Dear Santa...

Halloween 2008

Halloween was fun at our house this year. Lots of dead things and a couple funny things too. Of course Dad as Mr. T was the highlight of the day. What a fun Dad! Too bad Mom is so lame when it comes to halloween, or anything else for that matter.

Sadie's Third Birthday

We had Sadie's birthday at a park in West Jordan with our friends the Hills. They have a daughter who was born the day after Sadie and it has become a tradition to celebrate their birthdays together. We had so much fun. I made them both a purse cake and there were plenty of presents to go around. The kids had a blast playing on the playground and eating way too much cake.

Colton Turned 5

Colton's birthday was Friday, he turned 5. We made a robot cake. He was so excited and although I didn't think it was that great he thought it was the best cake ever. He told his preschool class all about it and was so excited for me to bring it to school so they could all see it. The kids at school sang to Colton and each got a piece. They loved it.

Then we came home and had a family celebration. Colton got a little electric go kart and some k'nex blocks from Grandma and Grandpa Mellenthin. What a fun day!

Colton had his first day of his second year of Preschool

Look how big my almost 5 yr. old looks. CRAZY!

Look How Much Fun We Had!

Downata Hot Springs, Downy Idaho

We went camping in Downy Idaho over Labor Day weekend. We had a great time. We camped at a place called Downata Hot Springs. Basically they have built a pool and then filled it with the water from the hot spring. There are also two really big water slides which my kids could not get enough of! They loved them. Colton went down at least 50 times, and once we got Riley to try it we couldn't get her to stop either. The weekend was so fun. We spent time together as a family which is always great. We put pennies on the railroad track which is extremely close to the campsite and the trains are very very very loud all night long. We swam quite a bit and had fun sitting by the campfire visiting. We did have a little trauma when Justin split his head open when he fell off his rip stick. It didn't turn out to be very serious but with the amount of blood loss he had we could have sworn he would have permanent brain damage. It all turned out o.k. in the end though. Overall it was a really fun trip and we are thinking of making it a yearly trip.

The Really Big Birthday Cake

So my friend Karen turned 40 a few weeks ago. Her sweet husband threw a surprise party for her and I volunteered to do the cake. I have been dabbling in cake making lately and I wanted to see what I could do if I really put my mind to it. This is what happened...

and this...

Pretty cool, huh? Colton's birthday is coming up and I am trying to decide what to do for it. I am really enjoying working on these cakes and the best part is that they taste really good too.

Was that flirting?

Do 9 year old boys flirt? I think mine does. The other day when I was attending Justin's lacrosse game I was annoyed by this blonde boy who would not stop talking. Seriously, he was saying the stupidest things and just wouldn't stop. As I was getting increasingly annoyed I realized that this boy was really only being super obnoxious when he was around the 16-17 year old girl referee. He was saying things that didn't make sense and laughing at himself and just overall making a complete fool of himself. As I watched it became clear he was actually flirting with her or I guess a 9 yr. olds version of flirting. A guess the process goes something like this... hitting in kindergarten, kissing in 1st and 2nd grade, and now we have graduated to making a complete idiot of yourself. This boy was mine, my sweet really funny, disobedient at times boy! When did he get old enough to do things like flirt, especially with a girl twice his age? Where did my baby go?

but Miss Pop is in there

So the other day I send Sadie, my almost 3 year old, into the bathroom so go potty. She comes right back out and says to me, "Mom, I can't go right now because Miss Pop is in there." I am lying on the couch and really have no intention of getting up, my sweet husband is close by so I ask him to go figure out what Sadie means and take her to the potty. They both go in the bathroom and then both come out. Brian then says to Sadie, "When Miss Pop is done going then you need to go, o.k.?" "O.K.," she replies. So apparently Sadie has an imaginary friend. Funny!

What is your personal best?

So I came home from visiting a friend the other night and my kids were all gathered around Dad who was typing on the computer. They had decided to make a family record book and Brian was helping them think of categories for it. It was really fun. We decided rather than having us compete we would just get everyone’s personal best. Obviously the height isn’t really one some of us can improve on but things like flexibility (Brian) some of us could get a little better at and Mom really could improve on the ripstik. What a joy every single one of my sweet toe heads are and my husband too. Life is great in a family of eight! Here are a few pictures I took with my new camera I got for Mother’s Day and a list of our personal bests!

Height Records:
Dad 36 70 in
Mom 32 66.5 in
Justin 8 52 in
Jillian 7 48.5 in
Riley 7 48.5 in
Colton 4 40 in
Sadie 2 34.5 in
Marcus 2 mo. 22

Toe touch (flexibility) Records:
Dad 36 -.5
Mom 32 7.5 in
Justin 8 3.5 in
Jillian 7 4.5 in
Riley 7 4.5in
Colton 4 7 in
Sadie 2 5 .5 in
Marcus 2 mo. 5 in

Ripstick Riding:
Dad 36 5 min
Mom 32 0 sec
Justin 8 25.5 min. on account of the snow that starting to fall
Jillian 7 2 sec
Riley 7 2 sec
Colton 4 0 sec
Sadie 2 0 sec
Marcus 2 mo. 0 sec.

Standing Long Jump Records:
Dad 36 93 in.
Mom 32 56 in.
Justin 8 62 in.
Jillian 7 55 in.
Riley 7 51 in.
Colton 4 40 in.
Sadie 2 10 in.
Marcus 2 mo.

We stopped because of time constraints but hopefully we will finish with the rest soon. I will post when we do more.

Marcus finally got a Birth Announcement!

I have finally buckled down and made a birth announcement for Marcus. I know I am a little slow but he is baby number six after all. I know that's not a good excuse but it's all I got. He is such a sweet baby. He really never cries and is so easy going. The kids are still very much in love with him and spend a lot of time touching, kissing and tugging on him. Life is good at the Mellenthin's these days!

Girls Dance Recital

Riley and Jillian are quite the dancers these days. They had a recital the other night. They performed a modern dance which was great.

Here's the blueberries and the strawberry posing before they took the stage.

Justin's Piano Recital

Justin has been taking piano for about 9 months. He is getting quite good and earned a superior rating from Federation. Here is a picture of him with his certificate.

Zoo Trip 2008

So Mom was crazy and decided to take the kids to the zoo with a bunch of friends. It happened to be spring break and the zoo was CRAZY, but we did have a fun time. Here is a picture of the kids we went with. I am sure there are a few missing but as you can tell it was a wild ride!

Easter

So Easter was great! The kids went to two egg hunts and got way too much loot.

Brian and I were discussing how sad it is that Easter does not get the same hype as Christmas. It is a much more important day and yet it tends to be overlooked.

We are truly grateful for Christ's sacrifice and for the atonement, we are grateful for a day that reminds us of this great event.

Marcus is here!

Sweet baby Marcus Tom was born March 10th at 6:45 p.m. He weighed in at 8lbs. 3oz. By far our biggest baby. He is so sweet and cute with his perfect skin and button nose. (Who are we kidding he looks just like every one of our other kids, seriously EXACTLY the same.) What can I say, when you have a good thing you should at least try and duplicate it a time or two or six. We are really glad to have him here safe and sound. All the kids just love him so much! We fight over who's he is on a regular basis. Sadie is convinced he is her baby and no one else's. Let's be honest every two year old thinks everything is theirs, right? Anyway, he has brought such joy and peace to our home and we are truly grateful for this sweet new addition.

Happy Valentines Day

We are not really big on this holiday in our house. Ussually we don't do anything but this year Mom and Dad did splurge a little. The kids got another dance pad for their ddr game. The fighting over the one was getting a little much! (Plus, Mom really wants to go head to head with Justin and knock him down a peg or two.)

Happy Birthday Riley and Jillian

O.K. O.K. I know that I have been a big slacker its just that there has been absolutely nothing interesting going on over here. Well untill this week. It was the twins birthday on the 12th and so we had a fun little family party. They got Dance Dance Revolution from their Grandma and Grandpa Mellenthin. It has been a really fun addition to the game system. Everyone seems to really love it, especially their older brother who seems to be able to swindle hours of playtime away from them. It seems he is alway about to win and he just needs to play one more song and so on and so on. Riley and Jillian also got new bunkbeds from Mom and Dad. They have been spending hours in there room since which is nice for Mom who is having trouble keeping up with all five kids when she is eight months pregnant. Unfortunately the TV has become the babysitter. Hopefully, life will get back to normal soon and everyone will not have fried there brains in the process.

Nothing new here but I made a commitment to write once a week so here I am.

It is snowing outside and it is so beautiful. I love to watch the snow fall but I hate to go out in it. Apparently my kids have the same feelings. They are sitting in front of the t.v. and playing video games rather than playing outside. Oh well, they go back to school next Tuesday and life will be very different. We will be back to our very busy schedule of homework and the like.

I recently read the book "The Robe" by Lloyd C. Douglas. It was a very interesting and enlightening book. I felt a little like I was studying scripture which was actually nice for me. I have a lot of trouble finding time to do that. The Robe is a story of a Roman Soldier who wins Christ's robe after his crucifixion and goes on a quest to find out who Christ was and what was so special about him. It was nice to read about the miracles that were performed and to look at all that happened in a little different way. I also enjoyed learning about the Roman empire a little bit and what was happening at the same time as Christ's life. You never really think about all that together because you learn about them separately in school and church and the like.

Well I told you nothing new was happening here and sorry to bore you but hey I am sticking to my commitment at least for the month of January. Hopefully I can continue!

Sadie is an underwear wearer and she's only 2!

Sadie is officially potty trained. Now many of you may not know this but this is HUGE NEWS at the Mellenthin home. She decided she wanted to wear underwear a few weeks before Christmas and Brian and I said absolutely not, no way, we are not doing this, no, no, no.... but she persisted! She would not relent. We would put her in a diaper and three minutes later she would be running around in a pair of her sisters underwear and not just wearing them but keeping them dry and clean. She has literally done this on her own. Maybe because Brian and I had nothing to do with it it will last. I am not holding my breath. Since Brian and I are the worst Potty Trainers in the known world we are excited for her and her new found freedom but we are waiting for the ball to drop. I am sure when the new baby is born she will revert and then Brian and I will feel a little more comfortable. This is seriously throwing us for a little loop, I mean really a child who actually stays dry and clean all day..... and she's only two, what is the world coming too?