Halloween Activities

This weekend brought lots of Halloween fun for us. My dad had his annual carnival for his ward, but this year he combined it with a Trunk-r-Treat. The carnival was on one side of the church parking lot, until dark then over to the other side for the Trunk-r-Treat. I'm telling you for parents of young children, it just doesn't get much better than a Trunk-r-Treat. The kids love it and it's all over in about 15minutes or so. After grandpa's carnival we headed over to Chelsea's church where she planned a great ward party for her ward. They had every room or so a different theme or activity, it was great. They also had a Costume Fashion show and cake decorating contest as well as pumpkin decorating/carving contest. It was great fun for everyone. Kyson dressed in full Army/Navy garb. He looked awesome. His own sister walked right past him in the hallway and didn't recognize him. Brennan had to have his picture with Kys, whom he adores. We're headed back next week for our old ward's Trunk-r-Treat. We'll keep you posted. Oh, by the way, you'll notice there aren't any pics of Peyton in her costume, sometimes she'll participate and then again sometimes, not so much :) I'll catch her in a better mood next week I'm sure.

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Peyton's Adventures

So, I in no way want to take away any attention to the wonderful time we had with Mattie, Morgan and Grandma Cristi, but I can't help but share with you the adventures of my two year old, Peyton. As you know she broke her fingers a few weeks ago playing with a universal gym. That is just the beginning of her escapades, when Mattie and Morgan came to visit, within about 1 hour of arriving, Peyton and Brennan decided that instead of participating in painting pumpkins again, they would well, paint themselves. I came out to the garage to find them both with their faces covered in paint and Brennan had painted his legs and one arm. I immediately told them to get to the shower so I could scrub off the paint. Peyton went to step in the shower and slipped right away hitting the back of her head on the edge of the shower. (OUCH!) I was standing right there, so I picked her up and already there was red in her beautiful blonde hair. I wrapped her in a towel and ran to the counter, I had yelled to my mom who wasn't quite sure what was going on or where we were. Sure enough she had cracked her head right open. There was so much blood, that I couldn't quite tell how bad it was. She was screaming and in a little bit of shock, I finally was able to see it and it wasn't as bad as I thought, luckily she didn't need stitches, but we were still cautious of a concussion.

A few days prior to this, I found Peyton, well.......the picture will explain it. This was in my pantry.

I have been told to take pictures of these situations in the past, but my rational thinking doesn't always prevail. She has dumped numerous boxes of pasta all over this same floor. She recently took my feather duster and decided to tear it apart and leave the feather remnants all over the office. She loves to get a hold of the wipes and scatter them throughout a room. A few weeks ago she got a hold of a highlighter and highlighted several walls in the house, then spread desitin on the wall with her hands. (Art I'm Sure) Needless to say if Peyton is too quiet for over about 3 minutes, I have learned to go searching.

Last Sunday I found her in the garage with those same (non-washable) pumpkin paints painting the inside of a brand new coat we just bought her. She also ruined the shirt she had on, but I was able to salvage the jeans. I love her, she's a cutie, but she may be my undoing. I just have to say to myself each day what a blessing I have. It's true, I am blessed, but with blessings sometimes come trials. Funny, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Be a joyful mother of children. Psalms 113:9

The Cousins Come to Play

Morgan and Mattie and Grandma Cristi came on Tuesday. We were so excited to have them come, Morgan got her cast off in the morning then they headed up to see us in the afternoon. We were all excited to see them but Brennan and Peyton just couldn't wait. We were able to play outside, paint pumpkins, have "2 sleepovers" as Brennan puts it and tons of other fun things. My mom and I actually tied a quilt for Peyton and have the makings of another for Brennan. I should be able to finish that one myself. Thanks Mom for getting all the stuff and bringing your frames, and most of all for doing all my laundry. You amaze me and I Love YA! The quilts are so cute, the kids will love them,.

We went up to Lynx Lake to collect some Fall items for Brennan. His preschool is doing a fall collage and wants them to collect things like leaves, pine cones, seeds, twigs, etc.... So we all joined in the fun.



After collecting the Fall items we headed to Peyton's favorite place to eat, Red Robin. We had tons of fun and Mattie talked me into trying the "Crane" game for her, you know the impossible claw game that is filled with tons of stuffed animals. I pointed out to her which animals I could possibly get for her, even though they weren't the ones she wanted, I ended up getting 6 stuffed animals with $4. Each try was $.50. I must say I even surprised myself. I got 3 animals in one try by knocking two extra over into the drop slot. That was the highlight of the trip for Mattie. She just kept telling me all day how great I was at that game. Thanks Mattie!!! It was so much fun, next time you guys will have to stay longer.

Brennan's First Fish

Well, you all know that Brennan got a Rocket Fishing Rod for his birthday. He finally got a chance to try it out this weekend. Our friend Brian took us fishing at a private pond, so of course it was just us and a ton of fun. Brennan got so excited, Brian rigged up his pole for him with a live worm and Brennan shot it out there. It wasn't quite where he wanted it so he reeled it back in real quick and shot again. It wasn't in the water for about 30 seconds when he got a nibble, Ryan helped him hook the fish and then Brennan reeled it in. He caught a small mouth bass, it was probably about 1-2 lbs or so, it was a decent size, but Brennan didn't want anything to do with the fish. He was quite scared to even stand near it, let alone touch it. Unfortunately for me, my camera ran out of battery right as he was ready to pose, I had new batteries, but we didn't want the fish to die so we released him. We did however, snag a photo or two with Brian's camera, so I will post them as soon as I get them. After that Brennan really had no interest in fishing anymore so he told his dad to let him know when he caught a fish and he would come reel it in for him. Here are some other photos I took throughout our excursion. The pic with a fish in it is one of the many Brian caught. Ryan and I had several bites but just couldn't catch em. Thanks Brian for a fun afternoon. We'll catch more next time!

The Weekend

This weekend was a surprise for us. We had no idea that it was Agua Fria Days here in the good ole' town of Dewey-Humboldt. So we thought we would go down and partake of the festivites. It was like a very very early Alpine Days. There were all sorts of vendors set up along both sides of the street, there was a band playing in front of one of the churches, they had a parade, a chili cook-off, and topped it all off with a street dance Saturday night. Here are a few pics of the parade. Lots of classic cars, refurbished John Deere tractors and horses. The parade probably lasted all of about 20 minutes or so, it was a fun, cold day.

Fall Break

We had a jam packed end of our week last week. It is fall break this week so some great friends of ours from Mesa came up on Wednesday and stayed with us until Saturday. We had so much fun with them. We spent a day at "The Square" in Prescott. We also painted pumpkins and attempted some salt dough ghosts. The kids had a great time, the older girls (12 yrs) got some serious shopping in and we even had time for the park. We are so greatful they came to spend time with us!

The Pumpkin Patch

Brennan's Preschool got to go to a pumpkin patch on Friday. We had a great time and the weather was perfect. We were able to feed some fish in the pond, and watch the ducks play, we were also able to go through the pumpkin patch and then go for a hayride.

You'll notice the difference in my children when I take pics of them. Brennan loves to have his picture taken and will even pose and say something "cheesy", while Peyton, depending on her mood, or whatever she determines to be a factor, may or may not even look at you let alone smile. I guess we know who is in charge!

A day at the Pumpkin Patch

Father's Night!

Brennan's preschool had a Father's Night last night. Brennan was so excited to take his dad to his own special Father's Night. The theme was Hunting, so they were asked to wear camouflage or a hunting or fishing vest, so Brennan got on his camo and took his dad to school. It was a great time, according to both Ryan an Brennan. They had snacks, cookies and capri sun, and sang songs that they had been practicing for weeks. Brennan told me it was the "Five little ducks go out to play," song and "A Hunting we will go..." The few pictures Ryan took for some reason turned out very dark or very blurry, I chose the best of them to post. Just know that they both had a great time and brought home a cute book that they made together. The book is about hunting an elephant and then letting it go again.

Angel's Game

Ryan and I finally got away for a very, very short overnight vacation. We were able to fly to Orange County on Friday, Sept. 26th and attend an Angel's Game. You might be thinking "why on earth would they fly to an Angel's Game?" Well, besides the fact that the Angels had already won the division and home field advantage, the pictures I am posting should answer some of those questions for you. My grandpa has had Angel's season tix since the stadium was built in 1966. The seats, to say the least, are spectacular. You can't get any better than these. We sit four rows up just a few yards to the left of home plate, to the left of us is the dugout. Most of the seats in front of us are owned by the Angels. They used to be Gene Autry's seats until he passed away. Ryan, our sports fanatic in the fam, has never been available to go to a game and sit in grandpa's seats so we were very excited that he called us and asked if we wanted to come and go to a game. The game was a snoozer (Angels lost 12 to 1), but the atmosphere and experience are always awesome. We had a great time at the game and were able to have breakfast with the my Aunt Kath and her daughters Lauren and Lindsay and cute little Avery(Lauren's daughter), and grandpa the next morning. Thanks grandpa for the tickets and letting us stay with you. It was a great time, just wish it could have been longer.

Linds was our chauffeur/tour guide/hostess, etc....for the short time we were there, Thanks Linds for everything!! We were cruisin' in style in Lindsay's brand new Lexus. I forgot to take a picture of it, but it is beautiful.