Halloween Fun!

First, I apologize for my lack of posts...things have been so busy around here! I have been taking lots of pics...just not taking the time to post them. Here are some pics of Halloween. It was a crazy busy day between class parties, our neighborhood party and tricking or treating. So much that we had the kids in bed by 8:30 that night and I don't think we heard a peep from any of them. We were asleep by 9:00 ourselves! This year Riley decided to be Elvis with a little twist....what he would look like if he were still alive...with a gray afro wig and all! Jordan was a clone trooper, Brock a cow....just because I thought it was so cute! And Abby Hannah Montana...but at the last minute she decided she didn't like the wig so she just wore the dress. Our neighbor through a party with fun things like bobbing for apples and lots of goodies. Then we gathered the kids up and went trick or treating. The neighborhood we are in is so perfect...flat roads with 500+ houses...every kids dream! Brock so enjoyed the idea that he could walk up to a house, knock on a door and just get candy! He would scream after every house, "I got a treat...look it daddy and mommy...I got a treat!" So cute!

My 100th Post + the kids go back to school!

I have been sitting around trying to think of something exciting to post for my the 100th post but to no avail. My brain is mush...too many house decisions to be made! I think I will post pics of my kids going back to school because in reality they are the reason that I am blogging. I think when they are all grown up this will be a great thing to share with them (especially since I am not a scrapper...sorry Kristi...maybe someday I will be.) I found a website blurb.com that will turn my blog into a book so I thought every year or so I can have 4 copies made and put them away for when they get older. So here are the pics of the kids first day back to school. It has been an adjustment but they are all starting to meet friends and enjoy it!

Splash Montana

We celebrated the end of our 2 weeks of swim lessons by staying at Splash Montana for the day. It was torture on the kids having to have lessons and then packing up to leave...longingly looking at the waterslides wishing they could stay and play! I had mentioned in an earlier post how the waterpark is only $2.75 for kids which is a great deal. I did however find our they you can't bring in your own food and that is where they get the $ back that they lose on admission. Oh well, you can't put a price on fun, can you? The kids loved all parts of the waterpark, the slides, the lazy river and especially the log walk. There are no pictures of Brock because I took him to the daycare before we went. The idea of taking 4 children by myself to the waterpark was a little much :o)

Swim lessons begin!

We just started swim lessons today. The kids are taking lessons at Splash Montana, our local outdoor water park for the next two weeks. They were a little hesitant to go, especially Riley, as you can tell by the look in his picture. But once we got there and they started lessons they really enjoyed it. They class format was great. They moved the kids to different areas to swim which included swimming around the lazy river. Jordan thought that was pretty cool. I enjoyed the some semi-quiet time while they were in the water from 10:00-10:45 (I dropped Brock off at busy hands, a local drop off daycare that he loves!) I might even take a book and get to read the next few days! That would be a treat! We are also planning on staying at the park after lessons a couple days so the kids could play.

Riley's 3rd grade project!

Just thought I would share Riley's amazing solar system project that was due today. This was his big 3rd grade project and all of the kids in his class did amazing work! Everyday I am amazed at what a smart boy he is! He has been spitting out space facts for the last several weeks as they have been learning about the solar system. A lot of the time I am like "Oh yea" and "Oh really I didn't know that" but when I stop and really pay attention I realize that he is a brilliant young man with a love for learning (just like his dad!) I really need to do that more...slow down and pay attention! But it is so easy to caught up in the business of life. So for today I just wanted to share how proud I am of Riley!

Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails!

Brian went out with a friend from Idaho Fish and Game this weekend to do a "Rattlesnake Round-up." Basically they are trying to kill some of the rattlesnakes that live in the hills behind our homes. They got a few complaints last year about rattlesnakes in people's yards....yikes! They ended up beheading about a dozen snakes and then brought them back to our house to show the boys. The creepy thing is the snakes can keep moving for several hours even without their heads....yuck! Anyway, the boys thought it was pretty cool to hold the headless snakes as they continued to slither around!

A week in the life of the Moser's!

I realize this blog is suppose to be "A Day in the Life of the Moser's" but who has time for that! Especially with the crazy weeks we have been having. So I thought I would do a quick update.

• Went to Women of Faith. What awesome speakers and singers! Had a great time with girlfriends. Think we're getting old...stopped at Walgreen's for earplugs, Tums, GasX (not for me) and sleeping pills to assure we would all sleep soundly (because of the snoring...once again, not me!) Ate too much food, laughed so much (almost peed our pants...again not me), got to sit in the front row (Thanks to EllaMae), got to see Kristi (great visiting) and last but not least...did a little shopping!

Nicole C. Mullen at Women of Faith ~ what an amazing voice!

Having dinner with the girls at Outback!

Our big Walgreens purchase!

• Snack Mom on Monday for Abby's preschool. She is starting to read which is so exciting! She can read a few beginner books very well. It is amazing to see them grow!

Abby doing the calendar and weather.

Brock playing in the sandbox indoors (what a brave preschool teacher!)

• Bunco Monday night! It is always a great time when you can get out of the house and also get out of making dinner! We has a fun time visiting. I can't wait to meet some new girls in Missoula and start up another Bunco group.
• Lunch Duty on Tuesday. This is when I realized I am not cut out to be a teacher! It was fun to hang out with the boys for a little bit however.
• Stayed home an cleaned on Wednesday. By this point in the week, I had been so busy my house was out of control so I spent the day cleaning and playing with the kids.
• Got pictures taken for the website. My friend Kelly is an amazing amateur photographer and she offered to take pics of our team for the website. Of course, that day ended up being the rainiest day of the week. She still managed to get some great pictures!
  

• Had Missoula group. Always a good time discussing plans and praying!
  
• Took Brock to Dr. for well baby check. He is getting so big. 29 lbs. (70%) and 35" (85%) Got a few shots and all looks good!
  
• Missoula trip. Brian left at 5:30am to go to Missoula for the day. He met someone about a potential building that we may be able to use for our church. The meeting went well and we are very excited to see if we will be able to meet there. He made it back at 11:00pm. What a long day!
  
• Showed the house on Thursday It is still being shown even though we have a pending sale. Hopefully we will sell it one way or the other soon....uuuuggghhhh....I don't like the waiting!
  
• Went to dinner Yes, I am certifiably crazy....I took all 4 children to Applebee's by myself for dinner. The showing was at 6:30 so we had to be gone during dinner time. The kids actually did really well!
  
• Bible Study I love my Friday morning bible study! It's a great time to visit with the girls and get in to the Word.
• Showing the house again on Saturday. We are trying to keep the house clean because we have another showing tomorrow morning (did I mention I am ready for this house to be SOLD!)
• Looking forward to the weekend! Hopefully it includes a date night and some relaxing time with the kids!
  

Chapel

Riley and Jordan have chapel one Friday a month. I just love going and watching the kids perform skits, songs and get "character" awards. Last Friday Riley's class played "In the Jungle" on the marimbas. He did a great job! I recorded it using my camera so it is lower quality but you can still hear the song and see him a little bit.



We are definitely going to miss Cornerstone next year, but I know God is blessing us with another great school. We have decided to put them in public school in Missoula. We just feel like this will be a great way to get to know people and to be a part of the community. And because we have already purchased our lot, we know what school they will be going to. They will be going to Hellgate Elementary It is K-8 divided into 3 different schools. They have approximately 1200 students in all 3 schools combined. That will be a big change from their school of 90 students now. I trust God will protect them and give them grace during the transition. A lot of people have commented on the name of the school so I decided to research to find the origin. This is what I found on the internet. "French trappers, observing human bones strewn on the valley floor at the eastern canyon entrance, had a reminder of the bloody ambushes there. They started referring to the site as “Porte d’ Enfer,” translated as Hell’s Gate. The trappers claimed that it was “safer to enter the gates of hell than pass through this narrow confine.” The name Hell Gate would remain from that time on and be used to designate both the larger valley area where trading parties gathered, known as Hell Gate Ronde, and Hell Gate Village, the predecessor of the city of Missoula." At any rate, it has an excellent reputation of being a good school in Missoula so we are excited.

Happy Easter!!!!

I dressed the kids up for Easter. Our church isn't formal, so I mainly dress them up because I think it is so stinkin' cute! It was like pulling teeth to get Abby to put her dress on...she informed me that she doesn't like dresses anymore...at which time I informed her she is my only girl and I reserve the right to dress her up a few times a year...one of which is Easter. So with a few tears... mostly from mom =)...off to church we went.

The baskets await for the children to wake up...hopefully not too early! Yes there is a basket for Brian too. I can't help myself...I love this kind of stuff!

Wow! What a busy and fun weekend it was! The kids had a great time hunting eggs, eating (way too much) candy, and just hanging out!

On Saturday we went to an Easter egg hunt with some friends. Here's a pic of Abby and Brock getting ready for the big egg hunt. Brock wasn't sure what to think but he caught on quick especially when he realized what was in the eggs.

Abby got quite a few eggs...there were 11,000 hidden in all...and the hunt was over in about 2 minutes =)
Sunday the kids woke up at 6:00 (uuuggghhh!) to look in their baskets. I think they had all of there candy eaten by 6:30 (not really but they were sure hyper.) We also decided to make monkey bread (a yummy cinnamon pull-apart with cream cheese frosting) so that just added to the sugar high madness. Brock was down for a nap by 9 am.

After breakfast we went to church and then came home for an egg hunt. Brock remembered the egg hunt from the day before and was screaming "eggs, eggs." He was so cute! I managed to get a group picture of them but Brock couldn't look up...he was too interested in his eggs! Notice that Abby changed out of her dress as soon as we walked in the door. At least she still has her cute pink bow in. We ended the day by having a great dinner with great friends! Hope you all had a blessed Easter!!

Boys and their Toys!

What is it about boys and their toys? It seems that when I decide to spend money for fun it is on something small like a new $10 shirt at Eddie Bauer or a new pair of Old Navy flip flops for $2.50. However, when my husband decides to spend money it is in the $100's or the $1000's. Men say they don't shop as much, which I admit is true, but when they do, they make up for lost time! Thus the pictures of Riley with his new bow. He got this for his 9th birthday from us. I thought we were getting him some new Legos and new underwear or something of that nature. But Brian decided he needed a hunting bow, not a toy one, but the real deal. This in spite of the fact that he can't legally hunt with it until he's 12 but the argument is he needs the practice. So several hundred dollars later here he his. All this said, I love the fact that he shares this passion with his dad. They both love the woods and would spend all their time out their if I would let them. Riley hikes for miles and miles with Brian in search of creatures and will sit still for hours on end if they think they have an elk in their sights. When Riley was about 4, Brian had taken him out and he got too cold and told us he didn't want to ever hunt again. I told him maybe some day when he was a daddy he would hunt and he quickly replied "Not all Daddys have to hunt, mommy." I told him that was ok and Brian quietly mourned. Not long after that Riley had a change of heart and he hasn't looked back. He tells us after college he is moving to Alaska to live and hunt. I tell him that is not acceptable and he has to live right next door to mom.