All I Want For Christmas

The other night at dinner the kids were talking about what they want for Christmas this year.  Brynn and Kaitlyn told me they both wanted sewing and craft stuff, and Jared said he wanted some Ninjago (Ninja Legos) stuff.  Everyone had very reasonable requests until Ellie chimed in and said, "I want an iPod for Christmas!  And an iPad!"  We all started laughing and the other kids were quick to respond that they wanted those things too!  I'm not even sure how Ellie knows about iPod's and iPad's.

Ellie definitely has Christmas on her mind because another time while in the parking lot of Hobby Lobby a lady driving one of those SMART tiny cars drove up next to us.  Ellie looked out the window and exclaimed, "I want one of those for Christmas!"  They do look like little toys, but I think I'm going to have to use the power of suggestion to help her out on her wish list!

Go Cougars!

Jared wanted to be a BYU football player for Halloween this year so look what he started.  It's Cougarmania around here!  Three BYU cheerleaders, one BYU football player, BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall, one BYU fan, and the football!

I sewed Kaitlyn and Brynn's cheerleading costumes and Nate's football costume.  We borrowed football pads and a white jersey for Jared's costume.  I cut out some felt letters and numbers for the jersey and for his helmet.

I wasn't sure little Muff would acquiesce to my plea to wear the cheerleading outfit--she had another costume in mind.  She was good to wear it for the ward Halloween party, and for trick-or-treating and her Halloween party at school she got to be what she really wanted to be.....

This funny dinosaur!  She loved this costume she found in our costume box.

 Nate was the football.  He was the cutest thing ever!

11-11-11

In commemoration of 11-11-11 the kids did not have school (and maybe because it was Veterans Day too). We went on a hike around the Bosque by the Rio Grande River.  We really didn't hike very long until we came to a wide opening and pretty much made camp for the next hour and a half.  The kids played some kind of prison game and ran all around enjoying the leaves and nice weather.  

Nate and Keian could have had fun the entire time throwing rocks into the water below.

I'm pretty sure that stick in Jared's hand is in the trunk of the van--somehow Jared is drawn to big sticks and thinks they all need to come home with him.

We had 24 kids and 5 moms!

Ellie found a log to play on and actually let Amber take these cute photos of her!  I love them all!

Dirty nose and dirty face Nate--I love this picture of his cute eyes.  Again, all these pictures are complements of Amber.  Thank you!

My Greatest Joy

Here are some pictures we captured of my favorite thing to see....the kids all playing together so nicely!  The kids like to play school, and I love how Ms. Karen (Kaitlyn) and Ms. Jen (Brynn) are such good teachers to their students.  They seriously teach Jared and Ellie a lot of things. It would be really hard to play school without lots of siblings!  I love these guys, and I especially like when everyone is getting along and working together.

Guess What Muff Can Do?

Ellie can now.....

TIE HER OWN SHOES!

(and that's not all)

Ellie can now....

RIDE HER BIKE WITHOUT TRAINING WHEELS!

In June, just about a month after her fourth birthday, while I was getting everybody ready for church Ellie asked me to show her how to tie shoes.  It was a bad time--it's always a race as I make sure everyone is ready, and we didn't have much time.  I was sure it would be a frustrating experience for her and me, but I stopped for a minute and showed her two times how to tie the laces on Jared's tennis shoe.  That's all it took!  She was a pro before we even left for church!  Way to go Ellie!

Scott has been taking Ellie out every once in a while to work on riding without training wheels, and Ellie has got it nailed down!  We have some video footage of it, but I don't have a picture yet.  This girl is growing up so fast!  She is so proud of her new bike skills and likes to show off to Jared's friends outside.

I just had to include the funny goggles pictures to show her true love for them.  In September she was wearing these goggles every day and took them off only when she had to for school.  She also got a sombrero from the dollar store and loved to walk up to school with her goggles and sombrero on.  She claimed the sombrero kept the sun off her face.  Isn't she funny!

Ellie likes to talk about her day at bedtime and asks me to ask her questions about school.  She was so excited to play with the new "cashy rasher" at school.  It took some delving to discover she meant she loved the new "cash register."

First Day of School - August

I wrote the following in my journal after the first day of school:

The mornings have become a bit darker, and sometimes there has even been a slight chill to the early morning air.  The kids have begun to fight more to spell off boredom, and my patience for the constant business of five children and all the messes imbued throughout indicated only one thing—school would be starting soon.  I knew it was time—the kids knew it was time.  We were all looking forward to it. 

So why do I always feel a tinge of sorrow when it finally comes?

A new school year proves the passing of time—one year older for everyone.  This year marks Kaitlyn’s last hurrah in elementary school—have I really already had that many “first days of school” with her?  It happened way too fast.  Kailtyn and Brynn are old pros and don’t look back after the first school bell since May rings.  Jared is more timid and unsure and catches my eye again and again as his teacher leads his line into the school and up to his classroom.  I can tell he is fighting to hold his composure, and truthfully, so am I.

I fight back tears every year.  I wonder if my kids know how much I think about them during the day.  Do they know I rejoice at their victories?  Do they know my heart aches when I see them struggle?  Do they know I pray for their happiness and success?  Do they know how proud I feel when I watch them try their hardest? 

I met the kids at the bus stop after the first day and all three seemed to be bursting with excitement to tell me all the fun things about their class and teachers.  I’m grateful for amazing teachers, a great school and good friends for my kids.  

Update:  It didn't take long for us to all adjust to the school routine.  I am grateful for such responsible kids who always try their best.  Everyone is excelling, and I feel grateful for a wonderful school and teachers that are helping shape my children.  

Esplin Family Reunion--July

 Max's extended family always has a reunion around the 4th of July.  We went up to it this year since Max was in charge.  There is always a lot of four-wheeling and even more dirt!

We stayed in Mt Carmel one night and went looking for the reservoir that Max and some of Scott's cousins built.  Max wasn't with us, so we were trying to find it with all the "landmark" directions he gave us.  Scott drove our minivan all over the back country roads up the mountain--I was sure several times we were going to tip right over.  I even asked Scott to let me out of the car, because I was so nervous!

We finally found the right path that led us right to the reservoir.  You can see how pretty it is up there.  The reservoir is huge, and I'm glad we were able to finally find it!

Scott's cousins brought up several horses for everyone to ride.  Jared has been asking for years to ride a horse so he was in heaven.

They put me on a horse with the stirrups way too long and Ellie on the front. Ellie kept trying to hold the reins and I felt totally out of control.  When another horse collided into the side of the horse we were on I was done!  Scott's cousin wouldn't let me bail and told me to get right back on.  This time Ellie went with Scott which was much better.

Scott and I were in charge of the annual treasure hunt.  The last clue took the kids to the cave.  This is how we get transported when we're on the 40.

The kids found the treasure deep in the cave--deeper than it probably should have been, but we let Brian be in charge of hiding it. :)  Each child got their own marshmallow gun that I made out of PVC pipe.