Halloween Time!

We have been so busy the past couple of weeks...here is a peek of what's been going on in our neck of the woods!!

Hungry ducks!!

Ever been to Layton Park in the fall when the ducks are starving??? I recommend taking more than one loaf of bread to feed them or they will chase you down! We had a great time once we got out of bird country.

Sugar and Spice

Teddy Bear Picnic

Ally is growing so fast! It seems like just yesterday she was a baby. I know we all probably think our kids are the smartest and the cutest etc...but she never ceases to amaze me with her wit and adorable personality!

Fall Fun!

Black Island Farms

Every year we take the kids down to Black Island Farms and let them go hog-wild! They have so much fun going down the big hay slides (except the big rug burn that Ally won't stop whining about), getting lost in the corn maze and riding out on the hay ride to pick a pumpkin!

This is probably one of my favorite activities of the year...and a great excuse to take some fall pictures of the kids. Brittney and Ally got their faces painted and Ally thought it was her duty for the night to try to scare all the other kids with her freaky face!! It was a lot of fun and I can't wait til next year when Cedar is just a little bigger. Whoever thought of turning a farm into Agratainment is a genius!!

Let It Snow!

I love the change of seasons, but it was a little bit of a surprise when we woke up this morning to >6 inches of SNOW....in mid-OCTOBER! I may have to rethink our Halloween costumes this year to include snowpants! You gotta love Utah weather; it's supposed to be back up to 70 by the end of the week.

My kids busily gathered their snow suits (which were too small from last year) and headed out bright and early. Even Cedar wanted to check it out so we bundled her up the best we could. This is the first year she will really get to play in the snow, and so far she is LOVING it....socks on her hands and all!

I remember Ally at this age, would not play in it at all....I bought her a brand new snow suit, gloves and boots and she just sat in the snow and cried. I remember the scrapbooker in me being so disappointed because she had a miserable look in all the photos. It is all about the scrapbook, RIGHT?

Matt and I hurried to sweep the snow off of the hot tub cover, the poor bushes and trees that were being weighted down and the trampoline which was sagging down quite a bit, then we stopped to have some fun with Gunner and the kids. Gunner loves to chase snowballs and eat them...check out that air!

Brittney quickly taught Cedar that you are supposed to eat the snow and bury your face in it! She didn't seem to mind. Infact, when I offered to take her in to get warm she scowled her best scowl and told me "Noooo!". Kids are tough. They were going down the slide at speeds a little over my comfort zone, but the snow seemed to break their fall....good thing Matt's an ER nurse so we won't have to wait long!

Too Fun!

When was the last time you got to hang out with ~600 crazy women, talk about sex, have a PJ party and laugh till your belly hurts? For me, it had been way too long!

I went with my friend Jenn (who is also a Slumber distributor)and we got some great tips to better our demos and our businesses.

Camping at Echo

Here are some pictures of our latest camping trip with Jenn and her family. We had a great time playing in the water and eating our fill of delicious camping food and treats. I couldn't tell you the last time I ate a chili dog (out of the back of my Dad's truck on some trip) and it tasted so good I had to have another when we got home. I don't know about anyone else, but I was ready to come home and lock myself in the bathroom for a long hot shower! I think Gunner was ready for some TLC also.....dumb dog swam for hours and ran so much his feet hurt!

"The Beep"

You know how kids say things funny when they are little and you hope that you never forget them? Well, Ally has a few things that she says incorrectly and I purposely refrain from correcting her because they are my favorites.

One of them is "The Beep". We have a powerwheels Jeep that the girls love to ride around in and I love to hear Ally say "Mom can we drive the Beep?", or "Hey Brittney, want to drive the Beep with me?" Just cracks me up.

My other favorite at the moment is when she sees something new around, she will say, "Hey, where did that crum from?". So stinking cute. One day I was taking pictures and she said "Where did that cramera crum from?" I laughed for hours! I hope I never forget that so I can tell her when she is older!

Britt's Birthday Pictures

Happy Birthday Brittney!

Brittney turned eight on September 10th, but we just celebrated with family and friends tonight because she has been away spending time with her mom. We had pizza and a Hannah Montana icecream cake (No 8 year old party is complete with some Hannah), and lots of rough housing courtesy of Uncle Kelly. Thanks to all who came; I think she got everything she had wanted and more!

The best part about turning eight is that we can finally lose the booster seat in the car!

Gonna Be a Bear

Gonna be a bear:

In this life I'm a woman. In my next life, I'd Like to come back as a bear. When you're a bear, you get to hibernate. You do nothing but sleep for six months. I could deal with that.

Before you hibernate, you're suppose to eat yourself stupid. I could deal with that too.

When you're a girl bear, you birth your children (who are the size of walnuts) while you're sleeping and wake up to partially grown, cute, cuddly cubs. I could definitely deal with that.

If you're a mama bear, everyone knows you mean business. you swat away anyone who bothers your cubs. If your cubs get out of line, you swat them too. I could deal with that.

If you're a bear, your mate EXPECTS you to wake up growling. He EXPECTS that you will have hairy legs and excess body fat.YUP, GONNA BE A BEAR!

(I saw this on a friend's blog and I couldn't have said it better myself...thanks Nancy)

Band Practice

For the past several months we have been getting together with some friends for "Rock Band Practice" and it is a lot of fun. We eat, let the kids play, relax in the hot tub and play Rock Band til we drop....if you have never tried it, it is about time! Here are a few pictures. Notice the seriousness of the Wii tennis match going on in this picture. LOL

Banana Nut Bread

Ok, fall is coming and with it comes great, home-cooked recipes!! Yay, I love fall/winter comfort food (but hate the weight it brings). Anyway, this week I made my mom's famous Banana Nut Bread (minus the nuts at my house), and have been getting requests for the recipe, so here ya go, and I don't want any snide comments about posting a recipe on my blog (Jenn)!

Ingredients:

1/3 C Butter or Shortening

1/2 C Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Salt

1 3/4 C Flour

1 C Mashed Ripe Bananas

1/2 C walnuts (optional)

Directions:
1) Soften the butter and mix with sugar.

2) Then add eggs and beat well.

3) Sift together the dry ingredients (except nuts) and add to mixture, alternating with mashed bananas.

4) Stir in nuts if desired.

5) Bake at 350 for 40-50 mins or until rich brown and toothpick comes out clean. ENJOY!

6) Makes 1 large loaf

7) Freezes well, so I usually double the recipe.

First day of Preschool

This is Ally's second year in preschool and she was so excited to go! She is in a home-based program this year and there are only 4 kids in her class, so I think she will get lots of one-on-one time. She is getting so big and this year she ran right in without a care in the world for where I was or when I would be back. She is my social butterfly.

Summer Days

This has been a big year for us as far as finishing our backyard, and Matt finally finished putting the new playhouse together yesterday! My kids are loving it. We had a picnic in the shade and played for hours today....what a good time. Thanks Daddy! Ally has been begging for someone to come over and have a tea party, so if you're looking for something to do....come on over.

Silly Girl

Today Cedar was being so funny, that I had to snap a shot. She was trying to walk in my flip-flops and she thought she was so cool. Never a dull moment.

I realized after being home for a week and going through hundreds of lost pictures, that it appears my children do not have a mother! I always seem to be on the taking end of the pictures. Well, I took a couple shots today to celebrate the first day in nine, that I have a) done my hair and b) actually put make-up on! I still feel horrible, infact, the pain seems to be getting worse instead of better, and all I've had to eat today is one tapioca pudding cup, but I thought it might make me feel better to "look alive" at least. On the bright side, I have lost 6 pounds and wearing my favorite jeans without any discomfort! LOL

Favorite Recent Pictures