Hunter's Birthday continued...

I guess there's no height limit on this bin of balls.

A bunch of silly heads

Hunter wanted chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (he's his mother's son).
Here he is lighting his candle with the "fire stick."

The cupcake seemed too small to stick 5 candles in.

He wanted a football like his cousins. We have since played no-nonsense football in the street. RJ blocks for Hunter. Hunter runs like he is "Dash" in The Incredibles. It's a winning team!

He didn't want a sweater but he needed something to keep him warm on Sunday.

"This is what I wanted" he smiled. Music to a parent's ears!

Dave and Mila's Visit

Our close friends, Dave and Mila Newcomb flew out with their daughter June to spend a few days with us! We had so much fun. I wish I would have taken more pictures.

I made my first ever batch of gingerbread. Originally, I envisioned us doing gingerbread houses as a family activity. Once Dave and I got started our frienldy little family activity turned into a full out competition. We had fun. When we finished, we let the kids eat or build more onto the houses.

Hunter and June playing with Pokeman cards. It was fun having a playdate for Hunter for 4 days.

Decorating the Tree

We had a record breaking tree decorating night with the help of the missionaries.

Of course we had other special helpers too.

Hunter wants his ornament on the highest branch.

Unfortunately for him, McKenna has a helper of her own giving her a height advantage.


McKenna is as excited about our finished tree as she is for her imminent bedtime.

O Christmas Tree

A Family Tradition

Every year we go up to Volstedts to cut down our Christmas tree.

We like our little "train" ride as we get pulled behind a tractor.

We like picking out the most perfect, cheapest, 6 1/2 foot douglas fir we can find. We keep telling ourselves that next year, we are going to get a noble.

Daddy, Hunter and McKenna.
All smiles after a nice cup of hot chocolate and a cookie.

Getting In Touch With Our Artistic Side

Look who's painting!

McKenna located the paints in a craft drawer some time ago. I finally decided to let her try them out. I'm affraid she likes it.

I bought these finger paints for Hunter a few years ago. He tried using his fingers once and hasn't done it since. He prefers using a paintbrush. McKenna is not one for parameters. She says, "finger paints? Ha, I will use them as toe, foot, knee or arm paints if I want!"

He's a Hard Working Man!

Hard worker or child slave labor?

Either way, the job got done!

Grandpa hooked us up with a free truck load of fire wood.

Hunter would make grandpa Reeve proud. He loaded up the whole truck himself! We handed him the wood and he hunched down and stacked it all. He wouldn't let us help if we wanted to. He was on a mission.

Mission accomplished!

Thanksgiving 2009!

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go!

Matt & Carda, Beth & Matt and us headed to mom and dad's for a great thanksgiving weekend. RJ and I "sacrificed" by sleeping out in the RV. The real ones to sacrifice were mom and dad. They got up with McKenna (who has adopted a horrible sleep habit of waking up between 4:30 and 6:30 am). Thanks mom and dad for a once in a life time non interrupted night of sleep!

Hunter and his cousin Bailey.
At least someone is happy to have a wonderful and plentiful thanksgiving meal.

McKenna digging in

Thanks to Carda, I didn't overeat....that bad. She brought her workout videos and dragged me and matt for a run.

Gearing Up for Halloween

The kids and I had a great time decorating the living room. Among one of the decorations was this werewolf mask and gloves. At first McKenna was really affraid of the wolf, especially if someone was wearing it. She grew to love that wolf and ended up praying for it every morning at breakfast. She even prayed for both of his paws.

Some say the Power Rangers are no more... but I have seen them!

Hunter was adamant about not getting the power ranger suit with muscles this year.

What a confident kid!

We went to a Toy Factory and McKenna became a kitten.

RJ and I always have a halloween party for adults. This year we decided to go out for dinner and to a haunted house in Beaverton. I don't know why I thought I would enjoy a haunted house. I hate it when RJ pops out and scares me. In fact, I made him enter a verbal agreement many years ago not to scare me anymore. Well, I think he got his monies worth. Before we even got into the haunted house, I had been targeted. The zombies kept lurking around me, staring. Then out of no where, shrieking and breathing in my ear. When it was our turn to go through, I hid behind RJ squeezing his hands. He says that I pushed him through the whole thing. He wanted to take his sweet time enjoying the decorations!

Halloween!

Boy do I love Halloween! I think I have the sweetest tooth of all the teeth out there. RJ and I always require a heavy tax at the hands of Hunter and McKenna.

McKenna had a cough and suffy nose so I went to Target to get her medicine. At the checkout, I had to not only show my ID but pull it all the way out of it's too tight pocket. I shook my head and said, "she's just sick, I promise." Little did I know how addictive grape "drink" can be!

After much laboring to get McKenna to take a nap, she was quiet and all was well...until RJ went into the bathroom and found the bottle of medicine empty! Exactly how much she drank, we don't know. Thankfully, there was some spilled on the counter and floor. RJ called poison control and after talking for a while, they said she should be fine. Two of the medicines might make her tired. The third might make her wired. We knew, with our luck, which one McKenna would draw- wired! They also warned that she might get glossy eyes and trip or stagger. Thanks to a blessing from RJ, she was spared the danger of her "inquisitive nature." It truly was a scary Halloween.

We had some friends over for a potluck then got ready for the good stuff.

Chuck and Theresa stuck around for the eveing. They have a tradition of wearing wigs when they take the girls trick-or-treating.

Kistena was a horse (a costume made by her mom and dad). Hunter was the blue power ranger (of course). McKenna was a carebear because it was the warmest thing that would fit her at the consignment shop. It's nice when I can still choose what they are going to be. Kayla was a black cat.

Kaleigh (Hunter's friend and a girl I babysit) has been converted to power ranger-ism. I felt bad for her parents, they had to order her suit!

Ironically, Olivia (Kaleigh's little sister) was also a carebear!

After trick-or-treating, we put the kids down and Chuck and Theresa made caramel, chocolate covered apples.

What a mess!

They were good though. We watched a scary movie after that.

A proud day in the Reeve household

RJ told me that he signed up to bring chili for the chili cook-off at the ward fall festival.
I racked my brain trying to think of a chili recipe that would lead him to victory. "I'm going to make Santa Fe Soup," he said. I told him that because it wasn't chili it probably wouldn't even be in entered into the contest. "It's better than chili and it's going to win." He replied in total confidence.

There were probably ten different chili pots there. They announced second place and gave a prize for something else then continued, "and the best chili overall was..." I watched a sister walk toward our crockpot, "number 3." "RJ, that's you" I had to repeat 2-3 times. "Oh" he says as he stands up to accept his prize- a bowl with pinto beans spray painted gold!

One of the judges came up to me and said there was some good and some really bad chili but there was just something different about RJ's.

Some people asked me for the recipe. Many people asked me if I helped him make it. I wanted to say, "Yeah, I got all the cans out and browned the hamburger. He opened them."

My First Quilt

McKenna's room is pink, green, and white. I was in need of a new project so I thought I would "whip" together a quilt for her when she graduates to her toddler bed. On sister day, we about finished quilting Sage's quilt in 3 hours... but there were 12 of us! It was a long process and I'm not sure I even want her to touch it now.

McKenna's room has a ballet theme. I thought it woudl be fun to make some throw pillows for the bed with appliques of ballerina's or ballet slippers on them. I couldn't find any appliques and you know what? Necessity really is the mother of invention. I created these ballet slipper pillows. RJ laughs at how pointy they are. You know what they say... fools mock!

Here We Come 2024!

We signed McKenna up for a gymnastics class at OSU. I have been so excited to put this leotard on her. Here she is, the next Shawn Johnson. Actually, it would be scary for me to watch her do gymnastics. Do you realize how often a tiny mistake could lead to serious injury or death? I think I can handle somersaults and bunny hops!


Isn't she cute?

She likes the rhinestones!

Queen of the Throne

Look whose on the potty!

She might want to put those goggles on with the way she peers into the toilet to see what she has created.

There is nothing quite like a big brother's support.

Fancy Panties! Grandma bought McKenna some sparkly elmo undies.

Gilbert House

Fun at the Gilbert House (discovery center) with Grandma and Grandpa

RJ beckons the children to pet the iguana puppet

I don't think they want to!

Hunter and McKenna are going on a bear hunt

I always wanted to be a thespian! Here I am with the kidos in my debut: Five Sharp Tooth Buzzards

RJ and McKenna having fun with bubbles.

It took some cajoling to get RJ to put that wand down.

Grandma and the dino chair

Hunter sitting in what looks to be Papa Bear's chair

Safety First

What a friendly store clerk!

The kids had fun pretending to shop in this child size store.

Hunter going "green"

Did you check to make sure that none of those were cracked sissy?