I am Thankful for...

These little munchkins...

 

 

 

 

I am so grateful to be the Mom to these 3 wonderfully amazing kids (yes, I'm allowed to think they are amazing, because they are mine, I know you think the same about yours:)) They brighten my days (and keep me up all night sometimes) I love them more than I ever dreamed I could. I thank Heavenly Father every day that they are a part of my life. (And yes, Sophie is sitting on Stella in those pictures... she's such a patient dog. Thankful for Stella, too.)

And I'm thankful for him...

My sweet husband, my partner in craziness, and the best Dad any kid could ever ask for. I'm thankful for my Robbie. (Yes, I call him Robbie. He rarely reads my blog, so he'll never know that I told you that.)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!

Happy Halloween!!

This year we had one sweet Super Girl...

One cute cheerleader...

And a fantastic Ron Weasley... (Not Harry Potter, it HAD to be Ron. Hayden never ceases to crack me up.)

Not to mention, two groovy people from the 70's...


We had a super fun early Halloween at our ward's "Trunk-or-Treat". The weather was wonderful and the kids had a blast...

Ron and his cohorts, Harry and Hermione (Two of Hayden's very good friends, and sharers in his love for Harry Potter, Tyler and Jaylen)...

And this is what happens when you give Super Girl too much candy and let her stay up WAY too late...

Happy Halloween!! Hope your Halloween is as Spook-tacular as ours!!!

Gross Goodness...

I had been waiting for weeks to do this dessert with the kids... and so have they! Halloween week FHE was the perfect time to bust it out. Jello in Petri dishes with gummy insects. Here's to disgusting desserts! Mmmmm...

Super Goof...

Mom's hoodie... Dad's hoodie... Hayden in a super goofy mood... and this is what you get :)

 

Fall Festivities...

Pumpkin Patch... Corn Maze... Farms... All the quintessential autumn pastimes that we just can't go without...

 

Let's Get SCARY...

Halloween is a BIG deal around here. We like to celebrate it all month long. So come on kids, it's time to get our scary on...
First order of business, let's make some monster mash, I mean monster puppets...


Next up, we need a little haunting in this house. Or maybe just a little haunted house...


Who can have Halloween without the proper jewelry to accessorize?
Witch way did Sophie go? (Ha! I crack myself up.)


Hope your Halloween haunting is coming along super scarily...

RMNP...

And this is why we love Rocky Mountain National Park in the fall...

 

We can't seem to get up there enough this time of year, when the leaves are changing. And this year we started a new tradition. Along with some friends, we all put our kids in the car at 5am one Saturday morning, drove up to RMNP and set up camp chairs on the edge of a meadow. It was so wonderful to be there at sunrise, snuggled up in our blankets with our kids, watching and listening to the elk. We brought our camp stove, made hot chocolate and feasted on Krispie Kreme Doughnuts for breakfast. That has to be one of my favorite family memories, I'm so glad we took the time to create that memory...

FHE and the pit...

We spent ALL summer working on our flagstone patio and we are finally able to reap the rewards. We had our first FHE around the fire pit. It was so fantastic...

 

Playing Games...

Who needs to know the rules for playing a game to enjoy it, when the pieces are big enough to sit on?

 

 

Giving a new meaning to the term "playing" a game...

 

I love times when I can just sit and watch my kids enjoy life...

Author's Tea...

Hayden's first Author's Tea this year was so fun to watch! He has come from hiding behind the book and not being able to hear a word he said, at the beginning of first grade. To being able to hear his whole story with inflection in his voice, and he even threw in a joke! It's so fun to watch your children progress and literally see the growth they have made. Way to go Hayden, "How To Train Your Dragon 2" was an awesome fairy tale!

 

 

 

Budding Gymnast...

Ana has been begging to take gymnastics since she saw it on the olympics a couple of years ago. Finally it was her chance... and what to you know, SHE LOVES IT...

 

 

 

 

Round two...

For some reason, this year Ana's body has decided to develop a nasty asthma-like reaction to every cold that she contracts. Now that she is in school, colds are pretty common around here. So for the second time since school started, we've had to give her nebulizer treatments to help her breathe. Sophie was sure that it was her sole responsibility to make sure that the treatments we administered properly...

 

September Date Night...

I love the autumn in Colorado. When you can spend beautiful evenings on a lake, with wonderful fall colors, and still be warm enough in a a short-sleeved shirt. Rob and I spent our September date night on the lake at City Park. We rented a paddle boat, cruised around, and just chatted. It was relaxing and so fun! We ended the evening with dinner at the d Bar. One of our new faves...

 

There is an island in the middle of the lake that is swarming with geese and other water birds. It was fun to get to see them up close...

Make do...

Seriously, I don't know why I think that once the kids go back to school I'm going to have more time. It's the exact opposite! Lately it's been so busy that I haven't even had time to go to the grocery store, let alone make a decent meal. So thus, we make do with what's in our fridge. Bread and cheese. And we spice it up a bit with cookie cutters. I hope my kids remember this as a fun memory, instead of a "My mom doesn't even have time to make us real food" memory...

 

 

Does life get any less busy as your kids get older? Don't leave a comment if your answer is NO! Just kidding;)

Flashback...

I remember having an afternoon just like this one with Ana a couple of years ago, right after Hayden started Kindergarten. Now it's Sophie's turn to spend blissful afternoons, by my side, painting and jabbering. Thank goodness for sweet little girls...