Blake Tanner is 3!

This little guy is a mother's dream.  If it were possible to sit in the recliner all day with a blanket, binkie, my knuckle (he enjoys pinching it), and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse movies on repeat, he would be the happiest little guy in the world.  There are days when this invitation is too hard to resist and many things around the place go undone.  He is the life of the party at our house and the other three kids are soooo excited when he is awake before they leave for school.  He is absolutely adorable and so precious!

We celebrated with Mickey and Minnie and lots of family!!!

We had so much fun, we celebrated this little guy for 2 days!!!

Happy Birthday Blake!

We love you!!

Happy Halloween 2011

I never really have been a fan of Halloween, but this year the kids seemed to be excited so we really had a good time picking out costumes. This is what we came up with...

Our "hippie"

"Woody" 

"Nerd"

(don't mind the unfolded laundry in the background)

This kid was WAAAYY to cool to dress up,

so apparently, Halloween costumes go away at age 12....

and return when you're 37!!

WHOA Bruce! Lookin' good!!

Zach is 11!

Okay, so I know I am super late with this event, but I have decided with blogging, it's better late than never.

Zach turned 11 on September 23.  We had a great celebration!  It included dinner at Texas Roadhouse with Grandma Amy and Grandpa Frank, Grandma Jane and Grandpa George, lots of presents, followed by ice cream from Cold Stone.  Happy Birthday Z!!  We love you!!

The Month of September

Ahhhh...I love the month of September.  I love the fall weather but I especially love the schedule that comes with school being back in session.  The kids have enjoyed a nice break from piano, cheer, baseball, and football. However, we've started back up in all of that.  We have also added violin to Nattie's schedule, and although it hasn't required much practicing yet, she seems to be excited to learn.  Zach and Nathan are still taking piano lessons.  Nathan is just as obedient as ever and "just gets it done."  Zach on the other hand...

This picture speaks for itself...
No kidding...he was in this position for 1 hour 15 minutes refusing to practice!
I'm really hoping that one day I get a letter from him on his mission that goes something like this,
"Dear Mom, thank you for making me take piano lessons. I am using it so much here in the mission field. I am so glad I can play!"
Love,
Zach

Here is our football star #41:

Our baseball star #11:

Natalie with her violin:

And finally, Blake is the champ of getting in his carseat and traveling to wherever the schedule calls.  And at the end of the day, he's had it!



And last but not least, because I complained so much about being in charge of family scripture reading, BJ decided to take it over. 6:15 we are all up and ready to read.

Most of us, anyway.



First Day of School 2011

We successfully made it! Not too many tears this morning on my part, I seemed to hold it together pretty well. The kids were excited for their first day! Here they are:

My New Goal

Well, here it is...time for another school year. I've decided to make this my goal. Yes, that's right, I am starting to blog. I figure since Nathan is 12, it's about time.


School starts Wednesday, August 31st. Nathan will be in the 7th grade, Zach will be in the 5th grade, Nattie in 1st grade, and thankfully, Blake is still home with me. I am dreading school starting. Especially because this is the first year Nattie will be gone all day. All of my kids are so good to entertain Blake and he is going to be one lonely little guy, that's for sure!!


I am hoping to get Blake potty-trained within the next couple of months--that should give us both something to do!


So here it is to another school year and hopefully I can stay up to date on this new goal!