Food Manners!

I am pretty sure you shouldn't bite a hole in your cheese crisp and put your tongue through it to make silly faces . . .
and smiling really big, although sweet, probably doesn't excuse the behavior (however, why would mom be taking a picture if it was not something adorable?!?! Huh?).

But if that was questionable, I am almost certain you shouldn't place your fruit bites on the edge of your tray and slurp them up like a puppy.

This little lady is in definite need of some lessons! :)

A FOUR year old!!

Our Anderson turned four this past week! We celebrated with two parties . . . in hopes of making it more fun for our kiddo with a ton of friends, but a low tolerance for crowds.

He had a FRIEND party Friday afterschool. We ate snacks, played games, opened fun presents, sang "Happy Birthday", ate cake, and played more games! Jon and I had a blast . . . hopefully the kids did too!!








Pictures from the family party will come soon . . . I hired out for the photography (okay, I just
begged my sisters to take pictures so I didn't have to . . . ha!).

SUPER Fun!

The kids love dressing up . . . maybe a little more than is normal. But can I blame them?!?! Sometimes even I would like to put on some different clothes and be someone different for a day . . . especially someone with SUPER powers! :)

Connor would wear practically any costume any day---so picking a costume for Halloween is easy!! But Anderson is way more picky. He had to have the JUST RIGHT idea. It took him weeks to decide. It was painful. Seriously. He finally decided on Robin . . . and so Connor was more than thrilled to take on the role of Batman! Not to be left out, we put together a SUPER KYNDALL outfit for little sister. She really was her own type of super gal the whole night. The costume fit her perfectly!



On the hayride at our church Fall Fun Fest! Anderson is next to his sweet friend, Sadie . . . aka Minnie Mouse.


My enthusiastic BATMAN!


Super Kyndall must somehow get her SUPER-SPEED from collecting rocks. She picked them up everywhere ALL NIGHT LONG!


Super Kyndall chasing after Papa while trick-or-treating later on. We have a fun tradition with my family . . . yummy chili, fun cousin time, and trick-or-treating around my brother's neighborhood. It is a highlight!


Kyndall was very persistent. Even when the boys would give up and think no one was home, she would keep on knocking! It paid off a couple times . . . and of course they gave out big handfuls of candy to little girls too small to eat any of it . . . such torture for the parents! Yikes!



Luke Skywalker, Batman, Robin, Pirate Tyler, and Super Kyndall!!

Things around here . . .

. . . are a little more crazy than normal, still lots of fun, and (as this picture can attest to) definitely SWEET!

I just love the way her little toes stick out from under it too.

I can't believe I haven't posted for TWO WHOLE MONTHS! I have lots to share . . . and I will make time shortly! A trip to San Diego, a project I am working on, and everyday fun. Too bad the dishes and the laundry and the daily routine yell so loudly at me! :)

Watch Out World!!!

Okay, not even a real homemade breakfast! Frozen waffles and orange juice. They never knew the difference. Hee hee!!!

My Kindergarten kiddo!! He was so excited to get the school day started!

Compare his pics with last year! Too fun!

We drove to school . . . but still had to walk a quarter mile because parking was INSANE!! Hopefully all this early morning enthusiasm dies down a little in the next few days. Crazy!!

While walking, we had to go through the underpass tunnel near the school. We entered the tunnel and the kids immediately started talking loud to make echoes. Connor yells, "Kindergarten, here I come!!!". Where did he come from?!?! Jon and I looked at each other and laughed. NEITHER one of us would have been so vocal. EVER! We love him for sure!

Waiting for the door to open!

Anderson was not so sure about Connor being gone . . . and kept thinking of Connor throughout the day. We ate lunch with Grandma Hart and he decided to only eat half of his cookie and asked us to save the other half so he could give it to Connor. So sweet . . . but how long will that last?!?! We will see! He also kept thinking it must be time to go get him. The day must have seemed long to him!

Saying good-bye! I seriously would have been FINE if the teacher hadn't read this sweet story about the first day of Kindergarten where all the parents get all weepy. Argh! Well, at least I can blame it on her!! ;)

Anderson, Kyndall, and I then headed for for a quick juice and muffin pick-me-up at the BOO-HOO breakfast. I dried my eyes and then we ran back to the car so Anderson wouldn't be late for his class.

We signed up Anderson for a little computer class that he started today as well. We were going to start it later on a less hectic day, but then thought it would be good for him to have something to share about at dinner while we talked about school. Fun!

He did so great . . . we were a little concerned about whether or not he would get upset about being left. I honestly thought it was coming when we got out of the van. I told him he could eat the rest of his snack when I picked him up. He looked at me with HUGE eyes and said, "You are going to leave me there???" My heart sunk (had I really not made that perfectly clear?!?!?), but I recovered with a quick yes and kept getting Kyndall out of her carseat. Instead of starting a fit, he just said, "I will be really good!!!" Praise the Lord!!!! And, he WAS!

They played games and did lots of fun learning for their hour and a half! Yay!

A successful day!!! And, another milestone hit. Oh my!

Cool Weather Adventures!

We spent Thursday, Friday, and most of Saturday in the area around Payson. Our boys were true adventurers and little sister kept up with all the fun. We definitely made some great memories and have some new pictures for the frames around our house. Perfect!

Here is my top ten list of favorite things . . .

10. Picked berries at Kehl Springs.

9. Found Geodes near Clints Wells (and found a letterbox stamp).

8. Fed fish at the Tonto Creek Fish Hatchery.

7. Played in Tonto Creek (found stamp #2 and #3).





6. Hiked around Woods Canyon Lake.





5. Hiked the 260 Trailhead (got a stamp too).



4. Visited Paleo Ruins (found stamp #5).



3. Picnicked at Green Valley Park.



2. Hiked to Wild Bill's Spring in Pine (another stamp!).





1. Played at Fossil Creek.



Anderson . . . the one I had to promise that there were new shoes waiting for him at home before he would get into the creek with his tennies on. Our rule follower!


Connor . . . our daredevil.


Kyndall . . . the one that wouldn't wait for her swimsuit to get into the water. Ha!


What a great three days!!

Field Trip!

I am on a quest to finish checking off the things on my list for Summer 2009 Fun! Getting to Cabela's was a must, since we hadn't made it to the local store yet. I can't believe it has taken us so long to get there! I grew up with their catalogs around the house and spent lots of time looking at them with my dad . . . I think I was the go-to girl for his Christmas wish list from there and know that we all pitched in for several must-have items from Cabela's!

Well, we got to see it all in person this weekend and Papa Hart came to show us around. A perfect tour guide!

Checking out the fish in the aquarium . . . fun!

Virtual target practice. Oh my!

Hanging out in the dog house.

Bunkbed cots. Awesome!!!

Papa and a little sweet Kyndall Crockett!