Halloween Fun

My three little pumpkins--well, actually, a kangaroo, a bee, and a witch. Aren't they cute? Man, I love these kids.

Sweet sisters

I love the lighting in this picture. Oh, the anticipation and excitement of trick-or-treating! I love it.

Luke's first sucker. He just chilled in the wagon the whole time and was so good (I'm sure the sucker helped). Don't those chubby cheeks just kill you? They are so kissable!

Earlier in the day on Halloween we hosted a big Halloween party for some of the kids' friends. We had 12 kids seven and under. Whew! But it was a lot of fun. We had a little bit of playtime while the pizzas were baking and I thought it was interesting how all of the girls were playing with the racin' ramps garage and cars and all the boys were playing with the kitchen and food. How's that for breaking stereotypes???


I think my favorite part of the party was the games and dancing. I made this skeleton dance and the kids had to copy the skeleton's movements and dance the same way. It was hilarious!!! I was just cracking up the whole time.


What a cute group of friends! All of their costumes were great. Oh, how I love Halloween.

Rachel's pre-preschool

So I participate in a neighborhood pre-preschool group for our little ones. We each take a turn hosting one morning a week and do crafts, singing, playtime, stories, etc. It has been the best thing for Rachel! She wants to go to school with Emma SO BADLY. So this is the next best thing. Rachel can't wait to go to "preschool" each week! All of the little kids are so cute and we have a good time together. I hosted yesterday and we had a little Halloween party. The kids loved it!

Enjoying some puzzle time


Making spider cookies (I ate about 5 Oreos as I was helping them make these--they are SO my weakness!!!)

Go, go, go Joseph!

Just to let you in on a little secret, I was obsessed with the musical "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" when I was a teenager. We lived in Chicago for two years during which "Joseph," the Broadway show starring Donny Osmond as Joseph, came to Chicago. I saw it once and was hooked. Had to have the soundtrack and the sheet music, memorized all of the music, saw it an additional four times, and cut out any and all advertisements of the play in local newspapers and magazines. Yeah....it was bad. So you can imagine my delight when I learned that my dad and my sister were performing in their stake's production of "Joseph." My dad was one of the brothers, Levi, and my sister was a back-up singer for the narrator. I flew down to San Antonio with Luke a few weekends ago to see them perform and it was AWESOME. I sang along and was totally getting into it (I'm sure the people sitting next to me were thrilled). It was all I could do to keep myself from hopping up onto the stage and joining right in. The music is fabulous--a mix of several different genres--and it's just plain fun (for those who haven't seen it, it's a very humorous re-telling of the Bible story about Joseph). So I was super glad I got to see it. My dad and sister did so well! I couldn't have been prouder!

My father--isn't he just made to be an actor??

Great job you two! You are amazing!

Fall Fun

This year's fall leaf-collecting trip in the canyon










Last Saturday we took a trip to Cornbelly's. What a fun place! We'd never been but heard how much fun it was because there was so much to do. We could have easily spent the day there. The favorite attraction for the kids? The slides. Luke loved the baby slides and giggled the whole way down and the girls loved the big slides, especially Rachel. She couldn't get enough!






Yee haw!

one.

The not-so-happy birthday boy. "It's my party; I can cry if I want to..."



My Luke is one year old now. My, how time flies! He never really was a teeny thing, starting out at 10 pounds, but looking at newborn pictures of him really makes me see how much he's changed! Remember this full head of jet-black hair?

And he was definitely quite chunky then, with no neck to be seen. He's thinning out now and it's a little sad.

Luke got to celebrate his first birthday with his big sis, Rachel at a combined birthday party. He was quite sober and clingy to me throughout the evening and I don't think we even got one picture of him smiling. Oh well. Babies will be babies.
The messy chocolate cupcake

the VERY messy aftermath

Siblings "helping" to open the gifts

Lukey, does this fit?

He had a fun birthday and got loads of fun toys, including the Little People Racin' Ramps Garage (I'm excited about this one!!!), a remote-controlled airplane (the girls love this), and several cute cars and trucks. Thank you to all who came! Luke got such great gifts!

Here's some recent pictures of Luke:








And some fun facts:
Luke loves to say hi and wave with BOTH hands at the same time.

He loves all foods these days. Seriously everything I give him he eats and loves. Wish it could last forever!

He loves to comb his sisters' hair.

He can give great high-fives.

He can take about five steps at a time, but doesn't seem to want to do more than that yet.

He enjoys reading and thumbing through books.

He dances whenever he hears music (including the hymns at church).

He loves to dive into my lap (I love it!).

Brushing his teeth makes him giggle.

He climbed on top of the piano keys one day and was totally content standing on them (which nearly gave his mother a heart attack!).

He loves to roughhouse with his dad on our bed.

His favorite toy right now is a set of stacking cups.

He can say "Emma" very clearly.

He loves being with his sisters and playing wherever they are.

His hair is SO shaggy and yet I don't have the heart to cut it quite yet!

We love this babe so much around here. The girls just think he is the most adorable thing (which he is) and frequently tell him that. They are so sweet and patient with him (especially Emma) and I love seeing that. I love how cuddly and affectionate he is. He loves to be held and carried and snuggled. And he has a sense of humor! He cracks us all up sometimes. I don't know what we would do without him! We love you so much Lukey!

Rachel's Birthday

Opening presents on her actual birthday (last Tuesday):
Snap'n'Style Juliet


Her big gift from us: a pony! (a fake one)
She loves it, as do Emma and Luke. It even moves its head and tail and makes "horsie noises." And isn't it adorable? I guess I should say, isn't SHE adorable? The girls named her Tootsie Vanilla.


We had a big combined birthday party for both Rachel and Luke (whose birthday is Wednesday) last night and invited several relatives and friends into our tiny home. It was tight but we had fun.

Blowing out candles. She loved her "polka-dotty" cake (it is decorated like a wrapped present).

Happy friends eating cake together

The crown I made for her that she only wore long enough to take this picture. Good thing I only spent two minutes making it. But isn't she pretty?

Opening Grandma's gift


It was a fun birthday for Rachel. She loved it when we all sang "happy birthday" to her. She had the cutest, most shy smile while we were all singing. She got some cute clothes and fun new toys, books, and puzzles. Thank you to everybody who came and made it special! Happy birthday sweetie pie!