Happy Halloween!

Harmony Park Neighborhood Halloween Party 2011.  We always visit Brad's neighborhood he grew up in.  They have an amazing neighborhood party and carnival.  Grandma and Grandpa Ray get to see their grandchildren in their costumes, too.

Auntie Courtney with all the Ray granddaughters including the little one Courtney is carrying!  Yep!  You read that right!  Courtney is having a little girl in March!

Preschool Halloween Celebration complete with a train robber!

Pin the smile on the pumpkin!

Funniest woman in all the land!  Mrs. Jones arrived at the Pecos Park Ward Trunk-or-Treat as a cave woman with a real knife and all!

My little Rays with their friends/neighbors/want to adopt these girls/midget mothers to my daughters, Osana and Ariella.

Since Lizzie does not have Cleopatra hair, I created an Egyptian goddess up do.

Our pumpkin creations.  Mine is the spooky tree and Brian carved the goblin.

Lizzie carved a traditional Jack-O-Lantern.  We had a great Halloween but are happy the crazy Halloween week is over!

Three years ago today, I was given this beautiful gift.

We all delighted in the blessing of having a new baby in our house.

Big brother Brian could not let her go.

Two years ago today, we were playing at the beach and...

 Disneyland to celebrate Autumn Break and her birthday.

One year ago today, her birthday request was to go to the Phoenix Zoo.

She also wanted Chocolate Cupcakes instead of a birthday cake because she takes after her mother!

Katelyn Jane Ray was born on an early Tuesday morning 3 years ago.  I delivered her by c-section 3 weeks early so that she could come to the world without her or me getting hurt.  She came up with swollen lips and a face like her Great Uncle Mark.  I could not wait to hold her, but I had to.  It was painful and difficult.  When I finally held her, I could not believe she was mine.  She did not look like any of our kids.  I seriously thought Brad grabbed the wrong baby in the nursery while I was in recovery!  Then I saw them open and look at me, the big Buessing blue eyes.  I knew instantly she was mine.  The medication wore off by that time, too.  I did not put her down once for at least a week.  She is a gift.  I love every minute with her.  Today, we celebrate her 3rd birthday.  I cannot believe how quickly time passes when children are being raised.  I want to bask in every moment I am with her.  Right now she is playing with her new "wipstick" and coloring with her new color wonder markers.  Here are Katie's request for her birthday:

Breakfast:  Smoothie with an egg over-easy
Lunch:  Grandma Judy will take me out!
Dinner:  Baked Salmon with fresh green beans and cous cous. She told me she did not want frozen green beans because they are "gwoss!" She also wants a huge vegetable platter.  She wants Strawberry Shortcake for her birthday cake without frosting and cake. I lost weight because I am following Katie's diet!
Presents:
Brian gave her pink bubble wrap
Scott gave her a turtle pillow pet
Lizzie gave her Rapunzel hair
Daddy and I gave her Color Wonder markers with a coloring book and princess lip gloss
Grandma Ray gave her new pants, new shirt,a book, and chapstick
Grandma Judy gave her a Belle Polly Pocket and more lip stick

As you can tell, she told everyone she wanted "wipstick."  And, boy, did she get "wipstick!"  More pictures to come of her birthday.  Happy birthday my dear Katie.  I love you so much!

School DaysYep! August was officially busy! With school in session, preschool in full swing, camping, blackberry picking, beginning of school sniffles, Scott's birthday, it was one busy month.

We went camping with Trevor and Becky and their adorable little ones the second weekend in August. It was so much fun! Becky cooked the most delectable campfire meals! We felt very spoiled. Then we visited the cabin in Pine and picked and ate our fill of blackberries.

On August 18th, Scott turned 9 and really wanted a party with our family. Since Brad had an HOA meeting and I had to help out with our Relief Society meeting on Scott's birthday, Scott graciously agreed to celebrate his birthday the following day. We had Brad's delicious crepes for dinner and a yummy lemon cake. Scott received a Lego Atlantis set from Grandma Judy and us. Trevor and Becky gave him the coolest children's cookbook. He also received money from Grandma and Grandpa Ray and his best friend Colby. He had a great birthday. The next day Aunt Meagan took him out to lunch and shopping with his birthday money. Of course, he bought another Lego set!

Preschool began this month. Let me tell you, I am having a blast. Sure, staying up into the wee hours of the morning to prepare and worrying if the children are getting the intellectual stimulation that they need does infringe on my sleep, but I am blessed by the fruits of my labor with happy preschool kids and a sense of accomplishment when they know where Asia is on the map! Pure joy!

Brian, Lizzie, and Scott are doing great in school. Elizabeth had a smiley face taken away two times. One time she decided to color on her spelling paper because she was bored and the other time she made a poor choice and talked to her friend while Mrs. Watson was teaching. She is a social little gal, but she is also a perfectionist when it comes to keeping all her smiley faces. She won the pattern contest project in her classroom. She saw the ice cream cone scoops I made from different colors to teach the preschool children color words, so she thought it would be neat to make an ABC pattern from ice cream cone scoops. It turned out cute but very tall, so I added velcro dots to make it easy to transport and put together. The kids all voted in the class that hers was the best. She received a Hershey bar and enjoyed every bite.

Brian loves his school. BASIS is actually challenging him! He is teaching me Latin by having me drill him with vocabulary note cards. His homework is really fun and challenging. He let me help him with his science crossword puzzle. Science and crossword puzzles to me is like melted dark chocolate over rasberries! A perfect combination!

Scott continues to do well in school. We are working on his reading comprehension this year. I am constantly researching strategies to help him become an engaged reader. Reading is not fun to him.

Katie is hilarious! She loves to be the teachers helper at preschool. During clean up time, she decided to help me by getting all the snacks ready for snack time. I got up from helping the children sort the toys to see that she had put down the plates, added pretzels and raisins, and was ready with the hand sanitizer to clean every childs hands. That girl is wise beyond her years! I cannot wait to see what she will be like every day. I enjoy my moments with her on Mondays and Fridays when we get to hang out all alone and play.

Have a great last week of August! I cannot wait for cooler weather and to get all my Fall decorations out! Yeah for the greatest time of the year which is only around the corner!

Side note: Sorry about the horrible quality of my collage. Katie's head is cut off in one of the pictures. I am trying to keep my preschool pictures more private to protect the children. That is why the pictures are small and some are taken without showing thier faces.

A Letter to My Elizabeth:

What happened to the last five years?

I do remember holding you for the first time for forever not wanting to let you go.

I  remember early morning feedings and lullabies.

I remember you rolling on the floor as fast as you could before you could crawl.

I remember teaching you how to walk while holding my hand.

I remember dressing you up and doing your hair like you were my little dolly.

I remember your first words were "daddy" and "mom."

I remember so many things but time just passes by so quickly. 

Today you start Kindergarten.  We have not been apart this long.  I do not know what I am going to do with myself.  Katie will be sad because there will be no one to play dress up, Polly Pockets, and Barbies with during the day.  I am going to have to fill in for you during the day.  I make a promise not to take away any toys Katie is playing with so that I can be a good example.  I know you still need to work on that.  I will miss your songs that you make up while waiting for me to make you lunch.  I will miss your stories and make believe fantasies that you invent in your beautiful little mind.  I will only see you for a few hours in the morning and in the afternoon during the week and this makes me sad.  I know you are embarking on a new adventure.  I look forward to doing homework with you and hearing about your day.  Don't worry!  I signed up to be your Art Masterpiece teacher and a room parent so I will still be able to see you at school.  You will probably wave good-bye to me with a huge smile on your face tomorrow.  I promise to do the same.  I will only cry when you can't see me.  I love you so much my wonderful daughter.  I hope you have a fun first day of school.  I will see you as soon as you are dismissed and greet you with a huge hug and kiss.

Love,

Mom

 We were so sad to pull out our tomato plants this evening.  They gave us a good 2 dozen of the sweetest tomatoes around!  With our vegan dog, the birds, and our busy lives, we let those poor tomatoes suffer.  The great part about pulling out tomato plants is that they leave a big tomato root hole which I accidentally stepped in much to Scott's enjoyment.  Then, that gave Scott an idea!

Scott's idea looked great to Katie, too!

His idea passed on to Lizzie and then there were three little grubby kids playin' in the tomato mud holes.

This is how we celebrate the lives of our tomato plants.  Thank you for your wonderful bounty!  May they rest in peace in the compost bin.

P.S.

The best part of the evening is when I stripped the girls down to wash them off with the hose.  Katie wanted to go down the slide without any clothes on.  Well, she flew down that slide with her bare bottom and landed/slid 5 feet away from it.  She looked at me like "What just happened?"  I laughed so hard I cried!

I have a born helper!

Tonight as I was helping with the pajamafication(new word trademarked by Kami Pettit ), something miraculous happened! 

It all begins on a crazy Sunday evening when Brad and I had were in different places at different times.  He had a missionary meeting right after church. After that meeting, he went out on his home teaching visits. I had a stake humanitarian meeting at 5 pm that usually does not end until 6:30 pm. He had missionary visits at 7 pm, so we had to rush to make dinner, have a little family time, and then Brad left before we all could finish our meal.  It normally is not like this on Sunday.  Today was an exception.  After dinner, I did not feel like doing dishes.  Instead, I played music on the computer with my children and delighted in watching Mama Cass, Ella Fitzgerald, Simon and Garfunkel, and Julie Andrews sing in perfect harmony and melody.  We all were mesmerized by their talent. 

Brad came home at 8:30 and we noticed that we lost track of time.  I quickly set to work to get the kids ready for bed.  Katie looked at the dinner table and said, "Mom, our table is not clean!"  I agreed with her and told her that I will do it when everyone is in bed.

After I helped Lizzie brush her teeth and yelled at Scotty for the 5th time to put his pajamas on, I did not see Katie.  I called for her and she said, "I'm cleaning!"  I came out and she had cleared the table of all the dishes, put away the condiments, and was wiping down the table with a wet wash cloth.  This little angel girl is only two and a half and she did this all on her own.  I cry as I write this because every mother deserves a little help now and then.  All my children enjoy serving me either with a smile or a simple "Is there anything I can help you with mom?"  These are the moments that I am so fortunate to experience as a mother.  These are the moments I will always cherish because they get me through the times that my children argue or try to maim each other.  Mothering is the best most challenging job I have ever had.  I hope I never get fired!

Katie helping me butter the corn before it is grilled.  She did this on her own while I went to a meeting without Brad knowing.  As you can see the butter dish is empty and most of it is on her.  She thought she was in trouble when he took this picture.

Phoenix Zoo Day

Today we took a trip to the Phoenix Zoo with extra friends.  Of course, we had Connor and Scott brought his friend Jasmine.  Seeing cousin Stephanie there was an added bonus and she was so nice to share the perks of her membership by taking us on the train ride.  After cooling off in Ukula Caverns, we headed over to the train and ate our lunch as we enjoyed looking at the giraffes, elephants, birds of every kind, and the tiger while we relaxed on the train.

Our Katie,who is gifted at being two,was throwing fits left and right until Connor took her down the slide at the splash playground.  She was smiling from ear to ear after that.  Then Lizzie took her turn being grumpy.  It happens!  The little ones tire out and get grumpy. Trecking around the Phoenix Zoo is exhausting in 100+ degree weather for adults, I can only imagine how difficult it was for the little ones.  I felt really horrible when I ran over Katie with the stroller!  Mother of the Year right here!!!

Anyway, it was a spectacular summer day here in Arizona with all my children.  I wonder what we will do tomorrow?  Any suggestions?