Gram & Papa visit

With no school on Friday, November 11th, and our primary program on Sunday the 13th, Gram and Papa decided to fly in for a quick weekend trip! It was such a fun, action packed weekend! 

On Friday, Gram and I took the girls to LA for their first trip to the American Girl store. 

A HUGE treat for these girls who each had $50 in gift cards to spend.

The girls got their name on the list for the salon to get Caroline and Julie's hair done. While they waited, they shopped. Horse and carriage was a favorite.

It took about an hour for Madi to find the perfect gift for Caroline - a violin, bow, and music stand!

Elle really wanted something gymnastics for Julie, but then Gram whispered to me that she had already gotten a gymnastics outfit for Julie for Christmas. So I guided her to the cooking section instead. Elle quickly decided on matching aprons for her and Julie instead. 

Then it was time to go to the salon.

Beautiful curls for Caroline. . . 

And a waterfall side braid for Julie.

I really hope these girls enjoyed their experience because we most likely won't be going back for a very long time. I was shocked at how expensive it was! The girls were polite and grateful though which made me feel a little better about splurging so. 

After the AG store, Gram insisted that we get sprinkles cupcakes to share with everyone at home.

The girls couldn't wait to get home to set up their new stuff. 

Saturday morning we started our day with a good ol track running/stair climbing workout. 

Then it was Rolling Pin donuts and home for haircuts. 

Then we headed out to the beach for tide pools and caves. Cal likes sitting by Papa and sharing his music.

This was the only picture I got from our trip! 

A visit from Gram isn't complete without lots of story reading.

After the primary program we had an early dinner outside (love that we can do that in November).

Then had to say goodbye for Gram and Papa for them to catch their flight back to Brentwood.

I'm SO grateful for my parents and the sacrifices they make to make sure my kids feel loved and special.  

2016 Primary Program

Sunday was our annual primary program! It was my 4th year writing the program and boy does it feel good to have it done! This program consumed most of my free time for the past 3 months! It's always a super stressful time for me. but it always works out perfectly. This year things just weren't coming together, but then I made one change on the song the kids were going to walk in singing. As soon as I did that, everything seemed to fall into place. Talks that kids had given back at the beginning of the year were popping into my mind and fitting perfectly into the flow of the program. It was a neat experience for me.

The kids all did a fabulous job on their parts - probably 95% of the primary kids have their parts memorized. This year Madi spoke in the section before singing "Heavenly Father's plan".
She said, "I like to plan out my day. Every night my mom writes our schedule for the next day on our white board at home. I love knowing what's going on each day - where I needs to be and what activities I need to attend. Just like my mom has a plan for our family, I know that our Heavenly Father has a plan for us. We can find Heaven;y Father's plan for us in the scriptures. I know the scriptures are true!"

Calvin spoke in the same section as Madi and said, "Families are important to our Heavenly Father's plan. I love my family!"

Elle spoke right before singing, "My Body is a Temple"
She said, "I take care of my body because it is the temple of my spirit. I can take care of my body by eating fruit and vegetables and by exercising. I can keep my body clean outside by brushing my teeth and taking a bath. I can keep my mind clean inside by watching good movies and reading my scriptures."

Things from September

It's crazy how just two months seems like an eternity ago. 

Aunt Joci, Uncle Michael, Collin, and Derrick came into town at the first of September. It was so much fun having them here!

It was James' first time meeting Derrick . . . 

I'd been anxious for the first meeting of these 3 cousins - James had just turned 6 months, Derrick 9 months, and Allison 10 months. James is one lucky boy to have 2 cousins his age.

One morning while the girls were at school, the boys and I met up with Joc, Michael, and their boys for some fun at the harbor. Calvin and Collin play great together! 

And it's super cute to watch them lovin' on their brothers!

That Sunday we celebrated Eric turning 12, being ordained a Deacon, and getting the Priesthood.

The next day was Labor Day so we all rested from our labors and spent the day at Carpinteria!

We went on a family walk down the coastline - not sure where Madi was . . . .

Back to school night for CAPE and Tierra Linda was that next week (the 7th and 8th). Didn't get many pictures. I wasn't very impressed with Elle's class at Tierra Linda. Her back to school night was the first time I had the feeling that maybe Elle wouldn't be in this class for very long. 

I loved this writing on the wall in Madi's 4th grade class. 

Madi had an early out day on an afternoon when Elle and Cal were in school. I took advantage of the individual time and had a good chat over ice cream with my girl.

Grandpa Al came over one morning to take Madi to school! What a special treat for her!

Super hero day at school for Elle. I couldn't find a superhero shirt for her at Target so I got this dress instead. Wanted to get the most out of a cute dress, so that's when we decided she could also use it for Halloween! 

Elle was the second student in her class to get to take Q-bear home. 

I have a terrible memory, but a picture does wonders in helping bring back memories. This picture below was taken the first Saturday of September - Spencer had flown to Arizona with Brandon Bell for a BYU game. It was the same weekend Joc was in town and everyone had decided to go hiking. My kids and I were all up early and ready to go, but the rest of the Jenkins gang wasn't ready until later. James had gone down for a nap and we had to be home in time for 4pm stake baptisms. So sadly we missed the hike, but a simple picnic in our backyard put smiles back on these kids faces. Not much makes me happier than finding my kids playing happily together. 

This next pic was taken the next day - after church. Spencer and Brandon had flown back from Arizona. Eric was getting the priesthood right after church meetings, but the time had to be pushed back because Spence's flight wasn't on time. The kids and I met Spencer over at the Bell's where we gave Spence his church clothes before heading over to the Stake Center to join Eric and the fam for his ordination. What better to do while waiting than take pictures!

Kids at Chuck-E-Cheese! SO cute watching them squeeze together for a group picture!

And the picture it took:

Costco with my boys! James 6 months, Cal 4 1/2

Walking to school pick up! This is one of the things I miss most about my girls being at CAPE now. I miss our walk/run/bike rides to and from Tierra Linda. 

Fun with cups!

Picking Cal up from Preschool - hand in hand!

Cal lucked out one afternoon and got Austin and Joseph Thunell over to play after school. We made waffles for dinner before they left. 

Elle's first time wearing jean shorts - HAD to be documented! 

Elle lost her first top tooth near the end of September. That a total of 5 teeth gone now.

She's super excited about her new smile, but I'm sad to see the cute perfect baby teeth go. 

Calvin and Marli at preschool! Such good little buddies! 

Oh, and lots of BYU football this month! The Terry's house is the perfect game watching house! 

Hot dog dinner with cousins during the game. . . 

Not much game watching with these cousins. They always find other ways to have fun! 

James takes a little bit to warm up to people and I love that Grandpa Al isn't afraid of taking James from me whenever we see them. 

And Boppi totally has a gift for getting my babies to fall asleep on her lap. This was the sweetest thing to watch him get all relaxed while watching the BYU game on her lap, and then slowly close his eyes and fall asleep. 

I couldn't get enough of this sleeping babe!!

Our amazing piano teacher's birthday is September 18th.

This year we surprised her with a gift from all her piano students. I put together a scrapbook with pictures and notes/letters from each student and their family!

I'd been struggling with a few things with Madi so I decided it'd be best to have some Madi/Mama time before the General Women's Broadcast at the end of the month.  It was just what we needed. We had a real heart-to-heart, set some goals, and then got to hear lots of inspirational messages during the broadcast. Madi soaks that kind of stuff up and took copious notes.

We had a surprise birthday celebration for Boppi the Sunday before her birthday! 

It was a fabulous party, delicious kebab dinner, and lots of fun having everyone together!

The boys and I stopped by Boppi's work on her actual birthday to bring flowers, give happy birthday wishes, and get a picture with Cal on his half birthday!

Cal's thrilled about not just being 4 anymore! That half makes all the difference!

And then James turned another month older! 

He's so happy and smiley and melts my heart every day! 

Mali's first day of violin was September 30th. It took another week before we realized she had a full size violin and needed a quarter size. So now we're renting from Day Violins. 

Not only is Madi taking 3 violin classes this year, but she also practicing at least 30 min of piano eery night and is paying the flute in her school band class. It's a very busy musical year for her!