Ahh...The end of the year....

So, I've been completely slacking on the blog this year. I am going to attempt to do better on next year's blog. It's been a great year for all around! Lots of fun trips-Dilentment Lake, Crater Lake, the beach, lots of fun side trips! Oh, and did I mention-Brett and I got engaged?!?!?!

Liv turned 4. She's just as sassy as can be and is into being a princess, horses, and my little pet shop. Right now, I think her goal is to be a ballerina. I have a feeling she's going to be too tall, but I'm not going to be a dream killer right now LOL.

Jake turned 8 and well, Jake is Jake. He's funny, quirky, loud, cute...He's getting great grades in school, and loves sports. He's so tall and lanky now! I can't get over how my chubby little boy is so tall and skinny now. The amount of food he puts down at times astounds me. I don't know where he puts it (probably in his feet!)

Josey turned 12, going on 20. I swear that girl has gone from a little girl to a teen overnight. I'm not ready for it. Her grades have improved since last year, which makes both Brett and I proud. She's a smart cookie. Watch out, world! (and boys, STAY AWAY!!!)

So, follow me to my new blog, www.melaniesvidaloca2011.blogspot.com

Thursday, November 24th-Happy Thanksgiving

John, Patsy, Colton, and Caitlyn came up from California to spend Thanksgiving with us. We had a blast!

Jake, sneaking into the pic, as usual...

Much better...

My bro, John

Some of the grandkids-Colton, Caitlyn, Liv, Josey, Jake. Dad was messing around in the background, though you can't tell by this pic.

Smelling good, Mom!!!

Mom has one of those wire head massager thingsy. Jake was intranced by it. He loved it. So, Mom was putting it on his head. He was practically comatose lol.

The blondies

The elder blondies, passing the time, waiting for dinner.

Snow fun! Liv said she had the biggest snowball EVER!

Liv and Caitlyn attempting "sledding". There really wasn't much snow to do so, but hey, they gave it the ol college try!

Josey, messing around.

Ms Caitlyn-Love this picture!

And Mr Colton. I can't believe he's 15 already!!!

The Girls...

2 sassy, blonde beauties...I'm so in for it...

November 9th-Mathematics for the Millions....

Ok, sreiously...Jake decided he was going to check out this book for Library. How funny is that?? He's in THIRD GRADE! What the heck!?!?!?!?

Monday, November 8th-Jake's Obsession with Sleeping in the Closet

Not quite sure what his deal is, but he decided for weeks he was going to sleep in his closet. I got tired of it, so I put everything back in his closet and told him no more. I thought he was ok with it, until bedtime. I came in to check on him because I thought he was still "at rest" (ie, playing quietly with his legos) but alas, I found him curled around his plastic drawers in his closet. I decided I wasn't going to fight it...sleep where you want, little one!

Friday, November 5th...Guess who broke her arm AGAIN???

This time, it was her wrist. She fell out of bed Thursday night. She was complaining then that it hurt, but she could move it, etc, so I thought she just bruised it. I gave her motrin, and she went back to sleep. When she woke up Friday am, she complained it hurt alittle so I didn't think anything of it. She complained alittle more, so I gave her some motrin. About 40 minutes later, she was running in the house. Of course, she was favoring her left arm, so she had her new iXL in her right hand, and tripped. She put her left hand out and landed square on it. She could still move it, etc, but I went with my Mommy instinct and made her a drs appt. She kept trying to tell me it felt better, but I knew it didn't because she'd pull away when I tried to check it. She has a buckle fracture in her left wrist. She gets the cast off on November 29th, then goes to a splint. Poor kid...If you notice, the shirt she is wearing is the same shirt she was wearing 2 weeks ago with the bead incident. That shirt is unlucky OR it's Friday. I haven't figured it out yet lol.

October 31st-Happy Halloween!

Halloween turned out to be a nice day, which we were all surprised at, because it was supposed to be rainy. The kiddos always have fun, though =)
Liv as Princess Belle (I think wearing Belle's Christmas dress)

Jake as Jango Fett. Some Star Wars dude...

A nice one of my babies together...

And then I told them to make a funny face. This one of Jake just cracks me up!! He's so funny...

Tuesday, October 26th-Happy 4th Birthday, Princess!!!

Ahhh...this is how beautiful 4 looks =)

Caught ya!! Jake, Sammy, and Liv, preparing to eat birthday cake, though, Liv is sampling early lol

Waiting patiently...

Yummy!!! I made a 4 layer rainbow cake for Liv.

Cool!

Crazy, Crazy kids!

Can you tell they were having FUN? Jake, Casey, Liv, and Sammy.

Now, on to the presents....

The beautiful sweater Nana made her.

And the infamous pillow pet (and new Tinkerbell Jammies) Happy Birthday, my sweet baby girl!

October 25th-Oh, the fun of curlers

I decided to do some sponge curlers in her hair, just to see what it would do. Why? I don't know...because I can, I guess lol. I thought it turned out pretty cute. This was the day before her 4th birthday =)

Look who's 4???

Friday, October 22-Put a Bead in Your Nose, Would ya??

I've been letting Liv make necklaces with beads. She'd been doing fantastic with them, making necklaces, being responsible-MORE responsible than I would expect a 3 year old to be. This is what lulled me into a false sense of security. Now, we'd gone over the rules of the beads. No sticking them in your nose, ears, mouth, etc. You'll have to go to the drs, etc etc etc. She knew the rules. Well, I'm sitting here one day, and Liv carried a bead to the bathroom. I didn't think anything of it (hind sight is 20/20, I know) and all the sudden, she's peeing, and yelling, "Mom, I have a bead up my nose!" Now, I translated that to "Mom, I have a BEE in my nose" and in my head, I'm thinking, how in the heck did a BEE get in her nose? I never would've thought she'd have a bead in there! SO, after confirming the bead issue, I made several different attempts to get it out. Couldn't be done. Called the nurse's advice line-every bit of advice she gave, I'd already tried. So, it was off the the drs (45 minutes away, mind you!) to get the bead removed.


This is Liv, crying, after I made a last valant attempt to get the bead out myself, while sitting in the room, waiting for the dr. Funny thing is, every nurse and Dr said, "Oh, she did such a boy thing!" Hmm...They don't know my kids well, do they????

So, here's the bead-The dr said A) how in the heck did she get that shoved so far in there and B) there's no way we could've got it out ourselves. *sigh*

October 8th-Hot Rolling Girl =)

I totally forgot I had hot rollers. I initially got them out for Josey, but thought I'd try them in Liv's hair. I think it turned out cute, but I still love her natural curls =)

Awww...feeding the baby....

Liv, feeding her baby doll. The outfit the baby doll is wearing, Liv wore when she was an itty bitty baby =)

We were SUPPOSED to be taking a walk....

I bring the stroller for Liv because walking up to the park can get long for her (Jake had his bike, but my friend Michele's daughter was riding it because, well, you can see where Jake wanted to be...) I ended up pushing Jake AND Liv home lol

I need to create a blog just about my children's weird sleeping habits...

Liv was wanting to sleep on the floor. Again, I went to do the final night check, and this is how I found Liv...half under the bed, half not...

Sept 10th-Biker Babes!

We were on our way to Idaho, and stopped in Prairie City. In Prairie City, there's a cool covered wagon replica. We pulled over and let the kids run around and stretch. While we were running around, some bikers pulled up. Of course, Jake was on them like white on rice. They were so cool. They let Jake and Josey get on their bikes to sit. Liv was busy entertaining the other bikers. While I was taking the older kid's pics, I could hear the other bikers laughing and laughing. Apparently Liv was telling jokes lol.

Girl in a tote!

I went to go check on Liv in the playroom. She somehow managed to shove herself into a small tote and was watching TV. Funny, funny kid...

He's such a funny kid....

So, I went to check on Jake to make sure he was asleep, and this is what I walked in on. His snow boots, on the railing of his bed. He's such a trip....

It's Soccer Season!

And BRRRR! It was a cold one this year!

Where's the ball, Jake???

He's on it!

I love this shot! He was jumping up to attempt to make a goal.

And Jake, cuddling up to Josey, during one of the times he wasn't playing.