Grateful

So grateful. A perfect week with friends and family. Thanks, everyone... especially for the pictures, Britt! :)

Happy Thanksgiving Week!

Check this out... this week I attended my third 1st grade "feast". One of our favorite teachers puts together this elaborate feast every year for her students, complete with costumes.

I, for some unknown reason, volunteered to cook a turkey for the event. Here's the problem... I've never done this before! (and Corey was out of town!!!) This particular feat was more than a little intimidating for me... I got the turkey in the oven by 6:15, (after a phone call to my mom asking for advice on how to find the giblets!!) and everything seemed to be going smoothly... I took it out a little before 9, let it sit while I finished getting the kids to bed, and then got all set to carve the thing. I broke into it and had serious doubts about it being completely done. (I even made my dad come over!) This is something that completely freaks me out, so back in the oven it went.... when I was STILL carving the turkey at 11:30 p.m. (yes, it was definitely done by then!!!), I was then having serious doubts about my sanity.

HOWEVER, after all that... when I attended the feast the next day, it was all worth it. The cute pilgrims and indians completely won me over. So. adorable.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Congratulations!

The Greenlaw kids were well represented in the first awards assembly for the school year. It was Ellie's first assembly, and she received the "Academic All-Star" award!! She was so happy, and so was I! Noah received a "Character" award as well as "Principal's Honor Roll" for his straight A's... do I sound like I'm bragging? I guess I am...

Noah especially has been ON HIS OWN this year as far as homework goes... 4th grade is a year of increased responsibility and he has handled it very well academically! He pulled this off while also participating in two after school sports- cross country and soccer!! I have been busy helping the other kids with homework... 1st grade is amazingly demanding!! Seriously. And I feel like I am taking pre-algebra yet again!! So, congrats to you guys!!! So proud. Keep it up!

Happy Halloween!

We hope you had a very sweet night!

Happiest Place on Earth

For four years, we have been talking about taking the kids to Disneyland when they were these ages... 12, 9, 6 and 4. No diapers, no naps, tall enough to go on most of the rides, but not too old to complain. Well, we did it and it was SO worth every second. We had more fun than we even imagined. The kids were all in heaven, and so were we. I think we might even do the next trip in 3 years!!! Thank you, Disneyland for a magical time.

Pumpkin Patch

I had to also include a few pictures of Aidan's soccer game this week... He was so cute... He ended being goalie for about 5 minutes, and it was interesting, to say the least. I think he danced the whole time... VERY entertaining. Can't wait for next week to see what he does...




We were able to go to the pumpkin patch yesterday... Everyone is very kind to me... they all wear their Halloween shirts, even Corey... They know that I am REALLY there just for the pictures... (and I guess a pumpkin or too....) We tried another patch out this year... There are so many fun ones to choose from around here. I'm not sure why, but I LOVE going. It's been a tradition for so long that October would not be the same without a trip to a patch.

sports galore...

This fall has been a flurry of activity... Austen's been cheering every Saturday for her favorite football team!! She looks adorable out there, and really doesn't stop when she gets home... the cheers continue all week long.

Noah has been doing cross country as well as soccer practice for the past few weeks... he is working HARD, to say the least... He loves it, though... When he comes home from cross country as red as a tomato, the last thing I expect him to say is, "That was fun!", but he does!!!

Soccer games started yesterday for Ellie and Noah... they both did a great job... they are both new to the sport, but they dove right in and did their best. Every time I caught a glimpse of Ellie's face, she was smiling. I'll take that as a good sign! Aidan actually starts next week... that's when our Saturdays will get very interesting as we juggle four kids and four locations and times. Wish us luck...

My baby is FOUR!

I can't believe my little dude is four years old. I am grateful everyday for laughter he provides. He truly is a hilarious guy, and he makes life soooo interesting. He is adored by all, and we love every little moment.... even the crazy ones. He is so looking forward to being a "big boy"... but, he will always, always, always be my baby.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

SnapPea Photography

So, Britt (my sis) is launching a new website... She can take a fantastic pic!! We volunteered to have our pictures taken.... lucky us!! They turned out beautiful. I am so excited for her... THANK YOU!!

You can see more at http://snappeaphotography.blogspot.com/

Preschool and Playgroup

This week, Aidan's schedule got a little busier... (for which he is very happy!!) He got to start PRESCHOOL and PLAYGROUP. This to him is VERY exciting... he has known for a while that he would go to school when he got "big". He has a birthday later this month, and we have talked extensively of things that will happen when he turns 4... he'll sit in a booster, he'll eat green beans, he'll "not be a baby, but he'll still love me"...

So, when we got in the car to go to school on Tuesday, he asked me, "I am big now??" He's SO cute! He watches his siblings do all sorts of fun things and has been left behind many, many, times. It is finally HIS turn. He IS getting big. I can hardly believe it. I am so happy that he will "still love me". I also LOVE that when I asked him what he did in preschool, he replied, "No, Mommy... first YOU tell me what you did ALL BY YOURSELF!" :)

AND... playgroup! What can I say? I'm a huge fan of playgroups. One morning you get to play with your child and their friends... every other morning, I can do any number of things for 2 1/2 hours!!! (how do I choose??... gym, work in the classroom, scripture class, any kind of shopping ALONE, etc....) It's definitely a win-win. The kids and I had a blast yesterday and I was almost as excited for it to start as Aidan. YEAH!

One more thing... I asked Aidan what his "job" was this week in school... he said he was the "Flag Floob". I asked him to repeat. WHAT??? "The Flag Floob", he said... "You know, when you say 'Under God' with your hand on your heart." OH! I said, "You did the 'Flag Salute'!" "Yea", he said with a smile.