Thanksgiving

We Spent Thanksgiving in Virginia with Scott's family.

We attempted family pictures. I liked a few, but want to try again sometime. Violet smiled in almost every picture...it was the older kids we had trouble with.

Scott wanted to carry on the Park family pie tradition of one pie per person. We had Mincemeat, maple pecan, pumpkin, turtle cheesecake, lemon meringue, apple crisp, apple pie, chocolate cream, banana cream and key lime.

The turkey, sweet potatoes, rolls, potatoes, gravy, rainbow jello, and cranberry salad were all fabulous!

The kids enjoyed a day at the Smithsonian. We also stopped in Scranton PA at Steamtown on our way home.

Violet was a little shy in the beginning, but warmed up to her Grandma and Grandpa Jensen.

Scott's brother Brad came from Florida with his family. His kids are older than ours, but the twins loved the baby and Ruby was quite popular with Brad's teenage daughters. I honestly don't know if this is Jason or Jackson holding Violet (the other one is making her laugh).

Happy Halloween

The kids have way too much candy. They filled their buckets to the top and Daddy put the surplus in a pillowcase that he brought along to trick-or-treat, just in case. Sam is a wolf, Owen is Indiana Jones, and Ruby is a princess. She actually had a mermaid costume, but this little dress-up is her favorite thing to wear. She named it Rosie and wears it everyday.

New York City in the Fall

My Aunt LuAnne and Aunt Rebecca came to visit and we spent a day in New York City. We visited Lady Liberty, drove around the bright lights of Time Square, ate pizza and had extra large portions of ice cream and frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity's. We stopped at Bloomingdales to shop for Violet. She was a really good girl for a whole day in the city, but she did manage to make a mess of two complete outfits.

The rest of the week was lots of fun, too. Shopping in Mystic, enjoying hot apple cider and cider donuts from Clyde's and playing games.

Headboard

Scott started this project several months ago. We argued over the fabric for the headboard for awhile. I wanted to do a pretty print (like the stuff you see from an Anthropologie store) and Scott wanted brown. We finally compromised on a solid fabric, but a pale blue suede instead of brown. Scott did such a beautiful job on the maple frame, sanding and staining for a gorgeous color and smooth finish. I'm glad that he convinced me to do a solid fabric because when we were upholstering it I realized how difficult lining up a pattern would be.

The morning Scott finished the headboard I made blueberry muffins. Sam was at the neighbors house and Ruby and Owen were playing upstairs. I called from the kitchen for Scott to eat a muffin before I put them away. He came in the kitchen, took a bite, and we heard a loud BANG from the stairs. I panicked thinking it was Ruby falling down the stairs, but it was Sam coming home through the front door where Scott had left the headboard while he came in the kitchen to eat a muffin. The headboard was scratched on two sides where it fell against the stair rail and the wall. So, who's fault is it? Of course it doesn't matter, it was just an accident, but we had a playful debate about it.

Before and After

I've always wanted to try my hair super short. Besides the humid heat driving me nuts, Violet was getting her hands stuck in my hair and it tickled her face when I was holding her. I was always wearing my hair in a pony tail, so I decided to do something drastic.

New York Vacation

For our summer vacation this year we went to New York to experience Niagara Falls, visit LDS church history sites and see the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra. We met up with Grandma and Grandpa Jensen and had a wonderful time. Niagara Falls was truly spectacular. The pageant was amazing and Sam said that was the best part of the whole trip. I definitely felt a special spirit and a feeling of peace as we walked through the grove and visited the home of Joseph Smith. This is a trip I've wanted to take for a long time and we especially enjoyed spending it with Scott's parents.

Grammy and Grampy (as Ruby fondly calls them) with the kiddies.

This was taken on the Canada side of the Falls. The grass was greener in Canada...it looked cleaner, the grounds were prettier and you definitely get a closer and better view of the power of Niagara Falls. We just wanted to use our passports.

Notice the beautiful rainbow behind our muscle man Owen.

Ruby thought the Falls were a little bit scary, but she didn't seem to mind getting super wet. The closer you get the less you can see because the roaring mist is blinding.

Sam is blown away by the Falls

The Book of Mormon is published in 108 languages

The Joseph Smith farm house

Violet was a good baby for our trip. She handled the long car rides pretty well and went to sleep right away at the hotels, even with noisy siblings in the room.

Ruby takes a bite of her "little" treat from Grandpa while waiting for the pageant to start.

A Busy Month

Our family had a busy and exciting month. Scott's parents came to visit and be a part of Samuel's baptism and Violet's baby blessing. It was wonderful to have them here for two such very important events. We are so pleased that Sam chose to be baptized and I'm so amazed how grown-up he is.

Violet wore the same beautiful dress that my Mom made for Ruby.

Silas and Violet

My sister Karilee came for a visit with her baby Silas and step-children Kylie and Daniel. The kids had a great time together (they are the same ages as Sam and Owen). Silas is the happiest and friendliest little guy. He seemed to like Ruby the best...she liked to make him laugh. Violet wasn't used to some other baby making noises in the house and his happy outbursts would startle her. I'm so glad Karilee came, we had a nice time getting to know her little family.

Sam's Birthday Face

Sam had his 8 year-old birthday this month. He had a great time with his friends catching bugs and roasting marshmallows for his "Outdoor Adventure" birthday party. He had an ice cream cake, which he and many of his friends thought would taste better if they ate it with their faces.

Pretty Girl

Violet looked so cute on Sunday, so we took some pictures. We even got her to laugh!

Owen's B-day

Happy Birthday to Owen! He is six years old now. We had a Lego birthday party with lots of friends. The kids built their own lego vehicles and Scott built a ramp for the cars to race. We guessed how many Legos were in the jar and did Lego mazes. Thankfully the weather was nice and we were able to send all the kids outside to run around. Late, the night before the party, I made the Lego cake. I had finished it and was about to finally go to bed, when half of the top piece fell over. I had to reconstruct one section and make more frosting in blue for the bottom section. Owen was happy with his cake and his party. He got lots of great Lego presents from his friends. We sent them home with goody bags and Lego Minifigures.

*Violet was such a good baby and slept through most of the party.

Violet

It has been 7 weeks since Violet came to us and she is sleeping 7 hours at night. She is a smiley little girl and I thought I heard her laugh a little the other day. I tried to get her to do it again, but she didn't. Ruby is very sweet and soft with her. We love our little angel!

Ruby's Birthday

Little Ruby is now three years old. She is such a big girl, especially compared to a brand new baby at home. Grandma Jensen took Ruby to Build-a-Bear for a special birthday outing. Scott constructed her castle cake. I enjoyed watching Sam, Owen and Ruby play together. It was funny to see the boys flying her Tinker Bell fairies around the room.

Welcome Baby

April 3, 2011 we welcomed Violet Leona to our family. She was 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long, the smallest of our children (the boys were over 8 lbs. and Ruby was over 7 lbs.). She was born on her actual due date at 3:33 pm. She is a sweet and healthy baby.

The kids love their little sister! Owen was a little cautious of her, but Sam and Ruby were both excited to hold her and touch her soft hair.

Violet's proud Papa

Here is Bethany entering the hospital. She had been having contractions all week and a couple false alarms, so after talking to the doctor, we went to the hospital and with a little help, Violet was born less than four hours later.

Christmas and Snow

Ruby loves her Snow White dress-ups

Owen gave Sam a penguin pillow pet named "cuddle puddle"

Owen is very excited to build his new Lego sets

We celebrated a wonderful Christmas at Scott's parent's home. Traveling to Virginia has become our family tradition, since we have yet to have a Christmas at our own house. I enjoy this tradition and wouldn't know what to do if it was just our family instead of having Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Deanne, and Uncle Nate's family to spend it with. For Christmas Eve we have homemade pizzas followed by a family talent show and reading of the Christmas story. For Sam's talent, he made up an original Christmas song that he sang and even passed out words that he typed himself for the rest of us to sing along. Owen did somersaults and various body configurations. Ruby danced during everyone else's musical numbers. She was quit adorable saying "thank you" and bowing at our applause (which was really for the other performer).

Christmas morning we were up at 7 am (it was 6 am when I was a kid and I'm so glad I get that extra hour of sleep now that I'm an adult). My parents skyped with us from Ukraine and we set the laptop up in the living room so they could be a part of the thrill of Christmas morning.

We returned home to snow and the kids had a great time making "snow dogs". It has snowed again since then and Ruby loves to be out in it. I took her out today, thinking she would get cold and want to quit soon, but I had to bring her in kicking and screaming. She was covered in white from all her snow angels, but not the least bit fazed by the cold.