Buble

Not a typo.

Buble, as in Michael Buble.

I don't know how to type the accent thingy.

We saw him in concert!

First, we saw this weird giant chocolate wall hanging.  How weird is that?

Super excited before the show!

Too bad Blake's iphone couldn't really get a good pic.  Might have had something to do with how far we were from the stage... but, it didn't feel like we were as far as it looks like we were in this photo.  It was seriously such a great show!  Michael Buble is surprisingly funny.  And, not surprisingly, a fabulous singer.

Love dates with this man!

Neglect

I'm finally addressing a serious issue that's been going on around here.

A serious lack of time and attention focused on my youngest here on our family blog.

So, finally, what I know you've all been waiting for--a post dedicated solely to Lanaya.

A pretty pair of shiners.  Courtesy of her big brother, Trey.  Who decided to solve a skirmish over a toy that happened at the top of the stairs by pushing her down to the bottom of the stairs.

These photos just don't adequately portray how sad it was.  She also had a huge goose egg in the middle of her forehead from falling into a bench leg the day before the pushing incident.

So, maybe she wasn't a total pro at walking after all.

But, she knows how to get back at the brother who pushed her:

Steal his undies.

In early September, Lanaya fully embraced all things girly.

I get that, at first glance, Thomas the Train undies don't seem remotely girly.  I get that.  But, this is when she became obsessed with clothes.  Any clothes that were left out were subsequently brought to me.  First, with an excited giggle (complete with grabbing her belly enthusiastically, which is what she always does when she brings me something she's excited about).  And then, if we don't catch on quickly enough that she wants to wear the article of clothing, she starts doing this kind of whiny "eh eh eh".  And, if that doesn't do the trick, she yells.

She also does this with shoes and, shockingly, hair bows.

So, we only had a brief foray into that frustrating stage of chasing her down and wrestling her every time we needed to change her diaper or clothing.

This is amazing.  I've never had a child at this age enjoy (let alone, get excited about) getting dressed and/or having her hair done.

This is amazing.

So are those rolls.

Shampoo-enhanced mohawk revival!

There.  Do you feel better now?  I am so glad we could right this wrong.

Beautiful Nauvoo

Since we are *relatively* close to the historic city of Nauvoo, IL, we decided to take the kids for a visit.

We started things off with an exciting wagon ride!

Okay, so it really wasn't all that exciting (even though it was pulled by real live horses) and it was an hour long.  And it was hot.  So, there were some complainers along the way.

But, the sites were really beautiful.

Then we started touring the town on foot.

Many of the old buildings have been restored and things are set up to be as close to the way they were during the early 1800's, as possible.

The missionaries are all dressed according to the time period, as well.  And they taught the kids how things were once done, in addition to church history, and spiritual insights.

Such a wonderful experience!

This cute gentleman let the kids help out a bunch with the process of how newspapers used to be made.  Trey was so totally into it (including being paranoid about touching the wet ink--even though it was all just pretend), it was so cute!

Helping roll on the "ink".

Kayli got to actually run it through the press thingy.

And my lens was broken for this entire trip, so the photos are not only poor quality, but there aren't very many of them.

The kids also learned how to send mail, how to make a tin pan, how to make shoes, how to pop popcorn, how to use a summer kitchen, how to tell if your oven is hot enough to bake bread, why we say, "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite", how to make a rope, a candle, a barrel, a pot, and much much more.

The next day was Sunday.  We went to church and then drove to Carthage, IL.

It always surprises me that the site of such a tragedy (the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith) carries with it such a strong spirit of peace and inspiration.

The kids felt it, too.  Our wild, rambunctious brood was quiet and respectful the whole time.  And it was such a neat experience.  I'm so grateful we went.

This is one of the high quality photos I was talking about.  Most of the time, my camera just wouldn't take the picture, so people were rarely ready when it actually did.

The next morning we got in the sites we'd yet to have time for.

First up was lasso-ing the sheep with the rope they'd made on Saturday.

Kayli was quite the pro.  She's clearly been paying attention at the rodeos.

Trey was pretty excited to ride this horse.

And, of course, we took a walk around the beautiful Nauvoo temple.

Even this little lady walked a bit.  She'd only just started on this skill earlier that week.  And like all other skills, she appeared to have waited long enough to try it out that she didn't really struggle that much.  The little stinker was fairly proficient at it from the day she took her first step.

Still, it has been so dang cute to watch.

My other cute kiddos in front of the statue of brothers Joseph and Hyrum Smith.

And, proof that I was there, too.

Preschool

First off, let me say, I don't know how it is possible that I'm sending my third child to preschool.

Okay.

I was expecting tears.

This is what I got.

Full blown excitement and confidence.

Don't worry--we had plenty of those tears in the weeks to come.  Thanks goodness for stellar (and patient) preschool teachers!

But, he seems to be happy now.  And is pretty proud to sit on his ant square on the rug.

This is how Lanaya feels about having to get back in the car, rather than get her own square on the rug.

One More Post For Summer

This is going to look like a repeat post.

Now, you're really excited to read it.  Aren't you?

I'm really good at building suspense and interest.

Recognize this park?  It's by the water park we went to early on in the summer.

But, this happy camper missed out due to a birthday party.  You wouldn't know by this picture just how excited he was to come along this time.

Our poor babies cannot handle any sort of heat.  It gives them these sweet rosy cheeks every time.

Now he's happy.  And promptly turned around and bugged his sister.

Hooray for boys.

So, we headed over to the water park.

Who does this?

Did I mention that Blake and the kids rode their bikes to the park?  A good 8 miles.

So cute, isn't she?

And thus endeth our summer.

Message From The Oversight Committee

I couldn't help myself.

I know yesterday's post had more than enough photos.

But, I somehow overlooked this one.

You're welcome.

Lanaya's Routine

Dear Readers, I'm most excited about today's post.  It's about two subjects near and dear to my heart.

The first is mealtime.  As you can see, I've begun feeding myself.

As you can also see, I'm quite dainty and neat about it.

Psych!

This is how I prefer my eating space to look.

Which is why I'm usually stripped down to my birthday suit before meal time.

 But, it's all part of the plan, my friends.

Because if I get messy enough, I get a bath!  Sometimes, I get three baths in one day!

This was my first ever bubble bath.

Bubbles!

Trey's first beard!

He wanted to give me one, but a girl's gotta maintain a little dignity.

I mean, am I right, or am I right?

Trey's explaining something.  I just pretend like I can't hear him.  I never really understand him anyway.

This is when he found out these pics would be posted on the blog.  He's ashamed because he can't rock the belly fat the way I can.