Ongoing celebrations!

Kendal woke up excited and happy on her birthday. She opened up her presents from us at breakfast. She got an umbrella, scripture case, necklace, and camera. She's been wanting an umbrella for ages; and I felt she was ready for a better camera as well. 

Unfortunately Peter wasn't feeling well. After throwing up twice I kept him home from school. He fell asleep arguing with me that he still wanted to go to school. Awhile later I had to wake him up to go pick up a promised birthday class treat for Kendal. Sadly a few minutes into our doughnut pickup at Smith's, I had to rush Peter to a nearby trashcan to throw up again. I felt so bad and couldn't decide what to do. To make things more difficult Alice fell asleep for a much needed nap in the car on the way to school. So I had a bad mom moment where I ditched the sleeping kid and sick kid in the car while I booked it into the school loaded with treats for Kendal class. I dumped the treats, said many apologies and ran back to the car to wait for school to end and Kendal to get out. Peter threw up in the car while we waited for Kendal 😷. Luckily Casey saved Kendal's day. I dropped her off with him. She hung out in his class for a bit and did some homework. Then they picked up some Arctic Circle and headed over to Casey's game. Kendal got to enjoy Casey's game and stayed for the varsity game as well. She got some sweet calls and messages from family and ended her birthday on a good note. Thankfully I got Peter to eat a dinner of oatmeal before he went to bed and after a good night's sleep he was doing better. Alice was my trooper and dealt with a chaotic day.  She had an off few days, but nothing compared to big brother. She turned ten months old on Kendal's birthday!

My parents and Katherine came up to visit a couple of days later. We went out shopping after lunch while the kids were at school. Alice stayed back with them while I took Kendal and Peter to the dentist after school. (No cavities!! Healthy teeth!) We enjoyed a night at home that evening. My parents gave Kendal a sewing machine, bracelet, and game for her birthday. She's so excited to use it and we tinkered around with it figuring it out that Sunday. Katherine gave her a sweet CTR ring with a dragonfly on it. 

That night Peter's gunk caught up with me. I spent hour after hour running to the bathroom feeling horrible and dealing with one end or the other. Poor Alice wasn't happy in the pack n play and was up quite a bit so Casey had to deal with her and poor Katherine had to hear it all from the next room. 😖 

The next day Dad, Casey, and Peter went into D and B. Kendal played with grandma and Katherine. I was just trudging along; however I did get a cake baked that morning. Kendal had her third basketball game early that afternoon. She played the post position and did her best; but the other team was fierce and ended up winning. Alice fell asleep with Grandma while Peter bugged for treats and disappeared with buddies. Kendal chose chick-fill-a for a birthday dinner. 

The next day my Dad was a hero and took all the kids while the rest of us went to the Meridian temple dedication. It was spiritual, and good. I laughed at Elder Uchtdorf's comment that things last longer in the fridge so the poor people stuck outside the Temple in the frigid cold will definitely last longer. (Thank you Dad for watching the kids!) It's wonderful to have another temple in Idaho. I can't wait for Pocatello's to be built and hope Peter is old enough so he and Kendal can go to that dedication. 

Kendal continued her birthday celebrations by having a friend's party on Wednesday. The kids were out for thanksgiving break so we had the party that morning. Kendal wanted a girly party. We made lip gloss, played a nail painting game, decorated cookies, did friendship bracelets, played freeze dance / tag.
It was busy, loud, silly, and messy; but I chalk that up to a good time.
Pictured below. Right to left. Top: Estella, Brook, Meadow, David, Ashlyn, Lily. Bottom: Echo, Kendal, Breanna. (A few buddies couldn't come, becca was home sick, and funny enough David was all about the girly party and wanted to join, so he did. 😁)

Peter had a "Thanksgiving feast" at school last Tuesday. I opted out so Alice could nap, but I was told that he was cute and did well in their program. Kendal didn't want me to throw away her turkey she worked so hard on, however there is no way I'm keeping the plethora of papers and projects that come home so a picture sufficed this time.

 Wednesday: Casey took Peter and Alice that morning so I could manage the party. They ended up at McDonald's while the car was being worked on, I switched later and had the other car worked on before we headed out to Raft River.
Grandma and Grandpa were wonderful and gifted Kendal her first full set of scriptures for her birthday. She was so happy to get them and proudly took them to church today.
We got to spend Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa Darrington!! Brett, Vanessa, and their crew were there to celebrate with us also! It was a good day with wonderful food and family. While the pictures weren't ideal, I'm sure grateful for the wonderful people within them.
Kendal discovered that her precious new CTR ring from Aunt Katherine was missing. With loads of prayers and Load of luck the ring was found in the sand box the next morning.
Friday we had a chill morning at Grandma's. Nicole, Jordan, Terry, and their kids came for the afternoon. The kids played the afternoon away and even got to sit in the manure truck for a bit with Grandpa. We came home that night so Casey could be around for basketball practice Saturday morning.

I did some black Friday doing online, and we got a bit more done Saturday afternoon. We also got our tree and decorations up! Peter wants Christmas to come soon, (but I need more time, between big birthdays, an upcoming baptism, and busy lives I need all the time I can get. ; ). Today was a nice day of church and family time. Kendal had her baptism interview and is even more excited (if there can be even more than she already has been for her special day this Saturday!)

We learned my Great Aunt Bonnie passed away this past week. I'll always remember visits to her home, her amazing garden, love of humming birds, stories, countless 24th of July parades seeing her and spending time with her, and the care she had for us. I'll miss her sweet presence and love. I'm happy to know she's back home with long lost family and our Father in Heaven. Till we meet again Aunt Bonnie; till we meet again. 💗

It's great to be eight!

This sweet, amazing little lady turns eight today! She's been so full of anticipation and it's only going to continue as she has her baptism to look forward to in a couple of weeks!
Kendal you made us parents eight years ago. Your sweet soul has filed our hearts and our lives with so much joy and love. You have an amazing gift of love and friendship. You enjoy connecting with others. You are so smart. We think it's wonderful how much you devour books and enjoy learning. We love your tender heart. You've always had a milder temperament, but you have emotions that run deep (and sometimes on the surface). You are so talented Kendal. You give it your all and we are so proud of the work you put into basketball, piano, learning, and life. You have a great love for the gospel, for going to church, for Heavenly Father, and Jesus Christ. They love you unconditionally, just as we do.
Sweetheart never forget you are a daughter of God, a special little lady, a beautiful person inside and out, and loved so very very much!
Love, Mom and Dad

Kendal's favorites at 8yrs old!
Favorite color: Pink
Favorite Toy: American Girl Doll
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite Animal: Duck
Favorite Song: Gethsemane
Favorite Holiday: Birthday
Favorite snack: Grahm crackers and milk
Favorite books: Fairy books, Rainbow magic, Elsa and Anna
When she grows up: Teacher and a coach
Favorite parts of school: everything
Nickname: Sweet Pea
Favorite part of birthday: presents!
Fun fact - the above picture is a sneak peak from her baptism photo shoot. ( She wanted to raise her arms and yell "I'm getting baptised in almost every other picture ; ).

Kendal loves that she shares a special connection with Alice because they were both born on Sundays and the 15th of their month! So - happy ten months Alice!
Alice has gained two teeth this past month. When her teeth or tummy isn't giving her issues she sleeps really well at night now! She is exploring more and getting into anything she wants. She walks along furniture, but won't take steps behind her walker. She babbles quite a bit and gives sweet smiles. She's more into table food than baby food these days ( who can blame her though ; ).

This, that, and the other

We got a good layer if snow a couple of weeks ago. The kids happily piled on their gear and spent Friday afternoon and Saturday out in it. Casey joined them Saturday add they built a snowman and snow benches. The kids were loving it! I was just grateful it melted within a couple of days.

Both Casey and Kendal started basketball at the end of October. The high school girls put on a basketball camp on the 3rd. Casey got to see Kendal work on her skills and Kendal got to spend a few hours learning and playing around with friends and the high school girls. She's been nicknamed "little D" by the JV coach. Kendal's team name is the Sun's this year. She's one of twelve girls on her team. Kendal has had two games; on the fourth and eleventh! Her first game she was a wing position. So she got to pass in the ball a lot, however she didn't get a lot of ball handling time on court. They lost in overtime by two that day. Kendal had less playing time at her second game on the eleventh. She was still a wing position, but on the other side. It was another close game ending in a loss. Same score as the first. 12 - 14.

Casey has a good size group this year for basketball. They have varying talents as usual, but overall they'll be decent. His first game was Saturday in American Falls. They pulled out a win in overtime!
Casey's also growing his beard out this month with the rest of the middle school guys. While I admit he's handsome as always, I'm still against it and will happily go back to soft kisses in December. ; )

The kids had parent teacher conferences this past week. Kendal has excellent marks in everything and her teacher had only good things to say about her. She's amazed us with her reading this year, loves math, surprised us with neat penmanship, and is simply loving school.
Peter's teacher had nothing but praises about how much he knows and how well he's doing in class. She's noticed a bit more silly behavior lately, but says it's not really a big deal. (She thinks he's just really comfortable in his environment now and is always quick to be refocused if needed.) I'm so grateful he's gone into this school year with enthusiasm and willingness!


Since last week was patent teacher conferences Casey and the kids had Friday off. We took the opportunity to make a quick trip up to Meridian to go through the new temple. We met up with Brett, Vanessa, and their crew to go through. The kids were so excited. Peter, Kendal, and Becca held hands through most of the temple, David counted stairs, and the babies were happily passed back and forth. I loved being able to show the kids Heavenly Fathers special house. It was a wonderful trip! We quickly ate some lunch afterwards so we could Jet home for Casey and Kendal's practices though.
(I'll add more pictures when I can get Vanessa to send them to me.)

We've had some rough days and many rough nights with a cold being passed around. Alice is also teething and has poped out two teeth these last few weeks. To top it off Peter is having a really rough time with growing pains and his clock is off thanks to day light savings.
Here's hoping for a good week of better health, a happy birthday, sleeping kids, and winning basketball games!

Fall festivities

Casey finished out his football season on the nineteenth. The weather was wonderful and the kids enjoyed themselves and the game.  His team won their last game! They had three wins and four losses this season.  Between a new coaching staff and ridiculous parents Casey hasn't enjoyed coaching football as much this year. I know Casey loves to coach and I can see his enthusiasm and enjoyment as he interacts with the players. We'll see what next year brings.

Our ward put on a harvest dinner a couple of weeks ago. We got to dress up as farmers and enjoy chili. The kids played more than ate, but that's usually how things go.

We finished Harry Potter! Kendal was a champ to read a book a bit above her leve (fifth grade level, she reads at a low fourth grade level) Some of the words took a few tries to get down. It was quite long for her and took her two weeks to get through, but she loved it and was hooked early on. I read it to Peter. He liked the book, but wanted more pictures as I read. Initially I was just going to do a couple of movie themed treats, but my imagination and love of Harry Potter took over. I Made chocolate frogs and their boxes, golden snitches, and found berties botts every flavor beans. I Made owl balloons that "delivered" personalized Hogwarts acceptance letters and train tickets. They also got homemade wands (which are currently in time out : /. We had the kids take a house sorting quiz over dinner with the "sorting hat" on. Kendal is in Hufflepuff and Peter is in Gryffindor! We put Alice in Gryffindor as well since Casey and I are in Hufflepuff. Peter wasn't willing to pose for pictures, but Kendal was. The kids loved the movie and the experience. Kendal wants to read the next book, but we're having her wait till the holiday break.

Side note: Kendal made an AR (reading) goal at the beginning of school to reach forty points by January. We'll she met her goal early and finished this month! We are so proud of her hard work and love off books! She also would've gotten 12 points from reading Harry Potter but she just missed out on getting a high enough score on the quiz for the points. (She said she couldn't ask for help pronouncing words as she took the quiz) She was pretty bummed to miss out on the points and lose two weeks of reading towards her goal, but all that matters to us is she enjoyed the book, and did her best no matter the outcome.

Peter has been begging to carve pumpkins since we got them. We finally carved them Saturday morning. Kendal and Peter each chose a character ( Mini and Yoda) and drew a scary face. Casey did an awesome job carving the kids creations! We made Alice's pumpkin an owl, but didn't carve it so we can keep it longer. (Again Peter wasn't up for pictures, it's a new phase of disliking the camera.)

Peter got to hang out with Casey a few times at football practice this fall. He has loved the one on one and likes being with the team. He's so friendly with the boys and coaches. After the last game he was high fiving and congratulating all of the boys after the game.
Kendal got her turn to have much coveted daddy time Saturday afternoon. They headed out to Tubbs Berry farm and did the corn maze, slides, raced some rubber ducks, and saw some animals. Kendal led the way through the maze and always wanted to turn left (they ended up getting out pretty fast because of it).

The kids had their primary program this past Sunday. Casey's parents came up to see them. Both Kendal and Peter did a wonderful job giving their parts and singing the songs. My mama heart was bursting with pride and love.
Peter's Part: "I will choose the right by helping others."
 Kendal's part: "I am preparing for baptism by making good choices, saying my prayers to Heavenly Father, and doing and being my best."

Casey got a week off and now he's on to basketball season. Kendal started basketball last week as well. She's excited to play. She's got a pretty strict coach this year. While it makes me a bit uneasy, she is learning some really good fundamentals, and doesn't mind the hard core practices (yet). Her fist game is Saturday!

Casey decided to make a pumpkin pie from scratch. He went and bought a sweet pumpkin, cooked it, pureed it, and made it into an amazing pie! He even did crust from scratch and fresh whipped cream to top it off. I love that he's so adventurous with food.

 The kids chose to be Star Wars characters for Halloween. Peter chose Yoda and Kendal ended up as Rey (because she gets a cool light sabor and the other female leads don't have light sabors ; ). Alice by default became an adorable BB8. The costumes took a bit of work, and while they weren't perfect I liked how they turned out and the kids loved them!
We picked up pizza for dinner (the kids earned their book it's!) We delivered a couple pieces of pizza to Casey at basketball try outs then joined Vanessa and her crew of Hogwarts wizards for trick or treating. It was a bit chilly out, but that didn't deter the kids. Alice even feel asleep for a while (poor girl is under the weather this week). Casey left try outs early and joined the last bit of trick or treating with us!

 

Casey dressed up with his seventh grade team at school. He makes a cute tin man and does great being surrounded by this crazy bunch. 

Once in a while these kids give me a good picture. (Even if it takes seven shots to get ; )