Just another weekend at the Lake...

Last weekend Steve took Friday off, we packed up the car and headed up to the Lake. The weather couldn't have been more perfect! It was absolutely gorgeous. Another reason I love the fall (October), in case I didn't already mention that. And the company was splendid. Not only did I have my wonderful husband there with me, but we also had my niece, Mckenzie. She was a huge help. I am starting to see the appeal of having a full time nanny around!

I spent most of the weekend reading a book and watching movies with Mckenzie, but Steve did manage to get me out of the house a few times. On Friday we drove into Mont Pelier to get groceries and found that main street was completely shut down with police cars. Upon closer inspection, we noticed there was candy all over the road and people everywhere. It was Bear Lake High School's Homecoming Parade! And we got there just in time to see it! They go down the road turn around and come back so we caught the parade as it came back! Reagan and Crew love parade's so it was a fun surprise. We also got to eat with practically the whole town at the local Artic Circle. It seems everyone decided to head over there after the parade. It was another fun show!

On Saturday Steve convinced me to come out on the 4 wheeler. I haven't enjoyed going the last couple of times because it sends my stomach into spasms. Ok, not spasms, but it kinda hurts. So I have been avoiding it. But he loves when we all go out and take pictures. So I decided it would be fun to go out and see what we could find. Both of the kids LOVE the 4 wheeler and it is especially hard to get Crew off of them. He is always trying to get me to put on his helmet when we are inside because he thinks that means he can go on the "vroom-vroom".

If you haven't already noticed, Crew is wearing some pretty nifty knee pads. Before our last trip to Bear Lake we knew it was time to get Crew his own helmet. He is too small for the ones that are up there and I really felt he needed one if he was going to be spending a lot of time on the 4 wheeler. So we looked around and found this one at our local Walmart. It's hard to find helmets for his little head and they have a big selection. This particular helmet came with elbow and knee pads. I thought, "this is cool, but he will never let me put them on." We decided it was worth a little extra dough for his safety even if it was a battle trying to get him to wear them. Well, last time we were at the Lake, he wanted nothing to do with the pads. In fact it was a fight just getting him to put his helmet on. I decided it wasn't worth fighting over the pads and we would just focus on the helmet.

This time was a completely different story. It was like he has realized that he can't go on the 4 wheeler if he doesn't have his helmet on. So the battle was gone there. And on Friday morning he found his pads and brought them to me to put them on him. So I did. I thought he would want them off imidiately, but he thought it was pretty cool. So we let him wear them around the house. Believe it or not, he wouldn't get on the 4 wheeler without his knee pads. The elbow pads were a little much, but I am not complaining! Look at my little padded boy! I love it!

As we drove around we saw a lot of horses but none of them would come to the fence to see us. Steve finally found some friendly ones and Crew was in heaven. Reagan is a little bit nervous about things so she was happy to see them, but she didn't want to touch them. She is so funny.

When we got home all us girls went inside to get ready for dinner, I had convinced Steve that we needed to go into town and eat at Cafe Sabor, a restaurant from Logan that has branched out to Bear Lake. So good! But Steve came in and told me to hurry and come out and to bring my camera. So I ran out and he had Crew on the tire swing and Crew was loving it! Check out my little cutie...

It was another great weekend at the lake. So glad we went! It was just what I needed!

Birthday wrap up

Reagan has really gotten the spotlight this month, hasn't she? Well. I couldn't stop without sharing with you her birthday morning.

Growing up at the Henrie house we had a tradition that when it was your birthday the whole family would wake you up singing "Happy Birthday" and you opened your presents from them in your bed. I always loved that because it was the best way to start your day. It set the mood just right. Starting with extreme excitement! Well, we have decided to carry this on with our kids. So on Reagan's birthday we got up, got Crew up and went into Reagans room singing happy birthday to her. She was all smiles and loved every minute of it.

The rest of the day was just as fun. We went to the park and played, hurried home so Reagan could go to dance with her best friend, went to the mall to get her some shoes (although we didn't find any, we had a good time anyway), and celebrated her day again that night at FHE at my mom's house. She had a princess of a day.

I think Reagan had such a good time she thinks it should be her birthday every day. She is already asking when it is going to be her birthday again... not for awhile, sweetheart, not for awhile!

Princesses and Pirates

As I mentioned in my previous post, Reagan had a party with a few friends on Saturday to celebrate her birthday. At first I thought I would throw a Princess party with some of her little girl friends, as that is her favorite thing right now. But when I sat down to make a list of girls to invite, I found the list to be quite small. There were only 3 girls on it to be precise. And although those three girls would have a blast together, it didn't seem like much of a party.

When I really thought about who Reagan's friends were the reality hit me that they are mostly BOYS! Isn't that funny? The list for boys that could come to the party far out-numbered the girls list. So I knew I needed to find a way to incorporate the boys into her party. I thought - maybe a "Princess & Prince Party". But what 3 year old boy wants to be a Prince? Lame. So I went with my mom to Michael's and they had a rack full of Pirate party stuff and I knew that is what we were going to do. So I basically cleaned them out and started planning Reagan's Princess & Pirate Party.

It was a hit! Reagan was in heaven. She had all of her friends around her, she was wearing a Princess dress with her crown and wand, she got to eat french fries, mini pigs in a blanket, and cupcakes, and she had more presents than any princess could wish for! All the kids came dressed up for the party and went home with their own bag of goodies. I was worried that maybe Reagan was a little young to be doing a friend party, but I am so glad we did it. She had a blast and it was fun to be with all of her friends.

Thanks to everyone for coming and making it a great party!

The big 3!

Today is our little Princess's birthday! She has been lucky and had a weekend of fun and celebration. But the fun hasn't stopped yet! Today we went to the park, she has dance class, and we are going out to lunch and maybe to a store to find her some shoes. Tonight we are having a family party with Grammy and Papa and her cousins. So fun! Isn't she one lucky girl?

In celebration of Reagan's birthday I thought I would tell you a little big about our sweetheart at 3 years old. Reagan is a big bag of surprises. One minute she is a princess and the second her dress comes off she assures me that she is not a princess. She is just Reagan. She loves her baby dolls and cares for them well. Everyone is her friend. She is very polite and generally happy. She loves her little brother because she always has someone to play pretend with. And Crew can't get enough of her. He follows her every move. She loves the color pink and anything that is frosted. She is our Princess and our lives wouldn't be the same without her!

I have a lot of pictures to share from her friend party on Saturday, but for now this will have to do. We love you Reagan and are so happy you are a part of our family!

My little man

I thought it was time I had a post about our little man. The Crewser. He has been a little neglected with everything going on around here and I think it's time I put him in the spotlight.

Let me tell you about this kid. He is mobile. And that means he is getting FAST! I can barely keep up with him! He is always on the go. If he isn't strapped in his car seat, or stuck in his crib he is on the move. Some of his favorite things is chasing his big sister around the room, climbing the stairs or emptying every drawer or cabinet in his reach. We lovingly call him "Trouble" because generally, that is what he is up to.

He is happy 90% of the time. For a little boy who's big sister is teasing him and who can't always tell his mommy what he wants, that is pretty good. He loves to smile and laugh. The other night, Steve was getting him ready for bed and Crew started tickling himself! It was a total riot! What little kid does that? Only our little boy, who loves to laugh! He thinks everything is a game. Which makes things hard when I am being serious about NOT doing something. He seems to find a way around all of my "No's" and gets into trouble anyway.

We love him and are so happy he is ours! I tried getting a few shots of him this morning, but like I said, he doesn't generally stop moving. So here is what I was able to get:

Fall Conference 2009

Each year we spend the fall conference weekend with my side of the family. Each year we have packed up and headed off somewhere close just to get away. Each year is a nice break and this year was no different. This year my mom rented a hotel room in Deer Valley above Park City. Well, it was more like a condo. It had 3 bedrooms attached to a family room and kitchen. It was super nice. The perfect place to sit and relax and listen to our leaders.

On Saturday we hit Main Street in PC which was nice. The weather was beautiful and the company was great. This is the first year that I really got to listen to a majority of the talks during all 4 sessions of conference. Really, the morning session on Saturday was the only one cut a little short so we could do something before the kids had to go down for their naps. But since they were sleeping during the afternoon session, Steve and I got to listen to the whole thing. It was really great! What a great conference we had this weekend. I love being able to listen and be uplifted and motivated to be a better person.

Here is pops hangin' out

This little guy wouldn't slow down for a second. He saw the camera and hit the road running so this was all I got

He is still pretty cute, wouldn't you agree?

Sky and Reagan. Sky teases her like she were the little sister he never had. And Reagan hates it, like Sky is the big brother she will never have. But in the end, she loves him. And there is no question that he loves her.

Heather and Sky. They are two pees in a pod. It was so fun to have her along. She is my new book buddy. I think I've found a match for my read-a-thons.

Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of Steve or my mom. Sorry guys. They were both there. You can tell Steve was there because I have so many good things to say about this weekend. He makes my life easier. And you know my mom was there when you see me and the extra pounds I gained eating her fabulous food. Nothing was forgotten. It was a fabulous weekend! Thanks, mom & dad, for letting us come along!

Happy October!

I have been feeling bad about neglecting my blog lately. I just haven't been updating it the way I always want to. If I did you guys would be seeing a couple of posts a week, but instead it is sitting here gathering dust. I apologize. I have much greater intentions. One day I hope to achieve them.

So today, in honor of me trying to achieve my intentions, and in honor of the greatest month of the year, I am writing this post! HAPPY OCTOBER! This is by far the best month of the year! Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

1 - The seasons are changing and the Earth is beautiful

2 - It's starting to get a little cooler outside and that means I get to pull out my sweaters, love them!

3 - My hot cho maker is going almost everyday

4 - I gave birth to my first child (she will be 3 this year)

5 - Holiday decorations are coming out by the truck loads and I can't seem to get enough

6 - We get to dress up for Halloween, everyone needs a reason to act silly every once in awhile

7 - It's my BIRTHDAY month! (probably the best reason of all)

So in honor of this very special month I want to challenge all of you to get out and experience it! I know it is getting cold and the indoors seems like a much warmer place to be, but outside the leaves are changing, our breath is starting to make an appearance, and our coats are begging to be brought out of the closet. Go to Gardener's Village and see the witches, take a walk around the neighborhood and see what spooky things are out, or take a drive up the canyon and see all the beautiful leaves in full color. That is what my family did for FHE last week and it was great. I did underestimate the temperature and didn't dress accordingly. But we did walk away with a great picture of me and my kids, which you don't see very often, and a great excitement for the new season!

I hope you all enjoy this great month as much as I do!