Thanksgiving Break

Corbin got the whole week off for Thanksgiving break. On Tuesday we drove to Arco for a few days. Trisha and her kids were able to join us for part of the time. As soon as we got to Arco I fixed my girls' hair and we had Trisha come and snap a few pictures outside. We have been in serious need of a new family picture so we went for it. Surprisingly our kids were very cooperative and it only took a few minutes and we got a lot of great pictures. Score! The kids had a great time playing together Tuesday night. It was a little loud, messy, and chaotic for my mom I think. She had been up since 2:00 in the morning for their temple calling and she went to bed at 7:30 that night. We watched Planes, Trains, and Automobiles as tradition. That is a GREAT movie to watch with my dad because even though he's seen it 5 million times he still laughs really hard the whole time. I mostly like to watch it for that reason. After that we watched The Bishop's Wife.

On Wednesday we got the kids out and they got to go straw down the cattle as we call it. Gabby was too chicken at first but overcame it and joined us and had a great time. After that we went on a short drive and hike to see a natural arch. After lunch we went and took a drive and a short hike to see some Indian paintings. The weather was so beautiful. It was so great to be able to spend some time outdoors. After that Trisha headed back home.

I thought my kids would be pretty high maintenance after their cousins left but they were pretty chill the rest of the time, it was nice. Corbin found my brother's old Kinex toys and played with those for hours and I found an old jewelry kit and Gabby made necklaces and bracelets for hours and hours. Piper just did whatever and Ryan didn't get into too much mischief and only fell down the stairs once. Scott, Keaton, and I played a round of Settlers of Catan that night and Keaton totally killed us.

Thanksgiving day was pretty chill. My mom has everything down to a science and has the dinner ready by 9:00 in the morning but we hold off until about 11:30 to eat. The great thing about an early Thanksgiving dinner is you get to eat leftovers on Thanksgiving day. It's pretty sweet! Scott took the kids on a short 4 wheeler ride and to a little park by our house. My parents headed back to Idaho Falls around 4:30 that day to avoid driving in the dark and to stay in IF that night for their early morning temple assignment. Scott, Keaton, and I played another round of Catan that night and Scott killed us. Then we watched Badlands. That movie is based on a true story and it's pretty crazy.

Friday morning we got up and packed and headed home. It was a really fun break. My kids had a great time playing with their Rigby cousins and going on hiking adventures. We all LOVED granny's Thanksgiving dinner and good times were had by all. Thanks for all your work mom! We sure loved it.  

Strawing down the cattle

Too adorable! My puff coat cuties. The thought of hiking tuckered poor Ryan right out.

I love little Pipes walking next to the sage brush. She's so tiny.

Cuddles with Gramps.

It's Christmastime at our House

This week there has been lots of snow on the ground and on the roads. It's been pretty treacherous driving all week. I couldn't take all the beautiful white snow without my Christmas decorations any longer. I had to bust out the Christmas stuff on Wednesday. We enjoyed our Christmas decorations with beautiful snow for a few days but the weather finally warmed up and almost all of the snow is melted now. The snow was so pretty for about a week.

On Tuesday I went to the cannery for a couple of hours. Scott was supposed to be home but had a work conflict come up. Luckily I was able to farm out my kids because finding a sub for the cannery is not easy.

On Thursday night I was able to go with some girlfriends to Mocking Jay. We decided to go last minute and we were pleased to find that the movie theater was not the least bit crowded. It was fun. There were about 25 minutes of previews but watching them with my friends was almost better than the movie...almost.

We got our garage door fixed last week. It has been so annoying to not have it working. Within the same week our car broke down, our dryer died, and our garage door broke down. Now everything is up and running again. Wow, I sure do take my modern day conveniences for granted!

Corbin got invited to a birthday party from a classmate that I didn't know. I decided I would go with him because he wanted to go. It was kind of a random party. Lots of kids from the 1st grade were there but then there were also lots of family members and family friends. The dynamics were really weird and they told parents to come pick up their kids in 4 hours. 4 hours! Ya right. They didn't have any activities planned and the kids just went back and forth from playing downstairs with nothing and coming back upstairs. Corbin ended up being the only boy from the class who showed up so he spent most of the time hiding under a table. Anyway it was a bust to say the least. The good news for me was the birthday girl's Mexican grandma made the most amazing homemade salsa and chicken tamales, Seriously amazing! Corbin tried to hold out until they cut the cake but I told him there was no way to know when that was going to happen so after an hour and a half we bailed! If you are going to have a party where you invite most of your classmates in my opinion it needs to be a friends only affair and there needs to be structured activities and it should be no longer than 2 hours. You don't combine family and friends and have a bunch of kids from school come over to hang out! It was weird but the food was amazing! Haha.

Quotes:
Corbin: "Mom, I've got a question. Are we getting out the Christmas movies? Cause if not I'm going to be a drama queen."

Gabby: "Mom, he doesn't come when we're not asleep." Me:"Who Santa?" G;"Uh Huh."
"I wish a had a tiara for this dress, a tiara is another word for crown."

Piper: "Mom can you wipe my bum?" Me:"Did you poop?" P:"Don't say poop, that makes me so mad!"
Piper speaks really well and says most words correctly but she does say things like take a bap, (bath) or that's so hunny, (funny). It's just funny to hear kids say some words.

Ryan is walking all over the house these days.

We had to build a Ryan barricade so he wouldn't ruin Gabby's block creations.

Gabby's cute snowman.

Corbin's cabin and trees.

Crazy Week

Corbin was out of school Monday and Tuesday because of teacher in-service/veterans day and Friday because of a snow day. We were homeward bound most of those days because Scott's car broke down and took a few days to get fixed and then the roads were so bad for two days that we didn't want to leave the house. Our dryer died on us on Monday. It was kind of a long week with Corbin out of school and no car and no dryer to do laundry. Scott went and bought a new, used dryer on Saturday and I was so excited to finally get to do some laundry. 

On Monday Corbin wanted to earn some money and since there was no school he didn't have anything better to do so he ended up raking leaves for about 2 hours. That was awesome. He actually didn't get too much done in that time but it was GREAT having him outside getting some exercise. I also took the kids to Burger King for lunch to meet Anna and Lexi. It ended up being kind of stressful for me and we didn't last very long. I invited a friend to come play Tuesday to help break up that day. I ended up having to help entertain them all for awhile. We played some board games and then we played a ping pong game. We then went outside and I stood and froze while they played.

On Wednesday my friend Katrina came over with her mom to watch Emma with me. That was fun. I love Katrina's mom. It was funny. On Thursday I fed the missionaries and Katrina because she moved to Arizona on Saturday. She is already engaged and going to live in AZ forever. Saddest. I'm excited for her though.

Thursday morning it started to lightly snow and I thought if we were lucky it would barely dust the ground. Boy was I wrong. It kind of snowed off and on throughout the day and night and continued to snow all day on Friday. It was crazy! We got 7 inches of snow. Unfortunately it wasn't great snowman snow but we tried our best. I shoveled snow for two hours that day. Woo that is exhausting! The snow was soooo heavy. Some of Scott's family was supposed to come up for a visit this weekend but due to the storm they were unable to make it. That was a bummer.

Friday and Saturday we just kind of embraced the winter situation that was and in between going outside to play in the snow we watched a lot of TV. I couldn't help but start watching Christmas shows and listening to Christmas music with all of that beautiful snow. My kids kept begging me to get out the Christmas stuff but I wouldn't. Who knows I still might, even though I already have up my Thanksgiving decorations.

Lately after Sunday dinner we have been playing family games and it is my new favorite tradition. The kids love it. I hope we continue it. We played Pictionary tonight. Good times! Love my cute kids. Oh and Ryan is walking all over the place. He has a toy walker and he man handles that thing all over the house. It is the cutest! Love that little baby.

Thursday morning the kids immediately went out to play in it before Corbin headed off to school.

Gabby outgrew her boots so I tried to improvise by wrapping her shoes in towels and garbage bags. I don't think it lasted one minute.

Ryan went out Thursday morning and got in the snow and cried and cried. So Friday I tried strapping him in the stroller so he could be outside with us without having to crawl around in it. He was happy for a few minutes. Playing in the snow is not very easy with a crawling baby.

Gabby helped me make rolls for Thanksgiving.

My friend was selling her son's boots for $5 so I bought them. I thought Gabby wouldn't care after playing in the snow for two hours in her Sunday ballet slipper shoes. I was wrong. She wouldn't wear them until I hot glued fabric of her choice on them

Glamorous now right? Ha.

Cute buddy was cuddling with me last night. AHH.

SNOW!

Corbin took this walking video of Ryan Monday night. He is walking a lot!

Happy Birthday to Me

On Wednesday Scott was gone most of the day so I took advantage of that time and painted the office all day. By the time he got home around 9:00 I was three fourths done. Scott was good enough to help me finish the last wall that night. That was the wall with his heavy bookshelves that I couldn't have moved them by myself. We painted until 11:30 that night. Now I am finally finished! Woot!

Thursday was my birthday. Scott left early and came back with treats and fresh flowers. I used to think I was too practical and didn't like fresh cut flowers (waste of money, live a couple days). But I've decided that I do like getting flowers. I have loved them! He then cooked us breakfast. For lunch we decided last minute to meet Scott at Taco Bell for lunch. It was really fun. It was spontaneous and we never go there. The kids were super good and it was fun. I then took the three little ones to Wal-mart and headed home. I made myself my annual pumpkin cake for my birthday. So yummy and so unhealthy. Scott came home and we went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Scott had to go to work after that. I put the little ones to bed and Corbin and I did facetime with Carole and baby Hannah. She is so cute. That night I had a girls night at my house. We haven't had one in a few months so it was extra fun.

On Friday I got a babysitter and Scott and I went on a birthday date. We went to Red Robin and then shopping with my birthday money. I found some good stuff despite not feeling well. As soon as we got to the mall I got a headache but we don't get babysitters often and I rarely have money to spend at the mall so I powered through.

Scott made his first sale this week! That is exciting. Go Scott. Cheers to many more sales to come.

Now that I've finished my home improvements I really want to focus more on Corbin's sight words and reading in general and Gabby's preschool. Those are my goals at this point. That's all.

Play Date and kids playing outside. It was freezing, (Piper bare feet). My kids love being outside. Ryan LOVES being outside. He's been super crabby all week and so we've been outside a lot. 

Gabby's painting. Queen Elsa on the left, Aurora on the right. Gabby has her dad's artistic skills. 

Another play date.

Ryan with shoes! I had to breakdown and buy him shoes. I'm a barefeet baby kind of girl, but when your baby is active in the winter time they need shoes.

Birthday dinner. These kids stealing my soda.

Piper doing impersonations from shows.

Ryan's First Birthday

Well I did go grocery shopping last week. Go me. It was Ryan's birthday on Wednesday. We mostly celebrated at home with special breakfast, dinner, and cake. After school we went to the park to play. Ryan really likes being outside. Scott was actually working and missed dinner, presents, and cake. That was a bummer, good thing he won't remember.

Ryan is so cute and funny. One of my favorite things that he does is he will be crawling and stop and put his head on the ground and look upside down. It's so funny. Just picture an arch with a baby back and his head down, it's funny. He also does this crazy fast bear crawl. Scott got a great video at church today. He loves being outside and he will escape any chance he gets. He is walking around furniture and takes a few steps independently here and there. I love his sweet smiles and any time he sings or babbles. He is just the cutest!

On Halloween I took the girls to story time but it wasn't great. It's supposed to be a preschool story time but there were all babies there and it was super babyish. Oh well. I was in charge of the games at Corbin's class party. I haven't been able to volunteer very much this year so I don't even know most of kids' names which is a bummer. We played toilet paper bowling and pumpkin ring toss. Anna got us free tickets to The Farmstead but it was a bit of a bust. It took us about 45 minutes to get there (normally 15-20) the traffic was insane! When we got there it was just really crowded and hard to try to actually do anything with so many little kids and one adult. Luckily Anna helped me out a lot. Corbin was able to go and do a few fun things with Dejah. The little kids enjoyed playing in the corn boxes. Ryan was being a crabster and Piper ran off with Lexi a couple of times and I decided to get out of there. It is a fun place to go but not when it's super crowded and you only have one parent there. We came home and ate dinner and went trick or treating. I did our little cul-de-sac with the kids and Scott got home and took them to the neighborhood across the street. I took Ryan home because he was being a crabster. His back gums look really swollen so he may be working on some teeth. After the kids ate tons of candy they went to bed and Scott and I watched The Village.

Saturday I painted practically the whole day and finished both bathrooms. Now the only room I have left is Scott's office. It will be the hardest to do for sure. It's full of Scott's crap and Scott most of the time. Ha. Not sure how I am going to paint it. I'm excited to be done painting. I've never been more grateful for a small house. Exhausting work for sure.

Gabby Quotes:
Me: "I need to text my mom." G: "Who's your mom?" Me: "Granny's my mom." G:"and Nana is daddy's mom. It's funny that grown ups have moms."

G: "Mom, brothers are pretty annoying."


Ryan's 1 year stats:
Weight: 22 pounds 8 ounces 50%
Height: 29 3/4 inches 50%
Head Circ. 48 cm 89%


Pipers' 1 year stats?
Can you tell she's my third? I can't find the slip. She only weighs a little over 17 pounds. She is 5th percentile in weight, 50th in height and I don't even know what her head circ. is. 

Corbin and Gabby's stats:

It looks like Ryan is my chunkiest baby. Corbin was the tallest at 12 months, Piper was the tiniest. All my babies have big heads, it's to fit their big brains right? Ryan is so dense. He doesn't look very chunky and really he isn't. He hardly has any rolls on his arms or legs but man he is thick!

Birthday Decor

Love this boy! I made him a dirt cake because he loves to eat real dirt.

"Bowling pins" for Corbin's party.

Cow Train

Piper is more brave than Gabby. She refused to go.

Luckily there were vendors handing out free stuff and someone gave this guy a drink and it helped keep him happy for a good while. He is so darling!

Gabby walked on the spider web. I'm surprised she was brave enough to handle that. I didn't get a picture in the corn box but she and Piper both loved it.

Candy, candy, candy. (Don't worry Nana, Gabby actually wears her beautiful princess gown you bought her a lot but I rarely sweat the small stuff when it comes to what Gabby wants and she wanted to wear that costume). 

And Piper wanted to wear this one. Whatever!

Ryan got right in and busted into the other kids' candy.

Gabby insisting on trying on Corbin's 12 month devil costume.

The best part of this video is when Gabby starts laughing and it makes Ryan start laughing too.

This boy is fast!