Halloween Activities!

Annual Stockwell Family Pumpkin Patching!

Oct. 9, 2010
Shaun at the pumpkin patch

Love this shot of Nate

Shaun and Kayla!

At Lagoon for "Frightmares"

Oleg, Ashley, scary guy, Shaun, Kayla, Nate at Frightmares

This guys scared the heck out of Ashley - she still doesn't have her voice back. She didn't know it wasn't just a statue until he moved at just the right moment to scare her.

Ashley and Oleg

Ashley and her new friend Ibrahim

For Halloween Ashley was Jack the Pumpkin King from the move The Nightmare Before Christmas

Shaun is scary guy on the left, then Jack the Pumpkin King (aka Ashley) then Nate was the guy from Scream, then Kayla was a witch, then Matt, just for fun was half-himself, and the head of Nacho Libre...

Matt Knows What It's Like to Be Pregnant

In our first prenatal class our instructor had the men wear an "Empathy Belly" - and not just try it on, but wear it for a couple of hours each. The thing is filled with weights and weighs 30 lbs. (and had "boobs"). Shortly he was replicating my waddle and the good news is it worked - EMPATHY acheived - as he was even more aware of helping me, my off center-of-balance, etc. It even puts pressure on your bladder, so he had to go to the bathroom, chuckling on the way there. He looks cute pregnant, don't you think?

St. George - Oct. 1-3, 2010

We had a wonderful time in St. George with Grammy and Grandpa! This night we went to Tarzan at the Tuacahn.

During the day we went to Sand Hollow for swimming, cliff jumping and fishing. Matt caught himself with a rapala, only to not want to deal with it at the moment, so we cut it off with wire cutters, then put a band-aid over the remainder of the hooks that were left in his back, and only after a day of swimming and playing, plus going to Priesthood Session, did our friend Jeff Chapman take it out for him. Playing is the priority, no matter what is stuck in your back!

Real Soccer Game - Sept. 25

The whole family LOVES soccer - this night we went to the Real Salt Lake game.

The Bringhurst's Cabin - Sept. 25th

Thanks, Bringhurst's, for a wonderful day at your cabin - we love you!

Update on All of Our Kids

I haven't blogged in FOREVER! It's not easy adjusting to four kids and a pregnancy, so bear with me! But it's been so much fun, and with school already being in session for a month, and the routines of daily life finally feeling "routine" I thought I would take a breather and update the blog on our growing family.

Kayla couldn't be more amazing - how many times have we said that? She's 15 and a sophomore at Alta High School, and continues to impress us with her maturity, fun, self reliance, motivation, talent, and love. She's beautiful inside and out. She's about to get her learners-permit and is already online looking for a car to start saving for - we can't believe it! She's still playing piano and cello and working very hard in school. Don't grow up, Kayla!!

Ashley is so creative and in the last 5 weeks of having her in our home, we are seeing more and more of her personality come out. We already knew she was artistic, but she's also very animated in her story telling, and very generous in her note-writing to the family. We have pictures she's drawn all over the house! Currently we're in a Halloween theme.

Nate's just awesome - we don't know where he came from. I don't know another 12 year old boy who is so helpful and responsible. He's pretty fun to watch (on the trampoline, playing soccer, etc.), too. He's also so motivated in school (straight A's, because he currently wants to be a fighter pilot when he grows up...), and also is busy with piano, scouts and seasonal sports (Jr. Jazz basketball to soccer). He's very loving to the whole family, and I don't know what I'd do without him.

Shaun is such a blast! This kid is nothing but energy and an appetite, and fits in so well in our home (meaning, he can tease right back to his dad or siblings)! He's always on the trampoline (learning from his brother), as is Ashley, and hamming-it-up at school (we're working on that one...). I'm just glad he's so happy and is making friends in his new surroundings. We have a wonderful tutor/translator named Ksusha who the kids just love, and she's helping both Shaun and Ashley keep up at school, which they both are. We're so proud of both of them!

Ashley sent me to work with this photo to hang at my desk.

Had to include baby Luke in the blog post! This was about 2 weeks ago.

Kayla and our new little Lilly! Not that Sadie could ever be replaced, but we had to lighten up the mood in our house, and for depressed Kona. I called the vet (when Kona didn't want to even go on walks, he was so sad), and the vet said that, when we're ready, that a new companion dog would help. We found little Lilly (same breed as Sadie, mini-poodle/shih tzu but with just a little added Maltese in there) and Kona didn't know what to do with her at first. Now he's playing more and his tail is finally wagging again. We still love and miss Sadie and speak of her all the time. As a matter of fact, Shaun and Ashley have been saying family prayers now, and they even include a sentence or two about how we miss Sadie and how we know she is with Heavenly Father now... it's so sweet.

So here's Lilly. She's 12 weeks old now.

And here's Kona when he was still so pitifully sad. Doesn't help that he's a cocker spaniel, as they look so sad anyway... but he really was.

Jill Chappell came to town the weekend before school started, and the kids LOVED her! Shocking, I know. Nate and Kayla already consider her family, but Ashley and Shaun we sold when she began speaking French to them (they are very comfortable in French), and she won them over. You look beautiful, Jill - come back and see us!!

Mira and Kayla at Disneyland - August!

Shaun and Mira.

All of us (Shaun's taking the picture).

Now Nate's taking the picture.

At the Hotel Del Coronado in August. This is classic Nate.

And this is just before we got Ashley and Shaun - August in Salt Lake City. Shaun and MJ came up for her birthday and it was so much fun.

Ashley and "Jacob" - you should see her bedroom.

And more on the tramp - they love this thing. In Ukraine you had to pay money and go to a special park to even get on a trampoline. Now that it's in their own backyard, you can imagine the hours logged on this thing. It's also great "motivation" for a mom, when things need to get done (slightly suggest that there will be no trampoline jumping if homework doesn't get done, and they are suddenly very motivated to do homework).

Anyway, there's a little update on the family. We couldn't feel more blessed and happy - and are so proud of all of our kids for making this adjustment. For Ashley and Shaun because it takes a lot of bravery and courage to navigate an entirely new life in a new language (new home, school, neighborhood, culture, religion, etc.). And for Nate and Kayla who so selflessly shared their life with them, and work with them daily. I'm humbled by these kids, and want to be more like them in my own life. More soon!!

We Miss You So Much, Sadie - Nov. 24, 2006 - Aug. 25, 2010

Our beloved Sadie sadly passed away yesterday afternoon at 3:00pm. Those of you who know us and know Sadie know that she was (is) a member of the familiy, and a wonderful companion to our dog Kona. We are all heartbroken today as we face the first day without her, and try to comfort our truly mourning Kona, who is depressed and very lethargic. We wanted to memorialize her here with photos and memories.

Sadie joined our family the night before our wedding, February 2, 2007. Kayla and Nate had always wanted a dog, and Matt told them that when they got a new mommy, then they could get a dog. So we gave them a surprise wedding gift, and Sadie was an instant joy to each of us.

After she passed away we held a family memorial where the kids wrote her letters that we buried with her, and we all cried and had a prayer.

This is one of our favorite memories. Sadie had a stuffed animal that she attached herself to when she was a puppy, freshly removed from her mom. Sometimes we knicknamed the stuffed dog her "boyfriend," and sometimes her "mom" (twisted, we know), but either way she was very protective and possesive of "it" and daily fell asleep next to it or on it. In this photo above, we had thrown it in the washing machine (as it had been dragged through the dirt and was covered in her slobber), and she would not leave the washing machine the entire time it was running. It was so cute.

Sadie always sat on the top of the couch looking out the window. When she went to grandpa Bob's house, she did the same thing - she just loved her window view.

This is Nate's favorite picture of he and Sadie - look how young Nate looks.

We can't believe she is gone. Just yesterday I was walking her in the morning before work, and she slept in our room with us Tuesday night, all curled up in her little "donut" shape on the chair. Kayla was just saying that she can't believe it was yesterday that Matt brought Sadie in the car with him to pick her up from school. We don't know how long it will take for us to not cry at every thought of her.