Christmas Sunday

Years ago my mom started a tradition of giving the grandchildren new Sunday clothes for Christmas. As they got older, she started giving them money to pick out their own outfits. After she died, my dad kept the same tradition. Every year the kids look forward to new church duds - now they are from Grandpa and their new sweet Grandma Kathie. Thank you!

Must be Santa

Today Santa was at one of our stores in town. I made sure to leave home twenty minutes early, in hopes to get a good place in line. To my suprise, no one was there!! Our lucky day, Beau was the very first person to sit on Santa's lap. Santa knew he was a Skinner kid, he knew his grandparents, and he knew his daddy was Clay (we really live in a small little valley). Beau asked for a remote control car and for Bailey a live Elmo that is her size. Bailey wasn't as excited as Beau was, but she was happy to sit on Santa's lap. Now I can check another think on my Christmas "to do" list.

Family Pictures

One of the lineman that Clay works with took our family pictures last month. We went up Snake River Canyon and hiked down to Lunch Counter. We had a hard time getting a smile out of Bailey, but the pictures turned out great!

HaLloWEen

Now that I have some what recovered, I thought I better get a few pictures put on. The weekend went so fast, I didn't even get time to take as many pictures as I would have liked.

Dash was the perfect costume for Beau! He had to show everyone how fast he could run. I have been using this idea to get him to do jobs around the house, works like a charm. He had a fun party at Joy School on Thursday, went to Bailey's school party and Trunk or Treating on Friday, then trick-or-treated around the neighborhood on Saturday. Candy, Candy, Candy!!

Bailey was so adorable in this poodle skirt. I had a friend help me sew this - it is a good think too because I bought a misses size pattern, so it had to be cut WAY down. She stayed home with me on Halloween night. Bailey spent most of the night looking out the window for kids. When we had some come to the door, Bailey held out the treat bowl for them. She was not quite sure what was going on, but she liked it.

The next day

If you haven't read my last post, scroll down and read that first.

This morning Beau was calmed down enough for me to look at his burned fingers and get a picture. I feel like a terrible mom, I am sure no one else has been there. At least he has stopped crying.

My Fall

We brought a box full of apples home from my dad's last week, and today I decided to put them to use. I thought it would be fun for Beau and I to make caramel apples to take to Bailey's teachers. Beau was such a good helper getting the apples ready, unwrapping the carmels and stirring the pot. When it came time to dip the apples, Beau really wanted to dip one. So, as I was stirring up the caramel, Beau dipped his apple in, and the hot caramel flipped up on his little hand. Oh my, did he howl and yowl, poor little guy. After about a half hour of screaming and crying, cold wash clothes and some time alone, he came back in the kitchen and said "Mom you are not the best cooker anymore, my dad is the best cooker." So I have officially lost my title, but he did say I was still the best driver :) I was able to get a picture of our apples (with Heath bits) but Beau refused to let me take a picture of his burned finger. The only thing that made him feel better was giong with his daddy to Uncle Rob's shop to work on the truck.

Lake Mead

For fall break this year Clay decided that hunting was too much work and we should take a vacation (it was really his idea, no lying.) Beau and Jenny invited us to go with their family to Lake Mead for a few days. The drive was LONG, but we had a great time!!
This is me and my 2 1/2 kids at Hoover Damn

The carp at Echo Bay Marina were boiling out of the water. The kids bought bags of popcorn to feed them - NASTY!
Taking a little nap on the boat
Clay wakeboarding at sunset.
This is what happens when you won't stop hitting your brother and we still have over 2 hours to drive.

Our School Boy

Beau has been so excited to go to pre-school. When he didn't get in the one we had him signed up for, I had to go to plan "B". I registered him, and I guess myself, for Joy School. There are 5 mom's signed up, so I get to teach every 5 weeks (which still gives me a little break). He was so happy to start his first day!






After pre-school, we went and picked up his new glasses. This is going to be an adventure for both of us :) So far he likes them though.

First Day of School

Here is my little cutie. When I went in her room this morning, she had half of her school clothes out on the floor - she must have known something was up. I couldn't resist buying her this adorable outfit, and the curly hair just makes it even more adorable!

Bailey has to sit on her bus driver's lap before she will get in her seat - everyone loves to spoil her.

Homemade Bubbles

I got this idea for a bubble blower from a magazine. It took about 2 minutes to make, and Beau played with it for hours! Priceless!!

Blessings

This morning I got a phone call from Clay's friend letting me know that he took Clay to the emergency room. He got really sick at work with severe stomach pains and throwing up. They did a CAT scan and then rushed him into surgery to remove his appendix. Within a half hour I had the kids packed and someone to take them today and tomorrow. The surgery went very well, they used a scope and laser, so he only had to be cut in three small places. The surgery went so well, they released him the same day - I really wasn't looking forward to sleeping on a crappy hospital bed. On the way home we were counting all our blessings:

*We have so many friends and family members to help out in a minutes notice
*Clay was near a hospital and got immediate attention
*Clay was working with a good friend, who happens to be an EMT
*We have insurance
*I have a good car to take me anywhere I need to go
*Jackson has a really great hospital with really great nurses/doctors
*Clay's boss is great to work with and will let him miss all the work he needs.

The list could go on and on. I think when emergencies come up like this, it really does help you get a perspective on life. I am very thankful for trials in my life and the opportunity to learn from them.

Lost Tooth

Bailey's tooth has been loose all weekend, so Dad finally got his vise-grips and pulled it out. She thought it was so funny, she grabbed his hand and wanted him to do it again :)

Happy Birthday Beau!

Okay, Beau's birthday was a week ago, but I have been too busy to post. Bailey has, yet again, took off half of the keys on the laptop, so I will keep this post mostly to pictures.

Here he is with his pirate cake. It didn't turn out quite the way I wanted, but after 3 hours, it was good enough!

He had to have a pinata - this sucker was indestructible! Bailey took one swing, then threw the bat and was done.

Of course he cleaned up on presents!

Here is the birthday crew. Of course Elle and Emma came, but this year their cousins were in town, so we had a fun party with all the kids!

I had to put this picture of cute little Brock on, Bailey thinks that every baby is named Brock now :)

This is just a cake that I made for Clay's Aunt this week - nothing to do with Beau's Birthday.

A little of everything

It has been a few weeks since I have posted, so this is what we have been up to.

Beau had his first swimming lessons. He is a very good swimmer - he was almost too advanced for level 1, which caused a few problems for him. He wanted to take off and do everything on his own, so when the teacher was working with someone else, he would get off the steps and practice his swimming. This resulted in many "time-out" session for him. Even though he had to sit out a few times, he had a great time and did very well.

Bailey has started hippo therapy. She loves "puppies" and would love to ride all day long. She has been pretty mello with all the people around, but has really enjoyed riding. This is just a pilot program, so it is only through the month of July. Hopefully more funding/facilities will become available so she can participate throughout the year.

Okay, so I am no "Cake Boss", but I had fun making this cake. I have been wanting to try working with fondant and have planned a cake for Beau's birthday. Instead of having my first attempt be on Beau's birthday cake, I decided to make a practice cake. This is what I came up with. It wasn't perfect, but I was happy with my first fondant cake - I even made my own fondant.

Beau has been learning to ride his bike without training wheels. It has been a big fight between he and his dad - a lot of tears and yelling, but he finally is getting the hang of it.

So far we have had a fun summer! We still have a lot of camping, boating, swimmingn and reunions yet to come. I will try to keep up on the posts.