WHOOOooooooOOOOOoo SPOOKY

OK, so our home really isn't that spooky, but I do love to decorate for Halloween. Next to Christmas this is hands down my FAVORITE time of the year. This year we had a PERFECT night for trick-or-treating as well. We could not have asked for a better night.

Trick or Treat

We have been blessed with some of the CUTEST little girls EVER!!! I know I may be partial but STILL they are adorable, if I do say so myself. This year Thing 2 was a candy corn witch, Thing 1 was a butterfly and Beans was the cutest little cupcake you ever did see. Halloween was a lot of fun this year. They were able to go out with their dad for a bit and then I took them out for a little while as well. They hit the jack pot in the candy department.

A little maze anyone?

Here in H town we have a grocery store called Day's Market. They had this darling hay maze set up for the kids to play in for free. The girls loved to explore and find all the hidden ghosts and ghouls. We sure love H town.

Carvin' Up Some Pum'kins

The girls helped clean out the pumpkins and then picked out a design to put on their pumpkin. Thing 2 quickly chose the pirate one. (I should have known, her favorite ride at Disneyland was Pirates of the Caribbean and she hasn't even seen the movie.) Thing 1 wanted a cute face. Neither wanted to actually carve their pumpkin so I helped with that. I chose a spiderweb design and B wanted to do a classic face. After doing the two girls' I started on mine and B ended up having to finish it. I cut through a section and went right into my finger and ended up with four stitches. I should put a disclaimer; B said I could have just glued it but I didn't dare trust it to just glue, especially since I had a class party to help with the next day. The last thing I wanted was to get grossness all over at the party. Even with the mistakes I made I think they turned out pretty well.

Haunted Halloween Train Ride

I took the three girls on a haunted train ride this year. It goes through the Provo canyon and is cute. Thing 1 would ask every now and then if the people were really dead or if they just had make-up on their faces. Once she knew it wasn't real she was able to relax and enjoy the pretend. Thing 2 was brave and quickly told all the ghosts that came up to her that they didn't scare her.

Red Ribbon Week

During Red Ribbon week, a drug free program, the kids get to dress up. This year's theme was "I Tune Out Drugs" and one day was dress up as in your favorite genre of music. When I asked Thing 1 she said her favorite music was Johnny Cash. So she was a little bit country. I sure love this kid.

Feeding the Ducks

Here in Utah we have a thing called UEA. To be honest, I'm not exactly sure what it stands for. I decided that we were going to Reno for the weekend. Thing 1 got Thurs and Fri off and I took her out of school Tues afternoon and off the four of us girls went. While we were there we went to the park to feed the birds. There was even a seagull that my brother C was able to feed. The bird would circle around us and C would throw up some bread for him to catch it. It was really cool, so much fun. I'm not sure why giving birds some bread is so enjoyable but it is.

First Day of Second grade

Thing 1 and Thing 2 on Thing 1's first day of second grade. While getting Thing 1 ready for school I for forgot to take her picture that morning and didn't realize it until I got her to school. I'm grateful that after school on the same day still counts for her first day of school. To be a little different we put feathers in the girls' hair this year. That is the "cool" thing that is in this year. Since it isn't bad or permanent I thought it would be just fine to do. They seem to like them and I think they look cute as can be. Then again I think they look cute as can be all the time though. I was glad to hear Thing 1's first day of school was a success. She was very nervous going in. B gave her a father's blessing and that helped calm her fears. She and I had picked out her clothes several days beforehand too. I also let her pick out breakfast for that morning as well as her lunch. I tried to think of everything that would help her feel more at ease. She is such a tender hearted little girl.

Wal-Mart

They opened a Wal-Mart store here in town and who knew it could be SO MUCH FUN?!!!! For the grand opening they had a bounce house, face painting and cotton candy and they were giving away other little goodies. We actually had gone to Chucke Cheese that morning and while we were driving down I heard on the radio they were having this celebration. I was really bummed thinking we were going to miss it. Since I already promised the girls we were going to go to Chucke Cheese's we had to go. I figured they wouldn't miss what they didn't know they missed. We had a great time playing in O town and then headed back home a few hours later. I thought I would see if by chance the stuff was still there and low and behold it was!! They were the last to get their faces painted and the only kids in the bounce house. It was perfect timing. I also went home with tons of Hot Tamales candies, mmm delicious. It was a really fun Saturday afternoon. Not to mention Thing 1 lost a tooth on the way home while eating her cotton candy.

MMMMMMM

The girls and I made bread together, the first of many batches...hopefully. They are great helpers. We made these during a late night one Sunday before school started. Thing 1 kept asking if we could do a late night and Sunday was really the best day for one. Earlier that day her primary teacher brought homemade bread to share and Thing 1 loved it. She was so excited when I told her we could make some too. It was a yummy late night snack.

The Living Planet

Thing 2 makes some of the best faces.
Thing 1 being brave and touching the ray.



The two weeks before school started I tried to do a lot of fun stuff with the girls. We went to the zoo, where I didn't take any pictures, and also to the aquarium. While our aquarium isn't very big it has gotten bigger and the girls love going. I love that it isn't too big. We can go for a few hours one day and it is just perfect for us. My favorite part is petting the sting rays. Thing 2 loves the little petting areas as well. She went through the line at least 15 times to see the few things she could touch.

Fair Days

For the fair they do fire works every August. While these pictures don't do the fireworks justice of how grand and incredibly beautiful they were, they were taken from our front porch. They do the firework show two nights in a row. The first night the girls and I sat inside the house even in our front room and watched the show. It was really nice. The second night B and I watched them on our porch. We love the small town life. I can't imagine living and raising our children anywhere else.

Holy Hot Air Balloons!!

One morning while I was walking into my bathroom I was startled when I saw the hot air balloon out of the corner of my eye. It was so close to the barn and I'm not really used to seeing anything right there. Usually I can hear them before I see them. It is still so much fun to look out and see them flying in the air. The girls still get excited too when they find any. It always becomes a game to see how many we can find.

Happy Birthday Thing 1

Breakfast in bed, which soon moved to the table. Thing 1 wanted pudding, grapefruit, crepes and an egg for her birthday breakfast. Since she can choose whatever she wants that is what she got. B slept outside with her and Thing 2 the night before.
Thing 1 and Thing 2 enjoying their breakfast out on the patio.


Thing 1's primary teacher made her a cute little candy bar poster for her birthday. I went to church just for sacrament and then switched with B for the other two meetings. While Thing 1 was gone I made her this cute little cake. While it is nothing special it is far superior to her previous birthday cakes, she was so surprised when she saw it. It warmed my heart to be able to make her happy. We love this girl of ours so much. She is just beautiful inside and out.
I was literally putting the finishing touches on it when I heard the garage door open. It was so much fun to surprise her.

I know I say this often but we are so blessed with these three girls. It was fun celebrating Thing 1's birthday with her. I was thankful B didn't have to work that day and we are all together. Things have been so crazy with Bean's birth it was nice to take some time for Thing 1. I love the look on Thing 2's face, you can tell how much she loves Thing 1. She really looks up to her older sister and fortunately for Band I she is a really good big sister. We couldn't ask her to be a better role model.

More of our lil' Bean

The face of an angle, she really is so good.
Look how little she is! Everybody needs some Papa loves.

She is such an easy baby to love. It amazes me how little they are at first and how quickly they grow. She is growing far too fast for my taste. I keep reminding myself to enjoy every minute since she is our last baby and to also enjoy Thing 1 and Thing 2 because they too are growing up fast and I can't turn back time with them either. My heart aches at the thought of them growing up, so I really try not to think about it but take advantage of what time we have right now.