Halloween Hullabaloo!

We have had many exciting Halloween activities this past week. Rylee and Karlee had a FREEZING Halloween Parade at school...but you'd never know it from their huge smiles! We had to run directly from that to Audree's Halloween Program at pre-school. She was hilarious! I have never seen such a dramatic 4 year old. She sang loud and did every movement on cue! I LOVED watching her and had tears half from laughing and half from being so proud of her! Here are pictures of the big events!





Today was the BIG day and we got lucky everything fell into place! About a month ago I was thinking I would have Spencer be a ghost for Halloween...so I said, "hey spence, you want to be a ghost for Halloween??" and he replied..."No! I want to be a pirate!!" He was insistent and so I gave in and bought a really cute costume online. It came to our house and I pulled it out of the box and he acted excited until I tried to put it on him...then he flipped out! He REFUSED to put that costume on and for the past 2 weeks it sat on my dresser and he wouldn't get near it. He kept saying, "I don't like to be a pirate, it's scary."

Then we had a ward Halloween party 2 days ago...he could only go if he put on the costume. After some discussion he gave in and luckily hasn't fought it since. I think he looks adorable in it! whew...disaster averted!

Also, Audree hasn't felt very well the last day...just a low grade fever and a tummy ache. I thought it would get worse right before trick-or-treating, but an afternoon nap and a bit of Ibuprophen and she hit the street running. whew...disaster 2 averted!

So, here are the pictures of the kids about to collect their spoils...oh, and Jake and I got in on the act too!

Field Trip!

I was such a lukcy mom this week because I got to take Audree on a field trip with her pre-school class to Pumpkinland! Spencer came with us and we had a great time enjoying one of, what is sure to be one of the last, warm autumn days. The corn maze, playground and "haunted holiday barn" kept us very entertained for the morning! It was nice to stop running from one thing to the next and just relax and hang out with my little munchkins...I haven't been much fun for them the last several weeks! Spencer managed to find trouble though (no surprise)...I couldn't find him for a minute and then I found him in the animal area poking bunnies with sticks...he said, "The bunnies like it!". Anyways, it was fun and I think we all had a great time!

Wheeler Farms

So, my sweet cousin, Jaime, wanted their family pictures done. They live up in Salt Lake and wanted to go to Wheeler Farms...I have never been there, but they said it was a fun place for kids. We decided to make it a family excursion and I am so glad we did! It was fun to see Jaime and her family...her boys are ADORABLE! Then I had to take an opportunity to get a couple fun fall shots of my own family. If you are looking for a fun, inexpensive (try free!) farm experience...you should head up to Wheeler Farm...it really was fun with animals, tractors, farms and beautiful scenery. I love these pictures of the kids and Karlee took the one of Jake and I...not bad, perhaps she will follow in her Mom's footsteps???

Kid Krafts!

I lOVE how kids can take a simple piece of garbage and turn it into hours of fun! Rylee is espcially good at this...but once she gets started,everybody joins in! We got some new barstools the other day and Rylee would NOT let me throw the box away...eventually it turned into a fabulous art project. This just makes me smile, I hope I never forget them at this age!

Fun at Sundance!

So, October is complete madness for my little photography business. The leaves turn colors, the weather turns nice and everyone starts thinking about family pictures. It's been really fun and sometimes overwhelming...but I am trying to keep all the "balls in the air" as they say.

Anyways, our friends, the Judds, wanted some family pictures done up at Sundance...so, what a perfect opportunity to take the kids up to see the leaves and hang out. I took the whole family and we headed up...I took some pictures of the Judds (head over to the photography website to check them out) and then we had doughnuts (courtesy of the Judds) and the kids ran around throwing leaves and such. It was a perfect relaxing evening...Jake even put together a little campfire to cap off the evening. It was nice to take a chance and actually enjoy how beautiful this time of year is.

Thanks guys for a great time!

Karlee's Baptism

I have been so busy I haven't had a chance to update everyone on Karlee's baptism. It was a very special day and everything went perfectly! Karlee looked adorable and we were touched at how many friends and family members came to support her. It was hard to fight back tears and I realized that she really is growing up and going to start making important decisions...what a blessing to know that she now has the Holy Ghost to be her companion! It was also very special that she was baptized in the same dress that me and my mom were both baptized in...I hope we can keep it in good condition and pass it down to her daughters. I had to laugh though because when we put it on her she said, "I feel like a pioneer"...well, it's not THAT old! Anyways, thank you to everyone who made the effort to be there, it meant a lot to all of us. Karlee, we are so proud of you for choosing to be baptized and we know you will continue to make great choices throughout your life!