Lately

It's hard to believe that November will soon be over, I can't believe how fast time is going by.  Here are a few things we have been up to lately...

Peaceful Sundays, I always look forward to them.  It's nice to have a day to slow down, put chores and work aside, catch my breath and spend more time together as a family.

The growing babe.  Will is now sitting up and crawling, I absolutely love this age.  Even though he is so much work (and I have to admit, I sometimes do count down to the time he will be going down for a nap so I can actually get something done or see to the needs of the other kids), but it is fun to watch how fast he is growing and learning new things.  

My sister McKenzie is still with us and feels like part of the family now, I don't know what we'll do without her!  The kids have enjoyed going to the Children's Museum with her, playing with playdough, reading books, making puzzles, playing hide and seek, and, probably most of all, wrestling.  It's not uncommon for Dan to run over and jump on her or put his smiling face right up in hers.  He especially likes to do this when she's sitting on the couch reading, I'm sure McKenzie loves it.

We continue to do playgoups each week with other moms in our ward.  We recently took a tour of the Teddy Bear Factory and saw the world's largest teddy bear.  I'm not sure the ladies who worked there were thrilled to have 10 toddlers crawling all over it.

Olivia and Will on a stroller ride.

I knew Will was pretty sick last week when he cuddled up with me for more than 3 seconds and even fell asleep.  Poor kid.  I felt bad for him, but I wasn't complaining.  It was kind of nice to just lay on the couch with him for a little while, I never get to do that.

We had a short wave of warmer weather last weekend so took advantage of it, biking and kayaking.

Joe finally passed out in Pete's arms that night during dinner.  We commented on how it had been a full day for him, but then realized that he he had been in a stroller during the bike ride and stayed with me and Will while everyone else kayaked.  I guess watching others do all the work can be tiring!

We were lucky to have McKenzie here for her birthday.  The big 19!  We celebrated the night before with the kids, opened presents (the kids of course had to help open every present, I had to keep telling them to give Kenze some space) and had cheesecake.  Yum.

The next day we went for a hike with the kids, then got a babysitter while we went out to eat.  I love my kids so much, but it was really nice to be with McKenzie away from the noise and chaos.

And lastly, I had to throw in this picture of my cute little Will who is growing up so fast!  Now able to sit up in a grocery cart.