Autumn..a time to be grateful

Oh how love autumn! I cannot stop talking about and thinking about how wonderful this time of year is!! The weather, is perfect, the sunsets are GORGEOUS, and I am a happy woman!!!

I never thought I could be this happy. Life is definately a struggle at times with three little babies, but I am so blessed to have such a gentle, spiritual man in my life that I get to call HUSBAND. He is so patient with me, and he is so motivating! He is always lifting me up with his kind words, and positive outlook on EVERY situation. I love my man. I hope to be like him someday.

This is the Announcement I had my friend Tiffany Nolan make for Malin's Bachelors Graduation back in June. It explains him perfectly. Also,HE JUST PASSED HIS 1st MASTERS CLASS WITH AN A!!!!!!! Yowsers!

He is in the process of putting in g sprinkler system so I wanted to post some pictures of the process. He's so tough, he dug the trenches all by himself! No trench diggers here. He's pretty excited about this project and we can't wait to have grass in our backyard!!!

Here is a trench that Malin dug from the front to the back. Go Babe!!

Here is the first signs of trenches in our backyard. I can't wait to post the after pictures when it's all done!

And then there's my three sweet kiddos. They have been so fun lately. Well ofcourse they're always fun! Aubrey is so cute when she talks because she corrects me if I don't say a syllable right. The other day I said" We'll have to ask Santa, with a lazy t.....and she piped up and said "No, Mom . it's SanTa." She's a smart cookie! I simple love her personality. She is dancing in this picture. Her and Savannah love to sing and dance to BARBIE PRINCESS AND THE PAUPER. And there's Savannah, who is really getting good at sounding out words and noticing letters on signs and billboards. She's my little artist too. Oh, I have to mention something. The other day while waiting in the line of mothers to pick up their child from Preschool, Cari, Ethan's mommy was talking to me. She told me how Ethan was kind of shy to go to music makers, (I will post about that soon,) and didn't want to participate. So they went home and later that day, he said "Mom, you know how I told you I was kind of scared to go to Music Makers, and then after a while I started singing?" She said" yes. " Ethan then said,"Well, I started not being scared because Savannah was there, and she's, well, kind of 'cute!" It was too cute to hear that about my little Savannah. And when I told her the story, she just grinned from ear to ear and got SO embarassed. She now has a crush at Preschool.

And then there's my little Malin man. Just the other day he fell and bonked his forehead pretty hard and instantly had a goose egg. OH, I felt so terrible. It looks 10 times better now. He is at the stage where everything he can get a hold of is INSTANTLY in his mouth. UGH, so I have started clearing out bookshelves, and vacuuming,sweeping and mopping every night so he won't choke on anything or tear my books to shreds. He is making the cutest faces too!He loves to do piggy faces. And here's all the kiddos playing doll houses. Most of the time, Malin is not in the girls room playing dollies, but just for the pic I thought I'd put him in. I often find it quiet in the house(ofcourse when Baby Malin's asleep) and I can always find Savannah and Aubrey playing in their room together. Good memories for these sisters. Their favorite thing is playing "neighbors" with their doll houses.

And as for me, the mom, you ask, what is she doing to fill her bucket? Well, I have just started teaching myself how to play the guitar. My husband has a guitar, so why not learn how to play it?It's SO addicting. I now understand better how my piano students feel when they learn their first song on the piano. It's exciting! I can play Ode to Joy, Surf Rock, Yankee Doodle, and the G scale! Rock on Sarah!

I LOVE MY FAMILY

Our Three Performers!!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A typical morning walk

Henry B Eyring Dedicates EAC Memorial Bell Tower

Henry B Eyring dedicates EAC Memorial Bell Tower

We had a marvelous time listening to an apostles voice this last weekend at the EAC Memorial Bell Tower. What a heritage Thatcher has. The ceremony was very well planned and made me cry to think of the great ancestors we have that have made the Gila Valley the place it is today.Ok, I'm cheesy, I know. Bro Eyring spoke about Sacrifice, Joy, and Gratitude for the blessings we enjoy in a free country. When an apostle speaks, he speaks with the power of God. It was SO amazing to be so close to him. I hope our girls will remember it.

Time is flying...

I've just discovered that life WILL NOT slow down.....as much as I want it to. I think my worst enemy is time. I never have enough time to do all I want to do! Anyways, I haven't posted for awhile, and my cousin Candace explained it very plainly....priorities!! This is my family journal, so I love doing it. But just not for long periods of time!!! So here's what's been happening since I posted almost 2 weeks ago!! Savannah and Aubrey were being silly(what's new?) and decided to put on Baby Malin's clothes. Oh these pictures don't even do justice!! It was so hilarious! The khaki shorts Savannah is wearing are like spandex on her, and their saggers on Baby Malin.......oh how grateful I am for laughing!! IT was definately a laughing moment in our home!! Savannah got her hair cut by her cousin Ashley Richardson. She just got it trimmed because she LOVES long hair, but she was SO good while in the chair and sat very still. Below she's with her aunt, also known as my cute sister Jillian. Isn't she adorable!! Ashley also cut my hair and did a FANTASTIC job! I love getting new haircuts! We went to Thatcher last weekend, Sept 8, and got to watch Leisel, my sister, perform with the THS Spirit Line, which she is captain of. She was so cute!! She even did 5 backhandsprings and a back flip right there on th footbal field. She's the little blond one in the middle of the first picture and the one at the top in the second one. Ofcourse, we watched the game too! Thatcher beat Phoenix Christian! Go THS!

Aubrey naps....everywhere

Below is a picture of Aubrey's choice for her napping spot yesterday. She fell asleep in her bed and then decided the floor in mommy's room was better. Anyways, She fell asleep at 2:30 and at 6:45 I HAD TO WAKER HER UP from her position on the floor. And for lunch yesterday my petite little 2 year old had two huge chicken tacos. She was stuffing them in. She is growing like crazy!

Babysitting Co-op...12 kids!!

So when you're blogging, you're always thinking about the next post you can put on your blog, right? Well last night we had good reason to post a blog. We are part of a babysitting co-op with three other families. Each family has 3 kids. We had 9 kids plus our own for a total of 12 kids for 4 hours!! I girl is not in the picture, in case you were wondering. And can I just say that my girls are mellow compared to all those boys!! They are full of energy! All and all it was a good night. No broken bones, no tears, and no poopy diapers. We played fun games, ate yummy food, watched movies, made crafts and played stick war outside. The boys loved that. Savannah and Aubrey especially liked to play with Brin and Tess Mix. They played well to gether. Needless to say, we crashed into bed as soon as they all left. We were exhausted!

Labor Day in Ajo

Labor Day Fun in Ajo, AZ

We had a relaxing weekend in Ajo for Labor day. Mom and Dad Lewis were gone on a cruise(Lucky) so we went down to keep Julianne and Jacob company and also Nelson and Kelsey and Carson, who were the official babysitters. We did experience a hard night when the ELECTRICITY WAS OUT FROM 1 O CLOCK SATURDAY AFTER NOON TO 6AM ON SUNDAY. 17 HOURS. I counted my blessings all night while we sweated the night away in the 90 degree weather. I would not make a good pioneer! Anyways, it came on in time to make the 9 AM church meetings. It was a great Sunday!! Monday we had Denise and Mark Moore come over and go swimming and BBQ. Mark Moore is a high school buddy of Malin and Nelson. They have the cutest little kids, Lauren and Thomas. Denise is a sweetheart. Love her! We came home that night and managed to get back to normal life before our crazy week began!

My sisters are a bad influence on my masculinity...

Grandma and Grandpa Innes came to our house....

My parents stopped by our house on their way back from Leagues and Cities convention. My dad goes every year because he is on the town council. They get a weekend to themselves!! Well, my dad, he's a Doctor (Physician's Assistant), and he was not feeling well, so Savannah and Aubrey got out their doctoring kits and "Doctored the Doctor" Here's a picture of them doing so...

We had a fun day at the park today. It was perfect timing for pictures so we had fun taking some! Enjoy!

Jessica Tagged me.

"I can't wait" tag Jessica, my cousin by marriage, tagged me like three weeks ago, and I just noticed it!! sorry Jessica. So here is my "Top Ten things I Can't Wait For" 1. I can't wait until Malin is done with his Masters so I can start school. I am thirsting for knowledge! 2. I can't wait til Savannah starts Kinergarten......ok I CAN wait for this, ofcourse, because I want her to be my little girl forever, but it's a big milestone for our 1st child!! 3. I can't wait until Malin and I get to go canoing down the Gila River next April with my side of the family. 4. I can't wait until I fit back into all my size 10 clothes. They are all sitting in my closet waiting patiently for me to lose this baby weight that should be gone by now.......it's taking longer with third baby. UGH 5. I can't wait til we get grass in our backyard. then we can roll around in it and look at the stars at night. 6. I can't wait til we go to Disneyland!! We have a Disneyland Fund in the bank(small at the moment), but we started a fund in the kitchen so the girls can see the money growing. They love finding change and going straight to the Disneyland Fund and putting there money in it. We were going to go this summer, but we decided to wait until Malin s done with this Masters, and Baby Malin is older and can walk and stuff. It's a great way to discipline too. If the girls are acting up, I tell them " You won't be able to go to Disneyland if you keep it up." It's working! The other day I did something wrong and Savanah told me, UHho mom, you're not going to Disneyland.!HAHA!! 7. I can't wait for ALL my brothers and sisters to get married and have children. Our kids need some Innes cousins!! 8. I can't wait for date night on Friday! Malin and I are in a babysitting co-op with4 families in our ward. So every Friday we have a babysitter and every 4th friday we babysit twelve kids for 4 hours. It's perfect!! 9. I can't wait til Christmas! I love Christmas. 10. I can't for the day when my weaknesses and imperfections don't hold me back. oh what a world that would be!!

Linda tagged me.....

Tagged . . . seven random things about me Linda tagged me, so here are seven random things about me...... 1. I DO NOT like sushi. 2. I have lost 7 pounds on the past 3 weeks!The yoga ball is my friend, and I got a great CORE workout to go with it. Perfect for the baby belly that I have acquired........Ugh 3. I broke my arm TWICE when I was 6 years old. The second one happened a week after I got my cast off from the FIRST time. I know, I'm evil knievel. 4. I'm obsessed with yard sales!! Give me all your change and I'll find you a treasure!! No seriously, the last yard sale I went to, this lady was going through a divorce so she was trying to sell EVERYTHING in her house before she had to claim it in the divorce......so, I got brand new DVD's for $3, The cutest exercise pants from Express for 50 cents, cute red dishware for decor in my kitchen, and the cutest undershirts with the lace at the bottom. Oh gotta love those yard sales. I also got a brand new baby walker for $5! 5. I love reading.....obesessed with it. Every chance I get, I will read. 6. A year ago. last April, I went to New York and toured all the sights. What an experience! I also watched my brother compete at Internationals in the Lincoln Center with BYU Vocal Point. I went to the , NYC Temple and Statue of Liberty, GRound Zero, and more great places. 7. We had Maricopa Fire Department at our door last night at midnight!!Our Fire Alarm was detecting signs of Carbon Monoxide, so, just to be safe than sorry, we called 911, like instructed on the Fire Alarm, and they came out and tested for CO. Gratefully, it was just a defective Fire Alarm and we all got to bed by 1:00. Crazy night! So there's eight random things about me. I now tag DAYNA AND ESTHER!!

The Hallway gets a makeover

BEFORE .......................................................................................................................................................................................... AFTER With the help of my three kids.......I managed to paint the hallway in record time. 3 hours!!! I put the baby to sleep, put on a movie for the girlies, and went to town painting the hallway!! We had planned to paint it 5 MONTHS AGO when we painted the rest of the house............. but it didn't happen until now. SO, here it is! FINALLY done!! Wow what a difference it makes, especially since the old white wall was FLAT paint and it did not wash off well with little hands on it. This is also a surprise to my husband....he didn't know I was doing this. He always flips when I try to take on big projects like this. Surprise honey!! I did it, cleaned it up, and will STILL have dinner on the table. It was definately a good day....so far. I still have another hallway to paint. Hopefully it won't take another 5 months to get it done. UGH. Malin is REALLY busy right now so I'm sure this is a relief to see this hallway painted. YEAH!!! It's done!!!!

Aubrey learned how to.....

GOPOOP ON THE TOILET!!!!! Yeah for Aubrey!!! She is officially a big girl. And guess what we are doing tonight.....we're having a poop party! Complete with Cake, ice cream, cookies and presents(dollar store presents.) We are so proud of the Aubrey smookies!

Savannah's Allergic Reaction..

Savannah woke from her nap on Monday with a rash all over her body. WE took her to the ER and she was having an allergic reaction to the Amoxicillin she was taking for her ear infection. She swellled up almost to the point that she couldn't open her eyes. Poor Savannah. After this experience, I think I'll go the natural way for clearing up ear aches.

What happened to our bed??

So Saturday night was pretty rough. Baby Malin was really clingy and would only sleep unless I was holding him. So he didn't go to his bed until 1AM. And then Malin had to be up at 5AM to make it to Priesthood leadership meeting at 6AM in Casa Grande. That woke all the kids up and so I just had them all come to Malins and my bed so we could all sleep for one more hour before we had to be to church at 8 AM!! I woke at 6:30 AM to this picture.........

OH the joys of parenting......I love my kids

Date Night: Lifetime Fitness

This is Malin writing. I thought I would take a couple of minutes and write about our wonderful date night. I love my wife. I have always wanted to go and checkout Lifetime Fitness. If you have not been to this gym, you need to. It is a blast. They have everything. We live way to far for us to have a membership and its a bit pricey. So, I decided to take my beautiful wife there and we signed up for a free week. We started out with some cardio, then on to the weights. After about 1 hour, we went down to their pools. The outdoor pool, was a salt water pool. It was so nice not to have our eyes hurting from the chlorine. Everything was so refreshing. It was a cheap (free), however enjoyable date. We are also in a babysitting co-op with members in our ward. It really is a great way to have date night. Fun times!

My BIG Helper

Aubrey think she knows how to feed Baby Malin....she is learning!!! wo watch out for his eyes! sweet messy face!!!

Savannah started Preschool !!

Miss Savannah started preschool in the Letter Bugs Preschool last week. She loves it! I just LOVE hearing her tell me all the things she is doing when I pick her up from Preschool. I debated whether to teach her myself or put her in a formal setting. I decided she needed the formal setting to get her ready for kindergarten.....in a year. My baby is growing up to fast!!! It's sad and happy at the same time. She is really asking some complex questions lately and tells me often that it's hard to grow up. She would rather be my little girl forever. I would love that, but lifes not always fair and soon I will have to send her into this crazy world and pray that she will CHOOSE THE RIGHT. Savannah is my shining Star.