A Budding Author, or Eden's First Story

One day Eden decided to write a story all by herself.  I will translate, just in case you can't read it ;)

"Once upon a time there was a big, big wall.  It was very big and it was so big nobody could reach.  The End."

Isn't it so cute?  I didn't even help her.  I came down stairs one morning and it was already complete.  Maybe she will become a famous writer and will be able to take care of me in my old age.

Our Musical Family

Grandma Laura has lots of musical instruments.  The newest acquisition is a harp and guess who can play it? If you said Eden, you would be correct.  Eden has been taking piano lessons and the harp is just like a piano....only standing up.  And she figured out how to play a couple of her songs.  Raise your hand if you think we should get a harp.  I also picked up Grandpa Brent's violin and played a few songs.  It has been such a long time, but it felt nice and it was fun.  There was also lots of beautiful singing and dancing and Uncle Nathan played the guitar for us.  Maybe Sage will play the violin.  You never know :)

Sorry it is sideways...I can't fix it...but it is still cool :)

Thanksgiving

We started off the day by sending all the men-folk and the children out for a hike, and we told them not to come home until lunch time.  It totally worked great.  Grandma Laura and I made the whole Thanksgiving dinner in peace and quiet and it was ready to eat when the troops got home.  I think that should be a new tradition.  They had fun and we had fun.  It was great to have some cousin time too.  Then we all enjoyed a nice dinner, had naps, played games, the girls put on a little fashion show, we played some music (more to come on that) and then we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.  Pretty awesome in my book...and don't forget the best part...leftover turkey sandwiches on rolls with mayo and pickles. Mmmm, my favorite!

Dog doors...not just for dogs :)  Totally the favorite entrance/exit of the younger crowd.  You know if I could fit I would have tried it out :)

Acorns, an Obsession!

Eden has been obsessed with collecting acorns.  I'm not sure why, but the girl loves them.  She started collecting them from our yard.  Then she started bringing them home from preschool.  Every day I would find a snack size baggie full of acorns in her bag.  I almost wanted to write a note to the preschool that said, "Please don't encourage her obsession, we are drowning in acorns here!"  But I refrained.  I made her keep her acorns outside in a pile on the back porch.  And it is a good thing I did because one day she found one of those preschool bags that didn't make it outside and it was full of worms.  WORMS!!!!!  Very gross ones.  Thank goodness the bag was still sealed.  We disposed of that rather quickly and I firmly explained that we were finished collecting acorns FOREVER.  I think the worms kind of grossed Eden out too.  But not enough, because the next week she was in the front yard yelling, "Acorns!"   All I had to say was, "Remember the worms?" and she promptly dropped them.  So she is still obsessed with acorns, but we only admire them from afar.

Zions National Park

Over Thanksgiving break we got to travel to Utah to visit Grandpa Brent and Grandma Laura and do lots of hiking.  We took a trip to Zions National Park one day and had a great day exploring and hiking and even having a picnic lunch in the back of the car.  The girls really liked it, especially Sage.  For some reason, Eden was "very tired" that day and wanted to be carried for most of the hike.  I gave her a piggy-back ride for some of it but I made her walk most of it.  I know, what a mean mother, but she is heavy and wasn't really that tired.  I could tell. :)  We also saw some deer and a few wild turkeys.  Eden does a great turkey call.  The weather was beautiful and the scenery was beautiful.  We had a great time.  I think we all fell asleep on the way home, except of course for Daniel, who was driving.  But hiking is one of his very favorite things to do so I don't think he minded too much.  We ended our trip with a stop at In-n-Out Burger, so in our books, it was a perfect day!

Fun with Grandma Nancy and Grandma Jill

We had a fun visit from Grandma Nancy and Grandma Jill.  They took the girls and Daniel to the butterfly museum ( I got sick - boo) and then after I was feeling better we made a trip to the zoo.  There was a sweet little butterfly at the museum that just didn't want to leave Eden alone.  And she was completely thrilled.  Every time we go she wants so badly for a butterfly to land on her finger and this one loved her to pieces.  She even landed on Sage - I'm not quite sure that Sage was as excited as Eden but she tolerated it well.  We were glad that Grandma and Grandma were here to have so much fun with us, and we are sorry that most of  us got sick, including Grandma Nancy.  But we still had a great time.

All About Eden

Eden got to make a poster board with pictures about her and then she got to present it at school.  Sage got to come with us to see Eden, which is her dream, to go to school with Eden.  We got there a little early and Sage got to participate in music time.  She was so sad when we had to leave.  At least she will be old enough for school next year.  Eden loves the spotlight, I included a little video clip so you can see how comfortable she is with that pointer in her hand :)