Family Photos for Christmas 2017

I took these myself this year - I have a lot to learn and the lighting was tough because it was getting dark... 4:30 pm sunset around here. But I think we got some good shots despite the drama, dirt and darkness. :)

Here are some of my favorites!

Kid Quotes - Penelope Style

It can't be easy being the third child - but Penelope definitely has the sass to claim her piece of the spotlight even with two older siblings and a cute toddler hogging the attention.

I recently asked Penelope, "How did you get so big?" "Birthdays," she said. "And eating cake."

Miss P and I like to eat dill pickles - she gets extra pickles on her cheeseburger, always. I bought a new jar and asked Penelope, "Do you want one or two pickle spears?" She said, "Three." I think she ended up eating about six.

She is still obsessed with stuffed animals, even this scary one at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory

Miles is on a serious campaign to get a dog... I'm not buying it. Anyway, he was listing all the reasons we need a dog. Penelope said she didn't want a dog, and Miles was appalled! He asked her why she didn't want one and she replied, "Because if I have a skirt or twirly dress on and I spin around, it might try to bite my skirt!" That logic works for me!

Happy Thanksgiving! Gratitude 100 List

I was remiss in doing my Thankful Thursdays this month, so instead I am doing a list of the first 100 things that I am grateful for, however they pop into my mind and in no particular order (thank you to my friend Ken Craig for giving me the idea):

1. Henry's smile
2. Hearing I love you every day
3. Saying I love you every day
4. Movie and popcorn night with my family
5. Laughing til I cry with old friends 
6. Babysitters who do the dishes
7. The sound of freedom (jet noise!)
8. Children who will still cuddle with me
9. Teaching Sunday School and the push I need to study the scriptures 
10. Taking tennis lessons and improving slowly but surely 
11. Listening to podcasts that make me want to be a better person
12. Learning about myself and my interests
13. Financial freedom
14. Health and strength
15. My free agency
16. Children who love to read
17. Desert sunsets
18. The love of my family
19. Finding new reasons to love Matt every year 
20. A flexible work schedule that gives me time with my kids
21. Hearing live music and appreciating musical talent
22. Listening to Claire taking piano lessons and feeling like I'm doing something right as a parent
23. Crossing things off my to-do lists
24. Hearing that satisfying "thwack" when I hit a tennis ball just right
25. Having someone to scratch my back as I fall asleep
26. Kids quotes - I love to write down what they say!
27. My blog - it's the best journal I've ever kept
28. Finding a super fun volleyball group again - it makes my week! 
29. Playing basketball again - and still being able to sink a shot or two
30. Hearing Penelope's teacher tell me she is her "go-to girl"
31. Having my sister live just a few hours away
32. Having a few TV shows that Matt and I both like to watch together
33. Date nights
34. Trampoline time with the kids 
35. Singing hymns and primary songs 
36. Learning the words to songs from our favorite movies
37. New books and book orders at school 
38. Trying new restaurants
39. Planning trips
40. Shopping for other people
41. A pet that hibernates 
42. Henry's "Tank You Mom!" when I do something for him
43. Children who open the door for others, even adults and strangers
44. A husband who loves to laugh and make others laugh
45. Listening to Miles belting out songs in the car when he thinks no one is noticing 
46. Having my kids spend time with their Mema instead of going to a daycare
47. Beautiful Fall weather in Las Vegas
48. My family's love of Halloween costumes and themes 
49. The anticipation before a birthday or anniversary 
50. Being able to help Claire with her fifth grade math homework
51. Manicures
52. People who share their testimonies and real-life experiences 
53. Road trips
54. Being able to read music
55. Matt's dedication to becoming a CPA
56. Bedtime lullabies and prayers
57. The Side Hustle School podcast - and dreaming up ideas for new side hustles
58. Being able to make healthy meals
59. Friends who text or stay in touch other ways even though we are far apart
60. That I get along with and love my in-laws
61. Parents who are dedicated and loyal
62. Christmas songs
63. Splurge days
64. Eternal families
65. College roomies who still stay in touch
66. People that let you merge in on the freeway
67. When Henry says, "Oh, I see" when you show him something new
68. Abundance in so many areas of my life
69. Henry yelling out "MOM!" and running into my arms when I pick him up after work
70. Making new friends
71. Setting goals - even when I don't reach them, I love writing them down and trying
72. The fact that I feel excited to plan what Matt and I will do together as a little old retired couple
73. A dependable car
74. Listening to Claire play school and teach her siblings math and writing 
75. Watching the kids use their imaginations during blessed breaks from technology
76. Musicals
77. Trips to Disneyland
78. Folding clothes as an excuse to binge watch shows on Netflix
79. Matt's confidence in me 
80. Looking at Christmas lights and hearing Henry say "ho ho ho!" every time we see them
81. Penelope's compliments about my hair, clothes and accessories
82. Primary teachers who tell me about cute things my kids do or say in class
83. School uniforms and no arguing about clothes each morning
84. Taking family photos
85. My Chatbook and Blog Book collection - I would save those photos and memories if the house was on fire!
86. Audio books that help me not mind being in the car so much
87. Sharing books with Claire and Miles that I have enjoyed reading - some newer like Wonder and some older like Little House on the Prairie or Indian in the Cupboard 
88. My education and career opportunities - they have blessed my family in so many ways
89. Paper plates and dry shampoo - a working mom's necessities 
90. Experience gifts instead of things, like giving concert tickets to Matt
91. Kids who like to play games and sports
92. The hope that comes with a new chore chart
93. Self-help books - even with them just sitting on my nightstand, I feel better
94. Inspirational calendars
95. When you think of the perfect thing to say
96. Words of our church leaders and prophets, especially President Hinkley or President Eyring
97. A husband who seems blind to my many faults
98. A hug at the end of a long day
99. Our freedoms and rights 
100. Finding gratitude and an appreciation for turning 40 next year

And of course, overall, I am thankful for my family, near and far! Happy Thanksgiving! 

Family Photos - Behind the Scenes

I do love having current family photos and I look forward to seeing them every year, but the actual process is not so fun. At least at this stage of life. There never really is a good day to take them, but this time Henry got a nap and we had the day off, so it seemed like we would be ok. I planned to just drive out towards Mt. Charleston and find a spot along the way with a cool desert setting - lots of spots to choose from and no other families waiting for a good spot (like at Floyd Lamb Park last year).

I decided to not hire a photographer and try to take them myself, using a tripod for the family photo with all of us in it. So another reason to not go to a popular, crowded photo spot - no pressure to hurry or get it right the first time. I am still learning my camera settings and it takes longer to get set up.

We had brought some chairs to sit on - which turned out to be a waste of energy since the photos where we used the chairs didn't turn out. Miles and Claire fought over a chair, even though there were two other empty chairs nearby. Claire pushed Miles down into the desert dirt and rocks, resulting in scraped hands and dirty black pants. We had just got there... greeeaaaaat.

Henry also brought along a bright yellow monster truck - somehow that got past me in the car. He took it out to the desert and was in heaven. He dug a track into the soft dirt and pushed the truck over and over.  See how happy he is? And how dirty?

Then I tried to take it away and he cried and cried! Hence, this photo with Henry looking mad at the world... and Penelope trying to shade her eyes from the setting sun using Matt as a shield. It didn't quite work.

Penelope also wanted to collect rocks - a lot of rocks. And she didn't want to put them down for fear she would never find her special collection again. What else could I do put take a photo of them so we would know which rocks were hers :)

I think we got a few good photos - we just really need one, right?

Thanksgiving Week

The kids had school Monday, then were off the rest of the week. There was a Kindergarten feast with Penelope's class. Matt decided to go during his lunch hour and I joined him at the last minute. I'm so glad we did - Penelope was super excited when she saw us! I hadn't told her either of us were coming, just in case it didn't work out.

Something about a hand-colored turkey hat means it's officially Thanksgiving!

After the feast, I got to take Penelope home with me - er, back to work. She played with office supplies, coloring on sticky notes with dry erase markers and ball point pens. She added to my collection of love notes.

On Thanksgiving Day, we went to a buffet at a local casino with the Hillers. We have plans for a full Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday with the rest of the family too. I do love not cooking or cleaning  - we just had time to watch a movie and then play games the rest of the night. We taught Claire and Miles to play Dutch Blitz. Woo hoo! They did pretty good too!

Then on Black Friday, instead of shopping, Matt studied, we went to the park and rode scooters and then took family photos. We took them ourselves this year... yikes. I hope they turn out. Matt helped me with the entire family pics, bringing the tripod and some chairs for us to use as props. He indulges my photography demands. And we had to document the beard, of course.

Kid Quotes

Penelope yelled out, "First one on the trampoline is a scrambled egg!" ... that’s almost right. 

It was 80 degrees so Penelope was cold... 

Miles couldn’t remember the name of a girl from his old soccer team who now goes to his new school. He was worrying about it because she knows his name and says hi to him in the hall and he feels bad cause he can't say her name back. He said, “What if I see her in 15 years and we are hippies and I still don’t know her name!!”  Uh, what?! I said why are you hippies? He said, "I don't know!!" 

I caught the kids brushing their teeth in silence... it was glorious!

We were looking at the moon and I asked if it was a spooky moon (it was just before Halloween), and was it a big or small moon? Penelope said, “It’s a crescent moon...” with a totally duh tone. She is way past using simple vocabulary. 

A view of Penelope's bed and her army of stuffed animals. This isn't even all of them! 

Claire's go-to isle at Target is the office supplies and notebooks - she had a gift card to spend and was in heaven! 

Henry says many words twice in a row - like when he saw this picture he said "me, me - Bubba!" He likes to go "in in" to McDonalds to "play play" and he calls me "mom mom" most of the time. But one of my favorites is when he asks if I'm "oh-tay" - "oh-tay Mom? oh-tay Mi-Mi (Miles)?" I guess we ask him if he's okay a lot. But he says it just like the kid on Little Rascals, it's so cute!

Still adorable and mostly happy all the time

This gorgeous weather reminds me why we put up with the summer heat! 

Matchy-matchy Sundays, my favorite! They let me pick out their clothes sometimes...

Aviation Nation 2017

Matt took Claire and Miles to Aviation Nation, the airshow out at Nellis Air Force Base. This year, Betty and Phil went as well and helped get everyone on base which was much easier than the shuttle and the lines that they experienced the last time they attended.

I stayed home with the littles because the "sound of freedom" aka jet noise - gets to be a bit too much for Penelope and I was sure Henry wouldn't last long out there.

They had a lot of fun though and got to meet some amazing pilots and engineers. Claire also interviewed Papa along the way for her Veteran's Day essay. Matt got to see his favorite plane, the Spectre - their motto is "You can run but you'll die tired!" They saw a lot of cool planes, many with  with Vegas Strong on them to honor the Route 91 shooting victims.