Happy Halloween!

Not everyone likes to celebrate Halloween, but it has always been a big deal in our family . . . especially since my brother Jade was born on Halloween - 19 years ago!  Happy Birthday Jade!!!

Stetson LOVES preschool!!!  The week before Halloween, they learned about spiders, and he made this cute little spider hat.  If you think this one little spider head is cute, you should have seen his whole class outside Miss Lana's house sporting these bouncy hats (where is a camera when you need it?).

We started the Halloween celebrations off early with a Halloween Party with the cousins at Grandma Grover's house.  We got all dressed up for the occasion:

Stetson as Batman

Lucy is a cupcake!

 This day was also the last day of the deer hunt, and Jens had been out hunting.  When he got back, Lucy was so excited to show him her cute costume.  I don't think he meant to come to the party dressed up, but his hunting gear worked great!

The hunter and his cupcake

 These two are the best of friends, so of course they had to dress up the same for Halloween.

Look out - here comes the Batman Duo!

Stetson and J.D.

 By this time our little cupcake had lost her cherry on top, but she still looked too cute!  And how about that cute little bumble bee?  Do bees like cupcakes?  I think so!

Aspen and Lucy

 In my opinion, the best part of the party was the food!!!

Halloween Oreos and Rice Crispie Pumpkins

Bones and Blood, a Halloween Chex Mix, little Mummies, and Pizza

The kids dipped and decorated these apples themselves!

 On Halloween morning, we had to get up bright and early.  This kids came with me to Drill Team practice at 5:30 AM.  When we got home, we were hungry!!!  So we made the kids' favorite - pancakes!!!  I attempted Halloween-themed shapes, and let the kids decorate them.  They were a little sugary, but super cute!

Excited to eat those yummy pancakes!

 All ready for trick-or-treating!

Trick-or-treating with the cousins

Zach, Grandma Palmer, Aspen, Paige, J.D. Stetson, Lucy

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

Happy Birthday Stetson!!!

I can't believe Stetson is already FIVE years old!!!  This birthday was special because it fell on a Wednesday, the very day of the week that Stetson was born.  I set my alarm for 5:05 am, which is the time he was born.  I didn't have the heart to wake him up that early, but it was nice to take a minute and remember that special day, 5 years ago.

The birthday boy in the crown he got from preschool

 We let him open one present before breakfast . . . 

. . . of course I took the liberty of choosing which one so that he would be able to wear his new shirt on his special day.

This shirt has all the "action super heroes" as he calls them

 Stetson loves to help in the kitchen, especially when we are making something he likes . . . like French Toast!  Stetson is not much of a breakfast person, and would probably be happy with just a glass of chocolate milk in the morning - don't worry I try to get him to eat more than that!  If he had to choose his favorite breakfast food, it would be French Toast and eggs, he doesn't really like cold cereal at all - crazy kid!

Cooking French Toast for his birthday breakfast

 So I asked Stetson what he wanted to do for lunch; I suggested that we could go out to eat or pack a picnic lunch and go to the park - he chose the picnic lunch at the park.  We went to the store to get some food for our picnic, I was thinking something from the deli, like chicken strips or something.  Nope, Stetson is a simple guy, "let's just go home and make ham and cheese sandwiches", he said.  For real?  At first I thought he was kidding, but he was totally serious!  We did buy a bag of chips, some juice boxes and doughnuts to go with our sandwiches.  And then we went to the park!

Stetson likes to slide down on his belly

Lucy LOVES the swing

 Actually, they both love the swing, and would probably do it all day if I would stay and give them underdogs all day.

I wish you could hear their giggles as I was taking this picture - sheer joy!

 My sister and her kids met us at the park to play and eat lunch.  My kids LOVE their cousins!

Building a sand castle in the shade

Lucy - Aspen - J.D. - Stetson

 Stetson has been saying for months that he wanted matchbox cars on his cake.  So I envisioned a race track with cars going around it.  He picked his cars and we started decorating; suddenly he started talking about his football cake . . . what?  "I thought you wanted to put these cars on it", I said. "Yeah, I want a football cake with cars on it", he replied.  We settled on a football field with a dirt racetrack around it.  Maybe something you would find in Radiator Springs.  The football cupcakes for the kids in his preschool class tied it all together.

The birthday boy with his balloons and cake

 Just so you know, Francisco is in the lead; according to Stetson, he is the fastest race car in the world!  Also note the edge of the football field, the blue and gold side is for the Broncos.

A close up of the cake

Stetson chose spaghetti and corn for dinner, his favorite.

The birthday boy eating dinner

 Here he is with his unopened gifts . . . 

And again in the same spot after all the gifts were opened.  He got a camera, chaps, a lego set, a coloring book and some irrigating boots to help his dad with chores.  He was pretty happy with his loot!

We invited all the family over to watch him blow out his candles and then eat cake and ice cream with us.  Stetson was so excited, it seemed as if he would burst!  And he put on quite a show blowing out those five candles.  He blew out one at a time the first go round; then, since I didn't get that on video we had him do it again, and he blew out all five in one blow!  I guess he just had to get warmed up.

A VERY happy birthday boy

 Thanks to everyone for coming and celebrating with us.  Thanks also for the wonderful gifts!  We love you all and appreciate your support!

Stetson is such a fun guy to be around.  He always has a big smile on his face, and loves to do just about anything!  He loves to talk to people, and is always telling stories and quoting movies.  My favorite thing about Stetson is his positive attitude, and his genuine concern for others.  He loves his mama, and is always there to give me a hug and tell me things are going to be okay.  He has a tender little heart though, and if I ever raise my voice, he leaves the room with his tail between his legs, just like a little puppy.  We made a deal, if he will obey, I won't raise my voice . . . sometimes we both forget, but we always forgive!  I love you Stet-man!!!

Check out those eyes

 Stetson was so excited when we got this package in a box he could fit in.  After it was emptied, he actually set it here by the front door, climbed in, and then knocked on the door so I would come to answer the door and see the package.  It was the cutest thing . . . and by far the best package I have ever received!

The best things in life come in small packages!

 One day I was tending my niece Elsie, and Stetson was such a great helper.  I hope this is the case with his new little sister!

Stetson and Elsie

 We love bath time at our house, especially when there are bubbles!

Meet the next Santa Clause - ho, ho, ho!

So I stole my sister-in-law's idea (I hope you don't mind, Alicia), and did an interview with Stetson.  Here are a few of his favorites at FIVE years old:

1. Favorite color: Blue

2. Favorite food: Macaroni and Cheese

3. Favorite drink: Chocolate Milk

4. Favorite animal: Rhino

5. Favorite number: 1200

6. Favorite letter: S

7. Favorite place to go: the motel (with swimming pool, of course)

8. Favorite thing to do: Play pirates

9. Favorite person: J.D.

10. Favorite book: Henny Penny

11. Favorite movie: Pirates of the Caribean

12. When Stetson grows up he wants to be a working dad.

What kind of work does he want to do?  Build houses like uncle Steve.

We love you Stetson!  Hope you had the best birthday ever!!!

On the Mountain

We were able to spend some time on the mountain this summer, and the kids loved every minute of it!  Here are a few of the things we did up on the Bears Ears:

Lucy and Stetson riding Stetson's horse Mater

Hauling water with dad

 We had to haul water from the pond in East Ears to several troughs on South Long Point.  The process took several hours, and had to be done every day - not fun!  The kids entertained themselves by throwing rocks into the pond.

Kenny was showing Stetson how to skip rocks.  Here he is with one of the 'skipping rocks' he found.

Lucy can throw with either hand, but her right hand is a lot more accurate.

 Riding Grandma Black's horse Shadow

Cowboy Stetson

Cowgirl Lucy

 Just hanging out at the cabin, playing in the dirt, and having fun

How do they get so dirty?

You gotta' love that dirty little face!

Riding our stud, Frosty

Branding at the corral

Stetson getting ready to rope a calf, ha ha!

Lucy stayed on the ground and helped with the tags - say cheese!

Just a few of the awesome helpers we had that day

Workin' on the Corral

Stetson was a big help in making improvements to our corral, and dad even let him drive the skid steer!

Are you sure you know how to run that?

Finding Pine Nuts

This year we introduced the kids to the timeless tradition of collecting pine nuts in the fall.  They caught right on, and were picking them up as fast as they could (the good ones, along with the bad).  Lucy liked eating them, but Stetson wouldn't even try one, he said, "it looks like they might taste like a nut."  I guess to him anything that tastes like a nut is not even worth trying, ha ha!

Lucy, supervising the boys . . .

. . . and finally getting in on the fun herself.

Getting Wood

I felt bad for Kenny as we headed out on our first wood gathering trip, knowing that it was pretty much going to be a one man show with a pregnant woman and two small children, but I was wrong!  These kids worked super hard, hauling wood and loading the trailer.  At first I thought, yeah, this will last about 5 minutes, but they kept going for a couple hours!  I'll admit, I was a little proud:)

That is one strong 4 year old!

Hauling the wood to the trailer

Check out that load of wood he helped with!  Way to go Stetson!

She may only be two, but she can haul wood too

She even carried it to the trailer, and only tripped a few times:)

My two amazing kids with our little load of wood

We love spending time on "our" mountain, as Stetson calls the Elk Mountain.

Indianapolis, Indiana

Look out world, another Elder Grover is preparing to enter the mission field!  Elder Jade M. Grover has just been called to serve for two years in the Indianapolis, Indiana mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  He will be speaking English and will enter the MTC on January 16, 2013.  Congratulations Jade!!!  We are so proud of you for making this decision and wish you the best in your preparations.  You will be a great missionary, you just need to have confidence in yourself . . . don't beat yourself up all the time, the world will take care of that for you:)  We love you tons and thank you for your amazing example to all of us.  You are the best . . . never forget that!

By the way, I didn't win the prize for the guessing jar . . . secretly I was hoping that he would go to Australia so we would have an excuse to go and pick him up in two years, oh well.  He did get two and a half of his wishes, he wanted to go state side, he didn't want to have to learn a new language, and he wanted to go somewhere warm - I think Indiana is pretty warm in the summer:)  Anyway, I'm sure he will love it!  Good Luck Jade!!!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice . . .

. . . that's what little girls are made of.

We are so excited to be welcoming another little GIRL into our family in November!

I don't know if it is all the sugar or hormones in girls, but I have proved to be a lot sicker with the girls than I was with Stetson.  That is why I have suspected a girl all along, but it is nice to know for sure.  Now when people ask I can answer in just one word instead of always having to explain that, yes, we do want to find out, but apparently my children are either private or stubborn, because none of them have revealed their sex in the first ultrasound.  This one was so busy praying for rain that she forgot to open up and let us know she was a girl.  The good news is that just a couple weeks after that first ultrasound, we got some pretty good rains, the first all summer!  Way to go girl!  So, she has been forgiven, especially since she was kind enough to give us a very good view in the second ultrasound.

So here is an update on my pregnancy up to this point.  The last time I posted I was still super sick almost all the time.  Luckily after about month 3 I started to feel sick a lot less often, then by month four I had more good days than bad.  I was feeling better, but was still super tired all the time - I'm gonna' chalk this up to getting old!  I've heard a lot of women say they wanted to be done having kids by the time they were 30, and now I know why!  Even with that, the last few months have been pretty good, and I wasn't even showing that much . . . until I hit six months.  I don't know if this chick had a sudden growth spurt or if my stomach muscles that had been holding her in suddenly just gave way, but boy am I showing now!  Good-bye regular clothes, hello maternity clothes.  If I was keeping it a secret before, there's no secrets now!  It seems like everyone that sees me is like, "wow, I didn't know you were pregnant!"  I may not have looked it, but I sure felt it - and now I feel HUGE!  I think it is just because I grew so much in such a short time.  I have had several people ask me why I'm not showing yet, and I would just say it was because the baby was smashing all my organs.  This proved to be true when they found in this last ultrasound that my right kidney is being smashed pretty good.  It has not closed off yet, but is definitely something we will have to keep an eye on. 

26 weeks

Everything checks out, and I am measuring right on, so it appears that all is well.  Besides being tired all the time, I get worn out really easily.  This has made trying to keep up with two active children and being able to accomplish anything in my yard very difficult!  I have already started having some contractions and feeling a downward pressure that makes me feel like everything is going to fall out if I don't lay down.  I am carrying this baby really low, and I believe that is the reason for the pressure and all the pain I have been feeling in my groin area.  Also, I have been super emotional lately!  I hope my family (especially Kenny and the kids) still love me after this is all over!  They have been super patient and understanding though - thanks guys!!!  The other night as I was bawling my eyes out, Kenny said, "these girls must be a lot harder on you."  And I think he is right.  But, we love them anyway!  This baby has been super active too!  I don't remember my other kids moving around this much.  At least there is no question that she is alive and well, but it would be nice if she would take a break every now and then!

When we told Stetson it was a girl, his face fell and he said, "but I wanted a boy baby!"  He cheered up a little when I said, "at least you won't have to share your room, Lucy will."  Lucy is not into this baby thing at all, she wants "no baby".  She gets very jealous when I hold another baby.  About a week ago I was holding my niece Elsie, and Lucy started throwing a fit.  I got mad at her, and then she disappeared.  We found her in the bathroom with the door closed, just crying her eyes out!  Oh no, this is going to be fun!

I'll admit, I am scared to death.  Most days I am lucky to be able to keep up with the two I have, what will life be like with one more?  Do I have what it takes to be a mother of three?  I hope I get a lot of help from above because these children deserve the best, and I can't do it alone!