Pickin' Berries

Last year we had such a fun time picking raspberries & the kids couldn't wait to go back again. This time we decided to bring Daddy along. We went on Monday night for FHE and we had such a nice time! There were so many berries & the weather was perfect. It was a nice cool night with a beautiful sunset & we were all enjoying nature while eating a couple of raspberries. The kids each got their own little buckets tied around their waists & soon began picking & eating the berries. Hallie would fill her bucket a little bit, eat them, & then come and ask me if she could have some of mine. Morgan would fill her bucket & then dump them into Brian's & Jackson worked so hard to fill his bucket up to the very top all by himself. Brian & I had a really nice time picking our own berries & hearing the kids around us. After gathering around 8 pounds of berries & some blackberries, we went home and Brian made us some delicious raspberry shakes. They were so yummy!!! Yesterday I made freezer jam & then we had more raspberries, pancakes, & the best buttermilk syrup for dinner. We all love raspberries & it's a fun tradition we've started for the beginning of fall.
 
 
 
 

Our Sweet Morgan

I am so glad that Morgan came first in our family! She is such a good big sister & helps me out SO much! She loves taking care of Landon & loves to watch him play & laugh. She is usually seen with him being carried on her hip or close to her side. She is very creative & I miss her imagination during the day when she is gone to school. She loves school! She loves her teacher & friends. Morgan is very sweet, caring, & sensitive. She doesn't like to be in trouble and recently she told me that she doesn't like it when people tell her what to do. (mmm sounds like her mother) Morgan LOVES watermelon & pudding & would eat it for every meal. She loves having me write notes for her in her lunch box & likes to read the notes to her friends. One of her notes from Brian back-fired when she read it wrong to her friends. Instead of reading, "Morgan is a hoot" she read it as "Morgan is a HOT girl!" She wondered why her friends kind of gave her a funny look. :) She also can't wait to loose her first tooth. I keep telling her that I cemented them in because I don't want her to grow up. :) Morgan just started ballet with her best friend, and LOVES it! I didn't know if she would like it or not, but on the first day she was dancing all over the place & really enjoyed it. She is such a cute girl & always makes us smile. Morgan LOVES catching bugs! She came home the other day from school with a grasshopper in her backpack that she had caught on the way home. The next day she found a praying manthis (Daddy's favorite bug as they call it) & helped Jackson create its natural habitat. Morgan is very affectionate & loves to feel loved from everyone. She is such a sweetheart & we are so grateful for the happiness she brings to our home.
   
 

Our bud- Jackson

I always tell Jackson that I am so glad Heavenly Father sent him to our family. He knew we needed a Jackson in our home & lives. Jackson is so much fun to be around. He can always make us laugh. He loves telling knock-knock jokes & most of the time they don't make any sense. :) However, they are very clever & always make us laugh. Jackson loves playing with dinosaurs & trains right now. I was nervous that when school started, he would just want to watch T.V. all day. I have been so happy that he spends most of the day being creative. In the first picture, he got really creative & combined Thomas & his friends with the dinosaurs. He & Hallie played for a while & even invited me to play with them. Jackson loves to go outside and throw & hit the baseball. He has a really good arm & can hit the ball clear over the roof, fence, or wall in our backyard. He loves to help Morgan catch bugs & is all boy. He is very also very sweet. The other day while Morgan was at school & Hallie & Landon were taking naps, I told Jackson I was going to take a nap while he watched a movie. While I was laying there, just before I completly woke up, he leaned over and kissed me on my cheek. It was very sweet! He just had his first day of school & has been so excited about it! He loves going to school with his best friends Makell & Daniel. Jackson catches on to things really quick! The other day when Morgan found a praying manthis, Jackson came to Brian and said, "Dad, we are using this box so we can build his (the bugs) "natural habitat" we need to find some leafs & bugs for it to eat so it can live in it's natural habitat!" :) He also mentioned to us that there are over 40,000 different kinds of spiders! :) Jackson loves to laugh & make people smile. We are so grateful to have him in our family.
   
 

Hallie... the smile says it all :)

I told Brian the other night that Hallie's personality is so big and is bursting at the seams of her little body trying to get out! She is SOOO funny! She is usually very happy & "high-spirited" (like her name means) and then she also has her bout of 2 year old tantrums- which includes throwing herself to the ground if she is tired or doesn't get her way. Here are her favorite things to do lately:
-Change her clothes at least 5 times a day. ( I never understood this concept when one of my friends little girls changed outfits every day. I thought, why not be more forceful and tell her to keep her clothes on or she would go to time out.) I then had Hallie & learned that after telling her that for the 3rd time and she still changes clothes to just let it be. :)
-Wear Morgan's clothes, especially dresses with out any shirt on underneath.
-Run around naked or with her shirt off- once again, I try all day to teach her modestly and finally I just think- let it be- we'll work on that when she's older. :)
-say cute words like "HUGE" she pronounces it "Huoooooogggeee"
-Get into candy. I swear that girl can smell candy anywhere in the house. I catch her many times standing on top of the counter looking for her "potty" treat.
-Getting into things. The other day she found the sugar (picture) and realized how good it is. I tried to tell her that it wasn't very good and she looked at me and said, "It's not yucky Mommy! It's yummy!" I then explained, as she was scooping it out with her hands, that it was Daddy's sugar & he would feel sad if we made a mess.
-Hallie is very understanding. She knows when she is in trouble & will go and sit in time out. She is also mischevious & has a mind of her own. I will say to her, "Hallie, you can get dressed or go to your room for time out" her response- "I go to room for time out" :)
-saying, "Please Mommy! Can I have just one more"
-Trying so much to be like her big sister & big brother
-watch Cinderella & pretend like she is the princess. The other day she told me that she wanted to be Cinderella & Daddy to dance with her like the handsome prince. :)
-Having little "accidents" and at least 2 or 3 changes of underwear & still thinking she gets a treat when #2 did not make it in the toliet.
-Making us laugh
-Learning to pray & saying prayers by herself.
-Going in Landon's room and saying "Landon is awake!" As she climbs in bed & lays by him, even if he is still asleep.
We love our little Hallie. She is like a ray of sunshine. She always makes us laugh & is such a little sweetheart. She is going to make a big difference in life, and we're grateful she's ours.
   
 

Sweet Little Landon

Landon is now 9 months old. I feel like the time is going so fast with him. There are many moments when I just want to sit and hold him & let time stand still while I enjoy this baby phase. He is such a little sweetheart. Any time during the day, when I may feel sad, stressed, overwhelmed, or even just perfectly content- I hold him and feel an extreme amount of peace & comfort. He is such a happy little guy & loves to smile. I think he has a sneaky sense of humor & loves to play "peek-a-boo" with us. He loves to watch Morgan, Jackson, & Hallie and loves being around them. He is eating table food now, which is really nice, other than Hallie trying to help him by feeding him anything she can find. He has 4 teeth on top & 2 on the bottom and has the funniest crooked little smile. I'm hoping the teeth come in a littel straighter. :) He has started clicking his tongue & saying "Mama" especially when he wants to eat something. I love that he is sleeping through the night & that we can leave him with a babysitter, and yet I love that he is still my little baby.
   
 

New Park & Decorations

We have a new park here in our city and it is so nice! The city had a big celebration day for the Grand Opening of the park so we decided to go. There were so many people there! The kids loved the little ride & ringing the bell for the horn to blow on the train. We all had a nice time & decided to go back later when it wasn't so crowded. Last week we took the kids and got icecream and then went to the park. It was such a nice night. We loved watching the kids as they wanted to show us different things, and Landon & Hallie loved the swings. They even have a nice splash pad there which we'll have to try out next year when it's warmer. I love those moments when we can just sit back & watch families & kids play together.
 
Our wall in our kitchen was red, and needed a change, so when Brian went on his fishing trip, I stayed up late every night & painted it- yep purple. :) I showed him the color before & painted it while he was gone so he couldn't disagree when he came home because of all my effort. :) He said, "Wow, it's really purple!" It's actually an eggplant color & came out a little brighter than what I wanted, but we do like the color & I love the end result with all the pictures on the wall. The scrapbook paper pieces on the wall are actually covering cork board, so I will cover those with more picturs & some of my favorite quotes- that is when I have time. I love the big pictures of the kids & the overall look.
Oh, and my stools used to be cherry but I wanted them black to go with the rest of the kitchen. My friend taught me how to make them look distressed and I love the end result of those too. The kids love that they have color on them.
 
 
 

Labor Day- Payson City Onion Days 10K

I decided to run in the 10k to help keep myself motivated for the 1/2 marathon I signed up to do. I told Brian the other day that I hate running, and yet at the same time- I love it! :) It was nice having a group of friends to run with, however, they were all like Speedy Gonzales & raced to the finish line! I felt more like the turtle- slow & steady. :) Nicole was so sweet! She hadn't registered for the race & at 10:30 the night before, she told me she wanted to come & run it with me & cheer me on. It was so nice running with her. It made the hour go by fast & we were able to talk & enjoy ourselves until mile 4.5 when I was exhausted! I didn't know where the finish line was & she was like my personal cheerleader saying, "Come on Melissa! We're almost there! You're doing great! The finish is so close & you'll see Brian with a big smile on his face!" ha ha ha- it worked. We ran & pushed to the end & seeing Brian was exactly what I needed for that final boost. At the end they did a drawing & they drew my name last. I won this handy little MP3 player- very cool! :)