Paper Angels

For Family Home Evening on Monday, the kids made paper angels and then wrote on the angels a gift that they could each give to Jesus (December Friend) to put on our tree. I don’t think they quite understood.  Jackson wanted to give him a gun and Ray wanted to give him a camera.  We tried a couple of times and they finally said:  “Be nice to my little sisters” and “Be happy and laugh”.  Then they proceeded to draw belly-buttons on their paper angels.  Whatever…some things work, some don’t. 

Photo Shoot

Everyone who has kids or has tried to take pictures of kids know how difficult it is…Our photo shoot the other day of the kids was difficult, but out of a couple of hundred pictures we managed to find one. 

First, it took about an hour or so to bathe everyone and get them in their Sunday best.  Then, the light wasn’t so great, so Matt took time trying to find a good spot.  Next, the grass was wet (at 1pm!), so we had to put down plastic lids under the blanket.  And then, huge gusts of wind were blowing the kids every which way.  We finally got them seated—Jackson whining because we took him away from his computer, Reagan pouting for any number of reasons, and Madie was chewing on a toy gun—but at least she was smiling!

In the end, they are all adorable to Matt and I and some more fun Sage Family memories were made!

Here they are:

Toy gun in the way:

 

Too much wind:

Too much wind, again:

What was so funny?:

We lost one:

Love this one, except for my pant’s leg:

Madie was smiling in every picture—she was the easiest to work with, this time:

Ray was done with Madie touching her:

This was the one we finally chose:

Love these two pictures of Madie:

 

Staying Warm

Cooler weather is finally here! We love this time of year…it lasts for about 2 weeks here in Southern Cali (and by cooler I mean mid 60’s).

Today is the Day.

Today is the day that Madie finally started to crawl forward.  She has been scooting backward, rolling every which way, and reaching as far as she can—but, today, Thursday, Dec. 3rd at 11:30 am she finally figured out that crawling forward is by far the easiest way to get what she wants.  She will be nine months old next week.

A cactus garden and chocolate factory?

A cactus garden, visit with Santa, and a chocolate factory (complete with samples) all rolled into one hour.  Vegas doesn’t do anything half-way.   Here are some pics (for some reason, we don’t have any of the chocolate factory):

Stay tuned, our Christmas Card pictures are up next!

Cool Mall in Vegas (cont’d from post below)

 

    

Park in Vegas

November 19th (Thurs) thru Nov. 22nd we went to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Las Vegas.  We had such a fun time seeing them and did so many cool things—here are some pictures of us at a park in Vegas:

 

Madie and Elise

Matt and weeze on some crazy contraption that I am sure has sent more than a few kids to the hospital…

 

Elise sliding with Madie

  

Darling picture of Ray.

Another crazy contraption just waiting for a lawsuit…

Here I am—doing what I do best—finding food for my children (someone is always hungry)..

Pony Ride

We went to Logan’s (their second cousin) 1 year old birthday party, and they had pony rides and a bounce house—the kids were in heaven.  Here are a few pics:

 

Los Angeles Temple

The first weekend in November we went out on Friday to visit my brother, sister-in-law and their two little ones for a couple of days.  We spent Friday visiting and eating really good tacos.  We brought Taylor home to spend the night (Jackson and Ray’s cousin) and then we went back out on Saturday to take the kids to visit the temple.  It was cold, dark, and the temple was closed—but they loved running around the lawn and grounds for a bit.  Thanks Adam and Melissa—we had a blast!

 

Bleach

Bleach and me do not mix.  Trying to save two, $4 shirts for the girls, I ruined a $10 shirt (which is actually priceless, since I really only have a couple of nice T-shirts), and a $15 jacket.  Whatever…

Trunk or Treat

We went to the Ward Trunk or Treat Party on Friday night.

Trick or Treat

We had friends and family over for Keri’s white chili and trick or treating.  Yes, my sister is a whoopee cushion.

Halloween Pictures

Here are Halloween 2009 pictures.  Jackson was Luke Skywalker (again) and Ray was Cinderella.  Madie (not shown because she spent the day with Aunt Weeze) was a spider (so cute!).

 

Off Track

So, Jackson has been off track since the last week of October.  I have been trying to do some fun things with the kids.  Unfortunately, three kids, a huge diaper bag, a stroller, a 25 pd baby, sack lunches, sweaters, a cell phone, wallet, directions, and keys is about all I can carry…so, I never had a camera with me.

Here are some of the fun things we have been doing:

1) Pretend City in Irvine—this was by far the coolest children’s museum, ever!  They had a little city for kids—including a fully stocked pretend grocery store, a huge stage with lights/sound (Jackson’s favorite), a beach with real sand, and the list goes on…It was great to see friends there too!

2)  The jump houses—always a favorite!

3) The park a million times—with friends and just by ourselves—usually with sack lunches in tow.

4)  Visit Aunt Melissa and cousin Taylor and cousin Luke in the heart of Los Angeles—with a stop at the LA temple to run around like crazy people on the huge lawn in the freezing cold night.

5) Shopping with Grandma Burnett

6) Visits and a pumpkin patch with Grandma Sage

7) The Library and its fall reading program

8) To top it off—we are heading to Vegas this weekend to visit uncle Buck and aunt Elise.

Lite Brite

Does it say something about my personality that…

1) When Ray and I play Lite Brite, I have to remove the peg she put in (while she is not looking, of course) and replace it with the right color? 

2) How about the fact that I am still putting pegs in the picture—even when she was done about 20 minutes ago? 

3) Or that we are doing all this and we don’t even have batteries to make the picture light up? 

4) Or that I have three dirty toilets that need cleaning…and I begin another picture (even though Ray is no where to be found…)

My dad use to ask me sometimes if I needed my head examined…maybe…

Pumpkin Patches

We took the kids to two pumpkin patches this year.  One with Grandpa and Grandma Sage and Jackson and Reagan’s cousins (technically 2nd cousins) and the other with Grandma Burnett.  Here are some pictures of our adventures with the Hardeys and Grandpa and Grandma Sage:

Family pictures with the pumpkins (We could never get all three of them to look at the camera—funny enough, Madie was the best at it!)

 

Jackson on the huge slide, don’t think he will try that again anytime soon!

The Petting Zoo:

The Pirate Ship (Reagan loved it at first, towards the end, she wasn’t so sure!):

 

On the Train:

Taking crazy pictures:

The pumpkin patch with Grandma Burnett:

They loved these tractors that they got to drive themselves.  Jackson drove right into the haystack or the ride attendant every time!