Smokey and Maisy

I feel like we have a pretty big cat and a pretty small puppy. Tried to get some pictures of the two together to show the size difference but they don't really like each other. One of the names I thought would be fun for the dog was bandit. Then our pets would be Smokey and the Bandit. Oh well, no one else liked my idea. These two also wanted a picture with the new puppy. Jacob's taken some time to warm up to the idea of having a puppy. The night before we got her he was in tears because he didn't want a puppy because he didn't want to have to take care of it. We had to explain that Mommy would do it and he has since realized how fun it is to have a puppy in the house.

Kami on the other hand keeps getting in trouble for picking up the puppy when she's not supposed to :)

Our Trumpet Player

Jason has really been enjoying his band class this year. Even though the class is before his normal school day, he has no problem getting up early because he likes it so much. So here's some video of Jason playing his trumpet.

New Puppy

We finally did it...we got a dog. This past weekend we picked up this little cutie from the breeder at 7 weeks old. She is a cockapoo, part cocker spaniel part poodle. After several days of debate the family finally agreed to name her Maisy.

Visit from Grandma Grace

Just wanted to post this picture because it turned out so well of the kids and their great-grandma who was up visiting the NW for Thanksgiving. She spent most of her time in Portland, but came up to Washington for the weekend so we got to see her before she headed back to St. George, Utah.

Jason the Scout

This past week Jason went to his last Cub Scout pack meeting. They did the ceremonial crossing the bridge into Boy Scouts. They had him remove his Cub Scout shirt and then recite the oath before crossing over to get his Boy Scout shirt. Unfotunately he had to be wearing a shirt with a slogan about bacon. Oh, well. That boy loves his bacon.

Afterward everyone gave him a watermelon applause.

Jason's birthday

I can't believe this cute little guy is 11 years old!! Where does the time fly? I can't complain, Jason is an obedient kid, keeps his room clean, is a good student and athlete, and is very helpful around the house, he is also a good big brother too, we are so happy to have him in our family.

Happy birthday JBOB!!

For his birthday he had a sleepover. It worked out well with the kids being out of school for Veterans Day, we had the party Thursday night. At Jason's request we took all the boys to Old Country Buffet for dinner at the mall and then over to an arcade in the mall for a little while. Justin gave all the boys a handful of quarters, so they were in heaven. Then back to our house for a movie and ice cream sundaes in lieu of cake. The next morning Justin took them to our church and they played basketball, soccer and tossed a football around too. It was a long party (6:30pm-1:00pm the next day) but everyone had a good time. I only got a few pictures.

Blowing out his candles with his nose!

Halloween 2011

Left to right: Jacob's spider web pumpkin, Katie's cat pumpkin, Kami's Ariel pumpkin, Jason's pumpkin he carved at Scouts, Jason's King Boo pumpkin from Super Mario BrosJacob wanted to be Simba from Lion King but settled on this ninja costume we already hadKatie the vampireJason was recycling costumes this year as well :)Kami the kitty catThis was from our ward Halloween party, I wanted to dress up with the kids
Justin and I went to a couples Halloween party. He was the bad magician and I was his unfortunate assistant. The swords through the box trick went horribly wrong :)

Katie's surgery

Katie finally had eye surgery! She was such a trooper through the whole thing.(Picture taken the morning of her surgery)(Picture taken a few days after surgery)

BEFORE no glassesAFTER no glassesShe didn't seem nervous at all and was being silly while we waited.

The youngest went first, Katie was the last to go.Katie and Daddy's armbandsThese marks were so the doctor would know which eye to do surgery on in the OR.

For her, it was both eyes.After surgery, she's sleeping and her eyes are really sensitive to light.

The washcloth was cool and comforting and also blocks some of the light. Later she got to wear these cool shades!

Great Wolf Lodge

The kids had a blast this past week at Great Wolf Lodge. We surprised them by picking them up from school and heading straight there. They had no idea where we were going until we started giving them hints about 10 minutes away.Kami had fun pulling levers and spinning wheels to see what they would do

Jacob loved to walk through thisKatie and Jacob in the wave poolKatie crossing the lily padsOne of the few pictures of Jason

This is how we all felt when it was time to go home. Kami fell sleep by the pool before we left.

Katie's Baptism

Our precious angel

Grandma Helm and Grandma and Grandpa KoberThe whole family We are so proud of you Katie! We love you!

Jason's haircut

We have been letting Jason grow his hair out and finally decided it was time for a drastic haircut. Here are the before and after pictures.

It looks much better when he styles it with gel :)

Harvest Day

Jacob recently had Harvest Day at preschool. The preschool is on their teacher's property and she grows all sorts of vegetables. So the kids took a "field trip" out back to learn about how things grow and pick their very own vegetables to take home. I love that they don't have to travel to a farm to experience these things. She also has chickens, pigs and a cow. Last year the pig and piglets and they were able to come see them.

Heading out to the gardenA very dirty potatoCarrotsThey are all standing under a Kiwi tree

Learning about corn. She also had them walk through the rows of corn to get them a little more "in touch" with nature. She wanted all the kids to pick their own root vegetables out of the dirt so they wouldn't be afraid of bugs or getting their hands dirty. What a great experience. I even learned a little bit about how vegetables grow and pollinate themselves. I love Mrs. Spencer!