kitchen helper

As Madison and Allison continue to grow it makes me sad. They no longer think it is fun to help me in the kitchen. I love that Ashley will still come and help me bake. It is going to be a sad day when she grows out of it. We had a lot of baking to get ready for Thanksgiving and Ashley was such a big help. Ashley and I had a great time and got everything done that needed to get done for Thanksgiving.

Girls weekend

This past weekend Madison and I went to Utah for a girls weekend. We met my sister and niece to attend Time Out for Women and Time Out for Girls together. We attended Time Out Friday and Saturday. There were so many wonderful speakers. Madison and Anna really enjoyed Carmen Rasmussen and Jericho Road.

Even though this was my third time this year and I had heard a few of the speakers before, I would go again if they had another one this year. The schedule is already out for next year and they are coming to Boise in September and I can't wait. Time Out for Girls will be coming too. I hope Madison treasured our time as much as I did. We also got to visit with my brother while in Utah.
Madison had a good time with Devany. She thought Madison was great. Madison just has this special touch with little kids and they just love her.

Beautiful Music

At the end of 6th grade Madison was on the fence about taking band again. Thankfully she had several friends taking it in 7th grade so she decided to take it. She is doing great at playing the saxophone. I am so glad that she decided to keep it up. Tonight the band had their first concert of the year. The 6th graders played first and who you can really tell a difference in one year. I love that she is learning to play an instrument but is also enjoying it. Her progress is amazing. Keep it up Madison it sounds great.

YES!!!!

Apparently I say no a lot. Today Allison would come in and ask me if they could do something and I would say, "Yes." After the the 3rd or 4th time she asked me if I was feeling ok because I never say yes. That actually made me really sad. I don't want all her memories of her childhood me saying no. I am going to work on letting go and letting them be kids. A mess can always be cleaned up. I will never get their childhood back. So that being said, one of the things I said yes to was painting. The kids are always asking and I am always saying no. They has a great time and there really wasn't a mess so I don't know why I haven't let them.

I am going to work on saying yes more and letting them have fun. They sure look cute painting.

Fall Fun

Allison has been asking to go and rake the leaves all week. I knew that I couldn't just let her go out and I was still getting over my cold. Finally today I gave in and we all went out. The street we live on is so busy so I just can't let them play outside unless I am with them. Some might think I am over protective but I don't care. I only get one chance at raising them so I am not compromising on things I truly believe in. I do believe Madison is mature enough to watch them but she was at school. We got the rakes out and then I remembered that I hadn't planted my bulbs yet so we did that too. At first it was all the kids raking and I was planting the bulbs but soon the girls were doing all the planting.
I didn't mind. Once the bulbs were all planted then the kids went and played in the leaves that Porter had raked.
They took turns burying each other(something Allison learned from her Uncle Scott and Aunt Carol). Ashley, Elahn and Porter thought it was great. Next they took turns running and jumping in them.
The leaves entertained them for well over an hour. It was great watching them play and have so much fun. We have a bunch more leaves to fall so I am sure this won't be the last time they go play in the leaves.

Night Night

Last night Kevin and I went on a date. When we got home I sent Madison to bed, she came back out and told me I needed to see Ashley. I went in and checked in on Ashley. Madison and I had a good laugh. I thought it would be fun to know what she was thinking so I took a picture so I could ask her in the morning. I had no idea what I was about to hear. She told me she was trying to stay awake till I got home and Winnie the Pooh would not leave her alone. He just wanted to keep hugging her. I love her imagination.

Girls picture

My kids are always good sports. For as long as they can remember we always take birthday pictures and then once a year I get all three of them together. There isn't a specific time of year that I do it. It is fun to do it at different times. This is the time that I would like to be doing a family picture but unfortunately the man of the house is not as cooperative as the girls. Our day kind of got away from us so this was a quick little photo shoot up at the train depot. I think it turned out ok. It is always nice that the girls cooperate.