Charlie!!

Crazy dog has found her way into being a little mischievous twin to Ammon...with claws and sharper teeth that is. She is a cute puppy and as of January 3rd, she is 7 months old but she has really has tried my patience. Let's just say I'm never doing the puppy thing again. So there was a time I seriously wanted to just get rid of her. Our "things" aren't very nice anyway, but to have a dog chew, slobber, pea and shed hair on them, it makes it hard to love her. But our kids (Rian wrote and the kids signed) a decree pleading for us to keep the dog.

Despite the cuteness of the letter, it wasn't what saved her. A friend convinced me to try a shock collar and I decided to put more of a chore chart together. So for Christmas, Charlie got a shock collar and more responsibility fell on the kids. She's still a puppy and does things, but it's a little better then it was. She's a beautiful dog and I have hope that she will be better as she gets older.

Christmas Time

Christmas was fun because there was more family around. Troy & Kristin and their kids and Missy & Nick with the boys made it feel more like the holidays. The more the Merrier!

The kids opened up their PJ's and then we acted out the nativity. I love doing this. It was a great Christmas!

Yes, my little boy is becoming more like his daddy...goofy! Christmas being on Sunday, we were getting ready for 1pm church (love the later time that day). Ammon decided to put on my swim cap. It was a funny moment!!

To top off the season, we had Gma and Gpa Wardwell come into town for a few days and enjoyed New Years with them and the family. It was so wonderful to have them visit and show their love and appreciation for us and the kids. We love you guys!!

Little Shinner

Back to January...

My poor little Tarin! She once again had a run in with the Jump2It place. Last time she almost broke her wrist. This time it was hitting a wall while jumping around. It looks worse then it was. But she was embarrassed by it. I thought it was kind of cute! She did this two days before school was back in session, so I put eye shadow on the other eye to make it not so obvious. She was happy with that.

Wind Damage

The other day there were wind advisories for the entire day. It wasn't really bad until that evening, but we still went out as a family in the van to do a few things. But when we returned home, we saw the basketball hoop had fallen over onto the car! These pictures are the next morning, because from our first assessment (in the dark), it looked like it completely missed the car. Looking at it now, we have no idea how there wasn't more damage! The window should have shattered! I'm just glad this was the only damage. What a blessing!

That is the end our our Blog Update...

Piano Recital

So much to update on this blog... Rian, Jarom and Tarin have been taking piano lessons from Mrs. Lisa Fowler for 3-4 months and have made tremendous strides. This has been financially stressful, but is one of those things that if you don't start now then looking back we will wish we had... So far, I'm glad we have.

Rian and Jarom started out with me trying to teach them, but my knowledge is limited and listening to "mom" is hard for them. So we took the plunge, and in this short time I've seen poise and technique increase 10 fold! Jarom may say he doesn't want to practice, but he loves to play! I will catch him tinkering around all the time. Rian has grown so fond of piano, I can tell she wants more. Finally, seeing how far Tarin has come in such a short time as a beginner, I'm very glad we started with a teacher.

Tarin and Jarom

Rian

All of Mrs. Fowler's Students

All together with their teacher...to think next year there will be 4 standing with her... whew!

Youth Temple Trip

Last night Rian had the grand experience to go with the youth of the ward for her first time to the temple. One of the perks of her dad being bishop most of this year, he was able to set temple baptism dates...so he made sure one of those dates were soon after her birthday. There were about 32 youth there, so Rian said she was only able to do about 5 names, but I can only imagine the scene in the font with her and her dad doing the work of the Lord. Such wonderful blessings to see your children gain their own testimonies.

Happy Halloween

This year seemed just a little bit different then other years. Still the same question of what to be...still the same excitement to get candy and still the same wondering how to pull off 5 separate costumes...the reality of my little ones growing up set in. Rian had a tough time figuring out what to be, but did a great job in the end. But after a few houses I think she realized why things felt different... she is getting too old for this. That hit it for me. Wow, life sure doesn't sit still for a minute.

From Pirate...
My little pirate...I made his shorts and sash from scrap fabric I had...but we did get a bandanna and a hat.

To witch...
She was opposed to face paint at first, but loved it...

Ninja...
He loved doing his own face paint and being comfortable in his costume

Deadly Vampire...
Loved wearing a cape

All the way to ...80's fashionista!
She kept asking why people dressed this way and why their hair had to be so high...I couldn't make it too high, but she liked it.

Saturday night was the ward trunk or treat party. Killer hay ride with Bro. Coles through the woods around PTC church building...for those of you who know what I'm talking about...it was a thrill for sure, but a lot of fun. Monday morning I decided to take Ammon Trick or Treating around Downtown Newnan Square. Thanks Kristin for reminding me about these fun things to do...it's been awhile since having little ones around... Ammon loved it. At first he was shy...note the picture...

Finally he had warmed up and knew what to do.

Saw the firemen and their dog...

But if you ask Ammon anything about that day you won't get any response about candy or dressing up...you will get an answer about trains and seeing the ding dings go down...We saw a train go through Newnan...his most favorite thing in the world.

After it had passed, we walked the tracks and found an empty tanker car to climb on. It was his favorite day ever!!

That evening we did go trick or treating. We hit Swansbrough Manor, a haunted yard that is put together in someones front yard. It's amazing! Then hit several houses. Like I said before, I think this is the first year the kids (and adults) are feeling like they are getting older. It was a fun, chilly night.

Happy 12th Birthday!!

I Big Happy Birthday to our oldest child, Rian! She is officially a Young Woman! Boy do I feel old! This was a big weekend for her. Birthday was Friday, and I took her out to dinner...then Sunday she graduated from Primary and stated her 13th article of faith over the pulpit...and even though she was technically out of Primary, she was a good sport and finished with the Primary Program. To which she had a solo that she did an excellent job at!

I was just called as an Assistant Ward Camp Leader, that I sort of volunteered for last year, because I knew she would be able to go this year...I'm so excited for her...better yet, she seemed okay that I was going too. I hope she feels that way for years to come...because I love camp too!

Sunday night we had family over for dinner to celebrate both Rian and Troy's birthday. Thank you Kristin for the Wardwell traditional Ice Cream Cake!

Here's to wishing for another great year! Love you baby girl!

Chattahoochee Bend State Park

We decided to drive over to the new Georgia State Park, Chattahoochee Bend that opened July 1st, and check out the new hiking trails. It was a lot of fun. The trails were well maintained and adventurous. We thought it would be a fun trip for Charlie. Geez, that dog still doesn't know she's a K9! She would be shy around all other dogs and only spaz to see other people. We did a round trip of 4 miles. I was proud of our kids making that far...especially little buddy Ammon. I would like to come back and hike the full 5-6 miles...more trails are still being made.

Pine Wood Derby 2011

Jarom worked hard on his car and was very close to winning the whole thing! It came down to milli-seconds...there was even a face off for second place. Overall, he placed third but for being skeptical if his car would even do anything great, we were very pleased!

If only Jarom would smile for some things...

On Our Day Off...

My poor little girl...she is okay, but gave us a bit of a scare! We had a groupon for Jump2It, a great deal for our big family, but the day turned out kind of wonky. First off, we are realizing that they are getting too old for the place, except Ammon, he loves the place. But about 45 mins into the event, Tarin was getting a little to courageous and attempted a fly-through-the-air move that got her foot caught in the netting and ended her face planted on the ground. Her arm naturally tried to break her fall...

Her mouth was bloody and her lip swelled like a large balloon and her face had a little road rash...Because she was complaining about her right wrist, we decided to take her to the Urgent Care. Luckily nothing was broken just a sprain. The doctor was more concerned for her front tooth. Well, we have never had dental insurance and frankly our kids have never been to a dentist (gross I know, but we have never been blessed with that benefit--TMI I know) so we are going to have to do our best to keep an eye on it. Such a blessing that she is okay.

Fall Camping 2011

With the 4 day holiday weekend, we decided to get a quick camping trip in. Yep it was quick, one night, but it was a lot of fun. We invited another family to come, but the dad had to work, so we offered to bring their two oldest with us. It sure helps to have friends for our kids to keep them busy. I had games and hiking on the agenda, but with set up and foil dinners on the menu, we didn't do to many things. The kids actually loved just exploring and hanging out, so I didn't feel too guilty.

We did get some roasting smores in on the night. But as you can see our kids got goofy and started roasting the cookies...and torching the mallows...oh well.

Ammon loved the space to look for bugs and acorns. Don't exactly understand his fascinations with acorns, but it kept him hunting.

And yes, to settle the age old question if boys or girls have life a bit easier...this pictures sums it up...BTW he is nicknamed 'Cute Buns' because he is always dropping his pants in the most random places...

This would be another picture that describes our trip...the dirt didn't stop there...he had wet shoes and wet pants up to his knees...guess they found a creek.

The all loved to explore around the ponds. I wanted to hike around the Chattahoochee, but there was a big cross country race going on in that part of the park. We love the MacIntosh Reserve...45 mins away, next to the river, and wood is provided. But most of all, I just love the outdoors, and camping gives me that breath of fresh air!

Wicked At The Fox

After seeing a show on Broadway in New York, we were curious to find out what was playing at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. We had wanted to watch WICKED in New York but it was sold out. So we looked to see if it was coming...sure enough it was in town sooner then we though. We obviously couldn't get the nice seating, unless we wanted to skip groceries for a few weeks, but we got first hand what the furthest seats were like...on the balcony and highest section up. Oh well, it was still pretty cool. Rian had the chance to come with us (Thank you Gma W!) Although she isn't too fond of musicals, I think she love the environment and hopefully gained a little more respect for the art of musicals.

Thank you Troy and Kristin for helping out with babysitting...
We were able to go out to dinner...first date night in...I don't know how long. We were craving Ted's Montana Grill. I wanted me some Bison! Rian was hesitant, but I really think she liked it.

Of course I love the details of things...I'm an observer for sure.

Waiting for the show to begin...I snuck these pictures in, til I got in trouble. Oh well. Being so far away it was a little more difficult to catch all the dialogue at certain times, but it was still a great show.