A Tradition Passed On. . .
As young girls my sister and I loved to have curly hair. She has a beautiful wave in her hair that she can let air dry and look amazing. However, the random waviness of my hair is a cruel joke. It in no way looks even remotely good. So, as girls my mom would put our hair in sponge curlers and we would sleep in them. To bring us to the present, my ladies have been asking for curly hair. They don't like me to use the curling iron, I burned Fallyn once, oops! So I broke down and bought a set of curlers. They were so excited! They were even willing to sleep in them. I don't give them enough credit. They made some comment that even though sleeping in them would be uncomfortable, the curls were worth it. Another affirmation that they are my girls! I didn't really have a rhyme or reason to how I placed them. I have learned from the experience and will do it differently next time. Payton lost several during the night but she had some nice body to her hair. I didn't know how Fallyn's would do because her hair is fine and stick straight. But hers held the curls too. It was fun reliving my childhood through them, I'm glad they had fun too! By the way, Mayce is not ready to make the sacrifice of sleeping in curlers yet. She did keep a couple in for a minute or two. And sorry if this is a silly post, my sister will appreciate it though!

Happy Anniversary to us!!

Today Dave and I are celebrating 12 years!! It's crazy I know, but here we are. We joke about it being a long 12 years but in all honesty I can't believe how fast it's gone. We have a wonderful life and a wonderful family. I would post a wedding picture but you wouldn't recognize us. The girls saw one and asked who it was. Nice! Oh, Dave got me a ring I wanted but I won't get it for 3 weeks. It has to be sized to fit my man hands. I haven't got him anything yet, I'm a terrible wife, but I think I'll get him a watch. I can put that here because he never reads our blog!



So it's been a couple of weeks since we've last updated so here's what we've been up to:

The girls all had birds on they're shirts here. Random I know, but I have begun seeing a pattern in the way I dress them. Same color, all in jeans, or all wearing shirts with birds!

For Payton's end of the year soccer party we had it at the indoor Softball Arena. They set up the field for a kick ball game. I don't know whose daughter she is, I consider both Dave and myself fairly athletic, but sometimes Payton is just crazy. By the time I started filming her she understood the game a little better. But as you can tell here, kick ball is not her sport.

Payton is posing with her soccer trophy. She loved soccer, especially playing goalie, and is sad that she won't be able to play again until she's in 1st grade. We'll practice at home so she doesn't get rusty!

Fallyn had a preschool field trip to Save Mart. Mayce and I tagged along and had a fun time. The first picture (Fallyn in purple pants) was us watching the box smasher. That and the live lobster in the sea food dept. were the highlight of the trip.

Courtesy of my Dad, Dave and I got to go to the Kings vs. Suns. In high school I loved the Suns because Charles Barkley played for them and he was my basketball role model. I loved to watch him play. Anyway, we lost in overtime but it was an exciting 4th quarter and overtime. And thanks for spoiling us with those seats dad!



And Dave and the girls had another camp out. They did not make it through the entire night this time. They were sleeping on the ground (no air mattress) and it got a little soggy for the girls. Dave was not disappointed to have to come in. But before hand we had the fire pit going and we toasted 'lil smokies. Yum! Mayce and I were in the house the whole night.

So minus Thanksgiving, this is what we've been up to. I didn't take any pictures, Mayce's been cranky with hand, foot, and mouth (won't be at church tomorrow), so I've been mostly keeping my kids under control. My sister and her husband are here from Woodscross, UT, and my brother at BYU-Provo is here. My grandma from St. George, UT, and by youngest brother's fiancee from BYU-Rexburg are here too. My brother in Roseville stayed in town so we had a large group which for dinner also included my aunt and uncle and their 4 kids. It was great having such a big group and spending so much time together. I love the holidays!

RANDOM
Our weekend . . .
Pretty mellow really. Payton's second to last soccer game was Saturday. We played the Sea Monkeys (love the name) and they had lots of Payton's friends on that team so it was fun to see everyone. Payton scored her first goal! She loves soccer and is bummed she can't play again until 1st grade. But it was really exciting and now Dave feels like we got our money's worth! (My poor girls, I'll try to keep him in check) Later that night we had a post Prop 8 ice cream social and the girls ran wild in our Bishop's home. Lots of kids there! Today was our ward's Sacrament Program and it was great! The girls both memorized their parts and said them perfectly. Fallyn even had an unintentional solo of I Am A Child Of God. They had all the sunbeams sing and Fallyn was RIGHT IN FRONT of the microphone. She had been waiting for this moment for a year. Ever since Payton spoke at the pulpit Fallyn has been counting down the days. Apparently it wore her out because by the end of the program she had fallen asleep. Love her! Mayce has been super cranky this week so I thought I'd post some cute pictures from last week to make up for it.

She's been back and forth with the hair. It's killing me because her sisters could usually care less what I do to their hair. Mayce usually picks out her own barrette's and will possibly let me put them in her hair. And she needs them because she's growing out those bangs and with the winter runny nose, it is not pretty! But here she is being goofy. She brought me 3 rubber bands and this is what we did with them. Some times I cannot figure her out!

And here she is the TV addict. She loves The Backyardigans and Little Einsteins. Both great cartoons with lots to learn from. However she is not watching in moderation. She's out of control and I'm enabling her. If I thought she was cranky this weekend she'll probably die this week when I cute back her TV time. I've been getting more done, but at this slothful expense. She cracks me up! Wish me luck! I need to be strong, she's only 1 right!?!

Happy Election Day!
These were on a blog of my sister's friend. Totally hilarious. Especially this first one. As a huge fan of DWTS (annoying abbreviation!) I started laughing out loud at this. Too funny! And the second, since I've refrained from political speak this season I must say, so true!

More Halloween!
Thursday, the 30th, was our ward's Halloween Party. It was a lot of fun with a huge turn out. There was even a haunted house that Fallyn came crying out of. She is so brave with some things but with others, she's like me! I still watch scary movies through my fingers. I'm a wimp. It was raining so they moved the trunk-or-treating part indoors. Total chaos, but the good kind. My kids enjoyed every second of it and got SO much candy.

They are waiting to go into the candy area.

I just can't get enough of Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Mayce bullied her way into this picture but she's so adorable I let her stay. (Okay, she would have thrown a tantrum if I didn't. Same thing.)

The following pictures are from Friday, the 31st, at Dave's parent's ward activity. More fun and more candy!Here's Payton eating donuts on the Sugden's creation. They were kind enough to let us borrow their donut on a string holder for the party. Dave's dad had come by our ward party and saw it. Thank you Sugden's!

Fallyn and Grandpa Corbridge here enjoying the donuts too!

My girls actually let some one paint them. Not on the face of course (?) but on the arms. I have no idea why they are so afraid of this. Baby steps I guess!

We had so much fun this year. Lots of use out of the costumes! Here comes Thanksgiving, a wedding, and Christmas. Will my office ever get cleaned?

FUN WEEKEND!
I don't think I've posted any soccer pictures yet so here's an example of what has kept us busy with two practices a week and a game on Saturdays. We really like her team. Her coach is the mom of one of the boys on the team and I'm totally impressed with the practices. It's drills and good skills they've been mastering. However, this is our only year with this team. There are eight boys and Payton is one of two girls. I guess next year they separate the girls and boys. So we've been scouting the teams we've been playing for good girls for next year. Just kidding . . . maybe!

Payton's favorite position is goalie. She's not bad, but I think she a great forward. However, she always requests goalie or fullback. She tires quickly at forward and it's hard to tell if that's because she goes full-throttle or if it's her heart. But she is super aggressive at forward, she keeps going and going. The coaches referee at this age and when she's playing forward every time she passes the coach she asks to play fullback. Who's kid is this?

Later that night we crashed my brother's ward Halloween party. I am so proud that I got the costumes done in plenty of time. It helped that Dave spent a few days in Oregon last week so I had lots of time to sew without him distracting me. Payton and Fallyn love their costumes but I had to put Mayce's on her while she was screaming. Then she walked around with her legs and arms out like she was in pain. By the end of the night she had adjusted. We'll see what happens tomorrow night. Jake thinks I should get her a wig, that may be pushing it.

Payton is an angel this year. I think I need to make her a halo though, some people thought she was a princess. Hello, she has wings! My dad spent half the night torturing her telling her that real angels don't have wings. Good thing she's a strong young lady because she didn't believe a word he was saying.

On the left is cousin Owen. He's Snoopy and his little brother is Charlie Brown. So cute! Then we have Fallyn as a Mermaid. I must admit that I really love her costume. I was afraid of it because I basically had to make it up. I'm not that creative. Give me a pattern and I'm good, but to create from scratch (okay I used a pattern for the bodice and sleeves) I definitely put this one off for last and it turned out great. Mayce is a clown and if anyone ever sees me buying this fabric (tissue lame, accent on the e) stop me. Even with serging the edges it was torture! But she looks cute so I guess it was worth it.

After church Sunday the girls were excited because we had friends over. Here's a couple of pictures.

My kids do not usually fall asleep eating so we couldn't resist this picture. I guess partying the night before finally caught up with her.

And who can resist taking a picture of two adorable kids in laundry baskets? J is about four months younger than Mayce and has a solid 6 lbs. on her. Those cheeks of his! They remind me of Fallyn's when she was that age. It would be nice if I could say they got along great, but Mayce is such a stinker, I don't know if I'll ever be able to say that. If another child, or adult sometimes, gets with a two foot radius of whatever she is playing with she starts the pre-emptive "No!" She's killing me! She is my defiant child. I am lucky that she's my only stinker. She should grow out of it soon!

So that was our Saturday and Sunday. Get ready for more Halloween pictures. Tomorrow is our ward's Trunk-or-Treat and Friday is Halloween and Dave's parents Trunk-or-Treat. Any one's tonight we can crash?

Preschool is here!
Fallyn had her first day of preschool today and of course she loved it! She's with a family friend who just started an in-home preschool this year. She would have started earlier but it took forever for the in home visit to happen. But it finally did and now we've started. So Mayce and I had a few hours to kill together. Fun! Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings are going to be quiet. I really felt old today with two of my three kids in school. Life just keeps moving forward. Sometimes I feel like I'm barely holding on. Oh well!

This isn't a great "First Day" photo but Mayce thought I was dropping her off too. She was crying, and freaked out when I set her down. We'll have to get better pictures later.

Y

To kick off preschool last Friday we went to The Pumpkin Patch as a school. Grandma Corbridge came with us and we had a lot of fun. Fallyn is still wearing the bracelet that let her go on all the stuff just in case we go back. I love her!!

Partying with Cousins!

Today we had so much fun with cousins. All of the kids here are related to our girls whether they be first cousins or 2nd cousins once removed? (My cousin's kids) Regardless we all had a great time! We decided to get together for some Halloween fun. My SIL Cami got some great crafts together for the kids, we decorated sugar cookies, and just played. I must once again say how grateful that I am to have so much family near by. It's great to have such wonderful women in my life who inspire and uplift me. Now that Payton's in school and the kids are getting older it's tougher to get schedules to link up but hopefully this will encourage us to do more. The holidays seem to do that, I hope it continues. Yea for family!

We ti-dyed these shirts and then we'll decorate them by using the circles to create pumpkins. (Sorry I cut off Tyler's head Britt, I don't know what happened there!)

Work in progress . . .
Final Result: Cute little bats!

Here's the just playing part! I only had one battery charged. I know, I know, who do I work for? But anyway, only one was charged so they all had to squeeze onto one car to play. The babies got to climb on the Barbie Jeep. And we had our first car accident with the girl's car. Payton literally got ran over. Luckily all of us Mom's were out there and Kerrie used her super-strength to lift the car off Payton. There was slight injury but nothing a sugar cookie couldn't heal.

Ouch! Sorry Payton

What a fun day!

Just Because. . .

We decorated the outside of the house this year. Don't get me wrong, this is nothing compared to some other houses around here, but I'm proud that I got myself and the girls outside to do it. I've been in a bit of a funk lately so it felt good to drag out the ladder and hammer. Hopefully this will continue and I'll get costumes done, the girls room painted, dresses for Sawyer's wedding, Dave's jean quilt . . .! Will it never end? Hopefully not because what would I do then? Be bored out of my mind!

Y

Here are some random pictures of Payton and Fallyn. We were at RC Willey's with Grandma Corbridge looking at dining room furniture for her and new beds for the girls. Grandma took the helmet off a suit of armor. The girls loved it!

Payton

Fallyn (oops, forgot to fix the red eye, scary!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELSEY!

We hope you had a great birthday. We miss you and love you!!!
(My singing should secure never being asked to join the ward choir)

The Nut Tree
9/19/08

Payton had the day off from school and so Dave took half a day off and we headed down to the Nut Tree. I know I had been there several times as a kid but I had no recollection of it. But it is wonderful now. It's a great park for 2+ year olds. We had to go on a few things with the big girls but it was great. It's compact and clean and they can go on everything several times (totally worth the $10 bracelet which is unlimited rides and admission) and there was plenty for Mayce to enjoy too. We had great afternoon.

Here's Dave and the girls with the Engineer who drives the original train from the old park. He was very informative and had a wealth of knowledge of all things Nut Tree.

The girls are riding a Hobby Horse made from the pattern of the ones also at the original Nut Tree.

Don't let this ride fool you! I went on with Mayce and when it takes this corner you had better hold on. The girls loved it.

Ahh, they're so cute! (Sorry Tommy, I forget to get Dave to pose in one. I know you want to keep the contest going!)

Seriously, we had a great time. It was nice to let them go on as many rides, multiple times, that they wanted. There's tons of shopping and places to eat. And it's across the freeway from the outlets. Perfect for everyone!

Sorry no picture, but I just wanted to update. Life has been crazy so it's hard to keep up. The funnest (is that a word?) thing that's happened is Tuesday night Dave's softball team clenched 1st place. They went undefeated this last season. In the championship game Dave hit another home run. I grew up watching my dad play softball and they hit them out all the time. However, I guess in the last 20 years they've changed the type of ball they play with and I've been informed it's much harder to hit it out now. But my man has done it a couple of times now so whoo hoo! I haven't been to many games this season because they've been starting at 7:30 and 8:40 and the girls go to bed at 7:30. Trust me they need their sleep! But Tuesday I was able to find a babysitter and go to the games. It was a double header. It was a fun time.

I also have a bit of sad new. I don't know if everyone has heard that Dave got the girls a couple of "pets." Yes, we now have fish. Beta fish of course. Fallyn's is red and named Strawberry and Payton's was blue and named Pointed Blue. (Those of you who know us well know that my girls are two of the least creative people when it comes to naming animals. Dave's mom has had cats and they're all Whitey White, Blacky Black, a Stripety Stripe.) So Strawberry is a CRAZY name for us. Anyway, Pointed Blue has passed on. We only had him for a couple of weeks and I have no idea what went wrong. The girls are like, "Oh well, lets go get another one!" But I think I'm having issues. They are in a twin tank. It keeps them separated so I know Strawberry's not to blame. They were fed every day, and not over fed. Their water (which I prepared ahead of time and left out for 24 hours so it would be the proper temperature) was changed weekly with the stuff to neutralize tap water. I thought we were doing everything right, so what happened? I don't know if I can just replace Pointed Blue like he was never here! It's bad enough watching them swim in their tiny little tank/bowl but now to have Pointed Blue's blood (they do have blood right?) on my hands, how can I replace him? I guess I'm just going to have to pull myself together and be strong for my daughters. Well, I appreciate you letting me work through this. I'll post pictures when we replace poor Pointed Blue. And I've all ready been informed that Payton wants a red one now and it will be named Pointed Strawberry. (Tears stream down my face from laughter when I hear them discussing that kind of stuff.) I think we'll try to keep different colors so it will be easier to tell them apart. Wish me luck (and the new fish)! Thanks again for listening!

I love the State Fair! Or any carnival for that matter. I love the cool air of the night, all the lights from rides and games, and of course I love the food! I'm sad that riding the rides has fallen off of the list but I think I'm too old for them. I can do the Ferris Wheel, and apparently the Bumble Bee ride, but that's about all I'm good for. How sad! Maybe if I get back into shape I'll be able to some day ride the Zipper again. Is that ride even around anymore? Monday night we went to the Fair and had a blast! Thank goodness my kids still love seeing the animals more than the rides. Thanks to Grandpa & Grandma we got to do some rides though so we got the whole experience. We had a great time!
Dave looks so cute! I'm glad he suggested taking this picture! ;)

This was Mayce's expression the ENTIRE time. Someone has got to get this little girl a pony!
On the spinning dragons with Owen.
And here's Mayce and me flying the Bumble Bees. She enjoyed this too. She saw the bigger kids going on rides and really wanted to go on something. She surprises me everyday by how she wants to do what her older sisters do. She is a 5 year old stuck in a 1 1/2 year old's body.