Winter

Its begining to look a lot like Christmas! Okay so I have to tell you this story I have about buying these snow suits for the kids. Brady and I wanted so get the kids snow gear so they could play around in the snow. Well as everyone knows Christmas is a horrible time of year for having any extra money. So it was looking as though some good jeans and their thick shirts were going to have to do the trick. One night Brady and I were sitting on the couch watching the kids play and next thing you know Cody starts pulling twenty dollar bills out from under the couch. He pulled out a $100's before he was done. To this day we have no idea where the money came from. Needless to say the kids got there snow suits and stayed nice and toasty!

Fall has to be my favorite time of the year. I love the reliefe from the heat the changing colors and even the smell in the air. While we were up at Bradys parents one day we decided to rake up all the leaves in the yard and let the kids play in them. They were all a little hesitant at first but Carlie and Cody soon figured it out but Corie still wasnt about to jump into the pile! Corie did like to rake the leaves though.

This year was the funnest year so far for Halloween. The kids are getting bigger and are understanding the concept of things a little better. Carlie decided that she wanted to be a scary witch so I got online and found her the cutiest costume that had a princess touch to it and she loved it.







The twins on the other hand, well I kind of kept putting there costumes off and Halloween popped up and the twins had no costumes. Again I got online and found two people selling these little dog costumes and they lived really close to eachother so it turned out perfect. Corie didnt like hers so much but Cody loved his.
So I had my scary witch and my two little puppies!!!!

Halloween night Mika and Rylin came out to grandpas house and all the kids got to go together around the block. Of course it started to rain which cut our night short. Corie and Cody were blown away with idea that when they knocked on the door someone was standing there to hand them candy. Corie would just stand there and stare after all the candy was handed out like she was waiting for the second round to begin. As soon as they were back in the stroller the feast was on. By the time we got home we had quite a mess. Wrapers were eaten through candy bars were crushed and the suckers had formed the glue that held the whole mess together!

I cant believe how much Carlie has changed in the last 4 years. It seems like yesterday I was given this beautiful little baby girl and now shes 4 and even more beautiful then I could have imagined. For her birthday we decided to have a party at the park with a few of her friends and of course her family. She had a blast playing on the playground but her favorite part was opening her many presents and eating the special cake that she picked out for herself, which by the way was Cinderella just in case you had any doubt! We forgot the camera but luckily my friend Cath had her camera phone, so there not the best pictures but at least we have a couple. I also wanted to give you a glimpse of the last 4 years so I put together a few past pictures of Carlie for you to enjoy!!!!

Well what can I say about the Spirit Lake Trip this year... I guess I could start out by saying "Maybe we should have sat this one out!"

For starters Brady caught a terrible cold and was flat on his back for 4 days before we went. He was in bad shape, and was already starting to have a feeling that this was not gonna be the funnest of times. Monday morning we got up early and drove down to Draper to pick up the trailer we were renting and spent the rest of the day packing up for our trip. Carlie was so excited she just didn't want to go to sleep, so when we woke her up at 5:00am she was so exhausted. She looked out the window and said "it's still night time outside." We finished packing up and off we went. We had a good drive up there until we hit the desert and a giant cattle herd. There was about 20 cowboys herding about 500 or so head of cattle right down the middle of the road. The kids thought it was the coolest thing. We got to camp and started to set up our trailer just in time for it to start hailing, so we got to set it up in the mud and rain.(and so the whining begins!) After the rain stopped the mosquito's came out. Steve had a mosquito net in his trailer so we threw that over the twins stroller and that where stayed for a good part of the trip.



From the time we got there until the time we left Carlie went non stop. She had a absolute blast. Now going back and looking at the pictures I took you can tell Carlie didn't stay still for one moment because there was only a couple of pictures of her. She loved to go out in the boat with grandpa and daddy but didn't really take to the fishing part of it. The first time she went out I guess she got bored because she fell asleep. The second time a fish pooped in the boat and then grandpa tried to make her kiss the fish, she wasn't having any of that. Carlie liked to sit around the fire and toast marshmallows but for some reason wouldn't even try one. Her and Mikas favorite thing to do was go over to the bridge to see "Water Horse" and to throw rocks into the water.



The twins had a blast too, when they weren't strapped into the stroller. Cody found his calling as a mountain man right away! He went crazy, exploring everything he could. He'd run to one side of the camp pointing and babbling and then run to the other side pointing and babbling some more. At one point we tied a rope to the back of his pants so we could keep track of him, he didn't like that too much! Poor little Corie didn't have such a great time. She was pretty sick just wanted to take it easy. She got down a few times and ran around but mostly sat around. The second day we were there, all the kids were in the back of Brady's truck dancing and fishing with Carlie's fishing pole. I looked down for one second to fix the fishing pole and that's all it took for Corie to fall over the side of the truck. I think she landed flat on her back because when i got over to her she was already starting to turn blue because the air had been knocked out of her. I patted her a couple of times and she finally took a deep breath, then cried for a minute and then was off playing again. They loved to go for walks up the road. Cody would take off running and never look back, Corie would go strong for a minute but then DEMAND to be carried. That Cody was like the energizer bunny!



By the second day of the trip Brady's cold started hitting me hard and I was having a tough time hanging out with everyone. All I wanted to do was lay down so I spent a lot of time in the trailer with the twins. Luckily they had fun running around on the bed knocking each other over and slamming into the walls. I opened up all the windows so they could still see everyone so I don't think they were to bummed that mom was sick. I will say one thing though trying to put twins to sleep in the same bed is next to impossible. I learned my lesson the first night, from then on Cody slept with Brady and the girls slept with me.



Okay so the trip wasn't allll that bad! It was just a little rougher than what we are use to. The kids had a great time and thats all that matters.

You cant tell but this was their favorite thing to do!

Don't even think about it! These are all mine!

I wanna do it just like you do it Dad.

Carlie blowing bubbles!

Corie keepin it nice and tidy for us.

Little Man in a Big World

This is the face of a little boy having some fun!

Little Miss Carlie graduated from preschool last night! Grandma Linda, Grandpa Steve, Dido, Steph, and Merle all came to see her on her big day. She was so excited to graduate from Mrs. Natalie's Class with all her friends. They started out the graduation by singing two song the ABC's and The months of the year! Carlie is my little singer around the house I cant ever get her to stop, so I was a little surprised that she was shy and quiet up there in front of everyone. Then Mr.s Natialie pulled each student up and shared a little something about them. Before the graduation Mrs. Nataile had sat down with each kid and asked them all the same 19 questions, and also called each parent and asked them what they think makes their little one special. So at the graduation she pulled each student up and read their answers and ours to everyone, she also told something that she remembered about each of them.

Here's Carlies Answers:

1. Favorite Super Hero/Princess? : Cinderella
2. Favorite Food : Ice Cream
3. Favorite Ice cream flavor: Lemon???

4. Favorite color : Orange???

5. Favorite thing about preschool : Playing (thats my girl)

6. Favorite place to go : Wal-Mart!!!! (Go Figure)

7. Favorite preschool song : Monkeys in the tree

8. Favorite Book : All

9. Favorite Movie : Dumbo

10. Favorite Toy: Whistle???? (I dont think she has a whistle, I would say its Jeffery)

11. Favorite restaurant : McDonalds

12. Favorite thing she learned at preschool : Counting

13. Favorite Holiday: Christmas

14. Favorite Candy: Cotton Candy

15. Favorite T.V. show : Cinderella (but i would have to say her favorite is Little Bear)

16. What she wants to be when she grows up : Cinderella

17. Favorite things to do : Go to Lagoon and concerts

18. Something I dont like : Getting Hurt and Crocodiles( She just went to the zoo!)

19. Favorite Animal: Elepahnt

Somethings My Parent Think:

~ Carlie loves to play dress up, shes very girly, and wants to be a Princess.
~ Carlie is very responsible and takes care of her own fish.

~ Carlie is very creative and imaginative and is a great story teller.

~ Carlie is a great big sister, she is the oldest and has twin siblings that she helps take care of.

Somethings My Teacher Thinks:

~ Carlie was a great addition to our prescholl and instantly fit in with other students, it was as if she had always been part of our cclass.

~ Carlie is very honest and blunt which is great. The first time she played with the costumes with the class, she told me that she thought that it was dumb that there was only one pair of dress up shoes. I told her she was absolutely right and ended up buying two more pairs(which delighted all the other girls)

Aflter Mrs. Natalie talked about all the kids we watched a video she had made of there year(that failed to play a few times!) Mrs. Natile was a awsome teacher for Carlie and after seeing all she has put into following the students changes and progess I am so happy that we put Carlie into her School. Carlie will be going to her next year and I cant wait to see how much she learns next year! We can't think Mrs. Natalie enough for being such a great teacher!

Mrs. Natalie

Pretty In Blue!

Carlie and Her Friend Elena

Yesterday was one of the nicest days we have had in a little while so we Grandma and Grandpa Westbroek decided to have a picnic on there back porch. Carlie was so excited when we got there becuase Grandpa had the Jungle Pool set up for her to splash around in. Carlie took one step in and that was enough for her, she doesnt like to get cold. Her cousin Mika and Rylin had no problem jumping in and out of the pool they had a blast.

After we had Burgers it was time for Corie and Cody to test out the water. They didn't seem to mind the cold water on there legs too much but they werent about to sit down . Cody loved to throw the balls out of the pool and making you go and get them. Corie figured out how to climb up the slide and bouce on it so thats where she sat for the rest of the time.

Here, I'll show you how to do this!

Catch!

Bouncin!

This weekend Grandma and Grandpa Logan came down and took Carlie to Lagoon!! She really surprised me and rode a lot of rides that I thought she wouldn't. The first ride she went on was the Lady Bug Drop and she loved it. For someone who's afraid of heights she sure had a blast. After that she went ride crazy!!!! She was pulling grandma this way and that way. She stopped for a few minutes to watch a little music show and eat lunch and then she was off again. The only ride that she didn't like was the big kids ride, Tidal Wave, which is the big ship that rocks back and forth really high. That one made her tummy sick. But that didn't stop her from running right back over to the other rides. When it started to get dark we walked over to Pioneer Village and looked at all the old cabins and buildings, that was Daddy's favorite part.

Daddy's Dream House

Carlie with Grandma and Grandpa Logan!

Carlie's so excited because we got season passes and she gets to go back any time she wants and ride all the fun rides!!!!!!

Carlie loves her play dates with Avery!!!! This last week Catherine Brady and I took the girls to the Zoo and they had a blast!!! I was kind of disappointed because there werent that many animals out but the girls loved it. Well almost Loved it, Carlie has a little bit of a fear of noises.There was a big elephant made out of metal that made noises when you sit on his nose. Carlie wasnt havin it. She screamed as soon as she heard it., and the rest of the day she was terrified that we were going to get to close to it. But after we passed it to get back to the other side she was just fine because then she could ride the train, and see the bats. Before we left the girls played in the park and wore themselves out for the drive home.




!!!AHHHH!!!

Riding The Train

Cath Trying To Steal A Monkey

The twins werent too impressed with the zoo!