Alexander Thanksgiving 2013

I was so honored to have my family all come to St. George for Thanksgiving. Several of us got together the day before Thanksgiving, and we weren't sure if or when the others would arrive. It was quite a feat to get everyone here, but within 5 minutes of sitting down at the table, even those we weren't sure were coming arrived. It was heavenly to have everyone together again. It happens so rarely these days.

I would've booked a photographer, but it was a holiday and we didn't know everyone would be there until they were actually present. Also, I know how fun photos are with a family this size and how cooperative everyone is. But I wish we would've taken a few more, because none of these turned out very well, and who knows when we will get together again? Anyway, this is the best one. All 26 of us. Wow!! 

I love these little buddies!

We took everyone to Split Rock up above the city in Pioneer Park. I have been there before with Zach, but didn't know if I could make it through the narrow passage through the rocks. I don't really consider myself claustrophobic, but.. yeah. It is a tight squeeze. I turned back after I got in about 20 feet and the rocks were pressing on me from both sides. Yikes! I just had to go breathe, and then I was fine to go the rest of the way. Luckily, a few people went before me, so I knew I could make it.  It was fun! Zach, Bono, and Adam Jack ran through before any of us could even catch them. Then Natalie, Allyx, Adam, and I went though. And Rue, Allyx and Mike's dog.

It opens up for a bit about halfway through. 

The kids were loving the attention from Aunt Allyx!

Could these little cousins get any cuter?!! And yes, that is broccoli Max is chawing on!

I could eat him. Seriously. Little Michelangelo Soul has my heart.

And little Ruby Tuesday is the newest sweetheart in the clan. She wasn't too happy here, though!

Sisters in Zion! 

Auto timer blurred us. And made me look fat!

Our feast

And this random plate of apples. Three guesses as to who put those there. LOL!

I love this sweet pictures of brothers and their babies!

And these two little divas couldn't get any cuter! Zoey steals this soda out of the fridge, chugs a few gulps, then gasps, "Tasty!" Too funny! You can tell this girl rarely gets soda!

Sweet angel babes. I can't believe they are all growing up so fast.

Zach and Grandpa. We were so glad he stayed an extra day and let us drag him all over town to see the sites.

My papa

My kids both loved holding their baby cousins as often as possible. Noah is just the sweetest, happiest baby alive. I guess you have to learn to be content when you are #6!

Beauties!

Last pic of the family. Mom is running to get a missing child. It was so great to have you all. I was so thankful for the presence of family this Thanksgiving. Please come again soon!

Zachary Turns Five

 This sweet, handsome boy of ours turned 5 last month. I cannot believe he has grown so quickly! My sweet baby boy has now been reading for over two years, and is now at the second grade level. He is pretty quick with numbers also. He loves his karate class. When I asked him if he wanted to try soccer or something new, he said he wanted to stay in karate at least until he earned his black belt. He has a ways to go!! He sings and snuggles with me. Zachary has a beautiful voice. One of his favorite things to do is jump and run all over my new sectional couch. It drives me utterly insane, but I am sure I will look back and laugh! He and I eat breakfast together nearly every morning while Corey and Zoey snooze. Wild Kratts is one of his favorite TV shows. It is about two brothers who explore the animal kingdom. He says he wants to be an astronaut when he grows up, and loves learning about the planets. I am sure he is smart enough to do whatever he sets his mind to. He loves superheroes- especially Batman. We gave him a Batman shirt and costume for his birthday, along with an Angry Birds shirt, a Spiderman motorcycle toy, and some other things. Dad filled his room with balloons and gifts. 

If he could have his way, he would sit in front of this computer or the iPad for hours. Thankfully, he mostly plays pbs.com games like Wild Kratts, but he also loves the mindless classics like Plants vs. Zombies and Angry Birds.

 We had a superhero party with a few of his friends from Primary and preschool. Who knew that a room full of 5 year old superheroes could be as fun and cute as a bunch of princesses?! I didn't know how I would do as a mom to a little boy- I know more about tutus and tumbling- but it has been a blast that I am glad I did not miss out on!

Check out the sweet muscles!!

 They had a test of strength blowing up these balloons, then punching with them.

 Pizza and cupcakes. Zoey was excited to get in on the superhero action.

Testing their web-shooting skills with silly string. Buy more than you think you'll need. Each dollar store bottle shoots for about 10 seconds total!

And some random Halloween and other leftover pictures. I finally found my camera adapter. My phone has over 2000 photos on it, so I have no more memory to take more photos until I erase some, which I just can't being myself to do. Too nostalgic. I love having all my pics at my fingertips. I just need a phone with lots more memory!

Um...she is just stunning!

And so is the sky.

Halloween 2013

For Halloween this year, Zachary was the black Spider-Man, and Zoey was Cinderella. They were both adorable and had a great time at parties and trick or treating!

Her dance class had a party which she loved. 

After filtering all the treats with nuts. Yum for us! 

Corey wore a giant cowboy hat, but I didn't dress up this year, even though we love Halloween and usually have fun costumes. Next year! I actually bought some fun things on sale after Halloween, so watch out 2014!

Minion spaghetti squash instead of carving pumpkins. Yum!

Mike and Allyx's ventriloquist costumes. Hilarious!!

Natalie and Ryan's Nightmare Before Christmas costumes. So cool!

We finally got family pictures again. Still waiting to see the final proofs. I love this handsome, amazing husband of mine. Life just keeps getting better and better with him. 

I love where we live. This little hike is just ten minutes from our home. It is stunning. The weather, the red rocks. I hope we never need to leave. 

Beautiful sunset after a hard day. We had another miscarriage recently after trying for 14 months. Still hoping and praying for more little ones. This is not a fun struggle to have, but it is teaching me greater compassion and empathy for others with similar struggles, and to never judge why someone has a small family, when and if they have children, etc. (Though it is making me quite an advocate for starting a family earlier rather than later in life!) There are many with greater trials than I. I am thankful that this challenge came after we had our two sweet munchkins. Not knowing if I would ever have children would make me completely crazy. Crazier than I am now, just wondering when and how more will come! 

And in other random news, Zoey split her lip and I had to suture it. Twice. And the sutures only lasted one day. Aye! Luckily, it was on the inside if her lip and healed quickly without scarring. It wasn't a fun task, but I'm grateful to have the training to care for my family in emergency situations. It was a lot less expensive than an ER visit, though after factoring in the cost of my education to learn these skills... a few ER visits would be cheap in comparison!