Zoo Lights

So we went to the Zoo Lights last night. Ken's Aunt Sandy and Uncle Dave took us. It was so much fun. The kids loved it. They had this really cool display that had the lights flash/dance to the music being played. It was really amazing. They also had this HUGE tree all light up with lights (it is the tree behind us in the group pictures). I don't know how they got all of those lights on it. It looked spectacular though. Ironically, one of the kids favorite place to go was to see the bugs in the "Crawlspace." They had tarantulas, cockroaches (one thing I definitely don't miss about Arizona), and all other creepy crawlies you can thing of. We kept trying to leave but the kids wanted to look at just one more bug.

Afterwards we came to our house to dry off (it was snowing/raining most of the time we were there) and have hot chocolate and cookies. I will not be giving the girls liquids before bed ever again. Jordan got up 3 times to use the bathroom and Kailyn didn't quite make it when she made a mad dash to the toilet around 1am.

It was a wonderful evening, the only bad part of the night is I left the stroller in Ken's car (read my little adventure and you will know why we took Ken's car) and thus missed walking group today. I really wanted to go but I guess its probably good I didn't since our dishwasher started over flowing this morning when I started it. There was so much water on the floor. I can't imagine the mess it would have made had it gone through a full cycle.

Group picture with huge tree
(this picture doesn't do it justice)

Jordan all bundled up and watching the toy train

Running through a tunnel of lights

Caden mezmorized by the dancing lights

Jordan and Ken dancing to the music for the lights

Kailyn's Projects

So Kailyn has been busy at preschool making lots of crafts. It has been great to have decorations for the holidays. Here are a couple of pictures of her Halloween stuff (I forgot to post it way back when). The first picture is actually a 'homework' project they had to do. They were to decorate this house anyway they wanted. Here is Kailyn's creation. I gave her ideas but she had the finally say. She did all of the cutting and pasting, she even wrote Bassett on it by herself.

I'm not a keeper so thought this would be a good way to remember all the fun things she has created.





PS I put up 3 new posts today, sorry I got a little behind.

Little Adventure

So Wednesday after play group it was pouring rain. I quickly loaded up the kids and headed home making a pit stop at Monnette's ("the fruit and vegetable store" as the girls call it) I realized I didn't have my wallet in my purse, luckily I had some cash to pay. I figured I must have left my wallet at the YMCA when I had worked out that morning so I decided I might as well check while I'm out. Well, as I am driving into the Y's parking lot I hit a puddle (totally unavoidable). Very bad for our car which loses the engine belt anytime water gets up in the engine. I park the car and decide to call home (Ken was possibly getting home early from work). No luck. I don't know anyone else's number and I am not going to walk all the way home with 3 kids in the pouring rain. So I say a prayer and start the ride home. Here is where the fun begins. Caden suddenly decides to get upset and starts crying at the top of his lungs, Kailyn begins her why questions ("Mommy, why isn't the car working?" "Why did we say a prayer?" "Why is it raining?" "Why is the car beeping?"etc) in the mean time the car battery light is on, the power steering is gone and then the car begins to over heat which causes the car to start peeping at me. I decide I don't want to ruin the engine and pullover to begin the trek home. Let me tell you it was a fun walk home. I had to walk over a mile in the rain with 3 wet, cold kids (and I really had to pee). I'm sure I looked like a crazy lady walking in the rain with my three kids (really I wouldn't be doing this by choice). Luckily, the rain did let up about half way into our walk home. We got home cold and wet. It was not a fun day.

What I have taken from this experience...
- Maybe it is time to get a cellphone (that way I would have a list of phone numbers in the phone and a phone to use to call) or keep a list of phone numbers in my purse for emergency.

- Get the car fix (I never think about it until there is a problem and then it is normally a bad time, ie Thanksgiving weekend) or not drive the car when it is raining.

-Get rid of my wallet or just have it super glued to my arm so I won't lose it again.

-Slow kids and having to use the bathroom are not a good mix (although I could have told you that before).

The worst part was that Ken was home but had not heard the phone ring cause he was sleeping (he had just gotten off a 30 hour shift--he tends to sleep through things after those shifts). I am just glad we got home safely, and that car at least functioned enough to get us part of the way.

So that was my little adventure of the week.

Oh, yeah, my wallet was not at the Y after all. I found it later in a bag in the car that I keep diaper and wipes in.

Thanksgiving

I know this post is way over due. Please forgive me. Well, we had our first Thanksgiving here in Toledo and it was wonderful. We ate dinner at the Jeppesen's house (friends from our ward). There were a lot of people there, which I loved. The best part about there being so many people is that I only had to prepare a small part of the feast. Here is a picture of the amazing food that we ate. Yum! Yum!


Another great thing about there being so many people is that the girls were entertained the whole time. Kailyn spent most of her time in the toy room with Rachel Weber. And Jordan spent a lot of her time outside on the trampoline. It was pretty cold out (30 degrees) but Jordan didn't seem to notice, even removing her coat for a while (crazy girl).
It was a fun day, as is evident by the pictures of the car ride home.

The thing I was most thankful for was that Ken didn't get called into work. He did unfortunately, have to go in Saturday and Sunday (leaving right after he gave a talk in sacrament).

Thankful

So Monday night Jordan gave a great lesson on the pilgrims, Thanksgiving, and being thankful. We then made a turkey thats feathers were made out of the things we are thankful for. I wish the picture turned out better so you could see what the kids wrote/drew.

So here is what we are thankful for....

Jordan is thankful for:
Macaroni and Cheese
Grandma and Grandpa
Mom and Dad

Kailyn is thankful for:
Her brother (which she sounded out and spelled 'bthr', oops she forgot the vowels. Pretty good though)
Her sister (according to her she wrote "I am thankful for my sister, Jordan." She wasn't as close with that one)
Mom

I am thankful for:
Eyes to see the beautiful fall
Laughter
Hugs and Kisses from my kids

Ken is thankful for:
A wonderful wife who makes us dinner and does our laundry and cleans our house and yard and raises our kids and does our shopping and takes care of others' kids and loves me (I swear that is what he wrote I'm not making it up)
3 beautiful children who are learning to obey and do their chores
Post-Call Days and Moonlighting days (I would definitely have to agree)

Final Day

So this post is a little late. But here is the fun we had the final day the Wells were here. The highlight of the day was the fact that Ken got the day off. Hip hooray!!! He was actually suppose to work but things just worked out.

We started out the day by going to a holiday parade in Bowling Green (about 25 min drive from Toledo). It was a little cold but the kids enjoyed it...especially all of the candy they got (just what we need more candy!).
The spot we choose to stand was good/bad. It was were the parade stopped to perform (there was a TV crew recording nearby) so we got to see all the dancers and stuff. Well, it also meant that this is where they had a firing squad and then the cannon. picture below, shot off. It was very loud (my ears were ringing afterwards). The kids didn't appreciate the loud noise that much.
The kids were getting pretty cold and the parade looked like it was still going to be quite awhile so we decided to take off. Jordan and Mimi both crashed on the way home. They of course woke up when we got home but I'm glad they at least got that much of a nap (more than I can say for the other days).


Some other fun things we did was paint our toe nails.
They also color, cut and painted. The kids found some paint brushes and were dying to paint. I told them we were out of paint but they decided that water would suffice. Hey that works for me, a lot less messier.

So I was really impressed with how well all of the kids did. I really thought that by Saturday they would be so sick of each other that it would be total chaos. Although, we definitely had our moments the kids all really seemed to enjoy being together. As proof here are Mimi and Jordan playing that night (yes that is the fabulous $1 toy). Even though they had spent the last 4 days together my girls were still SO excited to see Olivia and Mimi on Sunday, I guess that is a testament that things went pretty well.

Day 3

(Warning: As you can probable tell this post has a lot of pictures. Sorry they are not formated better, they are just one long stream.)

Well, the girls had another fun day. We started out the day with Kailyn and Olivia going to preschool. It was technically my day to drive but thank goodness Kenna W offered to drive. Here they are ready to go.
While the 2 older kids were at school the rest of us went to 'Playground World.' It is a store that sells playground equipment and other misc. items. Every Friday from 10-11am they open up their store for kids to play. Here are pictures of the things the kids did.

Mimi jumping on the trampoline

On the teeter-tooter.

Jordan playing 'house.'

Caden's favorite thing to do...play basketball. He loves it! He will go and get a ball come to me and then walk towards the hoop. I lift him up, he shoots the ball (they have a couple hoops that are really low), he laughs and smiles, I put him down, he goes and gets the ball....etc.Jordan and Mimi swinging.

The girls do really well all playing together. Some of the things the girls love to do, play house and make believe. One of the make believe games they were playing today was dentist. Here is Kailyn checking out Jordan's teeth.

They also love to dance. I think Kailyn and Jordan loved having some new dancing partners. They were having so much fun. They were laughing and giggling so much. I had fun watching them.


We also went outside and played for a little bit. The girls had fun in the leaves, but it didn't last long, they all got pretty cold.
Ken got home this afternoon after being on call yesterday (one of his 30 hour shifts). After a nap Ken joined us for a trip to the library. The kids had fun playing with the puppets, watching the fish, putting together puzzles and pushing each other around in a stroller library lends out (we had gotten it for Caden to ride in but he had no desire to stay in it).
We were on our way back to the children's section after a potty break when Mimi stopped and asked for me to take her picture with this star. Pretty cute.

Then it was home for some babysitting. Thats right we picked up some more kids. We are part of a babysitting swap. We take turns watching all the kids on Fridays. Well, this Friday was our turn. The kids had a lot of fun. They were dancing around and one of the kids commented that it was like a party (I would have to agree). The kids also had fun wrestling with Ken. They started out tackling Ken (unfortunately, the picture didn't turn out) but Ken quickly turned the tables





The poor kids were all so tired tonight. Not a single peep after they were in bed.

PS Emilee, sorry we keep missing you when you call. Just want you to know your girls are doing great.

And the fun goes on

We had a very busy day today. We started out the day by going to walking group. Figured if I push two strollers I could get twice as strong twice as fast. Just kidding! Keriann very graciously pushed one of the strollers for me. (Thank you)
After that we went to the the Toledo Museum of Art. They have this really cool area called the Family Center that is free Tuesday and Thursday. It is a great place. They have painting, a craft (that changes every week), and a room filled with toys to play with. Everyone wanted to paint so we started there. Caden of course wanted to be like everyone else. Here are the masterpieces that were created.

Mimi

Olivia

Kailyn

Jordan

Caden

They also all had fun making beaded necklaces.

They had a lot of fun playing in the make believe room. Here they are having a picnic.

There is also a fun little stage where you can put on a puppet show. They have a bunch of puppets behind the stage where Jordan is standing.
Here are Kailyn and Olivia playing. They would drop a marble in and watch it fall down.
After all of the fun, it was time to recharge. Here they are eating lunch. Luckily, they had some tables next to the Family Center where we ate, it was a little too cold to eat outside.

After the Family Center we went home and had quiet time (ha! ha!). Then I took the girls to gymnastics, home for dinner, baths, and bed.

The girls have done way better then I expected. Kailyn and Olivia just love each other. Today Olivia asked for some paper so she could draw a picture. She then drew a picture for Kailyn of Kailyn's Grandma and Grandpa. Of course we have had a few meltdowns and crying, but is it really a day without it? Mimi has adopted one of our little plastic dolls as her own and does not want anyone to touch or look at it. Olivia loves Caden and is constantly giving him toys and kisses. It is so sweet.

They went to bed without a problem tonight. I think they were pretty tired. So, the girls seem to be having a lot of fun. I hope you are having as much fun Emilee and John.

PS As you can guess I have gotten quite a few stares and comments. "Looks like you need a few more (kids)" "Are they are all yours?" "I hope they're not all yours."

PPS Emilee I remember you mentioning that your kids didn't like tomatoes. At least I thought it was both of them. Well, tonight I had tomatoes on the side as part of our dinner, knowing that a lot of the kids didn't like them (Kailyn doesn't like them either). Well, Mimi was eating them by the handful. It was so funny. Guess I just have better tomatoes.