Thanksgiving 2011/Rieley's birthday

We didn't get too many pictures of this day but we definitely enjoyed it. Our good friends and neighbor invited us to spend the day with their family. It was really fun and I only had to prepare a fruit salad. The kids even participated in a "Pilgrim production". Thank you, Chris and Lani!

8 is great!!!

The party is finally over! One less thing to plan for. We did a "minute to win it" type of party and it turned out pretty easy. The girls basically entertained themselves. Rieley was really sweet....she made nice signs to help the guests feel comfortable and to avoid any confusion.

Growing up

For Rieley's 8th birthday we decided to let her have her own room. I have been trying to plan for months. There are still a bunch of finishing touches that I need to do, but I did find a fun night stand/ magazine rack at D.I. for her room. I wanted to paint it blue to give a little pop of color. The day before her birthday we began the undertaking. We had to move the office out and back downstairs(not our first choice for the office, but worth it). Then we moved Rieley up and then re-arranged the girls room to accommodate one less child and one more office. It is a huge room down there. It was a ton of work and I was tired, but it was a success. Rieley feels so big and she loves having her own space.

Cinderella!

Last saturday was a day of work. We have been pretty good about chores but the transition between summertime chores and schooltime chores tends to be difficult. Some days they get forgotten. Not this saturday! Infact, I made a list of extra chores along with a price tag for each. I have never seen such hard, fast work with such little complaining. I will not always pay them, but sometimes it is nice to have an incentive. They did a great job! Devyn usually helps too but in this picture she is actually hiding somewhere to poop.

Leyton's Halloween program.

Now that Leyton is in pre school she can participate in her own programs. Leyton and her classmates sang us a few songs and then marched around their little table playing instruments. It was so cute!

The school has a Halloween parade to show off the childrens costumes. It starts in one class and then snakes in and out of hallways and through classrooms picking up kids as it goes. All the parents can line up in the halls or in the gym to take pictures and watch. Immedietely following the 1st graders have a program.