Parker's Birthday Party

Parker's birthday is much too close to Christmas for me. I think I will change it to December 10, somewhere around there. At any rate, we decided to celebrate his birthday last minute on December 10. It's amazing what you accomplish with one trip to the party store. Parker wanted a Mickey Mouse party. I guess our Disney trip got him hooked!

Here's the birthday boy... and him going back for seconds!

Mom Mom entertaining us all!

There was a mean game of duck-duck goose, which is Parker's favorite game.

Pretty great cake on such short notice!

He loves GeoTrax trains!!

Happy 4th Birthday Parker Gary!! We love you!

Christmas Portraits - The Good Ones!

Merry Christmas friends and family. Consider this my Christmas card for 2009 as I decided to skip it this year!

Things are good here. Rushing around trying to get everyone enough... enough presents, enough time, enough sleep... it's exhausting!

Bash is 6 years old and still enjoying Kindergarten. Just before the holiday break they'll be closing his school and moving to the newly renovated school with the rest of the kindergarten classes in our district. That's very exciting for him. He wants a "DS" for Christmas but I told Santa to wait until next year.

Parker will be 4 years old on Monday. He is desperate to be a "big boy". He carries a back pack to be more like his brother and he is very excited for pre-school next year. We are hoping to get him into the same pre-school that Bash attended but he is down on the waiting list. Todd thinks the teacher has just seen Parker in real-life and is only claiming that he is far down the list... could be! Parker wants a puppy for Christmas and I'm sure Santa would love to bring him one if only Mrs. Claus would let him...

Caroline is 18 months old and an absolute Diva!! She is demanding and spoiled and I have no idea how that happened! She plays well with Parker during the day but awaits her Daddy's home coming each day with much anticipation. He is definitely her favorite person and it's no wonder... he gives in to her at the tiniest pout. Her teenage years should be a blast.

Todd is doing well. Just about into his 10th year with Verizon. He's also continuing his education and I couldn't be prouder of him. Despite many Hunting excursions the deer continue to allude him. I think he's falling asleep out there but he denies it vehemently!

I am happy and feel very blessed. I am writing often. I am also working out a lot more that I ever have before. Still, weight comes off a lot slower that it goes on. That's not fair!

Once again Liz ROHDE has managed to take some adorable photos of my unruly children. Thanks Liz! I know we'll never get that perfect shot I will keep trying!!

Scott Kids Fall Pics

Liz Rhode is our renter and photo-journalist extraordinaire. Luckily, she really likes my kids, too. She was so patient following them around the woods. We never did get that "perfect pic" but we really did capture the kids in their "natural state"!

We took these pics before we went to Disney. It was a good idea. When we got back from Florida, the leaves had all turned and it seemed like fall was over. Today it has been snowing all day so even though the calendar doesn't say so, I think Fall is pretty much over in Pennsylvania!

Posting to say I will be posting...

So I have no pictures on this laptop but I wanted to post a note to tell you that I will be posting soon... I promise!! See my facebook page for a link to some Disney pictures. Sebastian is a roller coaster junkie, Parker becomes speechless when presented with a pretty face (i.e.; Cinderella) and Caroline is the prettiest princess of them all!

Here's a picture of my new (used) mini-van before I smacked my mirror on my neighbor's mailbox (sshhhh... he doesn't know) and lost a tail light cover somewhere between here and Florida.

See you soon!

Palmyra

So we decided last week that we should go to the Hill Cumorah pageant. (I should mention that Jenny made me feel really bad for never having been and bugged me for weeks to go.) At any rate, Tiffany and her two boys and Rachel and me and my three kids and Jenny trekked to upstate NY to Palmyra for the annual Hill Cumorah Pageant. It really was amazing and I am so glad we went. The boys got along pretty well. I didn't get any pictures of the actual

pageant because it is dark and we were on a blanket right in front of the stage which does not allow for an excellent view, but it was still amazing.

Our first stop was the Palmyra temple which actually reminds me a lot of the Sacramento temple. It was raining but we did manage to convince the boys to share the umbrella for some of the time. The babies seemed content enough, anyway! Very beautiful but a little too wet. Next we went into town for lunch and the bookstore (I know, shopping is my favorite part of any trip).

We went to the Sacred Grove on day two and it was amazingly beautiful. I want to go for a walk there every morning!

I wish I had gotten a picture of the protesters or at least the cute "living scriptures" guy who convinced Jenny that she needed to buy hundreds of DVDs for her future children. (In her defense, Jenny does plan on having like twenty kids.) Anyway, then we went to the hotel... in Rochester!! (Anything close to the pageant was booked!) The hotel was the kids' favorite part up to this point. The pool, the beds to jump on, who wouldn't love that? They definitely enjoyed the continental breakfast the next morning (make your own waffles-heck yeah!). But I sincerely think they enjoyed the pageant as well. Parker kept exclaiming "JESUS" everytime he saw him he begged me to let him go and see Jesus. That was a little tough to explain. There was a point when Christ spoke of "little children" and Bash was very sure he was supposed to go up onto the stage then. Anyway, I think it really brought the story to life for them, because the entire trip home was filled with role playing Lamanites versus Nephites. Awesome.

Future prophets and apostles here, people.