Uncle Greg!

Grand Piano

My parents recently moved and their new house is quite a bit smaller than their big house they had.  They got rid of a lot of their furniture and one thing they weren't going to take to the new house is their grand piano.  This is the same piano that I grew up playing on and they recently had it refinished.  It is so beautiful now and I was so sad that they were going to get rid of it.  So after lots of talking and convincing both Josh and my parents, we were able to take it as part of my inheritance.  I am so so excited about it!  And I know my kids will love growing up playing on this beautiful piano! 

Tummy Time

It's not his favorite thing to do but he's getting pretty good at his tummy time!  He's holding up that big noggin pretty good.

Big Cottonwood Half Marathon

 Since Josh didn't get to run his half marathon earlier this year, I talked him into training for one more and running it with me.  So we've been training for the Big Cottonwood half the past couple months.  It has been really fun to train together even though we don't get to actually run together very often.  Most of the time we run one right after the other just to make it easy switching off with the kids.  But no matter what, we are both happy to be in shape enough to run a half marathon together!  

This is the morning of the race at about 4:00 am.  Don't we look rested and ready to run!

 We got on the bus around 5 am and were at the starting line for about an hour before the race started.  It was really really cold up the canyon and even though these little emergency blankets don't look like much, they were actually really helpful keeping us warm before the race started.  We actually knew quite a few people that were running the same race and met up with them at the starting line.  This is Josh's cousin Kristina.  She was running with her husband and we ended up finishing right about the same time as they did.

And a bunch of our neighbors ran it too!  We trained a little bit with Stephanie Flint and her sister Becky on the left.  And Aubrey and Sim Aguirre on the right have run a bunch of races together so we are glad we could get a picture with everyone!  It was really fun to see so many people we knew!

 Josh and I made a pact that we would stay together the whole race.  I'm sure there were plenty of times that he could have gone faster than I did, but he stayed true to his promise and we crossed the finish line together at 2:02.  

The course down the canyon was beautiful and such a fun, downhill run.  I was so happy with our time and with the fact that we got to do it together!  This is a moment that I won't forget!

Keen's first day of preschool

Keen had to wait patiently for his first day of school.  He saw Rease, Rhen and Liev all start school and still had to wait a couple weeks before preschool started.  But when it finally did, he was ready!  All I have to say is "Kinder Cottage, are you ready for Keen?"

Pickleball Tournament

Labor Day is here and that means scones and pickleball!  We love doing this and it is so fun to have the neighborhood come together for the morning.

Greg was our official photographer for the day and I'm so glad he was there to get a few pictures.

We had a bunch of teams again this year and added another net.  The adults played on two nets and we had about 30 teams.

And on the 3rd net we let the kids have their own tournament.  I put Rease in charge of running the kids tournament and she did amazing!  Very organized and they had so much fun being able to do their own thing.

The games were close but in the end dad and Taysan had the winning team and got the pickle platter.  We had a great time as a neighborhood!

Rhen's Rule Book

Rhen came home from her first week of school with the cute school rule book!

Liev's 1st day of Kindergarten

Kindergartners started school a week later than the rest of the kids.  Liev could hardly stand that week that he couldn't go to school but the girls did.  Finally his day came though and he was ready.  I'm not sure if I'm ready though - it was hard to send my little boy off to the big old school!  But after a few tears were shed I pulled it together and let him go.  He was so excited.

 And cute Alivia Brown is in his class so he has a friend.

 He came home with this cute picture he colored and he was officially a kindergartner!

Rease's Toys

Yes Rease is 9 years old.  Yes these are baby toys.  And yes Rease has dressed all of these toys up.  I'm not sure why she does this, but we find these poor animals all over the house with some sort of costume on.  Sometimes it looks like they are hurt with bandages all over, other times... a hostage?  Not sure.  Whatever it is I sure love her imagination!

The kids

We had a lazy night out on the deck tonight just hanging out with the kids.  We've had this old mattress that we kept around so we could sleep out on the deck comfortably.  And we've actually used it quite a bit!  The kids look so cute just laying together.  Sometimes I can' believe that all these darlings are mine - it's crazy!

 And the crazy face picture shows what life at our house is usually like.  More often than not it's crazy, but we love it!

Desh in August

Oh we love our Baby Desh and the kids are always stealing my phone to get pictures of him.  Here are some of his best from August!

First day of school!

The kids have been so excited to start school and it's finally here!  Rease and Rhen were so cute and were beyond excited to be back at Butterfield Canyon Elementary.  Rease is starting 4th grade this year - CRAZY!!  I can't believe she's getting so old!  Love her in the overalls!

 Rhen is in 2nd grade and as always looks darling in her stretch pants!

These 2 girls are the best - I love them so much.  We are looking forward to a great year ahead!

Vegas Seminar

I went to a seminar with my dad in Vegas this weekend and found some notes in my suitcase from my sweet kiddos!  It made my dad to find them and know my kids were missing me!

 And I got this picture of all six of them from Josh.  I love all these cute faces so much - kool-aid mustaches and all!

 They were all there waiting for me at the airport when we got home.  Mr. Beck wanted to take my suitcase and said he could do it all himself.  He was so cute walking through the airport with this big suitcase!

 And Keen and Liev had the best seat of all!

Thanks kiddos for making me feel special and letting me know you love me while I'm gone!  

Handsome Boy

Beck's all ready for church and handsome as can be!

Crazy Boys

We've had a pretty crazy summer with our boys.  I'm not sure if it's having a baby in the mix or just that the boys have gotten to be at really wild ages, but I find myself really exhausted by the end of the day.  Sometimes I just have to say I'm going to make it and that's all.  There is so much kicking, hitting, climbing, wrestling, throwing, spitting, burping, fighting and punching that goes on at our house that I can't even keep up with it all.  But in the middle of all that craziness, there are some funny moments that I can't pass up getting on camera.  Here is a sample of what our boys do in a day...love them, but oh help me get through this!

Keen turns 4!

Keen is 4!  I can't believe it!  He is growing up so much and was so excited that it's finally his turn for a birthday.  We celebrated today with our family and close friends.

 Keen wasn't overly picky about what kind of cake he wanted, so I chose something that was pretty easy but cute.  This caterpillar and cupcakes turned out cute!

 Keen shares his birthday with two pretty awesome people.  Uncle Caleb and Melissa both have August 13th birthdays so we expanded our party to include them!  The cake was for all 3 of these special people!

 This is the perfect picture of our Keen - he loves sweets so much and I love that we captured him and the look on this face right before he's about to have his very own birthday cake!  Pure joy!

Present time is always the best.  Keen could hardly wait to open his gifts. 

 He was super excited to get his very own art set.  All the other kids have one and he can't wait to use his when everyone else is coloring!

Uncle Greg is a pretty special guy and especially to Keen since that's who he's named after.  This is a great picture of the two of them at Keen's party!

 My favorite things about Keen at age 4:

1) Keen is an eater.  He especially loves anything that is a treat.  I can always motivate him to help me out or to eat his dinner if I offer to give him a treat after.  I can pretty often find him in the pantry looking for a snack and can always count on him asking me for something to eat after he wakes up after his nap or comes inside from playing.  He can pretty much eat anytime of the day.  Those chubby cheeks don't come easily!

2) Keen is really looking forward to being in school in a couple of weeks.  He is so ready to be a big kid and have a backpack and go to school just like Rease, Rhen and Liev.  He has been watching Liev all year and trying to learn just like he does so I know he'll be a great student.  Preschool is going to be so fun for this kid and he will be a fun addition to his class!

3) Keen is a lover boy.  He is always the first one to compliment me if he likes my shirt or give me a kiss when I ask for it.  He loves to snuggle, hug and love on his baby brother and hang out on his dad's lap whenever he can.  He is a sweet, sensitive boy when he wants to be and I hope he never loses that side of him!

4 year old stats from Dr. Erickson:

Height: 44.49 inches - 99%

Weight: 45.19 lbs - 96%

Dr. Erickson asked Keen to look over his chart and he took that very seriously...

Happy Birthday Mr. Keen!