Old Bakers Farm/Sawyer turns 3

On Saturday, we met up with our cousins at Old Bakers Farm.  Landon and I had just been on Wednesday, so he gave the rest of the crew all the rules.  He said, "okay, I have a few rules for every one.  Repeat after me, keep your feet on the ground!"
  It was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun looking at animals, jumping on hay stacks, and  going through the corn maze.  We decided to skip the hayride to the pumpkin patch, because there was a crazy, long line!  Seth told the kids, "I will stop by Wal-mart and get you all pumpkins!"  I thought that was hilarious.  They were good sports about the whole thing.

We all met back at our house to celebrate Sawyer's third birthday!  I asked him about a week ago, "Sawyer, what kind of birthday party do you want?"  He looked at me with gritted teeth and replied, "A Dinosaur Party!"  Later Savannah told me,  he got that from Peppa Peg, which is his favorite cartoon!
So a dinosaur party is what we had!  We love this little guy to pieces.  He is definitely the baby of the family and everyone caters to him.  He is so affectionate with everyone.  He likes to give lots of hugs and kisses.  He thinks Landon is the best thing ever!  He calls him his buddy and they play together so well.
Let's see, what are some things he says right now?
"mommy, I love you all the time!"
"well, you don't have to be so mean!"
"mommy, can I marry you?"
"mommy, you mean!"
"close your eyes, keep them closed.... Surprise!!!"
On the potty, "mommy, I'm done!"  I go into the bathroom  and every, single time he has his hands over his eyes and then says, "peek-a-boo!"
In the car, "mommy, did you get my blankie?"  "No, Sawyer I forgot your blanket"  "Well, mommy, you suppose to get it every time!"
He calls all of his siblings by their name, except for Savannah.  She is still called, "girl."
If he is asleep when I leave, he meets me at the door and says, "mom, you not suppose to leave me!  I didn't give you a kiss!"
He starts the night off sleeping in his bed, but ends up, on the floor, beside our bed most nights.

Awe.. he says so many cute things.  He makes us laugh, a lot.  He speaks so clearly and in complete sentences, must be a 4th child thing.  He thinks he is just as big as every one else and wants to do everything they are doing.  He is completely potty trained and wakes up dry!  He must have gotten the Clayton gene, thank goodness!
He loves to pick up anything moving.  I swear,  the boy would pick up a snake!  He has brought me so many scary critters.
He loves riding his bike.  Why, of course he does.  He is following in his daddy's footsteps.
He has Seth's personality.  He is very particular about things.  He does not like leaving something unfinished.  He cleans up after himself.  He loves to play in mud, but doesn't like to stay dirty for long.  He loves taking a shower.  He will take of his shoes, and ask for a wipe so he can clean the bottom of his feet.
I could go on and on about him!
I love him so much and I'm so happy I am his mom!

Happy Birthday Sawyer!

Landon's First Field Trip/Old Bakers Farm

Landon had his first field trip to Old Bakers Farm.  I had so much fun watching him interact with his new friends.  You see, some mornings in carpool, he gives me a hard time and says, "I don't want to go to school!"  He plays it up really big some mornings.  I asked his teacher how he does at school?  She said he is the most loving, little boy.  She said he is so sociable with everyone and has so much fun while he is there.  I told her how he acts most mornings in carpool.
She laughed and said, "he's pushing your buttons, mom!"
Well, I got your # little man!

I love his fun personality!

Dirt Bike Season/Race 4/Opelika and Morgan's Wedding Reception

Seth and Landon left at the crack of dawn and headed to Opelika, Alabama for the fourth race of the season.  The girls, Sawyer and I decided to sit this one out.  We wanted to go to a friend's wedding reception.  Morgan was just married out in Utah and came here to have another reception for those who couldn't make it to Utah.  Morgan and her sister, Kymber have both been babysitters for my children.  They are such sweet girls and great examples for Laurel and Savannah.

Since I wasn't at the race, a lot of pictures weren't taken but here are a couple that Seth got.

Landon came in 2nd place!  Seth said it was one of his better races.  Seth said he wore his backpack around all day.  Seth came in 2nd in his class.  He said he got beat by a former 6 times series champion.  Then he said, "so I need to do better next time." We think 2nd place is pretty good daddy!

The reception was held at a friend's house.  Annie and Angela decorated and it was absolutely beautiful.  I love how there were mismatched chairs all around the tables.  I know who I'm calling when Laurel and Savannah get married!

 Angela made the cake.  She is so talented and this cake was so delicious!

Laurel and Savannah with Kymber

I love how Sawyer is looking up at Morgan, the beautiful bride.

Bad Timing

There are couple of things that Seth has always handled in our family.

#1 He cuts the children's finger/toe nails.  He starts this from the day they are born.  I have never cut their nails.
#2 He removes all splinters that our poor children get in their feet.  I will assist, by holding their hands.

Needless to say, it was not a good week for Sawyer to get a splinter, a HUGE splinter.  Seth was out of town and I was left to handle the splinter.
I took this picture and texted it to Seth, telling him to get his hiney home!

He was so pitiful.  So was Laurel! Her face cracks me up.  Seth called me and started giving me instructions over the phone.  I knew what to do, I just didn't want to be the one to inflict the pain.  He screamed every time I touched him.  I was able to pull the thick part out, but it broke off and left the bottom part in his foot.

The girls were little nurses to him.  They wrapped up his foot and elevated it.

The next day, we soaked it in warm water and epsom salt.  I would keep trying to remove the splinter, but never had any success.  He did have fun playing in the bowl of water.  He even asked for toys.

We were all happy to see Seth when he returned, especially Sawyer. 

Seth's work took him to Utah and Colorado, so he was able to spend some time with my family.  It was very hard for me, knowing that he was there without us. He sent us these pictures while he was away.

Yeah, just relaxing in the mountains, while Mama is at home, trying to get out a splinter!!

Update:  When Sawyer is running outside without shoes upon his feet, all you have to do is scream SPLINTER!  He immediately turns around and says, "oh yeah, I forgot!"  and those shoes are on his feet.

Laurel is a Chelsea Park Ranger!

Laurel came home a few weeks ago with a letter.  It read:

Congratulations you have been selected to be a Chelsea Park Ranger!!!

What is a Chelsea Park Ranger?

A Chelsea Park Ranger is a leader, ambassador, and overall a student who exhibits great character.  As a Ranger you will be a hallway monitor in the younger grades, help Mrs. Hester and Ms. Smith, give tours of our school to new students or visitors, and much more.  We will also meet once a month to discuss leadership skills and upcoming events in our school.  

I am so proud of her!  Laurel has always had such a sweet personality.  She has always tried to be friends with everyone.  She has had to learn how to handle mean girls and girl drama, without compromising who she is.  5th grade has been good to her, so far.  I'm just hanging on to every moment of her last year at the Elementary School.  I'm not ready for Middle School but something tells me, she will be.

General Conference

I remember growing up, mom and dad would drive us to the church and we would watch 4 hours of General Conference on Saturday and 4 hours on Sunday.  We did this twice year.  General Conference is held in April and October of each year.  We are able to listen to our church leaders, apostles and the prophet of our church speak to us.
Today, we are able to enjoy Conference from our homes.  We can watch it right from our television!  We love General Conference weekend.  I love it because I'm not roaming the halls of the church with two, crazy boys that would not like sitting still that long.  But I don't want Conference weekend to become a weekend where the kids think they just get to hang out and skip the spiritual messages that are being taught to us.  I always have intentions of coming up with all kinds of things, spiritual, to keep the kids entertained and focused.  I never seem to get it done before that weekend.  This time, I came across an article where a family had made a tent for the kids to sit in while listening to Conference.  The parents related the story of King Benjamin, in the Book of Mormon.  So Seth and I explained to our children how these people came from all over the land and gathered near the temple.  They placed their tents so the doors faced the temple where King Benjamin was speaking.  They loved it that we were making a tent in the living room.  The boys actually sat in the tent for almost the whole two hours of the Sunday Morning session.  The popcorn and M&M's might have helped! :)  Laurel said, "I see what you are doing!  You are trying to make conference fun!"  I loved that!  Yes, that is what I was doing.  I want them to know that listening to our church leaders are so important and they will be guided throughout life if they will follow what they are teaching.  I know that all of those hours we spent at church, as a family, watching General Conference, made a difference in my life.

I loved what Elder Perry said in his talk, "Our homes must be holy places in order to stand against the pressures of the world.  The most powerful teaching a child will ever receive will come from concerned righteous fathers and mothers."