Michelle Turns 4!!

Well, I am behind again. On November 6, 2009, our little girl turned 4. It is hard to believe! Michelle is so fun. She keeps all of us laughing all of the time. She loves to talk and talk and talk. She also loves to dance. The one thing we love about Michelle is how she will stop what she is doing just to come in and ask if we are okay or to tell us that she loves us.

On her actual birthday we had a little party at home for her with just Michelle, Charles, Mom, and Dad. It is quiet and small but we enjoy being able to celebrate the kids as a family.

For her cake, she just wanted the confetti icing and these princess crown candles.

This was her favorite present from Charles. It was a little tea pot house for Tinkerbell with little furniture and a little tiny Tinkerbell.

On the Saturday after Michelle's birthday, she wanted to party at Chuck E. Cheese's. We invited a few friends and all of the family to come play games and celebrate with Michelle. She was so very excited.

This is some of the group that came to celebrate.

Here is a picture of Michelle's cake. I made it for her. She wanted it filled with strawberries and to look like a castle. This turned out pretty good for the disaster it started out to be.

And what trip to Chuck E. Cheese's would be complete without playing hundreds of games. Here is Charles playing air hockey against Uncle Mike while Aunt Carol cheers them both on.

Michelle racing cars.

Even grandpa got in on the action. Him and Michelle rode the roller coaster a dozen times.

Opening presents. I still can't believe Michelle is 4. Happy Birthday Sweetheart!!

Halloween 2009

Halloween this year turned out to be very interesting. We planned on going to the ward trunk or treat, but ended up at Gabe's parents gathering wood for the winter instead. Then the week before Halloween we had this huge snow storm. The schools were closed for three days. Charles' party at school was postponed until after Halloween. Right before Halloween, we found out we were expecting baby number three. It was an exciting and eventful week. On Halloween, we took the kids out trick or treating around the neighborhood.

Michelle was Tinkerbell!

Charles was Anakin Skywalker!

They were both so cute. We trick or treated for an hour and a half. It was very cold. They both had their heavy coats on over their costumes so it was hard for people to see who they were. I was so impressed with my kids' manners. They never forgot to say "trick or treat" or "thank you". Michelle even got to where she was telling everyone to have a Happy Halloween. I can't believe they are so big and so smart. I really enjoyed watching them so happy and so full of child wonder.

Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch 2009

Our annual trip to the corn maze and pumpkin patch was on Friday, October 23. We usually meet Gabe's sister and have such a great time. This year, Gabe was off and went with us. Also, Gabe's parents were able to come as well. We had a grand adventure! We all went out for pizza. The place we went was really cute. It was called Pizza Madness. There were video games and such for the kids to play. They also had aliens sticking out of the wall and really cute murals all over. The kids really got a kick out of it. After lunch we headed for the corn maze and pumpkin patch.

This is just as we started in the corn maze. The corn was so tall. Sherri had been to the corn maze a couple of weeks before and said they could not find their way out. It was a good thing we had Gabe and Charles to help us navigate our way through. We were surprised that Charles' allergies didn't act up in the corn maze. It had snowed a couple of days before, so things were a little muddy.

Mom and dad in the corn maze.

When we were done in the corn maze, they gave us this wagon to go out in the fields and pick our pumpkins. Charles was the smart one and pulled the wagon while it was empty. Jack took a turn pulling the wagon and Sherri jumped in. The kids thought this was so funny!

Charles picking out his pumpkin.

They had been covered with straw because of the freezing temperatures at night.

Michelle looking for the perfect pumpkin!

When we were done picking out our pumpkins, Michelle decided she was the strongest girl and could pull the wagon full of pumpkins. She did pretty good for about ten feet. Then she decided it was too hard.

Aunt Sherri and the kids waiting to go on the hay ride.

The Hay Ride!

When we were done, we took the pumpkins back to Sherri's and painted them. The kids were so intent and worked so hard on their pumpkins. It was a wonderful day had by all. We are already looking forward to next year. Thank you Aunt Sherri for making this a wonderful tradition!!

Grand Junction Trip

Well, Gabe had to go do interviews for a new officer in Grand Junction. Fall Break was starting and we had no plans on doing anything exciting. So last Thursday after Charles got out of school for Fall Break, we loaded up and drove to Grand Junction. The kids were great travelers. They were so excited to go stay in a hotel and swim. When we got to Grand Junction, it was late, but Gabe was a good sport and took the kids swimming anyway. On Friday, Gabe went to work and the kids and I walked to the mall. When Gabe got off we went to Dinosaur Journey. It was fun, but no worth the money. They had a few robotic dinosaurs that the kids either loved or were scared to death of.

One thing I will say about Dinosaur Journey was they had a lot of hands on and interactive things for the kids. They really enjoyed it.

When we were all done with the dinosaurs, we drove to Colorado National Monument. It was beautiful. We drove around the park and got out and hiked a little. We stopped at the visitor's center and just really enjoyed the beauty Heavenly Father has given us.

This was the kids' favorite rock. It was called Balanced Rock.

This was Gabe's favorite rock because it looks like a ram's head.

When finished taking in nature, we went for barbeque and back to the hotel for another swimming pool visit. We spent the night again and drove back to Castle Rock on Saturday morning. It was a quick trip, but it was a lot of fun spending time as a family.

Johnny Appleseed

Over the past few weeks in Kindergarten, Charles has been learning about Johnny Appleseed, plants, and apples. Last Wednesday, his class had a Johnny Appleseed party. They were excused from dress code that day and were told they could dress up as Johnny Appleseed. Charles wanted overalls to be Johnny. I searched all over and luckily found a pair. He did not want to wear a real pot on his head, so we made one out of paper.

We were working on apples in preschool, so the decorations of the walls at home were the perfect backdrop for a picture of Charles dressed as Johnny Appleseed.

Charles class all dressed up for the appleseed party.

For snacks the kids were treated to apples and carmel dip, apple cake, apple cider, and the cutest apple tree cake ever. You can see one in the bottom right corner of the above picture. One of the mothers made an apple tree cake for each of the kids.

I am the classroom coordinator for Charles' class. It was my job to organize this party for the kids. It was so great to see all of the parents wanting to be involved and all the work that the parents put into the Appleseed Party so that the kids could have a great day. We had 15 mothers there to help with food, crafts, or whatever Mrs. Johnson needed. One kid in the class said the Appleseed party was awesome and they needed to have one every day. Thank you Charles for letting me be a part of your life and actually liking it when mom comes to help in your classroom!

The Dancing Duo!

We had a wonderful time attending Gabe's cousin Sunny's wedding. It was beautiful and she is so happy. We were very excited to see Sherri and Dinah dressed up to the hilt. I have been married to Gabe 10 years and never have seen either of them dressed up so much. They were lovely. We had great fun spending time with Gabe's family.

After the wedding, the reception was held at the Abbey. From the moment we walked in and our kids heard the music, they began moving. They were on the dance floor grooving before the reception officially started.

Dancing with Grammy before the reception began.

Michelle was the absolute funniest. It did not matter who was on the dance floor, if it was a slow song or a fast son, she was dancing. That little girl danced for almost three hours straight. No wonder her legs hurt when we were headed home.

Michelle and Aunt Sherri

Michelle dancing with Scott, the groom. She didn't know him from Adam but insisted that Grammy give her a dollar to go dance with Scott.

Charles came up with this new thing. He would dance until the end of a song and then slide across the floor and strike a pose.

We found out that night where our kids get their love for dancing: from Grammy and Papa.

We had such a wonderful time. Thank you to all of Gabe's family for all of the fun and the many great memories.

The HFFL

Well, football season is upon us once again. Many hours are spent watching favorite teams win or lose and yelling at the TV even though the players cannot hear you. There are lots of snacks and carmel popcorn at our house. But, the best part of the football season is the HFFL. A few years ago, Gabe's family decided to do a family fantasy football league. It has turned into a really fun tradition for his whole family, thus the Hicks Fantasy Football League. Gabe's dad, all of the brothers and sisters, some of the nephews, and some of the sisters in law all take part. Good clean competition brings the family closer together, not to mention the time we spend on draft day. The HFFL draft was held on August 29, 2009, at Dan and Christine's house. They were wonderful hosts and we had a great time.

Presentation of award to last year's winner: Mike

Getting ready to get started.

Who to draft, who to draft, who did I draft?

"I'll take........" are the famous words of the draft.

This is very serious business!

Thanks to Grammy, Christine, Brittney, and Chandler for entertaining kids.

This is a time Gabe's family looks forward to every year. There are so many laughs and memories each year. I am thankful to have such wonderful in-laws!