Happenings...

This is what we've been up to...

On Tuesday, Kate had to get her front tooth pulled out. I took her to the dentist a few weeks ago for her regular cleaning and check-up and the dentist noticed that her front tooth was turning slightly grey. (I had noticed it too, but was in denial). After doing an x-ray, he discovered that she had an abscess over her front tooth from some unknown trauma, which was causing the tooth to die. After a long chat with the dentist, and my next-door neighbor, who is also a dentist, it was determined that the tooth needed to come out. So in we went on Tuesday to get it pulled.

Kate was so brave! She jumped right in the chair and didn't even flinch when they gave her the shot.

Here's her cute toothless smile. She'll have this for a few weeks until we go back to the dentist to have her fake tooth put in.

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I already got my Christmas cards ordered and delivered here. Yay! I love it that one thing is already done for the holidays and it is still a week before Thanksgiving. Now if I only knew what to buy for some of those challenging people on my Christmas list....

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All the kids have taken turns being sick these last couple weeks, so we've had a few days home from school. 'Tis the season, I guess. Rachel's cough got so bad she developed pleurisy, which is the irritation of the lining of the lung from coughing so much. She has been in a lot of pain, but finally seems to be on the mend, thanks to a few days solid of sucking on cough drops.

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Sarah is obsessed with glue dots. You know, the sticky little premade dots you can get at the craft store. She's decided they fix everything. Just this week she used a glue dot to stick the tip of a broken crayon back on--and then she colored with it. She also used a glue dot to mend her tooth, which had gotten broken in two pieces before she had a chance to put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy. Who knew glue dots were so useful?

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I've been increasing the distance of my runs lately. This last weekend I ran nearly 6 miles for the first time in my life! It felt so great!

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Tonight we had all the young men in the ward over to watch the BYU vs. Utah football game. It was lots of fun--too bad the Cougars couldn't pull out the victory.

Kate's Birthday Party

For her 4th birthday, Kate had a cute princess party with the girls from her preschool class.

They came dressed in their favorite princess clothes and they all looked fabulous! Kate kept changing her mind about what she was going to wear, and put her outfit together at the very last minute.
We had lunch, played Pin the Crown on the Princess and had the girls decorate wands. Afterwards we turned on princess music and they all danced with their wands. Watching them dance was so sweet! I think this was their favorite part of the party!


Kate wanted a princess cake for her party. I was originally going to make the crown cake from Family Fun, but Kate really liked the princess cake instead. These doll cakes are always fun to make.Kate tried several times, but eventually needed help blowing out the candles!

The girls were so excited to have Kate open their presents--they all gathered around and I could barely get a picture!

Later that evening we opened presents as a family. Grandma and Grandpa Hales sent Kate this adorable pink dress up dress and really wanted to see Kate open it. Since they live far away, I promised to take pictures. These are for Grandma:

Kate loves this pink dress and wears it all the time (here she has it over her nightgown right before bed--she wore it right up until the last minute on her birthday). She was thrilled to match her new ballerina Barbie.

Soccer Farewell

Today the kids had their last soccer games of the season. They all improved so much these last few months; it has been so much fun to watch. Team sports teach so many life lessons--I'm glad they are getting these good experiences.

I love watching Rachel play soccer. She is often very reserved, so I love seeing her get out there and really get into the game. I was observing practice one day and the coach actually had to tell her to watch her elbows, since she was being a little too aggressive. That never happens with her!


This was Sarah's first season of soccer since she was 5. She had two practices plus a game each week, so it was a big commitment, but she really gave it her all and improved so much. The other girls on her team kept commenting that they couldn't believe she hadn't played all these years. It really helped her self esteem!Ben is a natural athlete and loves anything with a ball. Soccer is no exception. He played hard and loved every minute of it, and can't wait for the next season to begin. Good thing he starts basketball in a few weeks...

Happy Birthday Kate!

My baby is 4 today!

6 months


Almost 1

Tired girl! Age 2

Loves that chocolate! Age 3

Happy Birthday Kate!

At age 4, Kate's favorite things are:

Favorite colors: pink and purple
Favorite foods: pizza and noodles
Favorite toy: Ballerina Barbie
Favorite book: Angelina Ballerina
Favorite animal: pony
Favorite pasttime: coloring

Kate loves all things girly: princesses, castles, ballerinas, and anything pink and sparkly. She especially loves shoes and purses. (Added later: To prove my point, Kate got a sweater for her birthday. When she tried it on, I asked her if she liked it. She said she did, but then added, "It would be really great if it had shoes to go with it. And a purse." I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this girl!)

We love having Kate in our family!

Halloween

Here's some pictures of the kids in their costumes this year.
Kate LOVED dressing up as a princess!

Benjamin originally wanted to be Superman, but I wasn't having any luck finding a Superman costume in his size. I picked up this costume for him one day to see if he would like it and once he tried it on and saw all the muscles, he was sold.

Rachel dressed up as a "Dragon Fairy" for Halloween. Early on she had designed a "Halloween Fairy" costume, but we didn't have any luck finding such a costume, and I was running out of time (and desire) to sew something, so we were glad when we found this one at Target.

This Halloween Sarah no longer wanted to dress up as something cute for Halloween. I do not like scary costumes, so this costume was our compromise: an evil queen. She had fun acting out the part for the camera.

All the kids had fun dressing up and trick-or-treating. I'm not a huge Halloween fan, but I do think the best part of the holiday is having an excuse to be out and visit with all the neighbors. We lucked out with beautiful weather.

Jack-o-Lantern Cream Puff Recipe

I had a couple requests for this recipe I made last week, so here it is. It comes from the most recent issue of Taste of Home magazine, which I love (and which was a birthday present last year from my sister Karen. Thanks Karen!).

Jack-o'-Lantern Cream Puffs

1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 T. sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs

Filling:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
2 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup whipped topping

Frosting:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp. butter, softened
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 to 2 tsp. milk
Green and orange food coloring
1 T. cocoa powder

In a small saucepan, bring the water, butter and sugar to a boil. Combine flour and pie spice; add to water mixture all at once and stir until a smooth ball forms. Remove from heat; let stand for 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Drop 12 rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto a greased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack. Immediately split puffs open; remove tops and set aside. Discard soft dough from inside. Cool puffs.

For filling, in a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar and pie spice until smooth. Pipe into cream puffs. Top each with 1 tablespoon whipped topping; replace tops.

For frosting, in a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Tint 1 tablespoon frosting green and 2 teaspooons orange; set aside. Stir cocoa into the remaining frosting. Pipe jack-o'-lantern faces with orange and chocolate frosting. Pipe stems with green frosting. Makes 12 cream puffs.

I Voted!

I voted today. I know my vote probably won't make a lot of difference in the very blue state in which I live. But as I walked over to the middle school where I voted today, I reflected on what a great country we live in. How wonderful it is that I could stand in a little booth and give voice to my opinion. I voted against allowing gambling into this state. I voted for the man I think will do the best to lead our country. I don't know yet who will win. But just the act of voting was a privilege--one that was fought hard for by many women, not too many years ago. I'm grateful for those who have stood before me to allow me this freedom, and for those who have fought--and still fight--to guarantee that I will always be able to vote.