Happy Halloween!

Well, here we all are decked out in our costumes for Halloween! In case you can't tell, Natalie & Lucy are girl pirates, Karalie is a snow princess, & Camilla is a pumpkin. Ben is a deer & I am the mighty huntress (Lucy & Ben are holding my bow & arrows)! Sorry about the lack of extra photos, but because of the craziness of the day we didn't take pictures until after all the fun & sugar and the girls weren't really in a photo-op mood.
Try as I might I can never seem to get Halloween to not be a crazy last-minute improvising affair! This year I thought I was doing pretty well by just getting Natalie & Lucy store-bought costumes. I was even smart (or at least I thought I was) and didn't let them see the costumes until the day before. This proved to be unwise because Natalie's costume fit Lucy and Lucy's didn't work for anyone. This left me scrounging all day Friday trying to get a pirate costume together for Natalie. As you can imagine, she was very put out that her little sister got to wear her costume!
So Friday morning I called Grammy and asked her to come to our rescue! She did, thankfully, and helped in so many ways! Her sewing stash and expertise were a blessing and the only reason we even had a costume for Natalie to wear!Then she made dinner so Ben and I could finish up all the little stuff and we could all make it to the trunk-or-treat! Ben was a lifesaver too, running to the store for little necessities during his lunch hour and after work! All-in-all it was a crazy, but fun day!

Life With the Potters

Well, life's been moving along as it always does. We recently had a quick trip to Utah to see my younger sister get married in the Salt Lake Temple. It was wonderful to see everyone and to be there with April & John on their special day. Of course, we forgot our camera so we don't have any pictures to post. Our arms were so full with kids that we probably wouldn't have gotten much of a chance anyway! The girls had some really cute matching skirts that John's mom made them. I will try to get some pics of them twirling posted soon! This trip was hard, but so worth it for so many reasons. We got to see some family that we haven't seen in quite awhile. The girls all got to see three of their great-grandparents which was really neat! Also, it was such a good thing for our girls to see April & John looking so happy at the temple. Our girls know that their Mommy & Daddy were married in the temple, but here they were able to see it first hand!Thanks April & John for being such a great example!

We were able to have my sister Christine and her family come stay with us for a few days! We had a great time with them here. The girls especially loved playing with Uncle Robert and cousin Sammy! We're still crossing our fingers and hoping that they will find a job up here so we can have them close by permanently!

Other than that, it's just been business as usual. Karalie's really come into her "terrible two's". She doesn't throw fits so much as she sneaks and gets into things when Mommy & Daddy aren't looking. She doesn't say "no" too much, but says "Dus a minute" when she doesn't want to do something you tell her to do. It's adorable, but aggravating at times. Here's a picture of her getting into my make-up. You can see that she thought the cover-up stick was lipstick and that the mascara was blush!

Here's a couple new pictures of our little Camilla Anne! She's growing up so fast, it's hard to believe she's already four months old. The girls just love her and have fun making her smile, giggle, and coo!

Oh, and they like dressing her up too! Here she is sporting Lucy's new sunglasses! What a cutie!

I've been "Husband Tagged"!

Meet my Hot Hubby - Ben Potter!

Well, I really think this is a ploy by my younger sister to get me to post more. She's always telling me that I don't post enough. She's probably right. Still, I am the mother of four children, isn't that some kind of excuse?! I guess not. So here it goes - info on me and my husband including all those juicy tidbits you didn't really want to know (just kidding).

1 - Where did you meet?

We met in Rexburg, Idaho in the fall of 2000. I was barely 18 and Ben walked his sister, Jenn, back to our apartment. She was my roommate at the time. And we were introduced.

2 - How long did you date before you were married?

Well, we were actually just friends for quite some time while we both dated other people. I came to think of him as my older brother. Then after a few break-ups we went out together. This was around the middle of February 2001. We were engaged in March and married in August of that same year. So I guess you could say we were dating for about six months before we were married.

3 - How long have you been married?

A little over seven years! It goes by fast!

4 - What does he do that surprises you?

When he goes on business trips he'll come back with clothes for me! It surprises me because if I were in his shoes I'd probably be buying clothes for me and not for him! (FYI: He has really good taste!)

5 - What is your favorite quality about him?

I love his willingness. He is willing to do just about anything anyone asks of him. He's the first to help out and the last to leave most of the time. It's a quality that I've always admired and am trying to emulate - it's not easy for me, but it seems to come naturally to him.

6 - Does he have a nickname for you?

Yes, but it's special and I'd like to keep it that way!

7 - What's his favorite color?

Green, I think!

8 - What's his favorite food?

He loves sushi and anything Japanese including sticky rice, gyoza, yakisoba, & okanomiyaki.

9 - What's his favorite sport?

Basketball, especially Potter basketball

10 - Who said "I love you" first?

Honestly, I can't remember, but we've loved each other for so long now I don't think it really matters.

11 - When and where was your first kiss?

Our first kiss was in the middle of a snowball fight in Rexburg, Idaho.

12 - What's your favorite thing to do as a couple?

We love to talk together, especially after the girls have gone to bed so it's quiet and we aren't interrupted.

13 - Do you have kids? How many?

Yes, we have four daughters: Natalie, Lucy, Karalie, & Camilla.

14 - What's a hidden talent he has?

Well, most people don't know that he's a really good juggler!

15 - How old is he?

29

16 - What's his favorite type of music?
Country, especially old classic country

17 - What do you admire most about him?

His ability to interact with people. He is so good at making people around him feel at ease and happy. He's also really good at handling people in difficult situations. I remember when a random lady on the subway got offended at something he said in our conversation. I remember feeling like it was none of her business and getting ready to tell her off. He didn't get mad, he just started talking with her and ended up having a really good conversation with her. It was pretty amazing to watch him just turn the whole situation around by using his positive influence!

18 - What's his favorite pastime?

He loves to go trap shooting and he's really good at it!

19 - Do you think he's going to read this?

Probably eventually. :0)

So anyone who is reading this, has a husband, and hasn't already done this is tagged! It gave me a good chance to reflect on my better half! Hope it is for you too!

Summer Summary

Well, here we are already into October! The past couple of months have just flown by with family reunions, trips, blessings, etc. In August we blessed our little Camilla. We were so grateful to have both of our fathers and a couple of her uncles her to be able to bless her. She wore the same blessing dress her sisters wore and looked just adorable. Of course, we forgot to take pictures until after church and that's why she isn't so happy!
A week after Camilla's blessing we had the Potter Family Reunion. It's been quite awhile since our last reunion so it was a lot of fun to see everyone. It was a little bit crazy with 13 kids and 13 adults in two houses, but it was definitely worth it! Here's
a picture of our girls and their cousins Hannah and Ethan. As you can see, they had a ball playing night and day with all their cousins!We were glad to have some extra time with Jenny & Nathan and company since they live so far away!

Now we're just trying to get back to normal life. We had the Primary Program here a couple of weeks ago and that is always fun. Natalie had three different parts and Lucy had two because we have such a small primary. They did really well on giving them except Lucy said both her parts at once. The primary president was whispering for her to stop, but she just said it anyway! Of course, the Sunbeams (including Lucy) were a little bit wiggly. We'd planned on this so we worked out a little sign system for the girls. If Mom & Dad folded their arms that meant the girls needed to be more reverent. If Mom & Dad put a finger up to their mouth that meant be quiet. If Mom & Dad put their hand up to their ears that meant sing louder. It worked out really well, except when Natalie decided that the girl next to her was singing too loud and tried to cover her mouth. Then when her teacher told her not to do that, she plugged her ears for the rest of the song. We didn't really have a sign for "You're being rude, stop it!" You just never know with kids, I guess.

Lucy's Birthday

I'm a little late posting these pics of Lucy's 4th birthday! We ended up driving home from our vacation to Oregon on her actual birthday (Aug. 30th), so we celebrated it on Labor Day with Grammy & Papa! She actually opened her presents from Oma & Opa on her birthday because they had come in the mail and she wanted to open them right when we got home and we didn't feel like we could say no (it WAS her birthday)! She loved them, but unfortunately we didn't get any pictures. She was very excited to get a princess cell phone and Cinderella paper doll (from Oma & Opa), a 2-dollar bill (from Great Grandpa in Virginia!), necklaces and clip-on earrings (from Grammy & Papa), and a princess helmet, bike streamers, and a bike basket (from us).

She definitely enjoyed all her presents, but I'd have to say her favorite was the helmet. She was so excited to wear it while riding her bike that she wouldn't even finish her cake - she just wanted to get outside and ride! So after cake, we all went out to watch her enjoy her new & improved bike & cool helmet. She enjoyed the attention and even showed off a bit, hitting her helmet, riding with one hand. She even went into the garage and then when she rode out she let out a little scream to surprise us all! We were all laughing at her antics!

It's amazing to realize that just a little over a year ago we were life-flighting her to Seattle and hoping she would make it. Remembering that incident makes us grateful for so many things. We're grateful for all the love and support we received from friends and family. We are grateful that she was able to recover - she is truly back to her happy-go-lucky, daredevil self! We are grateful that we've had another wonderful year with our sweet little girl!

Our Spontaneous Vacation

This past week we've been trying to recover from our spontaneous trip to Grants Pass, Oregon. Ben had to go there on business and at the last minute the girls and I decided to accompany him. The first part of our trip was a little rough. We got a late start, leaving at 11:45 a.m. instead of 9. Then the six-hour drive turned into a ten-hour drive - partly because we underestimated the distance and partly because we had to stop so many times! This was something that I was not really prepared for! We stopped to go potty. We stopped to change a diaper. We stopped to change another diaper. We stopped to go potty again. Then we stopped to eat dinner. We finally arrived in Grants Pass at a little after ten! As you probably guessed, it was a long day, and I was wondering whether it had been worth it or not.

The next couple of days the girls and I hung out at the hotel while Ben went to work. We enjoyed watching cartoons, having school time, and playing at a nearby park. In the evenings, we went swimming at the hotel pool - even little Camilla went! We were having a fun time and so I was wondering if we shouldn't just go home and call it good rather than trying to do/see more stuff on our way home. However, we decided that we were so close to some cool stuff, we might as well go see it! I'm so glad we did because we had a GREAT time!

First, we went south and crossed the border into California where we went to see the Trees of Mystery. These are the Redwoods. If you've never been there, we would definitely recommend it! It was amazing to see and touch the humongous trees and think that some of them have been alive for thousands of years. At the park they had a little trail as well as a gondola to ride in. We had fun walking and riding among the giant trees!

After getting seeing the redwoods in California, we drove along the Oregon coast until we came to Roseburg, Oregon where we stopped for the night. This was a beautiful drive. We loved seeing the ocean along with all the greenery of Oregon. The following morning we continued driving along the coast and saw Sea Lion Caves as well as the Heceta Head Lighthouse. The girls were impressed, but their favorite activity by far was our picnic lunch at the beach. There we played in the sand and even got our feet wet (but only our feet as the water was freezing)!

After playing at the beach, it was time to head home. We made a quick stop to see Multnomah Falls. It was beautiful, but crowded, so we only stayed for a little while. Natalie kept trying to convince us to push the double stroller up the steep, narrow path so we could see the upper falls, but we decided it wasn't worth it. Thankfully, the rest of our drive home was easy and uneventful. We came home happy to have gone and happy to be home.

Here We Go!

Well, I guess it's about time that I entered the realm of blogging. My sister does it. A lot of my friends do it. I guess I may as well do it! I know, I know, it's pretty lame to do something just because everyone else is doing it. I must admit, however, that being a part of the "in" crowd isn't my only reason for starting this blog. Viewing other's blogs has allowed me to stay involved in their lives even though I'm awful at actually writing to them. Also, it's a fun way to keep a family journal of sorts. So hopefully, through this blog I will be able to let my friends and family into my life a little bit as well as keep a record of our family's fun/interesting/scary/sad/thrilling/boring moments together!