Making Cake Balls...

So, everyone keeps raving about these tasty little treats and there are whole blogs dedicated to them (look up Bakerella.blogspot.com for the cutest ideas!) but I'm going to have to practice a bit more I think! Basic idea is: Bake a cake. Crumble it up. Mix in a can of frosting. Roll into balls. Freeze about an hour. Decorate! Our plan was to make spiders by sticking licorice legs into the sides of the balls but the balls were too frozen and the chocolate hardened too quickly... So we just made monsters instead! I just let the boys go to town:

Finally, I just made some truffle-like snacks with sprinkles to take to my young women:

Yep, fun to do, need practice, we'll be doing again!

Weston's new name...

Conversation before lights out tonight:

Hyrum: Weston's name should be "West-on" because that's how it's spelled.

Weston: My should be "Sconebutter." Hey, I'm Sconebutter!

Where does he come from?!

Four Months Today!

This squishy little baby is Four months old today! It seems like time goes by fast, but at the same time, four months is NOT a very long time. But look how big she is already! Afton was 45% for head size, 59% for weight and 70% for height when we went to the doctor last week... just growing and growing! She rolls over from back to stomach almost every time I put her down but then she gets mad because she doesn't like being ON her stomach. Silly girl! She is getting good at grabbing her toys and sticking them straight into her mouth, sucking on her fingers, shirt, dress, blanket, or whatever is available. She still gets hiccups EVERYtime she laughs, so she has hiccups a lot! Weston did the same thing, for some reason...
Her hives are gone and even if I eat some dairy, they don't come back. BUT, now she's got eczema in little patches... maybe still a sign of the allergy? The pediatrician doesn't know if it is or not but I'm hoping to ease back into dairy and seen what happens. Anyway, she still is a great sleeper- usually sleeping 8 to 10 hours in a block at night and she takes a three to four hour nap in the day time. Good Girl! She loves her bath time, getting her diaper changed, watching the boys play, going to parties (she's just a people person as long as Mommy is holding her. Don't pass her around!) but doesn't like stretching the tight muscles in her neck, sleeping in her crib, or when Mommy leaves her with other people...
We love our Sweet Afton!

Finally!

So Weston decided he was ready to try riding the bike without training wheels the other day. Yesterday we finally got around to riding to the park, taking off the wheels and trying it out. And guess what, he did it! The first try, he forgot to actually pedal. Once we got that straightened out I steadied him by holding the seat, holding his shoulders, and then holding nothing... Two tries and Weston was riding a bike! He still has a little problem getting started and stopping with out falling over but still, we were proud!

Of course, Hyrum wanted to have a turn. The last time he tried to ride without training wheels, he just tipped over on purpose anytime he started to wobble. Then he got a scooter for Christmas and never rode his bike since. :) So if Weston can do it, Hyrum can do it, right? Well, I can happily say Hyrum can now ride a bike without the training wheels and he does it well! Sorry, Aunt Wendy, Hyrum beat you to the bike riding!

Afton's new Outfits...

Little Afton just gets spoiled by her grandmas and I have to share the cuteness...
Afton's getting ready for Fall time sporting the long sleeved Scotty dog shirt with velvet pants and matching head band.


And, Afton is channeling her inner yoga master side with the yellow short sleeved jogging suit... She is just so snugly! Thanks again Grandmas!
Too bad the videos won't work or you could see her laughing at Weston... Maybe next time!

Family Night up the Canyon!

Monday night we decided to take advantage of the lovely Fall weather and have Family Home Evening up the Canyon. We stopped off at Vivian Park to walk up the trail and collect sticks of course- What is it with boys and sticks? (You should have seen the pile Weston had by the time we got back to the car!) It's okay, I love my boys and we can always burn the sticks in our fire pit!

My sweet boys and me!

My THREE sweet boys! How lucky am I?

Zach and Afton stayed warm snuggling in blankies.

But I needed a picture with my cute baby girl too!

Course, then Hyrum needed to get in on the picture taking too... :) I love my sweet little family and I love spending time with them!

BYU Homecoming means... BLUE PanCakEs!

My favorite part of BYU homecoming used to be that Zach would take me to the dances and we'd get dressed up and have a fancy dinner... Now those days are gone (Zach feels dumb dancing where his STUDENTS might SEE him!) so NOW our favorite part of Homecoming is the BLUE Pancake breakfast before the parade in the morning! As you can see,
Hyrum is VERY excited!


Weston is just hungry.

And Afton already had breakfast so she doesn't care what's going on...
BUT, the blue pancakes were in rare form this year,

Blue-er than ever, complete with whip cream and chocolate chips!

Of course, Hyrum, being the lucky boy that he is, reached the pancakes just as one GIGANTIC pancake was cooked to perfection and who got to eat it? Hyrum!

It seriously hung over the edge of his plate 2 or 3 inches all the way around... Does that look like a hungry, happy boy? We thought we might win a prize for putting a Y in whip cream on it.:)

Hyrum started eating his jumbo breakfast and said "Hey, this is like a Man vs. Food challenge!" Can he eat the world's largest blue pancake? Let's find out!

NOPE! The food won! But he got pretty close- not much left of that giant pancake but you can see the full look on Hyrum's face. :)

We'll have to see if next year's blue pancake breakfast can beat this! Go BYU! (Oh, there was a foot ball game. We didn't watch it (Well, 'we' meaning the kids and I. Zach actually went to it), but they did win... Just in case you were wondering.)

What am I doing?

No, I'm not going crazy- well, maybe I am BUT, this post is dedicated to those who might be asking WHAT I have been doing, now that I have three kids, a house and a calling:

OCEAN SCHOOL- Weston still has one more year until kindergarten (he turns 5 in December) so this year we decided to do Ocean school and learn about all the animals in the ocean. We also have passes to the aquarium, remember? Our neighbor, Jacob, comes over to learn with us too. So far, we've talked about sharks, dolphins, whales, octopus, crabs and this week is lobsters and crabs.

This was our octopus day, of course! Actually, octopus are the coolest animal so far- who knew they can change shapes, textures, colors and even imitate snakes and sting rays!

YOUNG WOMEN

Of course these girls keep me busy with activites, lessons and worries, but we certainly have fun! This was our photography night with Sis. Hunsaker... Cute girls!

SEWING PROJECTS

Sometimes I just get the urge to sew, so I do... This is an apron for my niece for her birthday, complete with her own bowl and spatula.

This is my Apron of Pride and Joy I made for my sister in law who just got put in as the "Relief Society Meeting specialist" aka 'homemaking' so of course she needs a cute apron to wear!
BOWS

A while back, Kristi and figured out how to make these, so I made a bunch. Now I look at them and think 'NOT cute.' So I made a bunch of cute ones to use for birthdays for my Young Women. I even made Afton a bee one for her Halloween costume! Yay!
BOTTLING FRUIT

So last year, I did tons of this. This year, not so much. BUT, two bottles of apricots, three bottles of peaches and fifteen bottles of pears (so far) isn't so bad for getting the fruit for free and having a little baby, right? Next is plum juice from Zach's grandma and grape juice from our vine... I just love filling up my pantry!

READ

Sorry, no picture. But, Cindy just got me started on the Alex Rider books, I just finished the Hunger Games, and I'm reading "How to Be a Pirate" to the boys. I like this down time when I can fit it in!

Well, I guess this is just a sample of the fun things I like to do... Stay tuned for more!

WARNING: cute chubby baby pictures ahead

Sometimes, you just have to take a picture...

Afton is 3 and 1/2 months now and just getting cuter every day!


Look how daintily she holds up her skirt- she is modeling another cute outfit from Maama.


Oh, don't you just want to give her a little squeeze? Love it!

Oh, here's where the warning comes into play- chubby naked baby pictures! Just showing off her round little tummy and her cute toes...

Afton is getting good at grabbing her toes, her toys, her blankies, and especially my hair. I am now sporting a ballerina bun until she gets out of that stage! She loves to laugh at Hyrum and Weston doing silly things (How do they know what silly is?) and at herself in the mirror. We love to hear her laugh!