The Last 4 Weeks or So....PART 1

Chris and I are both going to school full time at University of Phoenix. Chris is going into IT (information technology/computers) and will get his bachelor's degree in software engineering. I am going into elementary education to become a teacher. Chris isn't so thrilled to be doing it, but he's working hard. I, on the other hand, LOVE it!! We are half way through our first set of classes and we are both maintaining a straight A average. :)
Needless, to say, I am VERY busy going to school full time, being a mom full time and now with Chris going to school full time and working full time, it's like I'm a single mom. lol.....So, my blogging has been forgotten about. This post and the next post is a recap of the last month or so. (Note: We are at our halfway mark to finalizing Kayla's adoption!!!!! She's SOOOOO EXCITED to get baptised and get sealed to us.)

I like to take the kids to the hot pot in 12th street canyon, in Ogden. It's a naturally flowing hot pot, just right there in the canyon. Years ago, volunteers, created "pots" out it that you can sit in. Chris and I love to go alone in winter, while the snow is falling. The water is BURNING hot. The river runs right along side of the water and you can add buckets of cold water to get your desired temperature. This time I took Landon and Kayla with me. Korbin and I go while the kids are in school. It's nice. :)

All three kids just adore eachother. Landon and Kayla, especially, are best friends. They love to play with each other and hardly argue. I expected things to be more "contentious" than it has been. The kids just really do love each other.....that's just what siblings do. :)

Here's a cute picture of miss Kayla Maylee. She thought the changing leaves were pretty cool.

I LOVE this picture of Landon. He's such a cute little boy. I LOVE that blondie!

Landon started wrestling this year. He is apart of the Weberbilt team. They are all valley kids, who will eventually attend Weber High School. The valley kids have quite the reputation for being great wrestlers!! We have some state champs from the valley...well...from Liberty. People joke that it should be called "Liberty Wrestling" because most of the kids are Liberty kids. Apparently, it's a huge town event for Liberty!

Landon did a great job. He keeps saying that it is his thing, I think he's right. He must take after his dad. He participated in two wrestling meets. In his very first meet, ever, after a week of practice, he took 4th place. The following week he took 2nd place. He missed his last two meets due to being ill, but he had a great season! :) He LOVES his medals and has them hung prominently on his bedroom wall.

The Last 4 Weeks or So... PART 2

Here is part 2 of my "catch up".....

Landon played soccer again this year. I'm not sure he liked it so much this year, but he gave it a good shot! Last year he loved it, this year he said, "I think wrestling is 'my thing', mom.". His team is the Yellow Jackets. They are playing again next spring. (Notice Landon's bruised forehead? He fell on the concrete at school!)

Landon played defense. Here his is kicking the ball away from his team's goal. Go Landon!!

Kayla and Korbin played at the playground, while Landon had a FREEZING game of soccer!

Korbin at Landon's soccer game!

After the soccer game, I took the kids to Huntsville Park, as promised. It was freezing!! The kids were glad to go, though. Here's Korbin climbing up the playset!

Korbin and I took a walk in North Fork. He LOVES to kick the leaves...

...and fall over to play in them!

This Fall we took Libby and Thunder to the corrals in North Fork quite often. It's a perfect place for Chris to train Thunder. Kayla rides Libby around, while Chris trains. Kayla is really pretty incredible with the horses, you'd think she'd been riding her whole life. I can't handle watching her run, it scares me, but I know she does!! Chris will take her on a dirt road away from me and I can hear them!! Then Kayla comes back and tells me. :) (She wants to learn how to barrel race next summer.)

Landon likes to ride, too, but only for a few minutes. He likes to hop on the back of Kayla and let Kayla ride them around. Korbin likes to be lead around by mom. :)

The Monday before Halloween, we had a Family Home Evening and carved a family pumpkin. Each of us was assigned a face part like the eyes or the nose, etc. and we had to draw it without looking at anyone else's. Then, we brought all parts together and carved our "family pumpkin".

Our front door all decorated for Halloween.

Here's a buck on "our property". OK- it's not ours, but we want it. :) We found some land that we'd like to build on when we can. We are hoping it'll be around when we are ready. :) It should be because it's on a mountain. :) It's recreational property, but there are a handful of people that live their year-round. You are required to maintain your own dirt road and plow yourself out in winter, but the neighbors have a rotating schedule, so we only have do it once every 6 or 7 snow storms. :) Yes, we are adventurous!! We can't wait to get to "our property"......whenever, that may be.

Having a girl is more fun than I thought! And having Kayla is AWESOME!! She's such a "girly girl" that loves to wear fluffy dresses and skirts. She LOVES her purses and always wants her hair done. Her teachers always ask me how I manage to get her looking so cute each morning and I tell them it's because she just is so cute! :)

Having said that she is a girly girl, she LOVES to hunt with her daddy and can't wait until she can pheasant hunt, herself. She was very disappointed she didn't get to go elk hunting with dad and she is so excited to one day move to the mountains. :) She said she's looking forward to waking up early (as she gets older) and taking her horse, Libby, on mountain trail rides.

It's a Random Life!

We sold our sweet horse, Eden, to a rancher in Wyoming. He is going to use her to move cows. She will probably enjoy herself very much, although, I cried saying goodbye! We drove over Monte to get there. There was snow up there. Kayla had never seen snow before,so we had to stop on the side of the highway to play! She LOVED it! Landon had a lot of fun, too, especially when Chris got out and played with them!

Here's Daddy getting ready for a snowball fight!!

Here's Mommy with Landon & Kayla. The sunset was very beautiful on our drive home, although, the picture doesn't do it justice.

Here's the kids in their "sunday best". Aren't they cute?!

I took the kids to Temple Square in Salt Lake City, UT, for General Conference. (Daddy was gone hunting.) It's a traditon we have. We literally had to park up in the Avenues and walk! It was pouring rain. We had so much fun running through the streets in the rain! The kids kept laughing about it and I told Kayla she'll always remember her first time at Temple Square.
Here are the kids in front of the Christus Statue.

Kayla had never had a bath in a jetted tub before. She wasn't feeling well, so I loaded it up for her and put some bubbles in. I showed her how to turn the jets on and off. But, it wasn't long before I heard, "MOMMY!" I ran into the bathroom and the bubbles were overflowing onto the floor! I could only see Kayla's head! We laughed and laughed!

Landon lost his first tooth about two weeks ago! He was so brave. Daddy tied fishing string around it and yanked hard! The tooth fairy came. :) Then just the other night, Landon lost ANOTHER tooth! Kayla, hearing the excitement, jumped out of bed and exclaimed that she'd like to loose a tooth, too. Mom was too busy helping Landon to notice what Kayla was doing, when she suddenly ran in the room and said, "I lost a tooth, too!" A night to remember! Landon lost his 2nd tooth and Kayla lost her 2nd to last tooth!

Bye, bye glasses!

Kayla went to go get a new pair of glasses and found out she shouldn't have been wearking them in first place! Go figure! She's quite estatic about it! Although, not so pleased she will be having surgery to correct "eye deviation". (Her eyes don't work together, only one at a time, so cover one eye and then the other and that's how she sees.) She thinks it'll be worth it though! She's most upset she will miss 3 weeks of school....I figured she'd be excited about that!! Anyway, goodbye glasses!! Hello beautiful eyes! (Have you checked out her lashes?? She just fits right in!)

A Mother's Prayer

This is one of my favorite Celine songs, always has been. I imgaine Kayla's birth mom telling me this. :) I am grateful to her for bring Kayla into the world or we wouldn't have her. Thank you, Angela.