Wandering Waif Collection GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Wandering Waif Collection GIVEAWAY !!!!!!! - My little Daisy would look fantastic in this (although Molly is quite a doll herself). The pom poms are absolutely my favorite.

Happy Birthday Kyle!

Kyle turned 11 today and starts 5th grade tomorrow. Two big days in a row. He started the day with his mom and his Nana and Tata then joined us just in time for church. He had cake and ice cream in his primary class then finally got a birthday spotlight not only near his birthday but on it (they usually have to do it weeks later due to his crazy schedule). We came home and had his favorite dinner, ribs, then family and friends came by to enjoy ice cream cake and presents. He and his dad are enjoying his birthday present from us (Guitar Hero) as I update this blog. We are looking forward to duels with Lindsay & Sam (not sure if you Guitar Hero Wes?) and the Butler Family very soon.

A special thanks to Lindsay, Wes and Sam for assisting with my meltdown girls. It wouldn't be a Thompson birthday if one (or now both) of my girls weren't melting down the entire time. Nikki deserves a shout out as well for trying to talk Abbie into cake with Ruby and Lulu amid the hysterics.

Below are some photos of the fun. We just can't believe Kyle is eleven. He will be spending the next year finishing up elementary school, working on his Tenderfoot, First Class and Second Class scouting requirements and preparing to receive the Aaronic Priesthood. His soccer team started their fall season a few weeks ago and he starts back up with piano next week and is trying tennis for the first time in a couple of weeks. He wouldn't be Kyle if he didn't have a zillion things going on and he surprises up daily with the things he says. He opened the gift from Lindsay, Wes and Sam and there was a hoodie sweatshirt which he was extremely excited about. Who knew? He has never mentioned wanting a "Hoodie" in his entire life and never cares if he wears the one he already has but thank goodness for Aunt Sam because I would never have bought him that.

Lindsay was pushing Nate around in Abbie's baby doll stroller...it was cracking me up.

Nate needed a bib and Wes wasn't too pleased with the offerings at the Thompson household.
Ruby and her cutie new haircut.

Two of our favorite girls...Lulu and Elise.

Abbie helping Kyle open his presents.

Travis checking out the present opening.

Kyle and George breaking into the guitars.

Elder Gormus

Our nephew, Trey, is officially checked into the MTC. So long Trey, hello Elder Gormus. He is the first nephew on either side even remotely old enough to serve a mission so we (and everyone in the Thompson family especially) are pretty excited.

Should you or or family want to write a missionary or send treats, our nephew would love it! Tripp's sister, Elizabeth, has posted all the addresses on a website, check out the link on my "Friends and Family" section of this blog marked "Elder Gormus". I know many of you don't have mission age nieces and nephews or other family members so please, please feel free to correspond with ours. He is one of the coolest kids we've ever known and would love to hear from anyone and everyone...kids especially.

As for Tripp and I, we are already planning our 2010 vacation to Uruguay.

8 Months and Counting

I finally got around to taking Daisy's 8 month photos today. Her 9 month mark is just around the corner...

At 8 months she is still a peanut but has chubber chub legs so I know she isn't starving. She is a happy sort and seems to just go with the flow of our lives. Unfotunately, she gets mistaken for a boy a lot but at least they say she is a pretty boy. She is absolutely in love with her brother, sister and her blankie at bedtime.

Garden Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!!

Garden Party Frock GIVEAWAY!!!! - Check out this darling dress. I hope to win it for Abbie & Daisy. Take a gander at the blog if you have girls and maybe you'll win something delightful sometime!

Lemonade Stand

Kyle has been wanting to have a lemonade stand for a long, long time. I heard about the free lemonade stands that Sunkist sends out with a promise to give the proceeds to charity (thanks for the tip Alisha). That seemed too good to be true as 1. Tripp hasn't got the base boards back in yet so he really doesn't have the time to built us a lemonade stand 2. We love raising money for charity. I watched their website like a hawk for almost a year and the 2008 stands finally became available. I signed us up and ours arrived at the beginning of the summer. Today, we set the thing up and sold our lemonade for Corps of Compassion (one of our favorite local charities). Abbie drank her share but Kyle balanced it out by knocking on tons of doors and running around the neighborhood checking to see if anyone wanted to buy some. The kids raised $16.25 in their hour outside (remember, not too great of weather at 2 p.m. in Vegas). Kyle already wants to branch out and run two simultaneously next time, one at our house and one in Laurel Glen (the next neighborhood over). He also wants to be in charge of the advertising (we didn't do any) so watch out Marz & Company, I think we have your newest employee!

Reno

Last week we loaded the car up and drove up to Reno for a five day trip. Kyle and Tripp had to fly back Sunday night but the girls and I home Wednesday (Grandma came too). We spent the week hanging out with Grandma Sandy and Aunt Susie along with Katie (Martin & Caedon were camping).

Tahoe
The Riley Family was kind enough to invite us up to their cabin at Lake Tahoe on Saturday. The kids had a great time swimming in the lake, going for a ride on the kayak, heading out on the motor boat (as Abbie likes to call it) and generally playing on the beach. All the Riley family cousins were there (except Caedon) so there were plenty of kids for Kyle, Abbie and especially Daisy to play with.

There are some favorite things the kids like to do at Grandmas...play dress-up Snoopy, blow bubbles, etc. We did all of those plus my mom added a sandbox to her backyard and Abbie had a ton of fun playing in it.
Watering the plants in Grandma's backyard....

Playing dress-up Snoopy....

Blowing bubbles...

Who would guess that this sweet little baby face would wake up each night at least three times? What a little stinker. Needless to say, mom wasn't looking so sweet after the first couple of nights....

Kyle playing with Grandma's tennis racket....

Hanging out in the backyard...