Happy Halloween!!!

Well another year has gone by and it was time to make the costumes. Last October, Matt and the kids decided what we should be for Halloween and the idea was talked about all year long. About the end of August, I decided I had better get started with the costumes so it wouldn't be so stressful. I was really stressing over sewing the satin material and wanted to get it out of the way early. I set down and worked on the dress for Clarissa for a few days and took it at a pace that I could enjoy it. I was excited when it was done since I defined this particular costume as a huge stepping stone in my sewing abilites. I have made pj pants for the kids for the past 12 years, halloween costumes for the boys that seemed to be pretty easy and tried my hand at making skirts and matching applique shirts for the girls. After finishing the dress I took a break since I had my parents coming in so Matt and I could go to Mackinac Island.

There was this really neat thing that happened with the other costumes. I went to Jo-ann's to buy the material and while waiting in the cutting line, I meet this really neat lady. She asked what I was making with all the different colors of fleece. In talking with her, I learned that she wanted to make the same costumes because she had 7 daycare children. After us talking some more, she informed me that I had talked her into making the costumes for her daycare kids. Before I left the store, her and I planned on getting together to work on the rest of the costumes. Boy was I relieved!! I was wondering how I was going to make the kids costumes without patterns and little did I know that Heavenly Father would put this lady in my path at the store. After my little vacation with Matt, I went over to her house and she had already made a pattern for all the parts we needed. She is AMAZING!! In the 5 hours I was in her house, we talked and got to know each other. We both kept mentioning what a blessing it was to have run into each other. A little lesson for both of us in listening to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. She does not share my same religious background, but she strongly felt that the Holy Ghost prompted her to go to the store that evening at 8:30 when she is normally bringing her day to a close. The same goes for me. I am usually in the middle of putting kids to bed and going to bed myself at that time of evening.

Long story short, the kids loved their costumes! We went to our church ward pary on Friday night and our family tied with another one for the Family Theme catergory. Many people asked how Clarissa ended up being the Princess instead of Abby and our answer was, "We will reuse these costumes in a couple years when Abby will fit into the dress."

The only thing that did not happen was the kids didn't get to go Trick or Treating on Saturday. Matt and the boys headed up North to work on the cabin to meet a deadline and didn't get back until 8:30 p.m. The silver lining is that the kids don't have that much candy to eat. Yeah!!!

We hope that everyone had a great Halloween with their cute kiddos and have a great fall.

Family Fall Picture

I love this time of year and because of that, I make sure we take an annual family picture, much to the chagrin of my family. I know when they are older and they look back in their scrapbooks they will appreciate it and will be glad I kept up the tradition. I also know that all pictures are not created equal, especially when there are 8 people in them. At least it was taken, right?!

Girls in Curlers

I thought it would be fun to see what the girls hair would look like curled so on an evening after baths, I sat them each down and put curlers in their hair. I was surprised to see how still they sat so I could put them in. They didn't even mind sleeping in them. They had such pretty hair the next day. I learned the Abby's hair will hold curl for a pretty long time. Clarissa's on the other hand, only last about a day. It amazes me what unique hair they each have. It is so much fun to have girls!

The Wild Hair Do

Court of Honor

We had Danny and Jake's first Court of Honor together. It sure is fun to see them grow up and accomplish the things they have set out to do. We are so proud of our boys and the choices they have to make every day. Life sure is a lot harder than it used to be and I don't envy them having to deal with what they deal with every day. Keep up the awesome work boys!

Danny being awarded all the merit badges he earned before, during and after camp

Jake being awarded his Scout badge (1st Court of Honor)

Jake's 11th Birthday!

I can't believe another year has gone by and my Jacob is 11. Wow! time sure flies. Next thing I know he'll be graduating form High School and off to college. Anyway, we love you Jake and are so proud to have you has our son. It is so fun to watch you take care of your little sisters. It melts my heart when I hear Abby call you "Jakey" and it doesn't even bother you, even in front of your friends. Jake, I sure hope you have a wonderful day and may all your wishes come true.

First Day of Freedom...I mean School!

There are many reasons to love September. The trees turning brilliant colors, the cool mornings and nights, the smells of new school supplies, new school clothes, but my favorite is the first day of school! Now don't get me wrong, I love my children, but I love to send them away to school to learn many new things and when the time comes to have them come home, I can feel a sense of accomplishment for what I did that day and no one is behind me making another mess. Oh wait, I still have 4 years for that to happen! =) Anyway, I still love the first day of school so I can take pictures of the kids before they go to the bus. Since Danny started Kindergarten, I have taken a picture at the same spot so I can see how much they have grown. This is a great tradition that the kids actually look forward to.

Labor Day Vacation

We had a lot of fun this past Labor Day. We did have work to do with the Cabin, but we also played a lot too! Our friends, the Wright's, came to spend a few days with us and we had fun with them to, as always. It is great to have friends that everyone in the family gets along.

Washington, D.C. Trip!

We had a wonderful time in D.C. We stayed in a hotel in Alexandria, VA and rode the subway into D.C. for the 3 days we were there. We were amazed at how clean the subway stations and subways were. People were very polite to us and the kids. There was so much to see there, I think we only touched the tip of the iceberg. We all want to go again.

Subway station in Alexandria, VA

One could spend all day in just one of the Smithsonian's. We went through the ones that interested the kids first. They had just seen the movie, "Night at the Museum, Battle at the Smithsonian", so they were really excited to find the different artifacts they used in the movie and where they would have shot different movie scenes. Actually, our family loves the movies, "National Treasure", so after we toured the Capitol Building we walked through a tunnel that connected us to the Library of Congress. The kids asked the security guard if the movie was filmed there and she told us, "yes" and showed us where they did the filming. The kids thought that was really cool. We walked the National Mall and saw both the Washington and Lincoln Memorials. The were spectacular! There was a really cool feeling when you were in the Lincoln Memorial. On one wall is written the Gettysburg Address and the other had his Second Inaugural Address. It was a sight to see. By the time we had gotten that far, it was dusk, which was my plan, because I wanted some pictures at night. (This not a picture I took, since I was having an issue with my camera at the time, GRR!)
On our last day there, we went to the National Archives. This is were the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are stored, along with many other documents and Presidential artifacts. This was a really fun to place to see as well. Again, the kids asked them what part, if any, of the movie, "National Treaure" was filmed there. If you have seen the movie, the part where Ben Gates purchases a copy of the Declarartion was shot at the Archives. The shots of the Declaration itself was a set since all the film lighting can't be on the document. The guards were very strict about NO Flash Photograhy. "If I see a flash from a camera, your camera is bye bye". This is what we heard a guard say many times while we were standing in line. We were plenty nervous about when it was our turn to take the picture that the camera wouldn't mess up and use the flash.

For those of you who are planning a trip to D.C., here is some food for thought. No pun intended. When visiting the Capitol Building, you can NOT have food or drink of any kind. Not even gum. We were not aware of this and had our tickets for the morning time frame. When we left the hotel, we had packed our food for the day in a backpack that Matt and I would take turns carrying. Well, long story short, when we arrived at the Capitol and started to go through security, we were stopped immediately and after discussing our options, Matt and Danny ran our food to Union Station to lock it up in a locker. It was a very humid day and they wouldn't even allow water bottles so everything was taken to Union Station. It was amazing to see the food they had people throwing in the huge trash bin and the water bottles, baby bottles, everything that could hold liquid. (Those darn terrorists!) Anyway, after our tour, Matt quickly left to go back to the station to unlock our food. We then had to eat all of our lunch at 10:30 in the morning since we were told none of the museums would let you in with food. UGH! So much for trying to save a little dough. When we entered the first Smithsonian, we asked the guards if we could have a few snacks in our pack. "Oh yeah, as long as you don't open the bag in here and start eating them, you'll be fine." Talk about frustration with the communication between buildings. So moral of the story is, Don't plan on taking any type of food with you when you tour the Capitol, but you can take it in with you (just not eat it) in the other buildings. Side note: The National Archives will let you carry a backpack of food in, put you cannot have anything in your mouth, (i.e. gum, candy, etc.) Despite all the hooplah on the food, we had a very enjoyable time. We will just remember the lessons learned. =)

Lunch on the grounds of the Capitol Building

When we left our hotel to start the trip home, we wanted to go see the Washington, D.C. temple. What a beautiful sight! This was a great way to end our trip. We spent a little time at the Visitor Center and visited with the missionaries there and they took a picture of the kids with the temple in the background and then it was time to head back home to Michigan. We had so much fun on our trip and are looking forward to doing it again.

Abby's Stitches

Our family has wanted to go on a vacation to Washington, D.C. for several years now. We wanted to wait until the youngest could enjoy it, even a little bit. We finally took the leap and made plans and hotel reservations. A couple of days before we went, Abby fell out of the sliding door onto our brick paver patio and cut her forehead open. What a trooper she was! She cried when it first happened and then was as calm as could be. During the time that we needed to wait for the numbing medicine to take affect, we couldn't keep her still. Good thing for Disney Princess videos!! After her forehead was all numb, they placed a sterile dressing over her head and stitched her up. She didn't move once. She was the perfect patient!

I look like I am ready for the Army!

Must you wrap me, I promise to lay still!

Just like new!

They told us to come back on Thursday to get the stitches out since we were leaving on Friday morning. We went back in and they told us they were not ready and that we would have to find and ER in D.C. to have them taken out. YIPPEE! Not.

The day we went in to get the stitches removed and were turned away. because they weren't ready!

Matt and I figured that we would just take them out ourselves since Grandma Jenson has given us surgical supplies through the years. I packed the necessary supplies and we would do it when we saw the wound heal better. On the second day in D.C., after touring the area all day long, Abby was easy to get to bed that night and once she was asleep, Matt became the expert stitch remover. She didn't even flinch in her sleep!

Mini Cabin Building Project

We have decided to build something small on our property in Northern Michigan. We had a great opportunity to earn some money by selling some car parts so we chose to use it by building something small to stay in when we camp. As you know by now, when Matt takes on a project, it is not a small one. =) One weekend we decided to go forward and throughout the week, Matt figured out what supplies he would need so all the boys went up North for the a long weekend. They had a lot of fun, even though "it rained a lot", the boys said. They were able to get the structure up, with a roof, 2 windows and a door. All is 4 days of work with a dad and his 4 sons!!

Camping Trailer Repair

It has been about two years that we have dealt with the water damaged trailer. After our last camping trip, we decided that it was time we fixed it on our own. Matt is so amazing with what he can fix, it is sometimes mind boggling. Anyway, when the water damage happened and the insurance chose not to fix it, we took it on ourselves. The task was tedious and a good learning experience for us. Here are some pics of what Matt did. Good Job, Honey! Another project down and many more to go.