Month of November

November is always a fun month.  The first big event was Kelli's birthday, which she had been planning since her last birthday.  She is now 6 years old.  I can't believe it.  Time flies.  I miss how little she used to be.

Kelli got her rainbow colored unicorn dream light that she has wanted for a long time.  They are kind of cool.

Then she got her doctor's kit.  She loves playing pretend doctor.

Kelli wanted brownies and homemade ice cream for her birthday.  It was delicious.  

Next the big birthday party came. Kelli requested a cowboy/cowgirl party.  The kids played panning for gold.  I had 2 big bowls of rice.  I didn't want to get dirt, so I thought rice would work better.  Then I bought some bright and shiny, brand new pennies and some bubble gum coins.  I put holes in the bottom of the plastic bowls so the rice would go through and not the coins.  This was a hit.  The kids loved it.

Next they played "there's a snake in my boot."  The kids had to guess which boot had the snake in it.  In return they got snakes as a prize.

Next they played lasso the cowboy rubber duckies.  They got the rubber duckies after they played.  I used pool rings for the lasso.

Next they played musical snake.  Kelli had a stuffed snake.  The game was like musical chairs except you pass around a snake.  I played country music.  When the music stopped, whoever was holding the snake had to go to jail.  The prize for this game was more rubber snakes.  

Next was cake and ice cream. 

The whole group.  

Also in November, Kelli lost her first tooth.  She was so brave when her daddy pulled it out.  

Another thing that happened, was Kelli sprained her ankle in gymnastics.  Carson felt bad that he wasn't injured so I wrapped up his head.  Glad he really wasn't hurt that way.    

Blogs

I find myself a little upset because I can't pull up some of your blogs.  Therefore I can't read any of them or leave any of you comments.  Frustrating....

Month of October

The month of October was full of all kinds of stuff.  First off, I have worked more on my painting and here is an update.  It is still a work in progress.

Second, I took my children out in the wild and took pictures of them in the fall colors.  Carson loves to say cheese, but never look at the camera.

Third, in the middle of October, Kelli had her last soccer game and received a trophy.  She was ecstatic!

Her soccer team... She played with all boys.  It probably made her a little tougher.

Fourth, I made a skirt.  I figured it out on my own.  I didn't have a pattern for it.  It is made with some gray fabric with gray tulle on top and a ribbon as the waste band.  The picture isn't very good.

But here is another one. It is still a little hard to see.

The fifth thing that happened this month was I had hernia surgery.  It turned out I had 2 hernias that needed repair.  When I first went in for surgery, we only knew of one.  The first week was not fun.  It was pretty painful and I felt like an old lady, sleeping propped up with pillows under my knees, walking super, super slow, barely able to go up and down stairs, and I won't even mention picking something off the floor.  After the first week went by, it was like someone waved their magic wand and I felt so much better.  Now I can move around without pain.  The only pain I really have is when I cough, sneeze or laugh differently.  I still can't pick up anything over 15 pounds, but other than all that, I am doing much better.  Carson, however, doesn't like that I can't pick him up.

Sixth, we carved Halloween pumpkins.  My kids love this.

And last, but not least, the trick-or-treating.

Kelli helped me make her costume.  We made her wings with wire hangers, nylons, elmers glue and glitter.  It was fun.

Carson fell asleep before trick-or-treating and I was able to get him all ready while he slept.

I just love Halloween and the excitement on my kids faces.  Carson had a blast learning more about Halloween.  He was so stubborn about holding his bucket of candy.  He wouldn't let anyone help him carry it.  It got so heavy for him that he was limping trying to haul it around.  He was determined to carry that thing the whole time.

The Past Month

Sometimes I do really well with updating my blog and staying in contact with all of you and then I go for a while being such a slacker.  I know I need to be better.

Anyway, the past month has been so busy.  Kelli started Kindergarten.  And she rides the bus!  It has been a big change for me.  Nothing like I had expected.  When Kelli has homework, I have homework too.  And it is amazing how much time goes into helping your child with things they need for school or things that they bring home from school that they need help with.  So Kudo's to all you moms with multiple children in school.  It is a lot of work.  For me anyway.  I could just be a big whimp.

Well, Kelli loves school and it makes it all worth it.  She thinks the bus is super cool and I finally feel much better about sending her on it and hoping that she will get to her class safely.  Carson is also getting a little bit better about his sister being gone.  He was pretty sad for a while and he kept asking me where Kelli was.  Now whenever he sees a bus, he thinks Kelli is on it.

Kelli's first day...

She got a sweet Kelty Kids backpack...

Getting on the bus...

On the bus...

Horray! She did it!

Another thing Kelli started up on the first day of school was soccer.  She plays with all boys.

For Labor Day weekend, we went camping and I failed to take a bunch of pictures.  Shame on me.  So I only got a picture of my kids in the trailer.  The weather was perfect and we got to go camping in the mountains where I grew up.  I couldn't ask for anything better.

The Count of Monte Cristo

I just finished reading probably the longest book in the whole world, the Count of Monte Cristo, which was about 3500 pages on my ipad.   I just loved this book.  I can see why so many people hated the movie.  I loved the movie, I think only because I saw it before I read the book.  Now that I have read the book, it makes sense to me why so many people hated the movie.  The movie is completely different than the book.  And the book is wwaaaaaaayyyyy better than the movie.  Anyway, have any of you read the Count of Monte Cristo, (long version)?  If so, what did you think?

Ashlee's Wet Canvas

I have another blog that shows many of my oil paintings and progress on my current oil paintings.  Please feel free to check it out and give me critiques.

www.ashleejudd.blogspot.com

Carson's 2!

Carson is now 2 years old!  Crazy!  He turned 2 on the 1st.  Carson loved his birthday.  He loves his presents and loved his birthday cake.

Here is the amazing cake!  Not really.  I am terrible at making cakes, but my kids seem to love it and I enjoy it too, so why not try.

Opening presents...

Carson loves this toy.  I got it from my neighbors because their son who is 3 months older than Carson doesn't play with it. So they just gave it to us.  It is in great condition and Carson loves it.  He loves taking all his cars and sending them down the ramps.  Great deal huh!

He got clothes from my parents!  Thanks again mom and dad.

He loves his basketball and hoop also from us.  When he makes a basket, he claps his hands and shouts, "I did it!"

And last, but not least, he got a balance bike from his other grandparents.  Thanks again Kory and Darlene!  Carson loves his bike as well and loves to get his helmet on to ride it.

Such a happy boy!


Carson at 2 years old...

He still loves his mom the most.  He throws a fit when I leave the room and screams until he finds me.

If I leave the house or take him anywhere to get baby sat, he screams with delight when I get back.

Carson has great motor skills, including, jumping climbing, throwing, etc.

He is the little boy in nursery that every nursery leader would dread having because he throws his cup of water on the kids next to him and thinks he is so funny afterwards.  He steals the other kids snacks.  He just loves being the bully.

He is our little rooster without the cock-a-doodle-doo.  He wakes up at the crack of dawn say somewhere between 5:30 and 6:15.

Carson hardly takes a nap.  He sleeps for about 1 hour to an hour and a half, and when he wakes up from his nap, he is the most unhappy person I have ever met.  I wish I could just eliminate the nap and have him sleep in longer, but nothing helps.  No matter when I put him to bed he wakes up at the same time.

He is obsessed with his Utes blanket.  He loves to carry it wherever he goes.

Carson's favorite show is Go Diego Go.  Whenever he wants to watch it, he says, " a show, go, go go."

Other movies that he enjoys are Rio, Despicable Me and Toy Story 3.

Carson loves to swim.  The pool is probably his favorite place.  He blows bubbles, jumps in the water and goes under, lets me put him under the water and loves every minute of it.  He especially loves the water slide and say weeeeee the whole way down.  When we get to the bottom of the slide, he shouts, "Again!  Again!"

Carson has such a love for life and enjoys and is fascinated with everything around him.  He sure keeps me on my toes, keeps me super busy, makes me completely frustrated,  but I sure love him and love having him in my life.