Cutest girls!

Well this weekend was fall break ( I guess really only for Gracie) but we didn't do one fun thing. We didn't go to any pumpkin patches or corn mazes or weekend getaways. How boring can one family be! Greg was shipping cows this weekend so he was tied up for a couple days and the girls and I just hung out and slept in. The one thing we did do was get pictures of the girls. It was a dance fund-raiser and we got family pictures done not even a year ago so I didn't think we needed the whole fam again. (Truthfully I just didn't want to be in them. I hate pictures of me) Last time in all the fuss trying to get Chandler to cooperate we didn't get one of the three girls together so I definitely wanted to get one this year along with each individual girl. Needless to say the big girls don't have a problem in front of the camera and I thought this year would be better with Chandler being another year older. Not. She was a stinker of course and we were lucky to get one or two okay shots of her by herself. She wouldn't even cooperate with her sisters sitting right next to her. We had to call in reinforcements and get Billie Jo and Mia to come down and help us and even bribe her with lollipops. I guess it will have to do though because if she acts this way in a familiar place like the neighbors dance studio, there's no way she will humor us in someplace like kiddie kandids. Here's a peek.Although they all turned out OK this is one of my favorites. It pretty much sums up life at our house. Someone is usually crying and everyone else is trying to figure out what the heck is wrong.

girls, girls, girls

I got some cute pictures of the girls playing outside with the neighbors the other day so I though I would post them. I made them go outside and play because they're not going to get the chance for too much longer with cold weather quickly approaching. We are so lucky that our neighbors have 3 little girls about the same age as ours. They don't always get along but most of the time they have a ball.

Ellie and GracieTess and Hayden

Mia and Chandler

It's really comforting to know that in about 8-10 years when the hormones in our house start to really peak we won't be alone. Tim and Billie Jo will be in the exact same boat and a couple years ahead in fact so they can give us really good advice on how to handle teenage girls.

We've been doing swim lessons for the past few saturdays also and I though I would throw in some pictures.

Girls weekend-

Over the weekend, the girls and I went and stayed in Salem. We haven't been down in a while and now that we'll be doing swim lessons for the next 6 Saturdays, I figured we'd better get down there. Greg was vaccinating calves and helping his dad bring cows down off the hill on Saturday and Sunday anyway so it was a good time to go. We don't get down there as much as we use to. With 3 kids it's gotten harder to pick up and leave for a couple nights. Packing for 4 is a real pain and especially when I forget something major like someones underwear (usually mine) or even worse, a stuffed animal!!! When we are there though the girls have a ball. My parents and my older sister live next door to each other so we don't just visit grandma and grandpa we visit the whole fam-damily! This weekend however, all the boys were hunting so it was just the girls! We didn't do anything too exciting. We couldn't talk anyone into babysitting so the big girls could catch a movie but we did get to go bummin' for a while till the BYU game started then grandma deserted us. Then we went out to eat at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants and Jamie and I made some cute headbands and flower clips for the girls hair. On Sunday we got to visit with my Grandma Maida, We try to see her every time we are down because she loves to see the girls. She's over 90 and is still so sharp. Sometimes it takes her a minute but she seems to remember all the kids names. My parents live just around the corner from her so it's always fun to walk down to Grandma Maida's. After that we went and "stole" some peaches. My uncle planted peach trees years ago so in the summer we go "steal" them. We don't really steal them because we have permission but it's sort of become a tradition to steal peaches from Uncle Shirl. Unfortunately my uncle died a while ago so although I have many memories of my uncle, "stealing peaches" is one I share with my kids. Sometimes we'll be in the grocery store and see the peaches and one of the girls will say something about getting ours from Uncle Shirl. I wish I was more ambitious and would bottle some but I'm just not there yet.

So when we left Salem we headed home to Francis where the big round-up was over and Grandma Dixie and Andrea had prepared yet another feast for the cowboys. Whenever they move the cows or haul hay or do anything that requires extra helpers, Dixie wont let them leave with an empty stomach. She goes all out with dinner and dessert and she invites their spouses too. I'm not sure how she does it because she's never sure how many mouths will come or even what time to expect them ( you know how cowboys are) As always it was awesome. Thanks Gramma Dix it was Yum-O. It's plain to see why they're always able to get so many helpers. I think the cowboys outnumbered the cows this time! Anyhoo- It was a busy but fun weekend and now that my two days of babysitting are over I can catch my breath and get some stuff done around my house..... maybe later.

Sisters

I was blow drying my hair the other day and Hayden and Chandler were watching TV, or at least I thought anyway. When It was a little too quiet I went to check on them. Hayden had fallen asleep on the couch and Chandler was asleep on the love seat. I don't get time to myself very often, so I tip-toed around the house for a while doing laundry and other chores that I have been putting off. When I came back in the living room Chandler had gotten off her couch and snuggled up to her sister and gone back to sleep. Of course I grabbed my camera so that I have proof to show them that they really do love each other in spite of all the scars from biting and scratching. Hopefully we'll be out of that phase soon.

Haydo-P-Tado goes to school!

Hayden started preschool today. She's been counting down for the last week or so and she was really excited. Last year we didn't know anyone in her class before she started but this year there were a few people she already knew so that made it even more exciting. It's crazy how big she's gotten. Greg thinks she isn't growing fast enough but of going by the length of her last years pants, she's definitely grown. She may not be as tall as her big sister but she's getting there. She is really into coloring now and writing words all the time. She is always asking me how to spell something and writing it down. She's a smartie and I'm excited to see how far she will come in school this year.