Wiggles Birthday

Our little Wiggles turned 6.  And what a celebration it was!!

Some of Wiggles favorite things:

Food: Mac and cheese

Color: Pink

Toy: Ella the kangaroo

Movie: Frozen (of course!)

Thing to do: Play games or read

Wiggles elected to have a Frozen birthday party.   We enjoyed Frozen crafts, games, sing-a-longs, food, and more!  Angel got into it and dressed up as Olaf the snowman! :)

Wiggles has become very good at reading on her own!!  Here she is, reading a birthday card from Oma and Opa in Germany!

Dear Wiggles,

You bring SO much love, joy and laughter into our lives and our home!  Your giggles are contagious, your energy is astounding, your smile is so sweet, and the love you so freely give warms the hearts of all who know you.  You are strong yet sensitive, chatty and friendly, yet sometimes shy.  You are quick to forgive, and the first to offer love to others.  You are free with your hugs and kisses and quick to offer up a smile or laughter.  You are constantly in motion, except when you are sitting to read or draw.  Then, while you sit, you are constantly singing.  You are incredibly honest, no matter what.  You often volunteer information (which may get you in trouble) without even being asked.  (E.g.  I didn't kick Grins, I stomped on his foot and THEN kicked him.)  It is adorable and so endearing.  You are not patient, but you are oh so passionate.  You make us laugh.

Thank you for joining our family 6 years ago!  Life would simply not be the same without you around!  It is such a treasure and a blessing to be your mommy!

I love you!

Halloween 2015

This year in anticipation of Halloween, we headed out to an incredible pumpkin patch on Sauvie's Island to find our pumpkins.

We tried to find our way around the "Neverland Maze" - quite an adventure!

After HOURS deliberating over which pumpkins they wanted (yes - it took them that long!), here are the ones they finally ended up with!

Here we are on Halloween, in our costumes, with our jack-o-lanterns carved (or painted).

Grins = Luke Skywalker, Wiggles = witch, Angel = angel

 Imagine he's holding a lightsaber.  Fortunately my children are willing to use their imaginations when their mother mistakenly forgets to purchase a vital part of their costume. :)  I also had just finished sewing his tunic - hence the strings hanging off the sleeves.  For costumes, I choose speed over quality/precision in finishing. :)

Angel's hair was actually dyed GOLD, in case you can't tell.

Wiggles puts on her "witchiest" face

Grins had his face painted at an event we attended earlier that month.  He had high hopes of me recreating it for Halloween.....but I was glad when he opted for Luke instead. :)

Here we are, Halloween night.

We took advantage of the "freebies" on Halloween!  First, we got "Booritos" at Chipotle (only $3! yeah!), then got free smoothies at Jamba Juice and free donuts at Krispy Kreme.  Gotta love holiday freebies - especially since we very rarely eat out!

Then, we tricked-and-treated around the neighborhood, and the children came home with an obscene amount of candy:

Which they promptly organized and began trading amongst themselves.  Another good Halloween to remember.

Buying a House

As soon as we got to Oregon, we began an intense search for our next home.  It was very difficult, as we didn't find our 'dream home' and didn't want to spend that much money for something we didn't love.....but at the same time, we needed a place to live!!  We looked at dozens of homes...and finally settled on a home in a wonderful neighborhood.  We decided that, though not our dream home, it would do for now, and we took the plunge!

Here we are, putting our "sold" stickers on at the sales office! :)

The Cabin

With summer drawing to a close, we decided to take a quick, day trip to the family cabin in the mountains.  We thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful scenery and, of course the rushing rapids and frigid swimming hole!!!

There is a large rock overlooking the swimming hole that we used to jump off as children.  Actually, I think I only ever jumped off once, as I tend to be quite cautious.  The Mr, however, is much more daring, and jumps off at least once every trip.  So he bribed - er, motivated the kids (with promises of Ben and Jerry's) to jump.  We were surprised when they ALL went for it!!  Angel and Grins even did it again!!!

Grins is Baptized

When Grins turned 8 years old, he made the big and important decision to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  He chose to be baptized by his Daddy.  He was baptized in the Lakeridge building - the building I (Mommy) attended church throughout my childhood!

Abbie, Angel and some of the Weiler cousins sang "I Am A Child of God" while Grins and Daddy dried off.

Following the program, we enjoyed some delicious brownie sundaes (Grins' request.)

Grins was grateful to have so many supportive family members present!

Rachel and Ryan

 Micah and Jenn

 Nay and Molly

 And the Weiler gang

Utah Memory Lane

While in Utah, we decided to take a trip down Memory Lane with the children.  Our children were all born in Salt Lake City, and spent the first several years of their lives there, so Salt Lake City holds some very dear memories for our family.  And we hadn't been back to Utah for over 4 years, so we decided it was high time to show the children around their very first homes and neighborhoods!

We started at the University of Utah hospital, where all 3 of our children were born!

The outside has changed, but inside, Labor and Delivery looked exactly the same!!  I have a picture of me, pregnant with Angel, standing in this very spot!)

We then visited the former Ronald McDonald House, which was both Angel's and Grins' first home (we moved a few months before Wiggles was born).

Then we visited the incredible downtown SLC public library, where I took Angel and Grins for story time almost every single week that we lived in SLC.  They didn't remember it - but I remember SO many hours there - playing in their different themed rooms, nursing each of them in the mother's room, the hundreds of fun and clever preschool and baby story times we attended, and so forth.

Next, we headed up the hill to the University of Utah married student housing, where we lived from 2008-2010.  The kids are standing right in front of our apartment, 1450 (the middle floor).

Here they are at the court playground, where Angel and Grins both learned how to ride their bikes!

Then we headed further up the hill to the Shrieve's house, where we lived for a year (2008-2009) when Wiggles was born.  

From there, we hiked through City Creek Canyon - a walk we took nearly every Sunday Spring through Fall while we lived there.  Though the creek had shifted somewhat, and our favorite bridge had been removed, we were able to find our old favorite picnic area.

It was a picture perfect day in our perfect little picnic spot!

We finished our little tour at Temple Square - another location we used to frequent on Sundays during our years in Salt Lake City.

We took a tour of the Conference Center.  During all our previous visits to the conference center, we had never been on the roof!  It did not disappoint!

The children enjoyed our various 'landmarks' and hearing stories of when they were little - but for the the Mr. and I, it was precious.  The memories of our children as infants and babies, and those precious first years as a young family came flooding back.  It made me miss those wonderful times with all of my heart - while at the same time, filled my heart with gratitude for the wonderful memories we have with our children.  It meant so much to be able to see so many special places again!!  I only hope it won't be so many years before we visit again!!