Ashley on the Piano

Ashely is getting really good at the piano. She practices every day (almost always does it on her own) and has an incredible talent for music. She has a great ear and a wonderful voice. We love Ashley and are blessed to have her in our family. You can all wish your kids were half as wonderful as her :) Here is a sample of her latest piece.

Enjoy!

Hans' Birthday

Hans had his birthday yesterday. It was an exciting day for all of us. I can't believe he is 34. I met him when he was 22. That's a long time ago. I remember it clearly. I went over to Melanie's apartment in Provo and there he was (he was dating her roommate). He introduced himself and said something to the effect of - "I'm glad Melanie has a twin sister so there can be two beautiful girls in Provo." I thought he was funny. And he was happy. We had a great time in Jerusalem on study abroad together. We were both seriously dating other people. When we got home he stalked me on BYU campus for about 2 months before I realized he might be interested. He'd plan group activities and invite me and tell me how everyone cancelled but me and then we'd go have a great time. Eventually he said something to the effect of - "Michelle, I need to date you. Everytime I pray about marrying my girlfriend I see a picture of you in my head." I was flattered and excited. We got married. Almost ten years ago.

We had a great birthday day. We made him a breakfast burrito in the morning and he opened his presents - we got him a nerf gun and a set of golf clubs for the kids to use. He is excited to take the kids with him next time he golfs. He also got to do dental work on me yesterday. Then we ate dinner and ate a yummy ice cream cake with the Conleys.

I am grateful for Hans in my life. He is my person. He keeps me sane. I am so grateful that he values providing for our family and in being a great husband and father. I am grateful that he has a testimony of the Gospel and that he values church service. He has immense faith and the patience of Job. He is one amazing man.

Native American Day

Ashley celebrated Native Americans at school on Friday in honor of Thanksgiving. This is the costume we came up with. She made the headband and earrings herself. The other kids wanted their pictures taken before school as well. I'm not sure why Katelyn's class didn't celebrate Thanksgiving, but that is TCA, I guess. That school is strange to me sometimes. We are excited for Thanksgiving break this week and for no school. Hans has Thursday and Friday off. We are planning on eating our feast on Thursday and bowling on Friday, our two traditions. I'm not sure what else we will do. I am teaching a lot of yoga. Anyone want to come to a class with me this week?

Halloween Fun

We had a very fun-filled Halloween. We went to the pumpkin patch (see earlier post), carved pumpkins, made and ate chocolate chip pumpkin bread (yummy for all despite it being free of gluten), went to the ward trunk-or-treat, went to Monument's Saturday trick-or-treating, went to a Halloween party, went trick-or-treating to friend's houses on Saturday night, and handed out candy to our Sunday night trick-or-treaters. I think, perhaps, we did too much. I also had pre-school at my house the week of Halloween so we got to make ghosts, spiders, witch hat cookies, learn Halloween songs, and sing our songs for moms and dads at a short costume party on our last day of school. Justin has a great group of pre-school friends. I enjoy getting to know the kids and teaching them at my house. They are excited to learn and well-behaved for the most part. Most of the pictures are from our Monument day with the Conleys. It was so warm and beautiful. One of the places we stopped by had games for the kids where they could earn prizes. It was very exciting. Mia quickly learned to say, "Trick-or-treat and I can't have gluten." It's cute to hear her say this. Luckily there is a ton of candy that is gluten-free. I was very happy to take down Halloween decorations and have the candy disappear. Halloween is still lingering though since Hans decided to do a candy buy back at the office. It turned out to be great marketing but now he has about 100 lbs. of candy sitting in his office. The kids and I stop by there frequently. I have had too many lunches consisting of m&ms and tootsie rolls. Gross, I know. I am anxious for him to send the candy away. His hygienists are going to Africa for a missions trip in January so it will go with them. I may eat 10 more lbs. before then. Anyone want some candy?

Pictures

Here are some pictures of my beautiful kids. Notice Katelyn's lost front tooth. She is really excited to be able to sing about wanting her front teeth for Christmas in her school music program. It was so exciting to have lost this tooth for everyone. Mia still expresses gratitude to Heavenly Father in every prayer for Katelyn losing a tooth. She used to say this in repeat in her prayers until we told her she could only say it once. So now she prays, "And thanks that Katelyn could lose her tooth one time." Makes me smile every time. Also notice Katelyn wearing a silly outfit. She brings a lot of joy and laughter to our home and I am so grateful to her for that. It's interesting since she is the quietest out of our home. She is quite shy and reserved. I am happy she has our home to let loose. She is really fun. Notice Justin's "I can be honest" headband. He has great primary teachers. The top two pictures are of the girls in their pretty Costco tutu skirts. They love to dance in them. I am happy we have an empty dining room to use as a dance floor. It gets much more use this way then if I had a dining room table in there. Last picture to notice is of Ashley's hair. We have been you tubing how to do hair. This picture is of the rosette buns. It's fun to have this time with her in the morning to do fun hair. She loves it and so do I.

Mia's Yucky Song

Mia is quite the budding composer/songwriter. She is often heard singing some sort of cute narration of her day. She also likes to sit down at the piano to make up beautiful music.

Family Pictures

What I love about Mia

Mia is one energetic little girl. I love the joy and excitement she brings to our family. She makes us all laugh. The older kids love playing with her and teaching her new things. She is a great playmate for them since she will happily do whatever they want her to. She loves being a part of things. She is so tiny still, but doesn't let that slow her down at all. She weighs in at 24 lbs. and is still wearing 24 month sized clothing. I want her to start gymnastics, but she is too nervous to not have me in there with her. She is dying to take ballet. She wears her pink swimming suit that looks like a ballet costume everywhere. I have to rip it off of her to wash it. If she can't wear the swimming suit she changes into her purple leotard. She loves to be pretty. I bought her a really frilly skirt and leggings from Costco that look like a tutu. She wears it over her swimming suit. She wore her princess Halloween costume over her swimming suit as well. She loves her black princess shoes and won't wear anything else. She loves friends. She is obsessed with Taylor and Brynlee. She does pre-school with Taylor and asks me all of the time if she can play with Taylor. She loves her. She does playdates with Brynlee and goes to church with her as well. She worries constantly that Brynlee might not like her dress she is wearing for church. It is very strange. Brynlee has done nothing to foster this (they are 3, after all), but Mia is consumed with the fear that she may wear the wrong thing. Ashley and Katelyn were never like this. They still let me pick out what they wear. It is a normal morning for me to have a major tantrum over what she is wearing. She will wear 3 things - her frilly skirt, her swimming suit, or her tutu. She will wear 1 shirt. She is particular. She loves singing, swinging on the playground, eating candy, and taking showers. I love her freckles. I love Mia.

Ready for Church

Mia was sleeping. She would rather take a nap then go to nursery. You can't tell from these pictures, but these dresses sparkle. They look so cute. I wish they would have had one in Mia's size so she could match.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to a pumpkin patch in Black Forest with the Conleys. It was a great time. I love that the weather this fall has been so beautiful. They did two tractor rides, mazes, hay climbs, pumpkin picking, petting zoo, and slides. I love having cousins close. I will be terribly sad when they move.