Ode to a shower head

I know I'm a little crazy right now but I love my new shower head! I had been noticing for a while that it was requiring a lot more work to get wet in the shower. The water pressure just wasn't the same. So I mentioned this to Ryan and he promptly went to Lowe's and bought a new shower head and installed in on Sat. And I love my new shower head. It is so great! And if my shower was not so not picture friendly I would take a picture of my new shower head and share it with the world.
The End

Thanksgiving

OK so I know that Thanksgiving was like forever long ago and I am way behind on my blog but better late than never. Story of my life. Well as many of you know we drove to Houston to see Ryan's parents on their mission. Ryan's brother Aaron also joined us. Good times shared by all and a really neat experience for us all to see Bobby and Mikey in this setting.Mikey at her desk in the mission office
Bobby showing the boys where he get's all his missionary work done
I know there are many Turkey Bowls that go on but we had a baseball game instead and had a great time. The boys aren't at all competitive - and they definately didn't inherit that from me
Jack pitching - now I wish you could all see this in real life. He really takes great effort to make sure that whoever is on whatever base (even when no one is there) does not steal a base. Not sure if that made much sense but trust me its pretty funny.
There's no crying in Baseball!!

Unfortunately someone didn't think to take a picture of the homerun queen (that would be me)

I think the kids were a little surprised that I could actually hit the ball but I think in the end they decided that mom really is better than dad.

Aaron and Mikey showing off the turkey

Good eats! The Thanksgiving spread

All and all a good time!!

Old Mesilla

Last weekend we took a short road trip with the Valles family to Old Mesilla in Las CrucesOutside the old courthouse where Billy the Kid "supposably" was hung
It's amazing how much fun a water fountain can be to a four year old who was "SO thirsty"

I just love these pictures and yes I realize that this blog is a little "Jack heavy" as Ryan puts it, but I just couldn't resist how adorable this is.


Needless to say I'm sure you can imagine that he wasn't so dry after that drink.

Halloweeny Night

Thankfully this year I was not in the hospital for Halloween! Our ward had a Halloween "party" and trunk or treat. The party was not so much but the trunk or treat went well. Anytime you can collect mass amounts of candy in 15 minutes - its a good thing. Of course we invited our adopted family - the Valles.Larissa the witch, Abby the fairy, Payton the red ninja, and Jack the fireman

Jack's Birthday

I'm sure you are all impressed with the cake that I didn't decorate myself
I know its been said before - but do you think he looks a little like me? I'm just saying
The birthday party - Larissa, Payton, Jack, and Abby
Its so great to have a child that wants simple things for his birthday. He just really wanted to ride his bike. I know to some it may be odd, but our church parking lot is really ideal for bike riding and although it is quite common to see a car in a parking lot we only go when cars are not around. I do try to teach my children important things in life like avoiding playing around cars

Sweet Ride

For those of you that have inquired about the newest addition to our family and Ryan's most favorite toy

Building and Growing

So we went to Lowes this morning to get some things for Ryan's lab at work and they had this great thing going on. Every 2nd and 4th Sat they have a kid's program "Build and Grow" where they have a little project that the kids make and it's totally FREE! Today they were making spiders. We happened to show up right as they were ending but the guy let us do it anyway. The boys got these great Lowe's aprons, goggles, a certificate and every time they make something they get a new patch to sew on the apron. LOVE IT!!!! They had a great time and it was a great family time activity. I highly recommend it - we are looking forward to doing this again!
He really did have a better time than this picture shows
Super Payton - with his lightning reflexes and keen sense of eight-year-oldness he conquered the Lowe's kingdom.
The Goof Troup

More pictures of our day

We think its a ram? A goat? Not sure
We saw mostly does- after we saw the little baby deers with the mommas, Payton asked why none of the male deer were around. This gave Ryan a wonderful opportunity to explain the nature of the wild kingdom. That in itself was entertaining. All Payton had to say was "it's a good thing humans aren't like that"

Just a Lazy Saturday Afternoon

We had to break in the new jeep so we took it for a ride in the mountains near El Paso and ended up in Cloudcroft. Saw some pretty cool things!

It didn't take long for Jack to fall asleep

Payton in the back seat loving the drive

I couldn't resist

Doesn't he look so excited to be driving

Good Times

I know you can't tell from this picture but apparently if you put on a little High School Musical Jack stands up on the kitchen counter for a stage.

Can you say Bet on it!!!
Someone forgot to tell Jack to put on his silly face
Yes - I am teaching my children the Lindblom pout
What can I say... they are just the cutest kids you've ever seen and it looks like they just love love love eachother- at least when a camera is around