Bernheim Forest

I was so sad when we got to Bernheim Forest and realized we were about a week too late for all the beautiful vibrant fall colors.
This road looked somewhat promising but it was closed due to hunting season. I really wanted to take some fun outdoor pictures this year. Trying to get 3 dramatic girls to hold still and act somewhat natural for 5 minutes is quite the task. This is as good as it got!! Looks like we will be headed for the studio once again for some family pictures.

Jenna 4, Madelyn 18 months, Kaitlyn 6

They were all so excited to go and see the deer that
we only got a few pictures. Even Madelyn was into the whole posing thing!! They are so funny. I don't think I have a picture of Kaitlyn without her head tilted to one side or another. And Jenna tries to sit pretty but her posed princess smile is not quite the one I want to hang on my wall. ( This is actually a pretty good one of Jenna.) We had a good time anyway and spent plenty of time petting the one eyed deer. We also spent a good amount of time answering random questions about petting a wild animal, and speculating why the deer only had one eye!!

Tom Sawyer Park

A couple weeks ago we went to Tom Sawyer Park. The weather was beautiful and we all needed some fresh air. This was Madelyn not wanting to sit on the bench for her picture.

I love this picture!! The girls didn't want their picture taken and were hiding and running away on the playground equipment. It turned in to a fun game of camera tag! Joe and I kept trading off the camera and trying to "catch" them in a photo. Don't they look surprised!

If we don't catch them off guard they always insist on posing for us. This is their posed picture!!

As we were leaving there were a bunch of hot air balloons launching. Our family always gets excited when we see hot air balloons. We stopped and watched until they had all lifted off.

Baby Talk

My other girls seemed to talk a lot! Madelyn doesn't really seem to care much about the whole talking thing. She says MAMA in a very demanding tone. For a long time everything was MAMA. She has added a few words Ball, Daddy, MINE and her most recent Bubble! It seems to me that my other girls said a lot more at this age ( could be my selective memory.)
Anyway it is something I have been working on with her. I have never used sign language with my other kids. But started looking into a little. I found this site http://www.signwithme.com/ It explains the sign and shows you a small video clip of the sign. I am so impressed with how Madelyn has done with this. She has learned 5 signs in the last 2 days and really seems to like it. (please, more, bath, bedtime, and drink) She also tries to say the word with the sign. Which I feel is a huge step in her communication. I wish I would have started this earlier with her. It has been fun for all of us to learn something new. It is also fun to see her come up with her own signs when she is trying to tell me something. My favorite is when she opens her mouth and points at her tongue and says ahhhh. She wants something to eat.

Tender Moments

I guess this post is more for the Grandparents.
Our Family Home Evening last night was about testimonies. There is nothing sweeter than the simple testimony of a child. We were asked to write our testimonies for my brother, who is on his Mission, for Christmas.

Kaitlyn: 6 years old.
When I turn eight I will get baptised. After the baptism I will get the holy ghost.
What I think about Missionaries is that they teach you the gospel and you learn about Jesus without going to church. They teach you good things.
I know that the church is true and that the holy ghost is real. I know that Jesus and Heavenly Father are real.
I know that everything I learn in the church is real.
When I grow up to be a missionary, I will teach the gospel. But before I grow up to be a missionary I must learn the gospel. I know that all these things are true.

Jenna: 4 years old.
I think that Heavenly Father, Jesus and the Holy ghost is true. Oh and I think Joseph smith is real too.
When I turn eight , I get baptised. You go down into the water and you might need to plug your nose. I think the Holy ghost is a good thing and I like it.
I like the Missionaries and want to be one when I get big. The best thing about being a missionary would be the blessings.

Madelyn: 18 months.
Recently started nursery and lOVES it.

There is more tagging going on!

I have been tagged a few times in the last week or so. I know I am cheating by only listing 6 but I really am not that interesting!

1: I am completely grossed out by other peoples feet! They are cold, clammy, smelly and really just gross. I can't stand bare feet touching me. There goes my career in Pedicures!

2:One of my all time favorite snacks is a regular potato chip with a piece of cheese and a drop of ranch dressing! It is really good you should try it, I am pretty sure it is FAT FREE!!

3:I sleep with my eyes open. Not wide open but slightly open. I know it is really creepy! I use to hate falling asleep on the bus for school trips! I would wake up with people standing over me holding up fingers trying to decide if I could see or not while I was asleep. Then the comments gross, that is sooo weird etc....

4: I am not a fan of large crowds. Hence the reason my Christmas shopping is half done! yeah

5: I am absolutely in love with Cheddars Chocolate cake! If you haven't had it you have to go. First of all it is huge!! Second it is a whole lot of chocolaty goodness all layered and drenched in more chocolaty goodness. It is a good thing it takes me a good 30 minutes to make my way to Cheddars. I am getting hungry just thinking about it! Yummy

6: I can't dance to save my life! I have absolutely no rhythm.

Well There you have it more useless trivial facts about me!! I have no idea who to tag I think everyone has done it! Sorry

Tis the Season

With Halloween behind us, it seems it is time to look towards Christmas!! I can hardly believe it is that time of year again.
As my girls get older I feel like they should be more involved in the whole Christmas process. I would like to help make their Christmas more meaningful by giving them opportunities to earn money and then use it to purchase/make gifts for others in the family. It is a great thought isn't it! Here is the problem, I am completely at a loss at how to begin. Does anyone have any great ideas on how they have involved their families more for Christmas??
I guess this brings me to another petty confession. My kids rarely do chores and I feel like I am doing them such a disservice. We have tried a few different things but nothing has really stuck. I am torn between the whole allowance thing. I don't want them to think every time they pick up a sock they should be rewarded. However, I do feel like they are getting old enough that I would like to teach them some basic money management.(save 4 quarters earn a trip to the dollar store. ) I would like them to be able to have some daily or even weekly responsibilities!! I know a few of you out there have figured this out and have "happy" helpers in your home right now! I need all the help I can get, any thoughts....