Carter's Friend Party Picture...OOOPS!

So, this was supposed to be with the last post, but it just would not upload, so here it is! My cute little almost 7 yr old anticipating that yummy ice cream cake!

Carter's Friend Party

Well, just like his older brother, Carter wanted to have a movie day with some of his little friends. Because Lindsey happened to be off, we took the whole family (plus a few of Carter's friends) to the movie Bolt. It was really cute and we had a great time keeping track of 7 kids!!!

After we went back to our house for ice cream cake and presents! I think it was a great time. For Carter's real birthday (December 20) we are having a party with Grandpa's work at the Family Leisure center (with swimming, food and the man in red).

Carter's Choir Concert

Carter has started taking choir this year and he loves it! He has always loved to sing, but is quite shy about it. So, we thought that maybe a group thing would be easy and fun. It has been working out wonderfully. He goes every Thursday with a couple of other boys and we have a great car pool thing going on (thanks Mel) so it is win win!

So, this past week, the choir, along with a teen choir, a ladies choir and a soloist, had a concert. It was amazing! The little guys (and girls) did so well! Carter actually sang and wasn't even (too) nervous! I have some cute video of him making binoculars as he is singing because he is trying to find me in the audience! It was a really great night and I love to see my boys develop and show their talents!!

Tyler's Preschool Concert

So, on Kayden's birthday (while he was playing basketball) we were treated to our first ever preschool concert! It was sure funny to watch (and listen to) all the little ones belt out the cutest Christmas songs. For the first several minutes, Tyler was very concerned about the boy that was standing next to him because he would not stop crying! Poor little dude. Finally, one of his teachers came and took him to his mom. Tyler was fascinated with the bells and sometimes got quite distracted by them.

Tyler realizing that mom is trying to take a pic amidst the million other preschool parents!!

It was a fun night and as soon as the songs were over, there was a mad dash for the treat table!

Kayden's Birthday

Our little dude is ELEVEN!!!! I can hardly believe that Kayden is 11!!! He is such good kid and we are so blessed to have him in our family!!

So, when your birthday is in December, life can be crazy. Kayden's birthday was the same day as his basketball and Tyler's preschool Christmas concert. Needless to say, it was a little busy.

So, the Saturday before his birthday, he and his friends went to the movies and then had cake and presents at the mall. It was a lot of fun and not a lot of work for me!

Kayden and his letter "K" cake for his friend party!



Sunday, the day before the real day, we had a party at Grandma and Grandpa Halladays, with cake and presents and lots of smiles!
Kayden hamming it up with Grandpa!

Ah....Star Wars

On the real day, we opened more presents after school and then it was off to b-ball for Kayden and to Tyler's concert for the rest of us! All in all, it was a great day!

Our Christmas Tree

We usually get a real tree for Christmas, but this year, since we are going to Vegas right after Christmas, I thought it would not be a such a good idea. A dead (fire hazard) Christmas tree is not what I want to come home to! So, instead of buying a big fake tree, Tyler and I set out to decorate our 2, 3 and 4 ft pine trees. I thought I would hear some protesting, but the only ones to complain were some friends who made fun of the size of our tree.

We had a great time decorating them, but of course, we had tons of ornaments and decorations left over. Tyler thought it would be a good idea to make him into a tree. So, that is what we did!! And here he is! Our little Christmas tree.

Every year, the boys and I like to build a gingerbread house. Last year, we did two. The first one was great, and the boys had a blast. The 2nd was a bit of a disaster! It fell apart and fell apart, and well, fell apart. After finally deciding to let each child decorate a piece, we re-read the directions and found that you were supposed to let it sit for 2-3 hrs before decorating! Yikes! Who can wait that long???

So, this year, I went to buy our annual gingerbread house and low and behold, I bought the 2-3 hr hold kind! UGH! Get it together MOM! So, we did the same thing and the boys each got a piece - which is fine with them! They love to decorate - and EAT the candy! So, alas, here are there gingerbread wall frames!

And, here is finally a pic of me with my new short hair. Too bad Tyler has his eyes closed!

Book Tag

Okay, so I have never been tagged before in the blogger world, so thank you Amy! Here goes:

Pick up the nearest book to you, open in to pg 56, write out the 5th sentence along with the next two sentences. THE CLOSEST BOOK, NOT YOUR FAVOURITE OR MOST INTELLECTUAL...

"I didn't even have time to close my eyes. Just before I heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around the truck bed, something hit me, hard, but not from the direction I was expecting. My head cracked against the icy black top, and I felt something solid and cold pinning me to the ground."

Yeah, it's Twilight. It's my 2nd time reading it and I still love it. I can't really tag a bunch of people since I only know a handful of bloggers. Time to get more friends I guess!

So, here is Jaren, hard at work! He enjoyed the carving, but not the guts. He has always hated the inside of the pumpkin. A couple of years ago, I got an awesome pic of him leaning over his pumpkin, holding his nose. Ah, the joys of pumpkin carving! As Tyler dove into his pumpkin, he asked us all if we knew what the inside of the pumpkin was called. He then proceeded to tell us that he learned that it is called "pulp." Only the way he pronounced it was more like "pole-p." It was pretty cute. He loves preschool and seems to be taking it all in and sharing all that the learns with us!

Carter is proudly displaying his pumpkin. He used pumpkin punches to make his face.

Kayden all dressed up for Halloween. A baby on an old man's back in case you didn't get it.

Captain Canada. Yes, we are patriotic at our house. At first Jaren wanted to be Captain America, but then since we aren't American, he came up with the idea of Captain Canada.

Pikachu - cute as can be!

Tyler, the dragon. He was very specific about what he wanted for his costume. Purple eyes were key. I don't know why, but that is what he wanted, so that is what he got!

We had a blast going trick or treating. The weather was absolutely fabulous. We went as a big group with all sorts of different aged kids. The big kids went ahead and stayed out longer than the rest, but they all got quite the haul. I was lucky enough to go with Tyler who was a real hoot! Instead of knocking, he hollered, "trick or treat," and when people gave him candy he said, "I love candy, I love candy, I love it SOOOOO much. It's the best thing in the whole world. Okay, you can shut the door now." Yah, he IS a character!!

Fall Fun

Okay, it has been WAY too long since my last post! Sorry, but these past several weeks have been really busy! I spent a ton of time in October sewing my little heart out (halloween costumes) and getting my 36 cards ready for my card exchange group. Plus, I started working two mornings a week. Now, I can't wait for Christmas!!! Only a month or so until the big day and once again, I will be card and gift making till the cows come home! But, I do love it!

So, on to the good stuff. You know, the pictures! This year for our pumpkin carving, Grama Val gave us a battery operated saw. It was pretty slick, but Kayden was the only one who I trusted to use it without cutting his fingers off. So, here he is with the finished product and using that fab saw that grandma bought!

Annual gourd harvest

The time has come for the Halladays to harvest the gourds! Every year Grandma Val plants gourds for the boys. She takes care of them throughout the season and then generously lets the boys pick them and then sell them for cash! They get so excited about the whole "money" deal. The are pretty good at spreading the word at school and grandma has some contacts at her work too. They have made as little as $60 and as much as $130. This year, gourd numbers weren't too bad and they have made almost $100. I'm sure that most of the money is already spent even though we haven't even collected it all yet! All in all, it is a fun project and we are lucky to have such a great grandma to provide it for us!

Tyler's Cooking Creations

Okay, so having a four year old means that we have all sorts of interesting things happen around our house. One of those "things" is Tyler and his wonderfully wacky food creations. On this particular day, he decided he wanted to make his own "bunwich." On this bun he put, M&M's, cheese string, carrots and a yougurt tube. YUM! And then it was time for eating...

Oh and by the way, he has many more weird and wacky favorites. I don't care if he does it - as long as he eats it! EW!!

First Day of School - September 2, 2008

First day of school already! Well, the boys pretended to not be excited, but I could tell they were. Kayden even wanted to leave at 8 am (school doesn't start till 8:35). They were all so excited to be able to wear their new hoodies and I was thankful for the cool weather that allowed them to do so! It turned out to be a great day for my three big boys - they all got teachers that they were happy with - which is a huge bonus!

As for Tyler, it was his first day of preschool - ever! I did a homeschool type preschool with the a bunch of moms when the other boys were little, but you know how it is - the youngest gets the best - ha ha! Anyway, Tyler loves his preschool. The teachers are fabulous and the school has so many fun things to do - I'm even tempted to hang out there! Now, I have two mornings a week to myself! Yikes! It is so hard to believe! My baby is 4! Next year he will be gone the whole day!! AHH!

Jaren's Baptism

It's great to be EIGHT! Jaren was very excited about his special day. Lots of family and friends were there to make the day more special. Uncle Naif and Grandpa talked at the baptism and Dad had the privilege of baptizing and confirming him a member of the church. It was very special and we are so proud of Jaren for making this decision! After the baptism, we were able to enjoy some of Jaren's favorite foods - burgers and ice cream sundaes! YUM!



It is times like this that make me think about how we are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends to support us! Thank you to all of you for all you do for us!

Writing on Stone Provincial Park

Well, this birthday girl decided it would be fun to take the Halladays and go camping for a few days in Writing on Stone. Nate, Steph and Wes were up from Utah and Grama and Grampa had time off, so we hopped in our trailer and took a roller coaster ride there. I haven't been there in years (like at least 10), so I didn't remember how hilly it is and wow, was I glad that Grampa was driving (with the trailer) and NOT me!

We got there late in the evening, found a spot and the fun began! After we ate, the boys laid out on the trailer mat and looked up at the stars! It was the cutest thing to see the little boys gazing up at the sky. The pictures that I took do not do it justice.

For the next two days, it was all about the climbing. We went to the Interpretive Centre one day, but those little dudes could not get enough of the hoodoos. Am I raising a bunch of boys or what? I love how cloudy it was - for more reason than one! It made it cool for climbing and made the pictures "cool" as well. In this next pic Carter, Jaren, Nate and Wes are posing for me!

I love this shape of the hoodoo or whatever you want to call it. What an amazing place!

Three amigos and Kayden hamming it up! Ahhh... I'm going to fall. That kid has NO fear - seriously. He climbed everything and anything.

Awww....I scraped my hand while I was climbing - can't you tell by my face?

Carter and Tyler pretending to be dinosaurs on top of "pride rock."
Kayden and his brave mom climbed into this cool cave. Climbing up - pretty easy - getting down, well that was a bit trickier!