Labor Day Weekend with Gramma and Grandpa

Kris and Lonnie came to visit for Labor Day weekend and we had a great time. We went to the Farmer's Market, ate lots of yummy chile, painted toes, watched a BYU football game, made a cake, and made special treasure boxes. A couple weeks after the visit, Leah told me, "I sure wish Gramma Kris was here. Can she come to our house again?" I explained to her that Gramma and Grandpa live so far away they had to fly in a plane to get here. She thought about it, then put her hands on her hips and said, "Well, can we go to her house, then?" Apparently, just because Gramma lives far away doesn't mean we do, too!

Thanks for sharing such a fun weekend with us!!

Chile Season

We had a couple friends over to teach them how to peel and pack roasted, authentic, delicious, Hatch green chile. We had a little peeling party. We did Sara and Michelle's 25 lbs and then Ryan and I did about 75 lbs of our own. We are set! We love green chile!

 That weekend, Kris and Lonnie came to visit. Kris requested some red chile, so the next picture I dedicate to my dad, who taught me how to make the best chile in the world. This batch turned out wonderfully. We ate it all within two days!

Leah- 3 year old

Some things about our favorite 3 year old.

1. Favorite Foods: Bread, any fruit, and popsicles.

2. Favorite Colors: Blue, pink and purple.

3. Favorite Activity: Play dough, riding her bike, dancing, twirling, and whatever her big sister is currently doing. 

4. Newest Skill: Making her bed. 

5. Developing Skill: Choosing her clothes in the mornings. She is getting quite good putting together an outfit that matches.

A few other fun facts about Leah.

1. Leah can eat a whole tub of strawberries by herself. She's done it several times.

2. Leah has impeccable comedic timing. 

3. Leah loves to give reports when she succeeds and is great at shrugging off failures. 

Leah is the life of the party here, with her easy smile and laughter. She loves to follow in her big sister's footsteps and is learning to be a big helper. She is easy going and often the yin to Monica's yang. She has a wonderful way of bringing out the best in Monica and just as easily can push buttons to bring out the worst. She is a true little sister. She loves to snuggle and be in Mom or Dad's lap whenever she can. She hates picking up unless it's her idea and loves being read to. She is a bottomless pit and will eat all day long if we let her. Leah is a great blessing to have in our family!

Monica- 6 year old

A little bit about our favorite 6 year old.

1. Favorite Colors- Pink and purple

2. Favorite Movie- "Barbie in a Fashion Fairytale"

3. Favorite Activity- Drawing. She loves to draw cartoon characters, her family, love notes, dress designs, animals, etc. If she can imagine it, she will try to draw it. 

4. Newest Skill- Reading. She loves to read to her sisters.

5. Developing Skill- Cartwheels. 

6. Favorite Food- Cheese sticks, enchiladas, and mango.

A few things you probably didn't know about Monica.

1. Monica is fashion conscious. She loves to dress herself and go shopping for accessories.

2. She has a very low threshold for pain. Bandaids will make just about anything feel better.

3. Monica secretly loves showers. She loves to let the warm water fall on her.

4. Monica is very spiritual. She has learned to pray when things are hard, when she needs help calming down, and when she is scared after a bad dream. She has a very sweet testimony.

5. Monica likes her hair to be evenly distributed around her head. She does not like all of it on one side of her face.

6. Monica wants to learn to play the piano. I decided before I had children that I would never shove piano lessons down their throat. I didn't want to be that mom that forces their own passion on their children. It pleases me that she finds the piano compelling on her own. 

We sure love our sweetheart, Monica. She is passionate, funny and loving. She sets a good example for her younger sisters and gets her feelings hurt more often from offering her help and being rejected than anything else. She loves to help and finds joy in being of service to others. She loves learning. She is a joy to have in our family! 

Birthday Time (The Pictures)

This year Monica turned 6 and Leah turned 3 years old. Since their birthdays were in June when Ryan was working in California for the summer, they opted to wait to have their party so Daddy could be there. Monica wanted it to be a surprise and Leah just wanted cake and presents. So we did our best. Ryan came home August 1st, so if it was going to be a surprise, we had to wait until Monica wasn't thinking about it anymore. We had to convince her we just weren't having a party. The surprise eventually got spoiled in order to secure cooperation on the day. The girls had stayed up really late the night before messing around so they were none too happy with each other the morning of the party. It was just the trick. We had a fun party with some of our friends. We have felt so welcomed and made so many friends as well as renewing old friendships that we felt bad we couldn't invite everyone. We had a water balloon challenge, a three-legged race, and a corn bag toss with (gluten free) cake and ice cream. Here are the pictures. 

 Monica's "Barbie in a Fashion Fairytale" inspired cake. 

Leah's Strawberry Shortcake inspired cake.

The two sides.

Leah is 3!

Monica is 6!

Our party-goers:

Katie Harrington and Elena Curnutt

Isaac Miller and Monica 

Ashlynne Miller and Leah 

May and Camille Harrington

May is one of our fabulous babysitters. We love her! 

Katie Curnutt and Chase Miller

The corn hole toss.

Blowing out the candles.

Later on, Brigham, Bennet and Emmaline Parry were able to come and party with us with their brand new baby sister. After the fun was over, Ryan watched the kiddos so Lesa and I could go do a little shopping at Old Navy.

One man. Five kids aged 3-7. He really is a stud.

August Gems

We found these tiny cans of coke and couldn't resist them. Ryan has been trying to quit soda for a while and we thought these would be perfect for those "gotta have it" moments, instead of the 44oz. cups from Sonic. Ryan grabbed one and Jillian got a hold of it. She has been teething and loved the feel of the cool tin against her gums. 

We had an awesome rainstorm and we got inches of water running down our street to the arroyo at the end of the street. Monica and Leah plopped themselves in the front door to watch the water rush by. Ryan went out in the rain and got soaked in about 3 seconds flat. I waited to have my fun after the rain stopped pouring. 

 You have to love a good rainfall in the desert!

Ryan, Awesome Dad post #471

I suppose there is a danger in being the only male in a house full of females having to deal with: 

The estrogen overload.

The excessive amount of tears.

The drama.

There are good things, too.

Like the extra hugs and kisses.

The love notes on the back of homework papers.

The talent shows.

The makeovers...

He's such a good sport!