Halloween Night 2009

Boo!! Halloween was such a blast. We had The Dieckman's and The Crowther's over for dinner and then we headed out for some Trick-or-Treatin' fun. We had mummy dogs and chips and Christi made veggies and dip that she put in the cutest bell pepper pumpkin. I really wish I would have thought to take a picture of that - so creative! And Melissa made a delicious home made mac and cheese - yum! It was a little drizzly that night, but the kids didn't seem to mind too much. They were having a great time regardless!

Arielle, Gage, Max, Brenden, Eliza and Lissy





Our fun friends ~ The Dieckman's

Time to sort and trade candy!!

Pilot Mountain State Park aka "Leaf Lookout"

Today we went to Leaf Lookout. We were a little slow to get out and get some Fall pictures and most of the leaves had already fallen, so they don't really do the infamous East Coast Fall colors any justice. Fall here really is beautiful! I love driving down the highway and having trees surrounding me with all of their beautiful leaves. We decided to go on a hike, which Max and Eliza sort of complained about (Gage probably would have also, but he stayed back and hung out with Toby), but then had a GREAT time. They were laughing, and smiling and running, just having a good ol' time. Eliza LOVES lady bugs and there was a rock with tons of them on it - she was in heaven and couldn't pick them up fast enough!

We love Halloween!

Tonight was our Ward Halloween Party. The kids had such a great time. The Activities Committee did a really good job at putting this together. They had several games in some of the rooms for the kids to play and we had a delicious chili dinner. Then at the end of course, was the trunk-or-treat. Some people went all out decorating their cars with lights and cauldrons and all types of Halloween decor. Sooo fun! The kids just love Halloween! I mean what's not to love?? They get to dress up and walk around filling their bags with candy and have a night of basically uncontrolled candy eating. It's more than just that though. They love answering the door and passing out the candy and they LOVE to put out decorations around the house and outside, Max especially. He is pretty much always the first one to ask if we can get the decorations out. Unfortunately, this year we didn't have any to put out! We left them all behind in SLC because we knew we would have limited room here in this very small house. We still managed to have a very good Halloween without them though.

So this year, Gage decided to be a band member from Kiss, Max was a Grim Reaper and Eliza was a Rock Star. I love how into their costumes they get! This year I think Eliza loved her costume the most. She was so hilarious once she was all dressed up. She definitely felt pretty and she just kept singing songs and dancing around the living room. She was mainly singing The Best of Both Worlds by Hannah Montana. We were cracking up over all of her fancy dance moves, it was way too cute!










Us with some of our anesthesia school friends. On the left are the Crowther's and in the middle is the Dieckman's. What fun friends! Sooo glad to have met the both of them, they make the experience here so much better.

Max and Brendan.

Gage and Jared. Gage couldn't stand the mask anymore.


Blake loves when Eliza makes her eyes huge like this. He likes to tease her that her eyes are going to fall out and puts his hand under her eyes and then she tries to make them even bigger and it goes on and on. It's a fun little daddy & daughter game they play.

Jack-O-Lanterns!!

Doesn't every child just love carving pumpkins?? Mine certainly do! This year was no exception, they had a great time. We even branched out this year and let the boys use knives - YIKES!! I am happy to report that there were no injuries. I should really give them more credit, they honestly were pretty careful. I'm surprised they didn't hurt themselves as a result of my gasping and constant nagging of them to be careful. Who could concentrate with that?!

Oh and just so no one is confused or thinking that I must be slipping in the fashion department since I am busy with school, Eliza picked her own clothes out today. No she is not color blind, it was Tacky Day at school. I think she did a great job at looking quite tacky!! She is actually pretty good at picking clothes out that match. I have to admit when I first got home from school and saw what she was wearing I almost asked Blake if he had lost his mind and then I remembered it was Tacky Day. Good thing I thought that one through first!

Pajama Day

Love it! I love that this girl is always ready to get her picture taken even with her cheek full of waffle!! Eliza loves her teacher this year. His name is Mr. Vest. It's always Mr. Vest this and Mr. Vest that. I have to say, he is very nice. Anyways, he apparently says pajamas like puh-jaw-mas. So now anytime Eliza says it, she can't help but to say it like Mr. Vest and it's usually a minimum of five to ten times. She said she just loves saying it that way.

My Sweet Max

How could you not LOVE this sweet face?! I love this picture of him. Max has been insistent on not getting a haircut and I have been fighting for the opposite. That longer hair, shaggy sort of cut is so popular right now and I don't really like it, but I have to admit that it looks pretty cute with a hat on. I like how his hair curls up from under the hat. I'm still losing the haircut fight, but you've gotta pick your battles right?! Besides, his sweetness more than makes up for it!

Southwest Elementary's Fall Festival

The kids love when it's time for the school's Fall Festival. Orchard Elementary always did one as well, and they always looked forward to it. This one was very similar to what they were used to - pony rides, bounce houses, games, treats, what could be better than a night full of that!? The only unfortunate part was when Eliza was VERY upset at the end of the night when they were packing up the pony and she hadn't had a ride yet. Blake and I kept telling her to hold on because the line was so long and when we came back outside from playing indoor games, it was too late!! I felt horrible that she was sooo upset because I knew she was really looking forward to a ride on the pony. She had also been wanting a grab bag so we let her have one of those instead and thankfully, her sadness didn't last too much longer. Gage mainly ran around with friends again this year, okay who am I kidding, he did it the entire time!! We only saw him a couple times in passing. Sooo sad when your child is too old to hang out with you anymore. Max, still hangs out with us though. He is just so easy going, he loved it all, no complaints from him. Overall, it was a fun time and I'm sure they'll be looking forward to it again next year!

These are two of Eliza's best little buddies! Jacob and Cameron. When they saw her they came running over to her and had a big group hug, so cute!! Their parents both told me that they just love Eliza and talk about her all the time. Blake wasn't super thrilled though. I think he's a little worried about the future. Dating will definitely come WAY too soon for him!



I LOVE this picture of Max, he looks so happy!
Max is being difficult and not smiling for the camera. Instead, I got this lovely face out of him.
Max isn't very amused with Blake trying to be fun and silly, lifting his arms like he's on a roller coaster. He's giving Blake an elbow!
Gage with some of his friends. I tried not to get to close, I didn't want to embarrass Gage.
I just LOVE those big brown eyes of hers!