November

It looks like I've been negligent around here again...sorry!

November passed quickly this year - we had a visit from my parents early in the month, D's birthday in the middle, and a camping excursion at the end...some quicky updates and pics:

OP loved working with Gpa during his visit:

The boys are starting to really play well together:

E is loving school, making new friends this year, enjoying the new teacher, and getting ready to be SIX on Xmas Eve:

OP is busy-busy. He enjoys exploring the house, going up and down our single stair, escaping outside with his siblings, and eating like a teenager!

C is doing great at school - she produced a play for the talent show, is still a reading machine, and continues to be a fantastic helper at home, especially playing and helping with the babies.

Thanksgiving weekend we headed out East, near Safford, AZ, and stayed in a great little State Park cabin:

 

We had to break out our winter wear and fleece blankets for chilly mornings and nights

C seems to have warmer blood than some of us!

 

 

OP loved being outside so much!

There was a great playground, artesian spring (with minnows!) and kid-friendly hike nearby:

At the end of the hike was an interpretive Indian village, with examples of different houses used by local peoples over the years...our favorite was the pueblo:

 

...though the mud hut was fun, too!

Evidence that I was also on this trip...

 

Our cabin was nestled among the cattails, which provided hours of entertainment for the big kids:

What is a camping trip without marshmallows?

Our trip ended with a double rainbow to guide us home...(of course, that was nearly impossible to capture on camera):

...and that pretty much wraps up last month for the Bass gang!

Four in one!

Four kids, one picture, that is...

And for a change, mama!

If you want to see more, here you go :)






Happy November everyone!

Halloween 2009

A few pictures from tonight...hoping for some better pics in the morning (I know, I know). We went to the LDS church 2 streets up for the annual chili/fry bread/root beer dinner...got back just before 7, and kids were too excited or too tired to want to pose for me. I got nothing post-worthy of my skeleton boy, but here are my two bats and a witch:

Hope you all had a haunted Halloween!

This week

Monday
    not much happened - went for a walk to a nice park on the canal system...with a big new climbing structure for L

Tuesday
    L had his weekly playgroup, which was a little Halloween party. I dressed up both the boys in easy-travel costumes...

This super easy skeleton has also been worn and loved by both big sisters...

C, 2003

C, 2004

E, 2005

Wednesday
     Got called around 10 to pick up C from school, as she was feverish and lethargic. She and L watched movies most of the afternoon.

Thursday
     Never left the house!

Friday
     (a little ahead of myself)

The girls have a half day and the school Fall Festival, which we'll all attend. I made aprons to contribute to the money-raising raffle...

Side A1

Side B1

Side A2

Side B2

My smallest helper:

Halloween Dry Run

D took the Big Three to Boo at the Zoo this morning, while I stayed home with a very toasty and sad little OP.

After a dose of Tylenol, OP is doing slightly better, but he spent the morning dozing on my chest and whining :(

Now L appears to be hot and acting the same way, so it looks like another round of sick for the Bass Crew.

Pre-Halloween Boys

I embellished these overalls for L last year...




And realized with a little length addition, they would still fit this year! So I added Halloween fabric to the cuffs (you can just see the spider/bat fabric to the left of O), and decorated a matchy-matchy pair for O today...excuse the totally unmatching shirts (tie dye and Hanna PJs, anyone?), but here are my boys tonight:


(sorry, it was a cell phone pic)

And a few more...for good measure :)

O's back (note the opposite but similar decorations):


A slightly better shot at the newly extended O'alls from last year...



My sweetie smiley baby:


The Big Three:



Stay tuned for pumpkin patch pics of the whole crew soon :)

Labor Day camping pictures

We went to the Mogollon Rim camping for Labor Day weekend...had a ball! L keeps asking us, "more camping?" Soon!

Mid-October Catch-Up

Greetings, dear readers. Apologies for the lack of action once again...quick updates for now:

*chicken pox came and left rather uneventfully. C and L have had problems with picking, leaving scars and wounds...I'm giving them all Vitamin E orally and topically, hoping to minimize the longevity of said scars.

*we traveled to San Diego - me in a minivan with four kids for over six hours...and you know what? They were all fantastic! I moved seats around and ended up with E and O in the way back, C and L in the middle. E was incredible keeping the baby happy and fed...I loved watching her rise to the challenge and simply shine! D flew over on Friday night and we came home Monday.

*my mom took us to Legoland - it was PERFECT for my crew! We also had passes from a local friend and D and I took the kids to SeaLand...again, spent a lovely day - how can a sunny day in San Diego be bad?

*OP is crawling - not just army style anymore - eating everything he can, and having a "must be held" stage...good thing I have that tiny little babywearing collection (ha!).



*D and I got our passport applications submitted - the first step towards India!

*L is the most amazingly agile little kid...and a bit of a daredevil too. I will not be surprised if we end up with some ER trips with this one...

*E and C continue to love school; C's reading has not slowed, E is getting quite good herself. C has chess once a week after school, and it's really fun to see how excited she is about it.

*Our garage door died...one was DOA when we moved here, and we'd limped along with the other...they were the cheap-o aluminum, non-insulated hand-opening kind. Even the operational door was barely so - the hardware was long missing/broken, but doors weren't really high on our list. However, when the springs busted, leaving a guillotine that only D could actually lift to open, it was time to bit the bullet. We had both replaced, and couldn't be happier! I even have the little magic button in my car now, so I pull up to the house, and voila! Open door.



That's about it. Again, I sign off with promises to be better.