Thursday, October 14, 2010

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

PUMPKINS!!! I love them! We took a field trip with friends to Pumpkinland today . The weather was gorgeous!
We picked out several beautiful pumpkins.




Enjoyed the little corn maze--look at this colorful corn!

Admired the animals, fed the goats, and oohed and ahhed over the darling bunnies.

Pretended to be someone else.

I love these ones of Luke--he has the funniest faces!


Here's the whole gang atop some pretty huge pumpkins. What a cute group of kids!

What a FUN way to spend the first day of Fall Break. And now our porch is filled with some orange beauties. Happy fall!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Happy Birthday Luke!

My baby is TWO. Two years old. He is so slender now, it's hard to believe he was once a super chunky ten-pound-baby. I didn't hold any sort of party or get-together for him this year. We kept it low-key since we knew he would mostly want to just play with all his new trucks and cars. He opened all his presents in the morning, some before the girls went to school and the rest when it was just him and me. It was fun to have that one-on-one time with him and all his new toys. That evening, the Familias came over for cake and ice cream and some playtime. He is OBSESSED with any and all vehicles these days. A simple drive in the car is super exciting for him as he points out every single car, truck, police car, tractor, etc. Ben and I got him a big rig and a tractor toy, a few vehicle books, as well as a scooter and a big wheel type toy. He really doesn't care about the scooter and big wheel yet--he just wants to play with his new trucks. He got a lot of different trucks from family and friends too so he is set!

Opening gifts


I love his expression as I'm taking this one--"Mom, I can't get this ribbon off and I want it NOW!!!!!"

He got a super cute "Birthday Boy" T-shirt from my mom and dad. It looks adorable on him! Perfect for the occasion!

My easy-peasy car cake.

The girls happy to "clean off" the frosting on the cake toppers

These cute little boys are just the cutest buddies. They mostly just watch each other play right now but they like to be around each other and I know in another year or so they'll be running around having a ball.

All in all, a great second birthday for my little buddy boy! Some fun stuff about Luke: He loves puzzles, pretzels, milk, fruit, reading, hanging with his sisters (not necessarily interacting with them always, but loving being with them), digging in the sandbox, music, singing "Wheels on the Bus," snuggling, playing dress-up, jumping, and taking walks. I can't imagine life without him!

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Autumn


Autumn. By far, my favorite season. I love everything about this time of year: leaves, the warm sun combined with crisp air, cider, pumpkin patches, Halloween decorations, fall colors, cool evenings, open windows, new footie pj's (for the kids, wish I had some for myself though!), pumpkin foods, apple foods, General Conference, soups and stews, tights, Halloween songs and books, looking forward to the many upcoming holidays--I could go on and on. I feel more gratitude in the fall than in any other season for the beauty and blessings in my life.

With that said, we enjoyed a leaf-collecting excursion Saturday morning up in the canyon. We drove around for awhile admiring the rich, gorgeous colors while listening to Conference. At noon, we hopped out of the van and began our exploration. We all had so much fun collecting leaves, throwing rocks into the river, and enjoying nature. The weather was beautiful. We had a picnic surrounded by yellows, oranges, and reds. A most perfect day! How I love my little family.