Fall

I love fall. Other than the impending doom of winter...it is easily my favorite time of year. I love the food, I love the weather, I love the harvest, I love General Conference, I love the changing leaves, and the cool nights. I loved the excitement of the start of school when I was little...but I didn't always love fall. In college I dreaded it. It meant conditioning...and lots of it. But after those four years, I purged the fear of fall back out of me, and I have found my love for it again. This year, it has been especially fantastic because my morning(all day) sickness is going away. I still have bad moments...but the hope this brings is indescribable. So we celebrated by golfing as a family. It was a complete riot. We need to do it more. The kids thought it was so fun to find balls in the weeds(plus this cool lady came up after and gave them a bright pink ball and a yellow sponge bob ball...random niceness is awesome). After Sam and I teed of we would let the little ones chip on to the green(except for the time Sam drove the green and wanted to putt it in himself) and then putt it in. Their favorite part was riding in the cart...which can be very roller coasterish on the back nine at Cascade, and their second favorite part was rolling down the hills. And I am sure Carrie would be wincing b/c of all the pesticides that golf courses use, but I figure cascade must be too cheap for that, so we are probably safe. We picked our pumpkins and rolled them to the front yard on a dolly...pregnant lady can't carry that load. They were really heavy. I love fall...I just love it.

Molly's First Day...

Wow...was this girl pumped for school or what?! I was actually pretty excited for her. She is in French Immersion in the afternoons and a really cool science class on Mondays, and has a very experienced first grade teacher. What more could I ask for? It is a little hard on me because I don't get to have my very helpful girl around while I try to get moving in the morning without throwing up...but I need to stop being selfish and just be excited. :-) Daddy stayed home and we all walked her to school. She was so excited she could barely talk to me when I walked her to her class. :-) Her eyes were SUPER wide and she was just taking it all in. It was very fun.
When I picked her up we stopped at the fruit stand on our way home. They have a peach orchard in their back yard, so we will just say the peaches are pretty fresh.(considering they walk them up to their stand in a wheelbarrow) Hansen was a sticky drippy mess by the end, but ate it all the way down to the pit. She came out of school as happy as when she went in. So I couldn't ask for more. The funniest comment was when she told everyone to sit down and she would teach us some French. After saying "je m'appelle..." and a few colors, she then started saying "Blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah..." Hilarious.(to make it even funnier, Hansen started walking around saying, "blah blah..." That is pretty much how I remember my "French Immersion" experience too Molly Bear. :-)

Adding one more...

One more little Baxter is coming our way in February. It will be interesting to see how it changes the family. So far, Garrett is convinced it is a girl and Molly is hoping desperately for a girl. So I am pretty sure a boy would be a disappointment. We won't find that out for 7 more weeks...but I had my one "moment" today hearing the heart beat. I am pretty sure this is always an emotional time for me because I am already hanging by a little strand of a thread from being sick for so long(and the prospect of being sick for so much longer is daunting). But this is my one moment. I have a hard time getting excited for the upcoming birth until I am feeling better, but I love this moment. Hearing that tiny heart beating so fast is beautiful. It is just beautiful. So I will plug along, and pray I can make it to Halloween(when the nausea goes away). Sam has pulled me through three of these already...so I logically know we will make it, it is just hard to see the light at the end of the very dark tunnel. I know it is a blessing to be a mother, and it is a responsibility I don't take lightly. But when Elder Ballard described motherhood as "moments" it put it all into perspective for me. Some moments are so good. Some moments are just plain terrible. Then there is lots of in between time. Today was one of my good moments. And I will hold on to that for as a long as I can. Or at least until someone starts screaming for something that they need. :-)

Hansen

This boy melts me. I mean melts me. His finger suckin, cheek tappin, cuteness just melts me. Sam took them to the mall for an errand he had to run...and put this hat on Hansen. Melted me...so I texted him and begged him to buy it. The funny thing is...is that he takes hats off all the time. I usually have to sneak it back on him when he is focused on something else. But not this hat. He saw Garrett playing with it at home...and as soon as Garrett put it down he walked over and attempted to put it on. I am pretty sure he knows it melts me. I have never had a sweeter toddler. Even when he says "no" he says it as if he's asking a question. I think because he is hoping that I understand him. But then after a couple of "conversations" I tell him that we need to change his diaper, and he will hold my hand and walk up to his room. I mean...melts me.

June

Molly got to go to BYU basketball camp this year...and is going to attend the second on this weekend as well. She had a great time. She is brave. She was young. I can't say she is the most skilled, or even understands the game at all...but she loved it. The best question she asked after the camp was over that cracked me up was, "You mean you can just hold the ball?" This after she explained to me that every time she dribbled these boys would steal it from her. :-) I told her she didn't have to dribble if someone was right by her...she looked at me very surprised. I will say that it warmed my heart a bit when she told me the direction drill(a defensive drill) was her favorite...well and of course Barnacles. :-) Her gym coach was Hailey Hall...great player...great girl. I was grateful Molly got to be with her.

We went up to a picnic with Sam's siblings up in Little Cottonwood canyon. We saw where they chiseled out stone for the temple and read how it took 4 sets of oxen and about 4 days to take 1 stone to the temple building site. Wow. It was a pretty place. The creek was running HIGH...and we stayed far away. Perfect little place for the little people. Afterwards we got slushies and hung out at Pete and Jen's....which pleased Garrett to no end. He always wants to go there so he can dress up in his leopard suit. He doesn't really care that it is skin tight and is for a girl. He jumps around like a leopard and growls away. :-) While typing this, I just heard Hansen wake up. I then heard his curtains fall to the ground and a little "Uh Oh" In his oh so cute voice. :-) Gotta go get him. Love that guy.

May...wow...

May is a busy month...and we only have one kid who is in school...I have a very strong feeling May will be CRAZY in a few years. It started of course with Garrett's birthday and luckily the Great Grandparents were here. We visited Thanksgiving point with them...and this pic is priceless to me. Them with 4 of their 7 great grandkids.
The kids were thinking of ways to make money. So they decided to have a water balloon sale. Other than the money they made from me...it didn't go too well, but they didn't care. Then they proceeded to pop them all.
Molly had a great program with her Kindergarten...and HAD to get a pic with her teacher. She was so excited to wear a dress. She had a great teacher this year, and a great experience. She loves school and is very happy there. It is all we can ask for. We will pray French Immersion goes as smoothly.
Finally we had her dance performance. This dance thing was a little more intense than I initially imagined. They are 6 years old! Come on! But after receiving 6 emails from her teacher on hair and make-up we had Emily help us. :-) We all have our strengths...and this is not one of mine. But I am a great problem solver...aka...finder of other people to help. :-) Thank goodness for Aunt Emily! Molly performed great and just LOVED it. She is not exactly shy. She ate up every bit of it. No one could come that night to her BIG night...and right before we were about to leave, Garrett fell off the barstool on his face and had a possible broken nose, or broken face. Blood everywhere. So as I was trying to prepare her for the fact that her Dad may not be able to come(he ended up making it and Garrett proceeded to whack his face again and got a bloody lip...Sam left a little early), she told me, "It's okay Mom, I understand...but at least Andi will be there." And Andi did show up! With a beautiful bouquet of flowers! And it meant the world to my little girl. Thank goodness for Aunt Andi! She told me on the way home that she would like to do it again. :-) But she is ready to do something else too. I have enjoyed watching her try new things. She is very brave.

Garrett's big Weekend

Our Garrett J is 4! He was SO excited for his birthday, and Molly helped him get really excited by helping him "plan" it for about two weeks. She does this every year for her own birthday, and it stresses me out...and she decided she would stress me out for Garrett's now too. :-) She was also sweet enough to help me get ready. She LOVES parties, and LOVES to get ready for them. She helped me remember things that we had bought for it, she helped take care of Hansen and read him books, and she saved the day by remember to get s'mores stuff...she is a party planner for sure. Heaven help us all when her wedding day arrives.

Garrett got to go to Fathers and Sons. It is held right around his birthday every year. He LOVES camping. He got to sleep on the top bunk, he got to hike with his Dad, and he got to eat marshmallows. It's hard to see a close up on his face...but it is MESSY. He walked in the door holding a bone. Nothing like bringing carcasses home. Love that. But it was worth it when he said, "Mom look! I found a WEAL bone from a deer. It's a wibbon bone!" And yes, it was a rib from a deer, and I am not sure what to do with it. :-)
My kids get to go to a cake website and pick out whatever cake they want me to make. Garrett skipped over the dragon, and the dinosaur, and surprisingly picked the fire log cake(which was good, cause the dragon looked really hard). He loved it...I think Molly might have loved it even more...but I loved making it and it was tasty! I love chocolate cake. Mmmm. This is becoming my favorite hobby...that I do three times a year. :-)
We skipped a LOT of the stuff that Garrett had planned...but I think opening presents made up for it. He got his pool, and his scary stories in the tent, and his "real fire" to roast on. It was a great time for all. We were especially grateful to have so many family members be in town and celebrate with him. It was a great day. Our Garrett is growing up. He has always had a very soft, sensitive side, and it is starting to come out more and more. He is very protective of his sister and gets mad at me anytime me and Molly are disagreeing. He is too helpful with his little brother...but Hansen loves to watch Garrett and try to do stuff he does. He is trying hard to learn to make friends. He loves to fish, ride his bike, and play pretend...anything. I just love him.