Sunday, November 28, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving week started off with Jake's feast and performance at school.  He was an Indian in the performance and also in charge of bringing turkey.  Steve got to be there and loved reading a book to the kids and participating in the classroom.  I haven't been able to do any of that this year with both girls at home.  Maybe next year... 

Stevie Kate also had a feast at her school on Tuesday...she chose to take Yogurt Raisins.  Go figure...

We had a week of "white" for Thanksgiving.  Several big storms happened...including one forecast for today.  Wednesday and Thursday were VERY cold too.  They even canceled the local 5K race for liability reasons...it was almost 10 below zero when the race was supposed to start.  The Houghs have not been skiing yet...but I am sure it is coming soon.  Deer Valley opens this upcoming weekend and Steve is almost recovered from his ill-timed Thanksgiving Week cold.


We spent Thanksgiving Day with Grandma & Grandpa D, Grandma Lee, Duff, Amy, Kace, Kassidy, Shane, Carrie, and Halle.  It was fairly quiet for a Draper Thanksgiving and very laid back.  I loved it and thank you to Mom for most of the cooking.  The Houghs were in charge of bringing Sweet Potato Casserole (a favorite of ours from Tennessee).  After dinner we played Hearts and Kace was the winner...even though this was his first time playing.  I was the big loser.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Bring It On!

The kids and I spent last Friday afternoon/evening getting the winter gear out from the crawl space.  The ski boots, snow boots, goggles, hats, gloves, etc.  Then we went to the rental shop to get them measured for the right size boots and skis.  Turns out Stevie needed new boots...but other than that...they were all good for the same equipment from last year.  It got us all excited and now I can embrace this cold weather and pray for snow. 


The best part of the night was the laughs we all got from Kelly and her goggles.  We found these in the crawl space and the rightful owner is Sam McClendon...from the last visit.  Kelly has staked her claim on them and would not part from them until bedtime.  I think Sam will understand.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Halloween and Tennessee Trip

HALLOWEEN
We spent Halloween in Tennessee this year.  The weather was fantastic and loved the time we spent with the Hough side of the family.  Jake doesn't really like to dress up and it is pretty tough to get him in a mask or hat.  So he chose to be Luke Skywalker for Halloween.  Perfect for him.  Stevie Kate surprised us by wanting to be an Avatar.  I was convinced that she would be a different princess every year...but I love it when they come up with something and are so excited about it.  Kelly was a Sugar Plum Fairy, a costume that I loved when Stevie was her age.


They all loved Trick or Treating - especially because they were with their cousins.  Jake and Kelly tired out after an hour or so.  And Stevie had a lot of stamina, kept up with the older kids and stayed out longer.  She was the one running to the door.

THE REST OF THE TRIP
We stayed for 8 days this time around so we had lots of time to see everyone.  Krissy, Drew, and Cooper were so great to drive from Shreveport to visit too.  The cousins were all together for a few days which was fun to watch.  Cory Nicole was so great with Stevie and Kelly.  Stevie just ate up the attention and didn't want to be away from her side.  And Jake was just one of the boys this trip - or at least he tried to be.  I honestly didn't see him that much because he was with Luke, Sam, Drew, and Cooper as much as he possibly could be. 

Other highlights...
  • Watching Luke's football game
  • Childrens' Museum with Nannie
  • Corn Maze
  • Zoo with GranDaddy and GranJackie
  • Tech Decks and Trampoline
  • Taylor Swift's House 
  • Building a Trail in Nannie's backyard

Catch Up - Part 2

Kelly
It was time to hand over the crib to Halle because she was growing out of the bassinet.  I wasn't exactly ready to move Kelly out of the crib, but didn't think it would be too bad because of my experience with Stevie and Jake.  Wrong.  The first few nights she just constantly got out of the bed before going to sleep.  Steve installed the gate on the door and just kept putting her back in.  Then she slept ok once she fell asleep.  But I think it was night 3 that I probably won't forget for a long time.  She woke up around 1ish and we kept going in there and thinking that she went back to sleep.  First we saw books all over the floor.  Then around 4 a.m. we heard a big bang and then crying.  I went running into the room and she was sitting under the dresser in her closet - which had nearly fallen down on her.  The only thing that caught it was the molding around the closet door.  Six inches more and it would have landed on her head...my worst nightmare.  She also happened to be in different clothes and every toy in her room and closet was out.  Needless to say...I was terrified and slept in the room with her for the rest of the night.  The next day, Steve bolted it into the wall.  Our pediatrician always talked about bolting stuff...but we have never done it because I just didn't see my kids climbing stuff. Wrong.


She hasn't really been that bad since that night...but we have found her asleep under Stevie's bed.  And lately she rolls off the bed and doesn't even wake up.  Crazy girl for sure.  The other scary experience with her happened a few weeks ago.  I put her down for a nap and didn't latch the gate on her door. Mainly because I was going to be upstairs working on laundry.  I was soaking some clothes in Oxi Clean in the kids' bathroom and left the powder (lid on) in the bathroom.  I heard some screaming and ran upstairs.  Kelly had woken up early from her nap, went into the bathroom, figured out how to open the powder container, and eaten Oxi Clean.  I don't think much got down her throat, but I did try to make her throw up.  That was the first time I had to call Poison Control, but luckily she was ok.  So...maybe these two stories will remind all of us with small children that you never can be too safe :-)  Let me be your lesson.

The next big step with Kelly will be taking away the pacifier and then on to potty training.  Not looking forward to either one...so I may just wait a bit.

Jake
Jake is doing great in Kindergarten.  He loved his sub teacher, Ms Langford, and now his real teacher is back from maternity leave, Ms Minneci.  Things are going well.  The only thing that has completely surprised me about Jake in Kindergarten...is the fact that he loves the ladies.  I wasn't prepared for that aspect because he has not really wanted to even play with girls for a year or more.  So now all of a sudden he loved the girls in his class - one or two in particular (Shayla and Abby).  There has been kissing and "I love yous" and I am shocked.  I think there are 15 boys in the class and 6 girls.  So maybe he is just trying to stake his claim.  I remember loving the boys in Kindergarten...Mark Pitts in particular...so maybe he is just taking after me.

Stevie Kate
Nothing really too exciting going on with Stevie.  She is doing great at Miss Sharie's preschool and is loving her new friends there - Lila, Tatum, Annika, and Hayden.  The only drama we had was that Miss Kathy (Lila's mom) and I worked out a carpool schedule and she picks up Stevie and Lila.  That really upset Stevie for a few weeks because she wanted Mom or Dad.  Lots of tears.  She figured it out and now we just try to make it special when she comes in the door rather than when we pick her up.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Catch Up - Part 1

FALL FUN

For all of you who have been bugging me to "update the blog"...here you go.  I am slacking, so please keep pestering me.  Seems like my sisters and I share a quirk about having to do things in order.  I can't just pick up in November now...I have to go back to where I left off.

Soccer - Jake and Stevie both played soccer this fall - on different teams and in different leagues.  We all spent quite a bit of time at the soccer field and although it was fun and worthwhile, I was ready to be done.  Kelly was not a good sport at all at soccer games and that made it hard on the rest of us.

Jake had Coach Elaine this season and a good group of boys - all new friends.  A little rough at first, but but the end of the season it was great.  He really made progress at the end of the season too - even scoring some legitimate goals and really hustling. 

Stevie had Coach DJ this season and a great team.  Her good friend Gracie was on the team and a few other girls that she knew a bit - but they were all so darling.  After a few games, Stevie got the concept and became really competitive and loved to kick the ball and score goals.  She was mostly competitive with one of the girls on her team - Maggie.  They fought over the ball quite a bit...funny.  Maybe the concept of teamwork will come next year.  One of the moms is a photographer and took some great shots.

 
BYU Football
Uncle Shane is starting Middle Linebacker this year for BYU.  I am so impressed at how well he has played...despite the losing record for BYU.  It has been fun to watch and we have been able to go to a few of the home games.  He is such a nice and humble guy...and a great uncle to my kids.  It is crazy to see him be so aggressive on the field.  I told Carrie to watch out when football season is over...he will have to get that aggression out somewhere :-)  Just kidding...great job Shane.


More Pictures
Here are a few more pictures from our Scarecrow Walk and from the backyard.  The pictures of the kids mid air crack me up.