Thankgiving!

So we had a great Thanksgiving. After a lot of stress and work it went off really well. Of course it started to rain and we had planned to have the whole Knudsen family in our back yard so that added a whole new level to my anxiety. We borrowed some canopies from my dad and a few tables and all was well. We got up really early and set up the canopies with the kids helping. Who knew they could do so much. Now as it is my life it quit raining the minute after we got the canopies up. Oh well, at least we got shade :) I decorated all the tables with pumpkins and turkeys. I think everyone had a great time. It was really fun to get to know Steve and his new wife Amee. Wyatt really loved Amee. All in all it was a pleasant day. I am so happy that it is now Christmastime!

Birthday Mania!_)

On Thursday, Cole turned 7. He was so excited to go to school so that he could show his poster with all of his pictures on it. His favorite was a picture of him and his friend Tyson from like 3 years ago, and it is cool because Tyson is in his class. Then on Saturday we had Cole's birthday party! It was just going to be for a few kids and turned out to be the party of the year. We invited Cole's friend and Kiley's boyfriend. (yes he is the same person) Jarom, and his family. Then we invited Tyson and his family and then finally Megan and Matthew and their parents. It was a lot of fun. Jarom brought 2 siblings and 6 cousins too which made our kid count to 16. We went to the school right by our house and had enough kids for a baseball game and then a soccer game. It was so much fun. Cole told me it was the best day of his life. I believe him because it was a lot of fun. We ordered pizza and had cake and then I wondered. Why on earth did I clean my house? I always do this and then have to clean after too. I guess it is a normal thing for every woman at least the women I know. All in all, it was a great day the boys were able to play sports and it was really fun to watch Andrew and Ryan out there with all the boys. The girls stood by the side being cheerleaders until they wanted in on the fun. The moms got to relax and watch it all happen. Not a bad little party in my book.

I WON!

There is a bank that just opened right by our house so for their grand opening they had all sorts of fun stuff for the family. They had a bounce house for the kids, which they loved and they had a free barbeque. Also they had KMLE country there doing raffles for AMA tickets and tickets to see the Cardinals. The coolest part was the money machine. I got to stand inside a blowing machine and try to catch money. (Normally I would never do this at risk of looking idiotic but times are tough and money is money :) If you catch 15 you get $10. If you catch anything over 25 you get $25. I caught 27!!! Andrew caught exactly 15 so we walked away with $35. Also they gave us a $50 Walmart card for opening a checking account. It was a lot of fun.

We also went to see Spencer's football game which was right by our house. Kiley and Wyatt stood there screaming "GO SPENCER!" then they started on "GO WILDCATS!" It was all very cute to watch them jump around cheering them on. Sadly they lost but it was a fun game to see.

I am happy to be home and going to bed. What a day!

Home at Last!

So, I spent almost the entire week at the hospital with my dad after he had another stroke. If you can find something good about having a stroke I found it. I was able to spend a lot of time with my dad. I was there every day for hours. I was able to spend quality uninterrupted time (that is because the kids were at school.) Dad is really funny and I don't think those nurses were ready for us. We kept teasing each other and them. It was really nice to see dad laugh even when he was so miserable. I was so scared for him and he kept saying he wasn't ready to leave his family. I kept thinking about Wyatt and wondering if it were dad's time if Wyatt would remember him. I wish I could say he would but I don't remember my Grandpa Porter and I was three when he died. Wyatt is only two. I am glad that everything is okay because I am not ready to lose him.
He is home now and I am happy to visit him there. I am so grateful to wonderful friends and family that were there for us and willing to help out. Through the church we have a huge family. I love that about the gospel. I love knowing that you can count on others and that they are happy to help you. Through all of this, I have learned to count my blessings.

Cinderella

Today my mom took us to see Cinderella at Hale Theater in Gilbert. I knew that Kiley was going to like it but I didn't forsee her pure elation! She was so happy. She danced and was so excited about every little thing. It wasn't like the cartoon so she kept asking when they were going to sing the songs that she knew. She quickly got over that and she really enjoyed the play. Shellee and Alyssa went too and Kiley and Alyssa were so cute together. Grandma got them little ribbon crowns and they sat together and chatted. They love going places together. They are great friends. So if you have the time you should take your little girls to go see Cinderella at Hale Theater. It is definately worth your time!

Wedding Bliss

Well, we had a whole weekend just to ourselves. My parents kept our kids while we flew to Utah for Andrew's little big brother Steve's wedding. It was so much fun to get to be together and not have to worry about the kids for a while. We flew into Salt Lake around 3:30 p.m. and then had to call my big brother Dan to find out how to get around Salt Lake. He got us to where we needed to be to meet our friends. First we met Brad and Tari York and their beautiful little girls. It was nice to be able to catch up and see them. Then we saw our other friends Steve and Robyn Peterson. We had a great dinner and fun conversation. It was a lot of fun. How to get them to move to Arizona.....

Steve's wedding was beautiful. He was so fun to watch all nervous and giddy. Amy was beautiful in her dress and they looked so happy. Someday I am really going to meet her. I didn't want to interrogate her on her wedding day so we will save that for Thanksgiving. They seem to be really happy. I am very excited for them both. After the wedding the Knudsens and our friend Chelsie all went to the movies and had a great time. I miss that girl. I am really glad we got to spend some time with her.

On Sunday Jen and Thomas invited us to go see the Tabernacle Choir sing for Music and the Spoken Word and then we went to the Museum. It was a really neat experience being in the Tabernacle and get to see them perform. What a treat! All in all it was a great weekend and I am very happy that we went. It was fun to reconnect with our brothers and sisters and especially Andrew and I. We acted like we were dating again and it was FUN! I am not so sure how much fun Grandma and Grandpa had but they said everyone was great. They did however, look extremely tired when we left :) Thank heavens for grandparents.

October Break!

I must say that I am officially exhausted! On Thursday I took the kids to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua and then we played in the fountain area in front of Cinemark for like an hour. The kids were in pure heaven. After that the kids got their very own library cards and we all checked out some books. It was a very fun and long day.

On Friday we went to the zoo with Shellee and her kids and Shellee's friend Sarah. We had a lot of fun looking at the animals. Wyatt saw a monkey like two feet in front of his face and started yelling at it. It was hilarious. To scare it he started growling. He is so funny.

Saturday we went to the gym and then washed all the cars and did yard work all together. That night we went to Kelton's birthday party all dressed up in costumes and it was really fun. The cousins were all there. Then we stopped by Nicole's house to see Shayde and Savannah. We love hanging out with those girls.

Finally, on Sunday we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house and while we were there we went for a walk. On our walk the kids recognized the Stephens new house so they begged to knock. I let them and we got to hang out there for a little while. While we were there Wyatt hit Dallin. I felt so bad. He is getting to be pretty rough and I don't know how to stop him. Poor Dallin didn't know what he was in for. Poor kid. My kids really miss 34th ward. We had a lot of really good friends over there.

That was our weekend and I can't wait to take a nap!