GOBBLE...GOBBLE...GOBBLE

We had so much fun doing this craft. (I came up with the idea all by my little lonesome!) The girls had these little baby pumpkins, and I wanted some more Thanksgiving decorations, so we made these little turkeys! Putting in all the feathers kept them busy for a while, and the best part? They didn't fight while making them. Ah, the joys of kids using their imaginations! It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon together.

I sometimes forget how much they love doing crafts. I really should come up with some more crafts for them to do during this season. It's so much easier to be creative with crafts when you have a Holiday to base them around. Hmmmmm.......what should we do next?

Monique loved the googly eyes

"Look at my gobble gobble mommy!"



Why can't she just give me a normal smile?

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN...

It's October, which means...HALLOWEEN!
I love Halloween oh so very much.


SNOW DAY



We had this crazy snow storm blow in (two days of constant snow) so we needed something to do since the girls were on fall break. We decided to make "Haunted Houses" I think they did a really great job!









PUMPKINS

Besides the dressing up, I love gutting and carving pumpkins. Kirk was working, so we were on our own for pumpkin carving. Olivia was really good and cleaned out her own pumpkin. Bella loves all the guts, and Monique didn't want to touch hers, but did it anyway. Monique and Olivia drew the face they wanted, and then I cut it out for them. (They also made a few extra drawings!) Izabella was on her own for the first time this year. She did a great job I must say. (Kirk let her carve his pumpkin as well...she was in heaven.)

THE FINISHED PRODUCT














AND THE 2009 LIMA FAMILY
HALLOWEEN THEME IS:

DISNEY VILLAINS!






Yes, you had better watch out for us if you dressed up as a princess or dalmatian this year. We don't like anything fluffy, beautiful or nice. We just want to be cranky and spiteful.
Hey, it's what we do!


Jafar
He's our man, if he can't do it...GREAT!


Snow White Hag
Oh yes, Kirk enjoyed every opportunity to call me an old hag
Monique kept saying,
"I wish you were the pretty queen."


Maleficent
She was really excited when people recognized who she was supposed to be


Cruella Deville
If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will
(even though she has such a cute smile!)


Ursula
When we first tried her costume on, she cried because of all the legs.
Once Bella and Mo told her how cute it was, she went around saying
"Look at my cute legs!"


Thanks to my sister for helping my vision come to pass!

NEW SCHOOL PICTURES


Izabella
3rd Grade



Monique
Kindergarten

LABORING AT THE GORGE

My Dad has a couple little houses in Manilla, UT (which, of course, is right by Flaming Gorge) so, over Labor Day we went for a little visit. I was really excited because my Uncle Mike and my cousin Mikey were going to be there. I haven't seen my Uncle since my brothers' funeral, and I haven't seen Mikey in probably 20 years. (Am I really that old?)

Anyway, it was nice to finally get my sisters' trailer out of my back yard. I told my dad I was bringing it (since he's the one who bought it for them) and he could keep it in his back yard for awhile. It took forever to get all the lights working, new tires, etc... but we were finally on our way. Now, if any of you remember all our adventures in camping, you would know that we do not have good luck hauling trailers ANYWHERE. An hour from home, a nice guy pulled up to the side to let us know that one of our trailer tires was about to come off. We pulled over and sure enough, I had forgotten to finish tightening the lug nuts when I changed the tire. After that, we didn't have any problems until I was pulled over in Green River, WY ( only 40 minutes from our destination) because the lights on the trailer had gone out. Apparently, they have a short. Luckily, the policewoman was really nice, I managed to get the lights working, and we were on our way.

WE MADE IT!

We finally made it to my Dad's and went straight to bed! (we were so tired) We had a really great time for the next couple of days (even though Kirk forgot to pack pants!) and it was fun to be with everyone!


Cute Cousins!


Hiking with Grandpa


I love this picture. Olivia had a really hard time warming up to my dad, but during this hike the two of them bonded, and he helped her up and down the mountain.
(Carrying her most of the way!)


Grandpa helped Monique find a cool rock


Ugh! It's bright out here.

ON THE WAY HOME...

Luckily, this is what the children looked like most of the way home.







It was a great trip, thanks for having us dad!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

After returning home from our vacation, we didn't have much time before the girls were starting school. We rushed around to make sure we had everything they needed, plus a few new cute outfits to start the year with.

Izabella really wanted Kirk to take her for the first day of 3rd grade. Wow, she is growing too fast and I'm getting old.
(Monique didn't start until a couple of days later)
I thought this was fine, except, HE DIDN'T TAKE ANY PICTURES!!
That silly boy left the camera in the car. So, this picture is from Monique's first day of school (Bella's 3rd day)



Monique started Kindergarten this year. It's amazing how fast the time goes. She was super excited to start school, but especially excited that her teacher is so pretty.


She picked out this outfit a week before school even started.


Waiting in the Kindergarten line to go inside.


At this point, she asked me when I was going to leave.


Sitting with her classmates for a special story



Ms. Hebert read a wonderful story about starting your first day of school.
I couldn't help but get a little teary-eyed as I watched Monique be so confident and "big."



Of course, Olivia needed her picture taken for the first day of school too!

GOING HOME

After 3 weeks in Utah, it was time to go home. The children needed to get ready for school to start, and honestly, it was just time. Although I love all my Utah peeps, I wanted my own bed back. We decided to do the drive home in two days. I could have done it all in one, but I didn't want to get the "crazy, cranky mom" award by the time we made it home. Kirk's dad decided to drive to Flaming Gorge with us, and of course, the children wanted to ride with him, so I didn't have much company. Kirk met us in Grand Junction. Once we hit the hotel, I just wanted to go to sleep, but the children wanted to play! Finally, around 10:00 p.m. we had all the children asleep.

The next morning I was ready to go, but everyone else wanted to play. We had some breakfast and I finally convinced everyone to get on the road. All the girls wanted to ride with Kirk, so I was by myself. It was kind of fun to listed to my music and sing as loud as I wanted without little girls telling me, "you're too loud!"

On the way home, we found this great little store off some obscure exit. The had some fun things for the kids to do, and I bought boxes of yummy peaches to bring home and can. I was super excited about the peaches, and the kids were finally able to play for a little while.


Playing in the corn kernels
You'd think it would be cleaner than sand, but these kids were filthy after.




Good Ol' John Deere

Family Pictures

I have this amazing friend. She is an amazing friend and an amazing photographer. We were due for some new family pictures, and she is always so willing to do it for us. This time, we went out to Saltair. Guess what....Saltair is stinky! The kids were kind of cranky about it. We then went down the way to another place (black rock?) and guess what....lots of bug AND stinky! It is a testament to our awesome photographer that we even got some good pictures!












If you want some amazing pictures, CLICK HERE

MISCELLANEOUS STUFF

While visiting Utah, I realized how much I love Ikea! Normally, I avoid the place because we fly out and who can take a couch home in a suitcase? This time, we drove the TRUCK so I had lots of room to sear Ikea for all kinds of wonderful items. It was a wonderful day.

So to all you Utahns, you are lucky men and women to have an Ikea store near you!

Olivia was too short to play in the daycare, so she had to hang out with us. I don't think she minded too much because she checked out all the beds!


Hmmmm....what should we buy?


This looks like a good bed, nice and comfy.



Yup, I could sleep here.



We also took the children to Temple Square. I haven't taken the kids since Bella was a baby. We attempted to take a tour of the Conference Center, but the children were too active. We finally walked over to the Visitors Center, and the kids loved the Christus. It was the only time they had been quiet all day!


Cute, wiggly kids




You should always take time to stop and smell the flowers