{10.22.18 - 10.28.18}

There is finally a pumpkin patch by our house! A friend and I took our kids over one day and we had so much fun! There was a corn maze, we played on the hay slides, there was a little three wheeler bike track, a corn pit and the cutest little tractor train ride! 

Lyla buried in the corn // Axel buried in the corn!  

Alya and our friend Emeline buried in the corn patch. It was such a beautiful day!! 

Eli was so content to watch the big kids play and enjoy the fresh air. // Axel thought he was pretty cool climbing the cow pen.  

Alya's little face is so red...black and sweats seemed like a good idea when she got dressed this morning, but it sure warmed up while we were out and about! Lyla just always has to pose and I think it's hilarious! Axel will not put his hat up higher on his head so in order to see anything he has to raise his chin clear up like this and Eli is just about done with this stroller business! Haha!  

Lyla coming down the hay slide // Alya was actually really annoyed that Axel was sitting behind her and holding onto her. How dare he! 

I'm grateful for good people and good friends who have kids the same age as mine! Hopefully I will be better about setting up playdates for both me and the kids! Haha! These girls should be going to kindergarten together so I love that they are building friendships now! 

The kids loved the train ride! They took them down through their fields where they had some skeleton decorations. The girls told me they thought they were real skeletons and I think they talked more about them than anything else. 

All our kids (minus Eli) got to sit right behind each other! Right to left: Alya, Lyla, Emeline, Caden, Axel. 

I love these adorable children! // Eli had some one on one time with me and Audrey while the big kids were on the train ride!  

Axel came with me to get Papa Murphy's one night and he wanted to sit on this rock so bad! Also, Matthew did the landscaping that Axel is sitting on! // He's getting SO good at sitting!  

I don't have any idea what he was doing, but he would take a bite and lean clear back like this with his beautiful hair flowing behind him! Haha! He moved too fast for me to get a good picture of him, but I still think he's so cute! // We didn't do pumpkins this year at home, so we painted some of our gourds instead.  

Axel's gourd // Eli's gourd 

Lyla's gourd 

Alya's gourd 

I made the girls these Anna and Elsa hats for their Halloween costumes this year and Eli made the cutest little cabbage patch Elsa baby! 

{10.15.18 - 10.21.18}

Matthew saw this beautiful double rainbow while he was working down in Escalante.  

Mr. Eli is getting better at sitting up! // He tipped over while he was practicing sitting, but he made it look so intentional! Haha! 

He insists on feeding himself. I tried spoon feeding him one day and got yelled at, and he refused to let me get near his mouth with the spoon...until I just gave it to him and let him do it. That's the only way he will eat. // One of the girls took this picture of me and Eli. I really don't like putting pictures of myself like this on the blog, but I think I will like to look back on it and remember these snuggles and be glad that this picture is here. With Matthew gone throughout the week for work I have felt pretty overwhelmed with trying to keep all four kids happy and fed, so most days look like this for me. I am honestly not sure when my last shower was, the kitchen/house is filthy, the kids are being so noisy and playing with their food and I should teach this baby to put himself to sleep on his own, but I know I am going to miss all of it! (Other than the lack of personal hygiene! Ha!) 

Eli hates to be on his tummy so he doesn't roll onto his stomach, but he has been rolling from side to side a lot lately! He grabs his little toes and rolls over in a cute little ball! 

Feeding himself. He's so big, and so stubborn! // I love these boys and I love how happy Axel gets when he gets to be with his baby brother.  

I don't remember why, but we stopped in Nephi on our way home from somewhere so I could nurse Eli and the kids played at this cute little park. It was pretty cold, but they had a blast! (I also thought I had pictures of the girls playing but I can't find them.) 

Eli doesn't like the jumper too much. He does okay for a minute, but he'd just much rather be held. I think it's because he doesn't want to be confined to this one spot in the doorway. He likes how much I move around the house, so he just wants to come with me! // Axel loves these sunglasses and I just thought this was too funny!  

My beautiful Grandma passed away this week and I'm so happy my family was able to go to her funeral. She was such a beautiful woman! I didn't know her as well as I would have liked, but what I did know about her I truly loved - and still do! I love you Grandma! 

On our way home from Grandma Cheney's funeral we stopped to visit Matthew's grandma. It was so good to see her! For a few different reasons it's been really hard for us to get to Idaho so we haven't been able to visit Grandma for a long time. It was really good to visit with her for a little bit before we went home.   

Axel was being uncooperative, but I love this picture of Grandma and the kids! 

{10.8.18 - 10.14.18}

Grandma and Grandpa came to visit for a bit and I love this picture we got with Grandma! 

Fancy Axel eating breakfast in his "glov-es" 

He is so darn cute! He doesn't get near the amount of attention from me that the girls, or even Axel got. Being the baby of the family has it's drawbacks, I guess...but he seems to just go with the flow like a champ! 

Eli just wanted me to hold him but I needed two hands to fix dinner and he was not happy to just play with toys in his Bumbo…so he got his first graham cracker and he loved it!! 

The girls were taking pictures one day and caught this gem. I love it! As much as it hurts, I think one thing I am going to miss most when my kids are all grown up is when my babies grab a chunk of my skin and pull me in for a kiss.  

The girls also caught this gem of Dad and Eli. I love it so much!!

{10.1.18 - 10.7.18}

10.4.18     This happy boy is a mama's boy through and through. I still rock him or nurse him to sleep even though I feel like I need to break the habit. For now it's just easy because he doesn't make a huge fuss about it. I only have to rock him for a few minutes before he is asleep. He doesn't like to sleep through the night though without eating a couple of times. I'm fine with it for now, but I can feel my energy dwindling so I'm not sure how much longer I can let that go on. He is such a happy little guy though! His smile melts my heart. He doesn't laugh easily but he makes the cutest happy baby sounds. His cheeks are getting chubbier by the day and I just can't get enough of him! Happy five months sweet boy! 

We left the trailer on the mountain between hunts and when we went up to move it we discovered that some mice had taken up residence inside the trailer. It was pretty gross but these kids are pretty stinkin' cute! 

Look Mom! No hands!!! The girls are practicing all sorts of new tricks on their bikes! They have come such a long way in such a short amount of time. They sued to walk their bikes over all the tiny bumps in the sidewalk and now they just cruise over them like it's nothing! (Alya)

Alya / Lyla...and Tooke. 

This one is Lyla's favorite trick! They are so daring and so proud of themselves! I'm pretty proud of them too! 

I love this baby!!! / Axel has a little girlfriend! The neighbor girls that my girls play with have a little sister who is Axel's age. They are so cute together! They walk around holding hands and sharing toys and showing each other cool things around the yard! It's super cute!  

Diana and I met at Hogle Zoo with all the kids one day this week. We had so much fun! The kids did awesome, as aw 

Every time I go to the zoo I try to get a picture like this. This one had my dying! Lyla - the one in the very middle...who was probably the most secure was freaking out because she was sure she was going to fall off. She made such a huge fuss about it and every time I look at these pictures I just have to chuckle at the drama! 

(I had to post this one of my girls. I have no idea what Alya's pose is, but man it kills me!) 

Axel loved the lions and the elephants! // Eli wasn't so sure about being held by another baby, but she was sure excited to hold him!  

We took the train ride! 

The kids all loved it!  

We got our new car this week. (Toyota Sequoia) and I was able to drive it up to the zoo. It was pretty nice and seemed to run great! We stayed at my mom's house for the night and I met up with my sisters the next day and left the kids with my mom. On my way back to my mom's house, my front passenger tire fell off my car!!! It was terrifying! Thank goodness I was off the highway and was pulling into a parking lot and was out of the way when it came off so no one was hurt. But man it scared me! I'm grateful my kids weren't with me and that they were so happy to chow down on popcorn and hang out with Nana while I was stuck for hours in a parking lot and I'm grateful I was with my sisters who know some very car savvy people who were willing to help and got me back on the road! And I'm so grateful this happened close to my mom's house and not while I was on the freeway coming to or from the zoo with all the kids in my car! Things could have ended so differently and I'm so grateful for the Lord's hand in keeping me and my kids safe! 

{9.24.18 - 9.30.18}

9.27.18   

Every mom probably says this about her children, but I think mine are beautiful! 

Eli loves his toes! 

Eli has started solids. I have such mixed emotions about him hitting these milestones! I know the baby stage is so hard and I look forward to sleeping all night more often than not, and not carrying a needy baby on my hip while I'm trying to fix dinner or clean the house. But really, it's just hard while I'm in it. I know I'm going to miss all of this. Having been through all of this with Eli's siblings, it's been easier for me to cherish all these moments and milestones, but it's still really hard! // The girls are loving school these days. They are getting so good at their letters! (Alya) 

They walked up down the sidewalk hand in hand a few times! Axel loves the girls and loves when they let him play with them. Alya's helmet cracks me up! She insists on wearing it to ride her bike, even if she is only on her bike for a few minutes, and then she will run around the yard with it on until it's time to come in the house. Lyla - her poses and her Tooke. She kills me! 

The girls have been learning new tricks on their bikes! (Lyla) // Axel is getting pretty good at his bike, too! He just follows the girls up and down the sidewalk and is even getting good at lifting his feet off the ground and balancing! 

Little man is getting good at practicing sitting up! // I love sleeping babies! It's so hard to move when he falls asleep in my arms. 

We brought a bed up to the front room for Matthew's dad to sleep on when he's here for his hunts and we've just kind of left it. I'm hoping Eli will sleep better if I'm not in the same room as him, so I've been sleeping on the guest bed. The kids love it. They all have their little spot to watch their shows and relax. 

Axel adores Eli and I'm so glad Eli is getting bigger and less afraid of his brother! // Deep thoughts during breakfast! 

The girls got in trouble one day so we sent them to their corners. Axel was feeling left out so he sent himself to his "corner."