Purple Razzles and the Bruins

In October we wrapped up the fall season of soccer for Mariah and football for Logan. One of these teams had an undefeated season (name rhymes with dazzle)..... the other, well, it's as painful blogging about it as it was to watch.

Fall-oween 2009

After a beautiful summer, we headed straight to fall. And with fall comes a lot of fun times.



Anytime I see my kids work/play together it immediately brings a smile to my face. It truly is one of my greatest joys. I sat and watched them rake and play with leaves for a good hour. It was a great day.



One of our favorite ways to welcome a new season is to go for walks. We make a list of things we think we'll see, and as we walk we count and mark them in our notebooks. We come home and compare notes, and in Logans case he charts and graphs them.



With Halloween around the corner, our list was all about pumpkins, ghosts, witches, bats, scarecrows, etc. - pumpkins were by far the largest number. I think betwee 2 streets we counted 180 of them!



It's always fun when our neighbors come out and visit. This couple on our street is so kind to our kids. Harrison loves chatting with people, and at the moment , he is sure to ask men and women if they have a baby in their tummies. Awkward! Also, if you have facial hair, he will ask you all about that as well. Luckily, he has only found that on men.



Our street has the tradition of boo-ing each other. This particular night when we went out it was pouring rain outside. But we had a family huddle and decided nothing was going to stop us and decided to make it an adventure. We came home drenched and laughing.

This year we swapped carving pumpkins for making carameled apples. Many of you do both- you are awesome.

We had the Roses over for our annual Halloween-themed fhe lesson (how scary life would be without the gospel.) This year we did it in the form of charades.

The month of October ended with a bang. A sweet bang with more candy and treats than any child should ever consume.

We attended school plays and parties. Logan was a punk basketball star by day, and a mummy by night.

Here in Iowa instead of saying "trick or treat", the children tell a joke. I write down all of them as I hand out candy. Later that night as we're defrosting and checking out the loot, we read the jokes to everyone and vote on the best.

This year's winner was: "Why did the book have to go to the hospital?..... To get its appendix out!"

It's Time to Blog

Before my kids celebrate their 100th day of school, I thought it would be nice to post about their first day of school.

2009 was definately a special year for the Mons family. Logan was baptized and heading for 3rd grade, and Mariah turned 5 and couldn't wait to start Kindergarten.

To get pumped up for school, we did several special things together. We enjoyed several visits to the waterpark, zoo, science center, played games, and went on tons of bike rides.

Mariah loved school shopping and picked out her own backpack/lunchbox and all of her outfits (that we now have to fight her to wear!!). Logan wasn't at all interested in school shopping and asked us not to spend money on clothes for him.

I wanted to do something special with each of them before school started. I hung out w/Logan and played games and went out for ice cream (darn it - no pics). Mariah had 3 other little friends from church who were also starting Kindergarten, so we took our girls to a Tea Shop for lunch. This is the cutest place I have ever been. A girls paradise for sure! Mariah was so excited that she talked valley-talk the entire time. Normally that might have annoyed me, but inside I was squeeling, skipping with butterflies, and doing cartwheels, so it didn't even phase me.





Ava, Mikelle, Mariah, Stella

First day of school. Mariah had her first day outfit picked out in July - Logan rolled out of bed and smelled his clothes to make sure they were okay (not really, but pretty much).

Logan's teacher this year is Mrs. Fackler. I always like to ask him what his first impression is when he meets his teacher for the first time. Here they are:

1. She's tall like you, but way skinnier!

2. I'm not sure if she's going to be as scientific as I'd like.

Mariah's teacher is Mrs. Erbes. Mariah thought she was very nice and somehow has the impression that she handpicked Mariah to be in her class because, "I'm so good and cute."

And she still believes that to this day.

Brother and Sister going to school together. I so remember being excited to be at school with my big bros. . They have challenged each other to go the whole year without having to "flip their card" and pray for each other every morning that they won't have to.

Mariah was so excited/nervous - and I felt the same for her. I could not believe I was dropping off my little sidekick for the whole day!

I would include a pic of Logan here, but he's too old to be walked to class his first day. He did give me a kiss though, so I'm fine with that.

Lesson from my toddler...

Come on Kids let's get in the car. It's time for tithing settlement with the Bishop, dad exclaimed. Logan and Maraih talking with each other as they walked through the front door to the car. Harrison quickly stopped looking through the glass door. "Dad it's dark and ver-we scare-we out there (pointing to the outside) I bet there's lots of monst-oes going to get me."
Dad: Harrison there's no monster's outside.
Harrison: If you go wiff me I wont be scared.
Dad: OK Harrison I will hold your hand.

As we walked from the house to the car Harrison looked at me and said "Daddy I pwomise i nevo give up. I will keep trying.

That's right little buddy. You never give up, alway's try your best and forget the rest.

Harrisonisms...

Harrison is learning to pottie train. When he has to go #2 he say's mommy it's time to splash in the water. Harrison is quite the entertainer and most of what he does isn't what he say's as much as it's his gestures and comedic way about him.

Texas Roadtrip: Operation Get My Hands on 2 Yummy Babies

This summer 2 chicas joined the Sanders Family. It about killed me to know I couldn't be there when they were born.

A few weeks ago, my dad offered to take Harrison and me on a roadtrip to Dallas.

I jumped at the chance and before I knew it, I had these two beauties in my arms.

Meet little Mia. She was born in July and belongs to Freddy and Joana.

And this little pipsqueek is Erik and Karen's little Londyn. I wanted to eat both of them.

Mia was blessed by her dad on Sunday. It was a beautiful blessing, a beautiful day.

I am crazy about all my nieces and nephews. Being an aunt is one of the funnest roles I enjoy. I got to spend some special time with each one of them.

We also celebrated Karen's 20th b-day. She is the newest sister to join the family. Once she realized that I'm the alpha female, we got along great. :) Kidding of course. I am so thrilled to finally have sisters... and what are the chances that so far all of them are absolutely wonderful.

To celebrate the joy of all the girl power in the family, we made some cute bows. It was totally boring.

Some of my dear friends got to see Wicked. I saved tons of money and went to my parent's ward talent show instead.

One thing is for sure.... I love these people!

The faith of a child...

Robyn and her father traveled with Harrison down to Texas to attend the blessing of our newest niece. We know from experience that Robyn road trip, and funny stories go together like PB&J. I assume this road trip will not be void of comedic Robynisms which she will, in time share with you. Most of the trip was spent re-connecting with siblings, sister-in-laws, nieces, nephews and old friends.

As for me, I spent my week working and taking care of Logan and Mariah. I enjoy playing the role of Mr. Mom when the opportunity presents itself. However I do believe a husband and wife are more effective when they have the loving support of their spouse. As we serve each other and support one another in our different roles we grow stronger and the blessings achieved by this are strong tight knit family bonds.

Saturday Logan, Mariah and I spent our time at their different sporting events. Mariah had a soccer game early that morning followed by Logan's football game. Later that afternoon we worked around the house, had a BBQ, and put away camping supplies.

Fast forward to Wednesday morning, the kids waking up, slowly meandering their way down the stairs to the main floor. We sat at the table eating our morning breakfast. We talked through the events of the day and I was seeking trying to find away to break some bad news to the kids. I asked them when was the last time they had seen Lizzy (our cat)? Neither of them could recall. The last time I saw Lizzy was Saturday after the camp out. This was unlike Lizzy typically we will see her coming and going throughout the day, and come in for the night. Preparing them for the worse I told them that I think Lizzy died. Tears filled Logan's eyes as the emotions came flooding in. I grew up with cats and dogs and have experienced the emotions of losing a furry friend. I comforted Logan and shared stories about some of the pets I lost. Before leaving for school we kneeled in family prayer and prayed that if Lizzy was "still alive" to bring her home.

Taking the trash out later in the afternoon I saw our furry feline friend enjoying an afternoon nap under the shade of a tree in our front yard. I took her in my arms and put her inside for the afternoon. After returning from school that day the kids walked through the door I was standing in the hall way holding Lizzy. Logan had the biggest smile on his face when he saw the cat. The first thing Logan said, "we prayed that Lizzy would come home and God answered our prayer."

The faith of a child isn't cankered with the years of "life experiences" that weather our souls and in some instances leave us doubting. I'm truly humbled by the faith of a child. From one father to another I'm grateful he answered a heartfelt prayer and saw fit to strengthen our son’s faith in prayer.

34

I must begin by apologizing to the birthday boy for announcing to many friends that he is turning 35 today. Really, after 30, it's all a blur anyway, right?

I've been blessed to share the past 11 birthdays with Tyler. Second to God, he is the most important person in my life. I'm thankful for the love, fun, friendship and responsibilities we share. There are many things I love about him, but lately on my mind has been his loyalty to me and our family. I'm so humbled and thankful for that.

I'd like to add just a few more things if you don't mind....

Tyler is one of the finest fathers around.

He takes his church callings seriously and loves to serve.

He is my sweetheart and treats me with love and respect.

Happy Birthday Tyler! You are truly a gift.

Harrison Turns 3!

Mr. Harrison turned 3 with a bang! It was so fun, because he totally got that it was his birthday and he celebrated every moment, from getting cards in the mail, phone calls from family, and of course the cake.


Here he is on one of his calls- giving everyone a kiss on the phone before hanging up.

His birthday conveniently fell on playgroup day, so I thought I'd get away with throwing him a "birthday party". We came armed with cupcakes, played on the playground, and even took friends for rides around the track. When we left I asked him, "Did you have fun at your birthday party." He annoyingly replied, "That wasn't my birthday party, that was playgroup!"

The following Sunday we celebrated his birthday with "family". We granted his 2 birthday wishes of chocolate cake and a spiderman backpack.

Harrison is such a blessing to us! He keep us on our toes with his spunky personality and intense love for life. He is at such a fun age - gaining a fierce independence, expressing his thoughts and opinions with his ever expanding vocabulary, and seeing him enjoy and play with friends.

Harrison - our little brute- we love you!

Back to Back

After an 18 hour roadtrip home from Utah, we were excited to be back in Scenic Vista and host some of our favorite people.

First Up - The Renchers came in town for a brief, but fun filled stay with us. We tried out a local bbq joint, devoured Tyler's famous cookies, and played Rock Band until the clubs kicked us out. Of course our visit wouldn't have been complete without a good ol' game of Settlers of Catan and some girl time to shop. It was so great to be with "family" again. We love you guys!



Next, the Crows and their little flock stopped by for a visit. The Crows are some of our dearest friends from Dallas. I was so touched that they chose Iowa for a family vacation! Here are some fun things we did...

Enjoyed perfect weather for patio dining:

The Beach:

Outdoor Adventures- Hikes, Hot Dog Roast and S'mores:

We asked the boys to go find us some sticks to get a fire going... and man- did they deliver!

Rocket Slide, Splashpad, and Carousel at Union Park:

Iowa Cubs and Fireworks:

Blank Park Zoo:

And for the finale, a dress-up Rock Band Par-tay!

Crows- it was a wonderful time! Come again, we love you!

While the Crows were still here, I got a surprise phone call from my Uncle John and cousin, Austin. They were on their way to Virginia to take Austin to med school, and were coming through. We thoroughly enjoyed playing and catching up over a patio lunch.

It was a joy to host these great families.... who's next??