Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Here are the kids sitting on Santa's lap at our church Christmas party. I had to do a little convincing to have them go up - sometimes I think kids just love Santa at a distance.... HE HE HE. Once she got up there Caelan chatted with him, Ben was pretty quiet and wouldn't really look straight at him, and Megan loved it.

Arizona Snow

This week we had quite the snow storm. Yep, you heard me right - inches and inches of snow fell right here in Kingman, Arizona. Last year we got a snow a couple of times, but it was pretty mild. This week it just fell and fell. School let out early on Wednesday and was cancelled on Thursday. It was awesome!! This is the kind of snow I love - a nice layer over everything (even enough to make a good sized snowman), and yet safe roads with mostly just slush.

Our Thanksgiving Trip

Here are some pics of our trip to Casa Grande for Thanksgiving. Lots of Fun!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving holiday at Sean's parents home in Casa Grande. We had some delicious food, and enjoyed some rain on one day and then some beautiful sun the next day.

Some Things that I am Thankful For:
My Family
Our own (and the fact that it is OURS)
Our big yard
The gospel of Jesus Christ
A Living Prophet on the earth
Prayer
Fall Weather
Christmas Time (especially Christmas music)
Ice Cream
Trials that help me to learn and grow
Smiles and laughter (especially from my kids)
My talents


This is Caelan at her Kindergarten Thanksgiving Program (very cute).

Happy Birthday Megan

Yesterday we celebrated Megan's 2nd Birthday. It was a simple little party here at home. We actually went to Pizza Hut for dinner (Caelan got a gift certificate there from school for a personal pan pizza - so we hit two birds with one stone). Then we had cake and ice cream at home right after she opened her presents (Mrs. Potato Head and Potato Buds). Grandpa and Grandma Sorensen left a gift the last time they were here. It was sitting on top of our desk (we have a high top desk), and one day Megan came prancing through the house with a night gown that we had never seen before. Then Caelan and Ben noticed a new book in the living room.... YEP - Megan had somehow climbed onto the desk, pulled down the present and opened it right up. The funny thing is that there was another present right next to it, and yet she never attempted to get at that one. We are so happy to have Meggie in our family.

Some fun facts about Megan:
* She LOVES her binkie and blanket (now that she is 2 we are seriously going to get rid of the binkie - but it's definitely going to be a rough couple of days).
* She communicates extremely well without saying much
* She is the most un-picky eater ever - if someone is eating anything, she will go right up to them and say "ahh" (even is she just finished her own meal).
* In the morning, as soon as I mention the word "breakfast" she throws her binkie on the floor and takes off running down the hall, with her little head bobbing up and down.
* She knows when she wants to go to bed - sometimes we will ask her if she is ready for bed and she will nod her head in agreement and get her blanket and binkie and start walking down the hall (I'm not sure how much longer this will last).
* She can really hold her own with our big-and-growing puppy dog. He thinks its fun to run right at her, but when he does she just braces on to whatever is close by (a wall, the swing, a person). When she is done having him lick her she just confidently pulls his face away.
* She has a personality all her own - and she is FILLED with personality (very strong willed).
* Her eyes are the most expressive eyes - they communicate about as well as anything.
* She thinks it is funny to snatch toys that her brother and sister are playing with, but if they ask her "nicely" to give them back, she is quick to comply.
* She was our easiest child to send to Nursery - we walked her to the door and waved goodbye and she was off. Now she loves to hold hands with Ben or Caelan as they walk to Nursery.
* She loves to pat, hug, rub, kiss and love her baby brother (the other day we let her hold him and walk over to me (with all sorts of surrounding hands for support if needed) - she thought that was the coolest thing ever).

Happy Birthday Little Mega Moo!

Nathan's Blessing

Yesterday we blessed little Nathan. We didn't realize it was Stake Conference until some people had already made plans to come this weekend, so we just had a little private blessing at the church right after Conference. It was Sean and both grandpas and the bishopric. It was a very nice blessing...and Nathan has been our only baby to scream through the whole thing. Oh well - I guess it's good then that it was such a small little gathering. HE HE HE.

Happy Halloween

Chop It Off

I have been debating for quite sometime about what to do to change my hair. I have been growing it out for a couple of years now, but during my pregnancy I just kept thinking that I was ready for something new. I decided to wait until after I had the baby to do anything crazy. Well, Sean's parents have been here for a long weekend, and yesterday I figured with them here to help Sean out with the kids I could go and get my hair done. I was pretty adventurous and had my stylist cut off a good 7 inches or more. We put in a little color and added some layers, and here is the new me.


HA. I love it - it feels so bouncy and fun, and the darker colors are a nice change for the Fall and Winter. Fun times.

First School Picture

Caelan just brought home her first school picture. What a cute girl (and I'm not biased at all... HE HE HE).

Growing Boy

I took Nathan to the doctor yesterday for his one month well check-up. He is doing great, and growing like crazy. He is currently 11 lbs, 2 oz and 23.5 inches long (he's gained 3.5 lbs and grown 3 inches since he was born). No wonder all his 0-3 month clothes are fitting so differently these days. He is a little eating machine (he eats often, but at least each meal is pretty snappy). I must make some crazy healthy milk. HE HE HE. This is exactly how Ben was - grew off the charts for the first 4 months of his life, then it tapered off a little. Nathan gave me his first smile last week, and I have managed to catch it a few other times since then (just nothing regular enough to catch on the camera yet). What a happy smile he has. As you can see from the picture below, he is also focusing much better with his eyes these days and loves to just look around and check things out.


This is a cute little hat that someone gave him for a gift - it says "BOO" - very cute!

Ohhh, Sweet Music

So my family came up a couple of weekends ago to see the new baby, and they brought along with them a very fantastic gift - our upright piano. Yes, this baby is old, but it works just dandy (all the keys are functional and it is tuned). I LOVE IT! I have always wanted a piano, but we have never even been serious about looking for one because we didn't have our own house. Now that we do, it was perfect timing for my family to be getting rid of our old one because we were happy to take it off of their hands for free. Sean got me a nice keyboard a couple of years ago for Christmas (which has been great), but when I sat down to the piano, I was reminded of the difference. LOVE IT! Plus, it reminds me of lots of wonderful memories with my Mom, so it's even more special.

7 Years and "Forever" to come

It was Sean and my 7th anniversary yesterday. My family was here in town so they watched the kids (even the baby) on Saturday night while we went to dinner. It's funny how it can feel like just yesterday that we were married at yet at the same time it's hard to think back on life without each other. It has been a wonderful 7 years, and I can't wait for all the years and years to come. I love you Sean!

Conquering the Jeans

Exactly two weeks after my little guy was born, and I have conquered my jeans. Yep, I am comfortably wearing real button up jeans. Granted they aren't my skinniest pair, but they did fit me fairly well before I was pregnant. I get a little anxious about trying on my "regular" clothes after I give birth. I start trying things on in the first few days, and it's pretty exciting to be able to get a new pair buttoned almost every day. Oh, the benefits of nursing..... Of course, there is still work to be done with this changing body, but it's always nice to know that there is definite progress being made...and for the fourth time around, I can't complain at all.

Just for Fun

Here are just some pictures of the kids in the past few weeks that I thought were pretty cute.


Look at Caelan way up there....





Looking a little cross-eyed.



New Spider Man PJs from Grandma.

Nathan Michael Dick

Our little guy has arrived. Actually he was born on September 25 at 3:20 AM. He was 7 lbs 13 oz and 20.7 inches long. He had a perfectly round head and was just beautiful (you know how some babies can look when they first come out - he wasn't squished or bruised or anything - just perfect). I started having contractions at home at about 6:30 PM the night before (actually it was during the presidents speech to the nation about the economic bailout - I guess that just put me over the edge...HE HE HE). They weren't too hard, but they were getting pretty consistent, so we went into the hospital at 11:30 PM. I was only dialated to a 3 (which was a little ridiculous), but I progressed to a 5 within an hour. They admitted me and gave me some IV pain medication, which took the edge off for a little while. After an hour or so, it seemed to wear off, but I was too close to delivering for them to give me anything else, so I just did the rest on my own. YIKES! At least it didn't take too terribly long, and when it was time to push, he was out in about 2 pushes. Then he ate for almost a full hour - I was shocked, but he just kept on eating. Overall, it went just fine, and I was/am so happy to not be pregnant anymore. And I thought it was very thoughtful of him to come a day early. So nice! The great thing about natural deliveries is that the recovery is so quick and easy. I felt great the next day (except that I was a little tired from being up all night). And my overall recovery has been the best so far. He is a good little baby. He really only cries when he needs something, and then he is pretty content. The kids just LOVE him to pieces. Caelan and Ben are always wanting to hold him and kiss him. It's very cute.

9 Months Pregnant

There's a reason we have to have our 9th month of pregnancy...it's so we are so exhausted and worn out and uncomfortable that we don't care at all what the labor brings. I am there, friends. My official due date is this Friday, and I just keep telling myself, "You can make it for one more week (and hopefully NOT much longer than that)." My kids seem to love it in this home I make for them, and have thus far decided to stay in as long as possible (6, 10 and 4 days late), but there is still a part of me that hopes that maybe, just maybe this little guy will decide to come a little early (a girl can wish, right). I have to admit that my pregnancies are really pretty good (I don't get sick, there aren't any complications, and frankly I don't get huge beyond all reason), but by the 9th month, enough is enough, and I am ready for any and all of the challenges that come with a new little one in the house just as long as they come OUT!! So, here is to hoping for a "productive" week.

Singing in the Rain

About a week ago we had a great monsoon storm come through town. It dumped all sorts of rain (which I loved). The kids wanted to go straight outside and use their umbrellas in it (they found the umbrellas in the closet a few weeks ago and periodically pull them out just for fun, so to be able to actually use them for their real purpose was pretty great).

What a Morning!

We were already to walk out the door this morning to take Caelan to school - everyone was in the car, and I got in and turned the key...Nothing. Yep, the battery was dead. I thought, "No big deal, we can just take the Galaxy (our old faithful)" but I went out to it and found the tire completely flat. So then I called Sean, but didn't get an answer. I figured I was just going to have to get her to school without a motorized vehicle. The bike sounded better than walking. I went to hook up the bike trailer, and wouldn't you know...my bike tires were flat. At least those are easy to pump right up. So I pumped them up and then biked to Caelan's school. It's really not too far at all, but let's keep in mind I am 8 months pregnant (I stayed on all the low traffic streets for safety) and I had Caelan in the bike seat behind me, and Ben and Megan were in the trailer in the back. The sun was up and shining, and that little ride wore me out. Caelan was late for school, but at least we got her there (the kids actually thought the whole thing was pretty great). Sean came home to jump start the car about an hour and a half ago. I just got in it to go to the doctor and the blasted thing was dead again (I guess we didn't drive it around enough to get the battery charged). AHHHH! Good thing his work is pretty close by - he's running home again to get me jump started. We're going to make it through this day - I just know it.

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS

Yep - it's that time....the 16 days every couple of years where I am attached to my TV (at least during Prime Time hours). I like the Winter Games, but I LOVE the summer games (I am much more interested in the events of the summer games). I've really been trying to do a lot of stuff during the day so then I don't feel so guilty when I'm sitting like a bump on a log on my couch for hours on end at night watching the games. How about that Girls All Around Gymnastics competition last night or the Mens 4X100 Freestyle swim relay or May and Walsh controlling the beach volleyball arena or track and field (Saturday - here we come)? I love it! And my husband is just so wonderful about my slight obsession. He enjoys the games as well, but not quite to my crazy level...and yet each night he doesn't mind when I turn on the TV and watch sports until late into the night (while he often falls asleep on the floor) - what a guy!!

First Day of School

Caelan started Kindergarten today. I dropped her off at 8:30 AM, and I won't be back until 3:30 PM to pick her up (they have all day Kindergarten here in Kingman). She has been so excited this week: picking out a lunch box, finding new school shoes, meeting her teacher, helping me make her lunch last night (she actually had been asking me about making her lunch all afternoon). We met her teacher and had a look at her classroom yesterday afternoon - she was pretty excited! Her actual teacher has 4 weeks of maternity leave (she just had her 4th baby - all of her kids are pretty close to ours...her oldest daughter is also starting Kindergarten), but her substitute teacher also seems really nice and good. She thought the cafeteria and the idea of eating lunch there everyday was pretty neat.
I have to admit, I never thought I would have a difficult time sending my kids to school, especially in Caelan's case, where she is SOOO ready to go, but I definitely had a pit in my stomach as I drove away from the school this morning. It's just so crazy that she is growing up so much. She has been home all day with me since she was born (minus preschool twice a week for a few hours), and now she will be in school for 7 hours five days a week. I know she will be great, but now I know what all the moms are talking about when they say it is hard to "let go."

Meg's New Trick

Megan has learned how to take off her clothes by herself. This is usually how she looks by about 3PM.

Here are some pictures from our family reunion up in Colorado (Sylvan Lake State Park). We left on Thursday evening, and ended up driving much later into the night that we had planned (there were no open motels anywhere). We drove through Monument Valley at night (we could still see the shadows of the huge rock towers, which was cool). We had all the fun...fishing, white water rafting, cliff jumping, rowing on the lake, spending time with the fam, enjoying the beauty, etc.

On the white water rafting day, I took the youngens and drove over to Vail (a pretty ski town). Caelan and Sean rafted and did a little cliff jumping (yes, even Caelan - well, she jumped off a ledge).




After the reunion we headed over to Utah and saw our new niece, Brooklyn. What a cutie. We also spent an afternoon with Sean's parents and sister's family. Then on our way home we stopped in Cedar City where my family was hanging out for the week, and spent the afternoon with them (Sean and Dad spent many an hour installing a new radio into Dad's car). Then we headed home. We had a great time.