4 months FLEW by.....

Man, so much has happened that I don't even know where to begin in order to "catch up" so I guess I won't even try. When I stop blogging from time to time, it's because I just get too darn busy and then when I think about it, I am telling myself that I have to put pictures in and so on and so I end up putting it off and then suddenly, like this time, I turn around and 4 months have gone by! So, I have decided instead of trying to do a "catch up" I am going to move forward from here, and what better time than 2 days before Christmas? We had the most delightful party with our wonderful extended family tonight! I love parties with family! They are the best. Santa Claus, himself, dropped in for a quick visit and who can even begin to describe in any kind of accurate detail the sparkle in a small child's eyes when Mr. C is around? It's MAGICAL, truly MAGICAL.

I loved the way Josh waited eagerly with anticipation and practically fell of his seat when Santa called his name. I swear he flew right up on Santa's knee bouncing off the wall!

Nathan was all grins and totally squealed with delight when he was asked to come forward. 

Hallie was all so sweet, shy and girly but bravely and excitedly moved forward to chat with Mr C and.....

Abby, oh dear Abby was just plain shocked! She was delighted from a distance and clearly scared as well. Of course, with dear ole Santa waving a gift for her she popped up

S L O W L Y

with a little encouragement from me (I grabbed her hand and led her up) I don't even think she looked at him but did manage to sit on his lap. She didn't move once there! So dang cute!

The party was a definate hit! Great food, family, entertainment and games! I am so weary right now, and with Christmas Eve tomorrow, I better head straight away to bed so ..........

Sweet Dreams!

PS I have to mention that all 5 of my grandbabies were adorable too with Santa and like my kiddos went from shear joy and excitement all the way to YIKES, who is this man in red and what is with all this white fluff on his face?

What a great night!

"The Entitlement Trap"

I love the Eyres! They are an amazing couple with a wealth of knowledge on parenting (after all, they have raised 9 wonderful children) and a willingness to share all that they have learned with so many other people. I have had the great opportunity to hear them speak on several occasions and always go away inspired with new ideas to use in parenting my own children. I am so excited about their upcoming new book,

"The Entitlement Trap"

to be released next month. You can read more about it, as well as an exciting giveaway they are doing, here  and if you want to preorder it and get a great discount, $12 per book instead of $18 when it comes out as I have done, you can use that link as well.

Being a mother is truly my greatest joy. I want to raise children who will learn the power of taking responsibility for their own lives. I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of trying to make things easier for our children because we love them so much and want to show our love for them in many different ways. I am grateful that my own eyes have been opened wider and I see more clearly how damaging and dangerous this attitude of giving our children too much as well as making things too easy, can be. It is far more rewarding teaching our children those concepts of working hard for what we get, waiting and earning our way for the things we desire.

I remember a few years ago stopping by a neighbors house to drop something off and she was doing an assignment for her high school son who was "too busy" to get it done himself!

YIKES!

What is this boy really learning? Teaching our kids true responsibility does take extra time and effort for sure. We may even get some feedback from them that is not very positive (maybe complaining or whining)  and of course, it is often so much easier to just do things ourselves, but having 2 married daughters now and getting their perspective from both the time they were growing up as well as looking back now with an adult's viewpoint, I have learned more than ever how important that extra effort and follow through really is.

Thank you again, Richard and Linda Eyre for your help and support in parenting my family. My husband and I are looking so forward to reading your new book and adding more of your thoughtful and proven parenting insights.
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July Summer Fun

We had a lot of fun at Draper Days this year! Megan's mother-in-law, Susan Stewart, painted these kiddos faces. Don't they look pleased as punch? (Starting with Hallie on the left and going around the circle clockwise - Hallie, Kolton, Jonah, Abby, Nathan, Micah, Joshua)

Abby became a "rainbow puppy"!

 Joshua was delighted with his results as "Batman"

 Hallie was all smiles from the time she jumped up on the chair to the finish and beyond! She is a "Pink Kitty"!

Nathan was so excited and had to stop Susan's mother all throughout this process to check out her work in the mirror! She definitely satisfied this enchanted little guy! He is "Spiderman"

 Kolton was the first to start off our fun, face painting adventure. He is "Spiderman"

Micah was so careful to hold still! He, too, was "Spiderman" We are surrounded by Super Heros!

We couldn't leave our little Jonah out! His Grandma Susan painted a "spider on him" I couldn't believe he just sat there with a smile on his face and let her! Amazing!

THE GREAT WATER BALLOON AMBUSH!

The kids spent the afternoon playing in the water with water balloons. They had so much fun! Then, came the most brilliant idea! Let's get Daddy when he gets home, so we filled a cooler with water balloons and they sat outside for about 45 minutes waiting for Daddy to arrive. Boy was he surprised! Good thing Daddy is such a great sport. They were thrilled with the outcome!

We spend one morning at Kolton's horseback riding lessons! He was so happy to show us all he has learned. You couldn't wipe that smile off his face! We were all amazed at how well he did!

After the lesson, Kolton helps take care of the horse. He squirted it off with water and helped feed it as well as take off his bridle.

Lucky for us, we all got to chip in and help out!

Nathan enjoyed brushing this horse. Actually, the horse looks as though he is enjoying it too!

 Hallie surprised us all. She is usually very timid around animals but for some reason these great, big horses did not intimidate her and she jumped right in and brushed them as well as fed them. Wow! Imagine that!

The barn was full of adventures too! These helmets are so cool!

 If you don't want to jump on a horse, this is the next best thing!

Jesse amused by the his siblings!

We love to spend time at duck ponds! One of our favorite spots is Glen Park! (I'll post some pictures later of some of our experiences here this month, including what happens when kids get to confident on a large rock by the pond!)

Highland South Stake Trek.....

Ok, now I have to say that Jesse is a good sport! This pic was taken at 5 am Monday morning, right before we left to drop him off at the church.

We are really missing him around here!  I can't wait to hear about this adventure! They went up to Martin's Cove.

"This is the Place, Heritage Park"

We had a great time celebrating pioneer day. We went up to "This is the Place, Heritage Park" which is a pioneer village. They had all kinds of activities going on besides enjoying the quaint pioneer village feel. During a gunny sack race, the kids were photographed by the Salt Lake Tribune and their picture was in the paper. (You can read his article HERE)

Other activities included, breakfast, a flag ceremony complete with a firing of a cannon,

 The Cannon was really LOUD!

We were so surprised and happy to run into Aunt Pam and Uncle Brian! 

 A candy cannon! (not so loud, just really fun!)

You can see how each child has used their shirts to carry their candy loads!

We went on train rides.

Panned for gold.

The look of success!

 Josh was really into this adventure. He found many pieces of which severeal he turned in to receive tootsie rolls! Of course, he kept a few for himself.

Nate had started to get a bit teary eyed because everyone else had found gold but him! But Alas, with the help of Daddy, he found his teeny tiny piece and boy was he happy!

Abby surprised us all by climbing up on a bull!

Of course, she was happy to get back down again!

We explored some of the old buildings. In the school house, the boys were asked to be volunteers.

Josh was thrilled to be asked to help out.

He got to help teach some kind of special alphabet they did during that period of time!

Next, the teacher asked Nathan to come up and help him with a demonstration. Of course, Nate practically leaped off his chair with excitement...........

He became a little aprehensive when he found out he was demonstrating the "Dunce Chair" I love the look of concentration on his face as he tries to balance this "too big" hat on his head!

 

Jesse became the next "helper"! The teacher explained that when a child became 14 years of age which is close to Jesse's age, they, then, became the teacher to the younger students. The students were strictly disciplined to help keep things under control for such a young teacher. Jesse is holding a paddle they used in those days. The holes are drilled in the paddle to help it move faster during this type of discipline! YIKES!

Some of the other activities we enjoyed were making crafts, a bracelet with beads,

and a pioneer yo yo, 

a petting zoo, (Abby liked the goats!)

Joshua is the one leaning over to pet the baby bunny!

The boys loved playing in this water even more than petting the animals!

riding ponies,

and watching a pioneer parade down mainstreet. 

All in all, this was a great day to spend commemorating our great pioneer heritage here in Utah.