November 25th, 2012

• It was Thanksgiving this week! Throughout the month we wrote what we were thankful for and taped it to the "Grateful Wall". I loved hearing things the kids were thankful for. It always puts things into perspective. Things I'm grateful for... (really, my top six are probably always the same, and that's okay!)

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. I am grateful Christ atoned for my sins.
2. Todd. What an amazing husband! Marriage can be hard but the laughter and fun Todd brings into my life is priceless:)
3. Addy, Brynn and Bodee. Such wonderful, cute, and awesome kids! They bring so much joy to my life.
4. Todd's job. We are so blessed with Todd's employment. He works so hard and it allows me to stay at home with the kids. 
5. Parents and family. We appreciate all the support and love we feel from those who are close to us.
6. Health. Turning 30 this past year and making more of an effort to be healthy has reminded me of what a great blessing is it so have a strong, healthy body and mind.

• The girls love to share a bed and sleep next to each other but I will only let them do it on nights when there's no school the next day. Such buddies! 

• There was no school on Wednesday so the kids and I met up with our favorite family, the Tongis at Nepture Park. We grabbed a $5 pizza and had a picnic there too. Once Todd got home that night he put up the Christmas lights while I started the bing cherry salad and pecan pie for the next day.
• Thanksgiving morning Todd followed tradition and went shooting with all the brothers. I made another two salads that morning and got the kids ready for dinner. Dinner was yummy and the kids really enjoy their day with their cousins. The girls ended up staying at Bryan and Suzie's for a cousin sleepover! I tried to tell Suzie to send half of them over to our house but she said "if we have one, why not have them all"! She is amazing!
• The next morning when the girls returned home their cousin Chrislyn came with. Then Chad and Terral soon came by with their other kids and Hogan and they all spent the afternoon with us. It was great to have them over and enjoy their company since we don't see them as often.
• That evening we took the kids to Mi Ranchitos and shared a huge nachos. We had a bowl of jalapenos sitting on the table and Todd double dog dared Brynn and Addy to eat one. Addy ate hers without a problem. (Not sure if it wasn't very hot or it just didn't bother her) Brynn was DYING! Her eyes started to water and she was gasping and we told her to spit it out but since Addy swallowed hers Brynn was not about to lose the bet! She finished it! That girl is tough! We bought them a chocolate truffle on the way out for eating it...Love family nights out!

• The girls are obsessed with basketball! Todd is such a good father and shoots hoops with them all the time. Here he is at the park working with them until the sun goes down. (Fuzzy picture from a camera phone)

• On Saturday night Todd wanted to drive up to Cabelas and look around. He and Bodee were in heaven. (Seriously, from now on the boys just need to have their male bonding time there). The girls did want to practice target shooting though. Todd was more than happy to teach them. Funny when you spend over an hour at Cabelas and all you walk out with is a bag of circus peanuts for the kids:)

• We put up the Christmas decorations and tree this weekend. I love how the house feels when it's Christmastime. The girls were really good helpers when decorating the tree.
• Brynn talks ALL THE TIME! She asks questions about everything! She wants to know how, why, when, and who. It drives me crazy but then I stop and realize how much her mind wants to learn and figure out. So in reality, she is a smart little cookie!
• Todd loves to wrestle. We had a very big and long family wrestling match this weekend. It ended with all three girls crying and Bodee just laughing, sitting on Todd's head yelling "MORE"! Todd, I think you have met your match.

November 18th, 2012

• It was a busy and fun week at the Bassett house!
• On Tuesday Addy got her cast off! Wahoo! My favorite part was when Dr. Glade brought out the saw. Her eyes got huge and she whipped her head around to look at me with a look saying "Oh Mommy!". Luckily it didn't hurt a bit.
• Wednesday was Addy's first basketball game without her cast. She hadn't seemed really into basketball this year as I thought she would and I wasn't sure why...well it was the cast because as soon as it came off she scored six baskets during her Wednesday game! On Saturday she scored another basket at her game and played awesome defense. She got use to dribbling with her left hand and so she still dribbles with her left hand even though the cast if off.
• We bought Bodee a stuffed animal dog. When we asked him what the dog's name was he answered 'Sue'. I said "Sam or Sue?" Sue! The other morning I realized he was feeding Sue after I poured him his cereal. Cute kid!

• On Thursday Bodee started to get pretty sick. Cough, cold, etc... This is how I found him on Thursday afternoon. I was so busy with carpool and getting ready for Activity Days I never got him down for a nap, even though I know he needed it and he just couldn't take it anymore.

•  The things I do for my friends:)...My friend Elizabeth loves Twilight and had an extra ticket to Breaking Dawn Part II. I told her I would go with her even though I had only read the first book and watched the first movie and had no interest to continue with the series. But for her I watched all the movies this past week (I did like two and three the best) and we went to the 10pm showing of Breaking Dawn Part II! It was fun to go with the ladies and since I had seen all the movies I did want to know how it was going to end...actually I was only concerned for Jacob's future since he is definitely my favorite:)

• Friday was Winterfest at Riverview School. This is one of two fundraisers the put on a year. I had been working with the PTA for the last couple of months to help with this big event. I was one of the ladies in charge of the food and it was a zoo! I was so glad to help out the school though. During Winterfest they announce the Reflections awards. Addy's entry was not chosen to go on to the next level but we are really proud of her for entering and doing her best! 

• This weekend was spent working on the yard, garage and running errands. Really, a low key weekend. Todd and I keep saying how much we love weekends that aren't planned to the minute. We can just enjoy being with our kids. Something tells me this isn't going to be like this forever.

November 11th, 2012

• Todd left for New York City this week on Tuesday and got home really late Thursday night. We sure can tell a difference when Dad leaves and everyone wants him to come back quickly. The girls were so upset when he was leaving that he promised them he would shorten his trip from five days to three days...little did they know he was only suppose to be gone for three days. Sneaky Dad!
• Todd took the kids swimming on Friday night while I finished the laundry and cleaning I had been working on all day. 
• There was also snow storm on Friday and the kids were so excited to play in the snow come Saturday. Bodee loved the snow this year too!

• Bodee reminds us of Randy in 'The Christmas Story'...all bundled up in his snowsuit:) 

• Kids playing with our neighbors trying to build a snowman.

• Saturday night Grandma and Grandpa Bassett came over for dinner. After dinner came movie time. Here they are all snuggled up!

November 4th, 2012

• The weather was great this week, which I was so grateful for, so we spent as much time outside as we could. I took the kids over to the park to practice basketball and then play on the playground. Brynn does monkey bars all the time but for the ones here were a little tricky. She tried once and fell on the first bar. Got back up, tried again and fell on the second bar. I tried to tell her that maybe she is just too little for these but she said "No! I can do this" and got back up and did the whole thing...multiple times. This little girl is so determined!

• Wednesday was Halloween and I attempted to make Jack O' Lantern pancakes for breakfast...at least I tried:)

• I went to the school in the morning to watch Addy in her school Halloween parade and then after school ended the kids eagerly awaited for the sun to go down so they could start Trick or Treating! They all LOVED every second of it. Todd took them around for the first couple of hours and then I took the girls around for the last hour and we walked through the few haunted tents that were set up in our neighborhood. Spooky but cool!

• The kids picked out some of their favorite candy and chose to give the rest of their candy to the Great Pumpkin and in turn the next morning received a new box of Bendaroos and a coupon for a small special with either mom or dad.
• I put on the song Thriller by Michael Jackson on Halloween day and Addy told me how they played this song at school that day. The she told me how the movie we watched at Disneyland (Captain EO) was the same guy that sang that song. She recognized the voice. I was blowing up! How funny she remembered Captain EO so well.
• Friday night Todd took all the kids swimming at the Legacy Center by himself while I cleaned and got ready for our super busy Saturday. What a super dad!
• Addy started Jr. Jazz this year. She likes it but with her cast on basketball is not an easy sport to play. Here she is in the action:) Only one more games with the stinkin' cast on!

• Saturday, after Addy's basketball game, cousin Josie came over to babysit while Todd and I attended the temple because his cousin Tanner was taking out his endowments before he leaves on his mission later this month. It was a wonderful day at the temple. I loved being there with my family, the people I love so much, but especially with Todd. We had a few precious moments together that day and I will cherish these memories forever. I appreciate the eternal relationship Todd and I have together and the desires for our family and our children only make our marriage stronger. We are so blessed!
• After our temple trip we had a ward Harvest Party! It was so much fun spending time with neighbors and friends. I love living in this neighborhood!
• This is where I found the kids on Sunday morning. They wanted to jump on the trampoline but it was so cold they snuggled under the blankets:) Love these funny little munchkins!

October 28th, 2012

I felt like I was on the go every second this week!

• Monday after school we took Addy back to Dr. Glade so he could put on her cast. It went on quickly and Addy really liked having it put on because it took away all the pain. The cast is even water proof so she can bathe like normal.

• Wednesday morning was Dads and Donuts at the school. Addy was so proud to take her Daddy to school and have that special time with him. Todd even stopped by the book fair that was going on in the library and bought her a new Junie B. Jones book.
• I met with Addy's teachers for Parent Teacher Conferences on Thursday. Her reading is fantastic, way above where they would like the 1st graders to be at this point in the year and her Chinese teacher said that the last few weeks she has taken a bigger interest in Chinese class and is coming along great. (As a side note...I really love when Addy corrects my attempts at the Chinese language:)
• I ordered a 40 lb. box of chicken that I picked up on Wednesday. That meant that ALL DAY Friday I was using that chicken. I made a dozen freezer meals and cut up lots of chicken for various uses as needed. I've never done freezer meals before but I am looking forward to using them on the nights I work and I need an easy dinner.
• Brynn recently learned the song "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at preschool. She asked what Cracker Jacks were and so I finally went out and bought a box for her. She was so excited and thought it was delicious. She is super cute when singing the song in her little voice.

• Saturday night Cathy watched the kids while Todd and I went on a date. We headed up to Fashion Place mall because let's just say Todd has been unable to find a new pair of jeans for a VERY long time. Finally he found a pair! Don't worry, I know to bring my Kindle with me when shopping with Todd because he takes forever trying to find clothes he likes:) After the mall we headed back to Lehi and ate dinner at Wild Bill's Buffalo Wings so we could watch the Ute game. Like always, he kept me laughing all night! Love spending time with him!
• Sunday was our annual Primary Program in Sacrament Meeting. It was fun to see the primary finally perform all the songs we have been working on all year long. The girls did great on their speaking parts and Todd and my primary class also did fantastic.
• Sunday night we finally carved pumpkins. Well, actually Todd finally carved pumpkins:) I can't wait until the kids can carve their own. The kids all scooped out their pumpkins and then made their carving requests to Dad. Todd did amazing at the carving jobs and we were all so proud of him.

October 21st, 2012

• Monday was still Fall Break and the girls were looking for something to do. They had been asking to have a lemonade stand all summer but I always put it off so I asked if they wanted to have a bake sale? "YES! YES! YES!" I baked some brownies and a large batch of my awesome chocolate chip cookies and they did the rest. They charged 25 cents per cookie/brownie and worked their little booth for about three hours. They made $16.00! You go girls! (I love Addy's sign with her cute writing!)

• After their bake sale the girls got to go to the driving range with their dad and Aunt Amy for a little golf practice. They really love this sport!
• The rest of the week was oh so busy with just being busy. The girls went to the dentist (no cavities:), I worked both Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, and I gave blood on Thursday night with all three kiddos in tow. Friday night we met up with the grandparents and Uncle Milo for dinner at Chick-Fil-A and Saturday morning we had family pictures taken and the girls had their last soccer game for the fall season.
• Addy fell off both the monkey bars and the swings on Wednesday and hurt her arm pretty bad. After a couple of days it was still hurting and she was favoring it so I took her in to the doctor and yep, it's broken! She was given a brace for the weekend and we have to go back in on Monday and get it set in a cast. First broken bone for the Bassett kids! Ahhh!
• Saturday evening Grandma Bassett had her famous Halloween Party! Yea! It was a blast like always and the kids couldn't get enough. I sure loving living close to such amazing family:)
• Brynn and Jane were unplanned twinners! I guess Spider Girl is the "in" thing now!

• Wow! That's a lot of grandkids (with some neighbors mixed in)!

• Bodee woke up this morning and told us "I don't want to go to church". Um, I don't think so...get use to it kid:)

October 14th, 2012

• Todd headed to Las Vegas this week so I was flying solo around the house. Wednesday night we headed to the pool. Barely anybody was there so the kids had free reign to play. Bodee must have jumped off the edge at least a BILLION times. 
• On Thursday and Friday this week we had Fall Break from school. On Thursday I took the kids to the aquarium with our passes. We got there just in time for the Otter Feeding and it really was fun to watch as the otters tried to find all the fish left out for them to eat. Bodee was pretty cute watching the otters and penguins.

• Thursday night the kids were so good and sat through two hours of me playing stake volleyball at the church. The last game ended at 9pm and they were getting antsy so I told them they have been so good I"ll take them to Kneaders for a little treat after we were done since there was no school on Friday. Brynn tried to negotiate and asked if we could to go Chuck E. Cheese's instead? All the women were cracking up at her request and I had to inform her that would not be happening that night. After volleyball we drove over to Kneaders with Bodee yelling "Rock and Roll, Baby!" that he had learned from his sisters. All the kids picked out their favorite treat (Addy: cheesecake, Brynn: caramel apple, Bodee: pumpkin sugar cookie) and we have a fun night out giggling and making a good memory.
• Todd got home late Friday night so on Saturday we took the kids to the pumpkin patch. There were other fun things to do there as well so the kids really enjoyed themselves. Here are some of the highlights.

• We got Bodee his first tie. Seriously, is this kid a stud or what?? LOVE HIM!

• Other exciting news??? I got a job! I am the Assistant Recreation Coordinator for our city. It averages 5-10 hours per week so not too time demanding. I had my first day on Thursday were we put together the teams for 1st-4th grade rec basketball. I think I'm going to like it:)
• Brynn moment: Completely bawling after I informed her "No, Santa will not be bringing you your own iPad or cell phone this Christmas". "Fine," she replied, "I'll just ask for a credit card!" Really? Really? She can't only be four:)