Halloween

We had our first Halloween ever!  But it would have been sooo much better if all our girls were there with us.  Seeing my nieces and nephew dress up and watch their faces when they could pic out huge candy bars was something I wanted to share with my girls.  But it was still such a great night and lots of fun for us all.

First things first...time to dress up! Isn't that the cutest little lady beetle you've ever seen?

I think she could pass as an Anne Geddes doll here...but I am her mummy!

Kirra, Sydney, Ivy and Finn

Ivy with her treat bucket.

Dig deep Ivy and make sure you grab one for mummy!

I think we got her a total of 5 candies...that's all Michael and I needed...he,he.

Riding in the back of the ute...saved us from a whole lot of walking!

That would have to conclude our trip...We also did plenty of shopping and eating of course!   I had a great time over there but was so anxious to get back to my girls.  It made me realise that two or three days is plenty to have some time out from being a mum and recharge.  They are such a huge part of my life.  Watching their faces is priceless when encountered with a new experience and I want to be there every step of the way!

It was such a nice day outside!

I don't think I have laughed as hard as I did this day...I seriously did some hard laughing!  Adam, Kacy, Michael and I went 4-wheeling (we were on a 6-wheeler) up into the mountains.  How far did we have to go?  Just down the street!  If you look at this pic, right in the middle is a teeny tiny house with some green grass...that's my brother's house!  And here we are up in the mountains.

This the machine that made me laugh so hard.  The track was soooo bumpy and watching Michael in the corning of my eye trying to keep control of this thing while going over some serious bumps was HIL.ARI.OUS!!

Some gorgeous views.

Adam and Kacy

Ok, so this is a totally "you had to be there" moment...but Kacy, how funny was this!...

Michael getting back to nature....literally.  And with an awesome view might I add!  Can you see the clouds in the background.  Nice and dense, low and heading in our direction.  We totally got caught in the rain on our way back which seemed to take FOREVER!  I have never been so cold in all my life and absolutely soaked all the way through.  I wish I had photos of it but I couldn't bring the camera out because it was pouring down.  Again, we laughed so hard and couldn't believe the situation we were in. We all looked like drowned rats when we got home and quickly rushed to a nice hot shower.

We got to a point in the track where we couldn't take the 4-wheeler's any further so we had to walk to get higher.

This day would have to be one of my highlights of the trip.  We have so many laughs with Adam and Kacy and it's so awesome to be around people you feel totally relaxed with.  We can't remember what we were laughing about here but I'm guessing it was pretty funny!  Love this pic!

Go JAZZ!

I am not a huge sports fan, there are certain sports I like to watch but even then it's no big deal to me.  Saying that, we went to the Utah Jazz opening home basketball game while over there.  I can honestly say that the best parts of the night was good company with Adam and Kacy and my parents, dinner, the caramel apple Michael and I shared (seriously, they are sooo yummy!) and when the game finished!

It was so funny....when it was time to announce the Jazz team, fireworks exploded, massive nets holding a tonne of purple and gold balloons open and they all fell around us, the crowd is yelling "Go Jazz!" and whistling and all other sorts of paraphernalia....and you know what the funny part was....they hadn't even won yet!!  I couldn't believe all of that was to just announce the team!  They could have fed a whole village from a third world country with the money they spent.  And want to know something else really funny....they didn't win either, it was a crappy game!!

But you know who did enjoy it?  Ivy!

She amazed us all with how long she sat still staring at the game...

Even though I don't get into basketball, I can certainly see why the yanks love it so much!  As always, when they do something, they do it big!

Finn...the son we'll never have!

This is Finn my nephew and I would have to say he is the coolest little dude EVER!!   Each morning, around the same time, he would come into our room to see if we were awake.  He would say "Miiicckkeeeee!"  and then as soon as he saw Ivy he would say so enthusiastically, while putting he hands high above his head, "hey-yo Eye-beeee!"  and then come to give her a big kiss.  He is the sweetest little boy and I can honestly say I miss being able to see that little dude every day.

On the first morning we were able to wake up to snow!  Wasn't much, but it was enough to go out and roll some snow balls.

One day we were looking for Finn as none of us had seen him for a little bit.  As we looked outside, here he was, all by himself, sitting on the 6-wheeler pretending he was driving it.  He is all boy I tell ya!!  Michael just had to take him for a drive. 

Not long after Michael came inside and said to me with a big grin on his face "you have to come and see Finn's face...

  Look at that little man's face!  He LOVES it!! 

HAHAHAHA!!  I am still laughing!!

Other than having the wind blow in his hair as he rides on the 6-wheeler...Finn LOVES balls.  Ivy had the privilege of seeing just how much he loves them.

Little Finners...we love and miss you so much!  Can't wait to see you soon! xx

How's the serenity!

Michael took a drive up American Fork Canyon and took some gorgeous pics along the way and at Sundance Ski Resort.

I can't get over the colour of these leaves...absolutely beautiful!

Beautiful Aspen Trees.

Mount Timpanogos

(hope that's the right spelling)

Michael at Sundance.

Bridal Veil Falls.

You can see how big this rock face was by the size of that car at the bottom.

So many beautiful places to see!

USA Trip...Mickey and Kinny style!!

Michael and I headed over to the US as a last minute decision on my behalf.  After having Ivy I really felt weighed down with all my responsibilities as a mother of four.  I must admit, having a 'depressed' state of mind didn't help, but I just wanted to get away and be 'Corinne' and not a mum.  So, what else do you do to have some time to yourself...fly to America to hang out with my sister-in-law!  I can honestly say that I love that girl and really feel like she's my sister (don't worry Jodie, I feel like your my sister too!)  But Kacy and I have so much in common and she is the best listener when I need to vent.  I really feel like we connect on issues of being a women, motherhood, a housewife and all things that encounter being a women and the responsibilities that come with it.

So yes, I went to get away from all my responsibilities as a mother.  After the initial decision, and once I worked through a few things and was able to be happier within myself, I started to feel guilty for leaving the kids.  I kept telling myself "you've been a mother for the last 7 years - either pregnant, breastfeeding or just had a baby, surely I can have 10 days to myself!" Then my thoughts turned to, "what happens if the plane crashes and both Michael and I die, the kids won't have anyone, what have I done!!"  I even made a call to my brother asking him if he will look after my girls if anything was to happen to us!

But surprise, surprise the plane didn't crash and I'm here to tell the story.  I really missed the girls the first couple of days (well, I really missed them the whole time) but I felt it more at first.  But it really was a great, stress free trip and it was also great to spend some time with Michael without the stress of kids.

First up was Halloween!  We all piled in the cars and headed down to Tamera's (Kacy's sister) house for a traditional pumpkin carving night!  We weren't told about 'wearing a moustache while you do it' part until just before but we thought we'd get into it and put one on....(sorry about the fuzzy pics, I forgot my camera and only had my phone).

How cheesy is my grin!

We all sprawled out over the carpet and started digging out the guts (as the yanks call it)

Sydney my niece..."Ewwe...pumpkin guts!"

Mum and Kacy

The finished pumpkin...pretty impressive for our first!

It was really fun to spend some time with Kacy's family and join in on their tradition.  But to be honest with you all I could think about was how I wished the girls were there to see it!

More to come...

My two 'different' little mummies.

I love, love, love that my girls all have their own little personalities.  I would have to say that Ella is my most trying at this stage, mainly being an emotional wreck at times. Michael and I often find ourselves looking at each other with absolute disbelief and horror when she breaks down and cries over the littlest things!  But saying that she would have to be the most caring and affectionate out of all of them, so far anyway ;)

Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that they are so different, especially when it comes to their interpretations of being a mummy to Ivy.

I asked Ella if she could hold Ivy for me while I do something.  After calling for her, I finally find her outside, no where near Ivy (well, she was outside, but certainly not near her....I think she was prancing around, as Ella does).  As soon as I came near the front door I could see where she had laid Ivy...

Haha!  It's one of those moments where you want to rouse but the laughter takes over and you can see the funny side. At least she looks happy enough huh!

Later that afternoon, I needed an extra pair of hands again, and had Sage take her this time.  This is what Sage did with her....

I said to her "What are you doing?", she said "Getting Ivy ready for bed".  She had taken it upon herself to go change her nappy and put her pj's on ready for bed! 

And there you have it, my two different mummies!  One who has her own agenda and does whatever she feels like doing and then you have the other who sees a need and acts upon it.   I love my kids!

Straddie!

We were lucky to be able to go to Straddie for a quick weekend trip with all of Michael's family before Justin went back to Canada.  Although we had cyclonic weather the day we arrived, Straddie put on some nice weather for us the next day.  The girls were so excited to be here and were eager to get to the beach.  It was a bit windy but we managed to get away from it at Frenchman's.

Sand ice cream shop!

My Beach Girls...

The boys...Michael, Rick, Justin and Nate.  I had to laugh at Nate when he came back in from 'spear fishing' with Rick and Justin!  In his words "the water was all choppy and you couldn't see anything, and  all I could see was Rick and Justin waving their spears around,doing it for the first time and I thought nuh! I'm getting out of here!"  Smart move Nate!

I mean, would you trust that fella second from the left?  Haha!

Getting ready to head home for lunch, Milla was the lucky one and got a piggy back, even all the way up those taxing stairs at Frenchies (poor Steve!)  But it was all too much for her, she was gone just after we started walking back!

Ella 'on top of the world!!'...at Main Beach

Because our accommodation was paid for by the wonderful Lyn and Steve, we were asked to put on a dinner for everyone one night.  So in true Straddie style, we had local seafood...including salt and pepper squid, huge prawns, crab, scallops and salad!  Yummo!

And I put this up, just cause she's so cute!!

 When Michael took the girls down to the beach one afternoon, he captured this awesome pic... I love it!!

This is another favourite...Steve captured this one when they took the girls for a walk one morning.

Sunday was another beautiful day and this time we went to Cylinder Beach. 

One...two...three...

Weeeee!....Jumping waves with Mama Lyn.

Oh Straddie, what would we do without thee!