Four Jingle Bells

 I had a birthday, 33 years.  I have been making more of an effort to exist on the blog since I am part of the family too.  I had a great day.  The kids were off of school after Halloween, so we hung out a lot of the day.  Blake spoiled me with a spa basket, which I have used not as often as I wanted to! Blake and I went out the day before for a lunch date.  We went to a great hole in the wall diner.  Blake took the kids out the next morning for a long time!  I took a bath, did some writing and reading and ate my breakfast in peace. It was a great day.  Yes, you can squish four kids in a twin bed.  Every night we do the bedtime routine and Blake and I switch off girls and boys.  I came in one day to find this and it was so cute.  They love dad and his funny voices for stories.  Blake was growing out a goatee with some guys at work.  He couldn't stand it though, so shaved it off.  Brooke and her ...

 Heaven is four huge oak trees in your yard.  Raking is the other side of that. Not so heavenly, but still worth it for the leaves.  The kids loved playing in them after school.  This was our yearly leaf pictures attempt.  It was really fun.  The kids are getting to be pretty good picture takers.  Hailey cartwheeling through the leaves.  Don't ask me how she managed that with her winter boots on!  What a sweet face.  Spencer is a ray of sunshine.  I am excited to see the amazing things he will do in his life.  Hailey and Spencer are true friends.  They were close in Las Vegas, but have become best friends in Iowa.  They don't fight much and look out for each other all the time.  We have been blessed with happy souls.  William is the happiest if he has a ball in his hands.  I don't remember what the blanket was all about, but Brooke wanted me to hold her like a baby.  Done. ...

 I must admit, the Halloween craziness makes me a little crazy!  But we did all the fun stuff.  We went to the costume parade at the school and the kids were adorable.  William loved watching all the fun costumes.    This is our only Halloween picture. It was such a crazy day.  We have a dragon, the grinch (creative Brooke!) a mom and a police officer.  Man, I was proud of Hailey for choosing to be a mom.  She chose it last year and stuck with it.    We went to our friends, the Bunker's, for hot dogs before.  The kids had a great time running around.  Then we went trick or treating with our friends, the Pence's.  They are some great friends!  We went to their neighborhood and made the rounds.  The kids were happy and exhausted after.  We even trick or treated at Spencer's teacher's house.  That was the highlight for him but I forgot to get a picture! She was thrilled to see him too. ...

 Our wonderful friends Barb and Daryll came to visit us for a day.  We love these two! Of course we had to go bowling because they are pros.  The kids reactions are always so funny.  Barb always makes William hang out with her even if he doesn't want to. I think it's awesome.  It's always more fun to have someone else brush your hair besides your mom.  Daryll and Spencer, great buds.    They brought their dog, Stanley, too.  The kids loved having a dog around.  I was even more convinced that we won't be having a dog anytime soon, but it was still fun!  That same Sunday was the primary program.  It was Brooke's first and she did great!  The kids had all their parts memorized.  Hailey loves singing and really did a great job too.  Sadly, Spencer had an ear infection that we didn't know about till halfway through the program.  I am in primary, so I was up with my class and he came a...

 Brooke and her friend Mayjay dressing up as princesses.  They are both strong willed girls so they get along well.  Hailey after the cheer camp.  From what I hear, she did totally awesome.  Blake got some videos and she jumped right in.  I am so proud of her because she has had horrible stage fright and it has stopped her from doing things before.  I hope we have eased her fears. I had stage fright bad as a kid, so I didn't want her to feel the same way.    We got our first snow in October.  Talk about disheartening!  I almost moved back to Las Vegas, ha!  Instead we went outside and played for awhile and William was annoyed because his pushy toy didn't work very well.  We borrowed a yoga video from the library and the kids loved it.  It actually helped mellow Brooke out some.  Me too! Whenever I am cleaning, William has to jump in.  I definitely don't mind!  Cutest helper ever. ...

 We went to a fire station opening.  The kids decorated bags on fire safety for school and turned them in.  They got to go into fire trucks and tour the fire station.  Always a hit.  Hailey has been asking to do a sleepover with me for a long time.  So, we set one up.  She wanted to go outside with our flashlights and explore.  Then we had hot cocoa and read some books.  She slept in bed with me too.  Blake gave up his spot for the night.  What a guy.  It was really fun though.  She is getting to a great age.  I am enjoying learning as we go and she has been a good and gracious guinea pig.  William looking dapper before his first nursery day at church!  He only cried for awhile and now he really enjoys it.  He scribbles on his papers and plays with trucks.  What more could a boy ask for?  Sometimes the kids all squish on one side of the table.  William has vetoed the hig...