Feeling Domestic

I spent almost an entire day sewing a table cloth for our kitchen table today. Just so everyone knows, it is very difficult to find a square table cloth. I insisted on getting a counter height table with eight chairs, so I guess it is my own fault.

I have been starting to do more crafts and projects around the house lately. It probably has something to do with the fact that Sam is getting a little older and starting to leave me alone a little more during the day. I bought the supplies for this little bow holder at a craft store. I spent less than $2 for the entire project. The big pink daisy on top has a ribbon hanging on it and I have clipped all of Zoe's bows on the ribbon. Thank you again Shannon for the bows!

Hot Dog Eating Contest

First Annual Monsivais Family Reunion

Genevieve did a great job planning the first annual Monsivais family reunion. It began on Friday night with a "preach and pie". Dad gave a talk and everyone had some pie. The older siblings then attended a temple session at the Provo temple. Anthony and I were too late for all of this. We stayed the night at his parent's house. We started the morning out by having breakfast at Magleby's Fresh. They had all-you-can-eat french toast with the most awesome syrup.
Then we went to a gymnastic gym. We reserved it for an hour and a half. There were tons of fun things to do. It was great!
The three older kids got the hang of things really fast. They were a little hesitant at first, but then they had a blast and went wild.
Sam loved jumping into the pit. He was happy as long as he was active. We were taking him off the swing rope and bouncing off of tramps into it. He was even willing to jump in on his own. As soon as he was in, he would hurry to get out so that he could jump in again.
Anthony was so excited for the contest. His stomach had been a little off for a few days, but he was not going to forfeit the chance to participate.
Sam won first place, finishing four hot dogs in 1 minute and 50 seconds. Hyrum came in second and Jacob came in third. This hot dog belt buckle will be the prize awarded each year.
Here are all of the hot dog eating contest participants. Heidi was a great sport and made sure that all married families were properly represented (Dave had to work).
In the battle of the sexes game (boys against girls), the boys won and 'took home' the trophy.
Sam finished the evening with a nice slushy. He LOVES frozen drinks! I love to give them to him because he will sit with it in his mouth and continue to drink until his hands are frozen.

Where to Begin.....

We went to a carnival this morning (after all of the yard sales of course). There was a clown doing face paintings and balloon animals. Sam got a painting on his hand so he could see it, but he ate it off. They had bounce houses, a pinata, hamburgers, sno cones, and a raffle. I won a backpack, which I thought was a little lame. Anthony won an awesome dutch oven dish that you can use to cook dutch oven meals in the oven. I was so jealous!
Zoe was so proud of her face painting.
Zoe's half-brother Seth is turning seven on the twelfth, so we took him to the dinosaur park to celebrate his birthday. I am so amazed at how the kids never get bored of the park. We have gone every weekend for the last three weeks and Zoe still gets excited when we say we are going. Seth had a lot of fun. He does great when he is with us.
Seth spent the night of course, he loves to stay over here. Sam and Seth decided to play some Xbox before bringing the evening to a close. Sam sat so contentedly in Seth's lap and just watched him play.
The biggest part of Saturday was my birthday present. It came rather early, but I guess Anthony was not able to hide it (I have no idea why, it is not like it was big). I do not know how to play the piano, but Anthony does and he has promised to teach me and the kids how to. I am really excited! He always gives me the best surprises. I fell in love with him after the first time I celebrated my birthday with him. He is always so thoughtful.
We went to the zoo last Thursday. I just bought this new wagon for our zoo adventure. It has two seats in it, which makes it perfect for TWO kids to ride in. Zoe does not like to play by the rules however. She decided to sit between the two boys (the one on the right is from my daycare). She had her little map out and told me where to go. It was soooooo hard to pull three kids up those hills. It was evern harder to outrun the wagon when it was going downhill.
Sam was hilarious at the zoo. Everything was a really big deal. This is his face for such occasions. He would point and make this face and then start to growl. EVERYTHING at the zoo growls, even the birds. (Notice the necklace? He loves necklaces!)

Anthony likes to unwind by playing a little Xbox 360. Sam uses an old Xbox controller and pretends to play with him. He is such a boy. Look at him just lounging in bed playing video games.

Here is a picture of Sam's first black eye. He is at the dinosaur park (last Saturday) posing with Anthony's favorite dinosaur. He loves to lift the kids up and put them in the mouth of the T-rex. Sam is usually pretty good about it and smiles while he does it. The black eye happened when Sam hugged his friend until they both fell off the bed (we have a platform bed so it was not a long fall). Sam's friend went straight down, but Sam caught his cheek on the nightstand.Here is Cave Zoe. She plays along so well. I told her to make a fat face and this is what I got. I love this picture.

This is a video of Sam digging for bones at the dinosaur park. Him and Zoe get way into it and they love to do it every time we are there. It is so fun to watch Sam dig. I could watch him for hours.