ON FIRE

Preschool has been amazing this year. Maybe that's because I know what works and what doesn't. Or maybe because I have insight for additional trips/activities that I hand't thought about last year. Either way, we've been loving it. A few weeks ago we talked about community helpers such as police officers and firefighters. We even discussed a home evacuation plan in case an emergency arrises. To compliment our 'HELP' unit, we scheduled a trip to a local fire station with some friends. It was crazy. And fun. Minutes after we arrived, the alarm sounded and our guide had to go. Luckily, a replacement was quickly found and our tour resumed without a problem. The kids got to take a peek at the living quarters before climbing aboard an actual engine to learn about all of the duties on the job. With so many buttons/levers/contraptions to investigate, the kids got a tad bit chaotic. But for five littles 5 and under, they did great.

365: WEEK 45

I feel like life has become even more of a blur than usual. If it weren't for these photos, I couldn't even begin to tell you what we have done this past week. Stuff? Something? Survived? Between preschool, photography and Christmas planning, everything else is lost. Now that the weather has let up a bit, I've been doing my best to get us outdoors as frequently as possible. Which has made me realize that my oldest two still do not know how to ride bikes... Training wheel are expectable for 5/6 year olds, right? My favorite image of the week: November 9th - First Steps. This little guy has been the fastest of my littles to meet milestones. For the heck of it, I tried to get him to take a few steps last week. And he did. All on his own. He is not quite a full-blown walker yet, but boy can this kid get around on two legs.

My kids. They now wear those plastic fire helmets every. single. day.

365: WEEK 44

Whew! Halloween has come and gone, so I have a moment to breathe. But only a moment. I've been going non-stop. Prenatal appointment. Zoo trip. HALLOWEEN. State-wide Conference. Newborn photo session. Oh. That state-wide conference? I was asked to SPEAK at the adult/12+ session for my stake the evening before. Imagine my surprise when I was one of only three speakers in addition to two members of the stake presidency. Or my complete shock when I learned I would be the very first person to speak. Good thing I've had several years of public speaking experience - I actually enjoyed it. Because I am weird like that. My favorite image of the week: October 31st - Mario Bros Halloween. These kids. They are hilarious. And I am so glad they played up their parts. It is so fun to rock a theme for Halloween. I may or may not be trying to decide on costume ideas for next year already...

365: WEEK 43

I'm falling behind. But I don't even care. This time of year is crazy and my absence just means I am where I need to be: with my family. For Halloween this year, I did something with my littles called Spooktacular 13 Days of Halloween. Each weekday, we did a [simple] Halloween craft and ate a [simple] Halloween treat. It was a blast; it gave us something fun to look forward to each afternoon. When I wasn't doing something with the kids, I was writing a murder mystery for a Halloween dinner that a friend hosted OR making Halloween costumes. Not to mention, the oldest two boys had their primary program and a good friend had her baby. Dear life, slow down. I don't sleep and I'm going insane. Favorite image of the week: October 22nd - Halloween Crafts. Her eyes - slay me. This girl is seriously my double, right down to the sassy, little attitude.

365: WEEK 42

This last week has been full of family, family, family. And I've loved every minute of it. A week ago, the mr.'s baby sister returned from her mission. We were at the airport with bells and whistles. Okay, maybe not bells and whistles, but signs and smiles. The littles were beyond happy to see their aunt and have talked of nothing else since. In fact, we've seen her almost every day since she has returned. The weekend was full with family reunion activities. I married into a pretty amazing family. My favorite image of the week: October 15th - A Sister Returns. Seriously. This was the highlight of the week. I'm so glad that the littles were just as excited as I was at the return of their aunt. Seeing my sister-in-law's growth has been amazing.
(If you click on the photo, the resolution is much better - like tenfold)

365: WEEK 41

Remember that one time I use to blog right after completing my week's worth of photos? Yeah. That doesn't happen too much anymore. And it might stay this way for the remainder of the year. October - December gets CRAZY. This last week, for example, we had a birthday, doctors appointments, and, oh... THE RETURN OF A SISTER MISSIONARY! My favorite images of the week: October 8th - Another Year Older and October 14th - Nine Months. I love my littles. So any time I get a shot that focuses on them, I am happy.

365: WEEK 40

I've been so consumed with the Angry Birds mutual that I've been planning that I pushed aside sharing my 365 photos. This week has been busy. Story of my life. Now that the holidays are right around the corner, I have a feeling that the term 'busy' will be an understatement. My favorite image of the week: October 4th - Celebrate. We decided to change things up for birthday celebrations. Instead of a big production with an overall theme and a decently sized guest list, we opted for pizza and donuts with immediate family. While some were more in favor of this change than others, I am so happy we did this. We were able to really enjoy ourselves and focus on the kids. Almost zero stress (I had a bit of an issue actually getting the pizza, but now we know NOT to do this the same night as the Priesthood session of General Conference). I foresee birthday gatherings being this simple and carefree in the future...