Halloween!

A firefighter, a race car driver, and a tiger!

Colton and Trigger, finally close enough to touch!

Ace getting his face painted!

Hayden getting his face painted!

Right before trick or treating!

Look Mom I can sit by myself!!!

Mom and her boys!

Justin, Alicia, Ace and Hayden at the Pumpkin Festival

This Halloween was the most fun I have had as a mom so far. This is the first year that both Hayden and Ace have fully grasped the whole Halloween idea. Colton is such a happy and easy baby that he goes along with just about anything. On the 23rd, Hayden's school had a pumpkin festival to raise money for the school. They sold tickets in advance and on Friday night they had all kinds of games from pumpkin bowling to a cake walk. The boys and I went with our new friend Jamie and her son and daughter. The kids had so much fun, Jamie and I were ready to leave way before they were. The boys came home with a lot of candy and prizes, Ace even won the cake walk and brought home a dozen cupcakes. The boys were so excited for Halloween that I knew I had to something big, and what's bigger than spending Halloween with Grandma and Grandpa?!? That's right, the boys and I headed to AZ for Halloween. It is only a six hour drive from our house, so we took off Friday right after school. We got to my parents house late that night just in time to get our wiggles out. The next day we woke up and ran some errands with Grandma, then to the boys dismay we went to the outdoor mall. Being in a house full of boys really cuts down on my shopping hours, pretty much the only time I am able to go is if I have another girl with me, so Grandma saved the day, thanks mom!!! After the shopping we went to the annual Halloween Party at the park right across the street from my parents house. The boys had a blast. They had all kinds of booths including: face painting, football toss, fishing pond, and a dunk tank. Shortly after the Halloween Party we set out for trick or treating. It was so nice to go out and not have to be bundled up!!! We left at 6:00 and didnt get back until 9:00, and it wasn't the boys who got tired!!! Sunday we woke up and went to church before we loaded up the car and headed back to Albuquerque. the drive back was very peaceful and beautiful just like the ride down. Thanks Mom and Dad for such a fun weekend, now that I know how easy the drive is we will be down there a lot more!!!

Mom

My mom came to visit us last week and we had a great time!!! I don't think I have ever been so in need of a motherly visit. Being away from Utah has been harder than I thought. Living in Eagle Mountain made it hard for us be at every family get together and also made it difficult to see my sisters as much as I would have liked, so I figured moving to Albuquerque wouldn't be too hard. But I was wrong! It is so weird to not know anyone. I feel silly saying it, but I have been pretty depressed lately and having my mom around for a few days was just what I needed. We did a lot of fun things and just having her around made me feel better.

Grandma with Ace and Colton at Old Town


Ace, Colton and I went to the airport to pick her up Wednesday morning, then we came back home to show her our new house. After a quick tour and introducing her to Trigger, we ran a few errands before it was time to get Hayden from school. He gets out early on Wednesday and before I took him to school he made sure I set his watch to the right time so he could know exactly when Grandma would be there to pick him up. After we picked Hayden up, which was fun because my mom was able to see for herself just how great he is doing in school, we went to lunch and to pick Brandon up. We also stopped at Walmart before heading back home for the day. Wednesday night we cooked dinner and my mom helped the boys with their nightly rountine. Thursday morning my mom was a parent helper at Hayden's school, and after that we went shopping in Old Town and had lunch at the Owl Cafe with Danny. Thursday night we went to a local pizza place I have been wanting to try, then we came back home so we could go to bed early since we were going to the Balloon Fiesta early the next morning.

Me and Ace


Grandma and Hayden


Colton all bundled up, isn't he cute?

The Balloon Fiesta was AMAZING, it was so much cooler than I imagined. You should all put the New Mexico Balloon Fiesta on your Bucket List. We woke up at 5:30 and made it to the park in time for the mass assension. Every morning during the fiesta, they launch all the balloons at 7:oo. And on the last friday and saturday of the fiesta, the special shapes balloons join in. Aside from the balloons, they have tents with every kind of food and drink imaginable. They also have tents that sell all kinds of souvenirs. I heard on the news that for each days events there are over 100,000 people in attendance. The whole thing is unbelievable.



Special Shapes Pig Balloon


Special Shapes Fish Balloon




Special Shapes Bumble Bee Balloons


Brandon, Hayden. Ace, and Me




Balloon Fiesta Park




Mass Assension



After the Balloon Fiesta we did a little bit more shopping, and then just hung out till it was time for Mom to leave. I love seeing the boys interact with my parents, it's just so cute. We had so much fun with Mom. The whole trip made me remember that even though I am grown up with a family of my own, I still need my mom around. Thanks for everything Mom, we love you!!!!

A New Post...FINALLY!!!

Hayden and Colton taking a nap!

Hayden at Aunt Courts wedding!

Hayden and Ace with their blow up aliens
that we bought in Roswell.

This is one of my fav pics of Colton.

Ace!

Colton helping Mama with laundry!

It looks like he is really focusing on sleeping!!!

Me and Colton!

The boys at the Roswell Harly Davidson Shop.

Hayden and Ace with an alien.

Ace is trying really hard to be a good big brother!

Colton is his jeep walker.

Cruisin' around the kitchen.

Still napping!

It has been a month since I updated our blog, I am such a slacker. So to make up for the slacking, this will be a very, very long post. Can you believe we have been in New Mexico for two whole months? So far we are enjoying our new home and city, but there have been hard days when we have missed Utah and the people there like crazy. Right now in Albuquerque the lows are about 40 and the highs about 75. The International Balloon Festival starts tomorrow, there are 550 hot air balloons registered from 17 different countries. We are so excited to join in the festivities!!!! I looked out my bedroom window this morning to see more than forty balloons in flight. The festival runs for ten days, so expect a post about that soon. Danny's dad was our first offical visitor, he came to spend the weekend with us about two weeks ago. It was so nice to see a familiar face. We spent Friday visiting the two Harley Davidson shops that are here in Albuquerque, and on Saturday we went to Roswell. Now for those of you who don't know, in 1947 an unidentified flying object crashed and was spotted by a famer in Roswell, New Mexico. The government immediatley responded by taking the UFO to area 51 in Nevada. There is a museum in Roswell and a bunch of gift shops commencerating the crash. I for one am a little skeptical of the whole alien thing, but it was still a very a interesting trip. It will definately make you think twice as to wether or not we are the only ones out there. Meanwhile, our days are very busy. Me and all the boys all leave the house at 7:00 am to take Brandon to school. The high school Brandon was supposed to go to has a really bad reputation for weapon and gang problems, so I enrolled him in one of the city's best high schools but it is 20 minutes away. I really really value education, so I am ok with the inconvenience. We drop Brandon off and get back home around 7:45. Between 7:45 and 8:45 I get the boys breakfast, dress all three of them, and take a shower, get dressed, and put on make-up. You may ask why I have to get Ace, Colton, and I ready when we are just dropping Hayden off at school? Well, I was informed by my sweet five year old that none of the other moms go to school in their pj's and since it's school policy to walk the kindergarteners to their classroom, Hayden insists that we all look presentable. After we drop Hayden off, me and the other two boys come home and play until we leave to get Brandon at 2:00 and Hayden at 3:30. So as you can see, we have a very tight schedule. All four of the boys have had their own accomplishments this month. Brandon is a sophomore and is taking Auto Shop, Woodworking, and JROTC. He has been a tremendous help since we moved down here, I don't know what I would do without him. Hayden is doing remarkable in kindergarten. I was so worried that he wouldn't do well because of his speech problem, but he has done just the opposite. He is learning so much and actually looks forward to school, his teachers are so amazing. On the social side of things, he has his first girlfriend! I was tucking him the other night, and he said "Mom, I have something to tell you. I have a girlfriend, I sit next to her in class and her name is Caitlin. She has yellow hair and glasses. " He also told me that he thinks that Cailtin's mom must have a faster car than me, because she is there before him everyday waiting for him at the doorway of the classroom. Cailtin is a very cute girl and they are very good friends, it's so cute to see how excited they get when they see each other. Ace is finally interested in potty training, that has been our main focus over the past couple weeks. It has been so nice to have this time with him while Hayden is at school. Sometimes I think the middle child gets deprived of that alone time with mom that both the oldest and youngest child get, so I try to make the most of the time I have with Ace when Colton is sleeping. We play outside, read books, and make cookies. Colton is also doing great, I can't believe that six months ago I was holding him in NICU crying and worrying that he would not be a healthy normal baby. He is rolling all over the place, laughing at all of us, and walking around the kitchen in his walker. I have realized over the past two months, just how important family is. The six of us have grown so much closer since we have been down here. My mom comes to visit on Wednesday, and I can't wait. I have never been so excited to see my mom in all my life! I promise that I will be better on updating my blog, and my invitation to all of you to come visit us is still open!!!

Ace and Colton

So now that Hayden is in school all day, I have more one on one time with Ace and Colton. It has been nice for me to focus on two kids instead of three. Ace is three now, and he is all boy. He loves to jump off the stairs and wrestle with the puppy. His favorite part of the day is when Colton takes his morning nap, because he knows that means it's time to play catch in the backyard. He has quite and arm, he can already throw a spiral football!!! Colton is five months old now, and he is so expressive. All you have to do is talk to him and he'll throw out all kinds of smiles and baby coo's. He is by far my best baby. He sleeps much better than the other two did, and he eats all the time. Danny and Brandon tease him that he has moobs ( man boobs). I never thought that I would be stuck in a house full of boys (even the dog is a boy) but I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Albuquerque

So now that we have been here a month, I thought I would let you know some cool and unusual things about Albuquerque.

1. the city is divided into quadrants. There is Northeast, Southeast, Northwest and Southwest, so to find an address you have to know which quadrant it's in.

2. There are only 800,000 people here, so it is significantly smaller than Salt Lake. The six of us really seemed to boost the population.

3. It isn't quite as hot as it is in Utah, but there is a lot more humidity (say hello to bad hair days).

4. You get your license at 15 and half here, that was a major selling point for Brandon.

5. Thanks to the casinos there is no sales tax on food or registration fees for school!!!

6. The hot air balloons are amazing. The basket is the size of a Honda Civic and the actual balloon is so big it baffles your mind. The pictures in this post are taken down the street from my house. We see them every morning when we take Brandon to school. I can't wait for the balloon festival in October, I've been told that you can only see patches of sky in between the balloons.

7. Santa Fe is only an hour away. We went there a couple weeks ago, and had a great time. It reminds me of Park City. The indians get up early and fight over who gets what spot to sell there jewely. The jewelry is beautiful and all handmade, Danny bought me a beautiful bracelet while we were there. Our next Saturday trip will be to Taos. Taos is New Mexico's ski resort and home to Julia Roberts. I plan on finding her house while I'm there, ha ha.

So far I really like our new town. It is really hard to be away from Utah, and knowing that everyone I know is 600 miles away. I know this is a good move for our family, and I am excited to experience more about New Mexico.

all GROWN up

Last Monday was Hayden's first day of kindergarten. In Albuquerque, kindergarten is a full day and the kids have to wear uniforms. They are allowed to wear navy blue, black, or khaki bottoms with either a white, blue, or maroon top. Hayden looks like a little business man when I get him dressed for school each morning. He has twenty kids in his class and two teachers. He really likes school, but the full day schedule is hard for him. He really misses me, his brothers, and his puppy. For those of you who don't know, Hayden and I have a very close relationship. This past week has been full of tears, and I'm not just talking about Hayden. I did find something that made Hayden (and me) more comfortable during the day. I was at the mall and saw some guy making woven string bracelets for cash. I asked him to make me two identical ones in Hayden's favorite colors. When I got home, I gave one to Hayden and I took one for myself. I told him we would wear them every time we were apart, and when we missed each other we would just look down at the bracelet and know that everything would be okay. For those of you who are laughing at this post, just wait till you take your baby to kindergarten!!! Hayden has already learned a lot and his teachers have told me a few times that they wish they had twenty "Haydens." I know that once we get used to the separation (ha ha) that this will be a great year for Hayden.

"Trigger" Happy!!!

On Saturday afternoon, we got a new puppy. Trigger is a one year old Black Lab. We got her from a lady that was getting a divorce and couldn't take Trigger to her apartment. She must have been a great trainer because Trigger is the best dog I've ever had. He is fully house trained, he responds to the basic commands, he won't jump on people or furniture, and people food isn't a temptation at all! The boys are in heaven, it's cute to watch them interact with him. Hayden taught him how to fetch yesterday, so now every time Hayden goes in the backyard, Trigger follows with a ball. Trigger's previous owner had kids so he is used to the boys pulling his ears and tail. The only one Trigger isn't sure of is Colton. He keeps his distance and looks at Colton like he trying to figure out if he is human or animal. I love this pup, he is a great addition to our family. I can now understand how people can be so crazy over their dogs.