Halloween

All the fun Halloween traditions....

Carving pumpkins

The kids got into the carving this year and we had a fun time. Dallas got into it to... for some reason the whole thing was a race. Who could get the lid off first? Who could scoop out the inside first? Who could carve it first? I really just took my time, but every time I looked at Dallas he was in some sort of hurry :)

Didn't they turn out cute? I really like the kits and patterns you can buy :)

Halloween party (Joy School)

Spider cookies... 

Bingo... Evan LOVED this, I will have to play bingo with him again soon...

Painting pumpkins... The other mom's and I all agreed that we wouldn't have been brave enough to do this on our own :)

The whole crew....

Anna, Caleb, Sammy, Evan, Spencer, and Kiah

And Trunk or Treating

I don't think my kids will ever understand the concept of knocking on doors to get candy. Every year so far it has been a trunk or treat :) Well I guess last year was a combination between the two, but anyway....

We stopped at the celery bog on the way to the trunk or treat to take pictures of the kids. Evan was really cute in his bumble bee costume. Kiah was a grumpy little butterfly. It had been a long day and this was the last thing she wanted. None of the pictures of her really worked out, but I got this one at the trunk or treat. 

Evan wanted to be a dragon (again), but I talked him into being a bee to (kinda) match Kiah. It turned out pretty cute. At least he got to be a dragon at joy school. When anyone would ask what he was going to be for Halloween he'd say a dragon and a bee.

I am also trying to make pumpkin pie a Halloween tradition... I can't get enough of it during Thanksgiving and Christmas so why not start a little early? I am excited to eat it tonight to end the big Halloween week we had. Happy Halloween Everyone!

A Good Day

This is what happens...

When I turn my camera over to Dallas :) 

We went to the temple yesterday. It was a good day. As I was getting out of the car to go into the temple, I explained to Dallas that he needed to take pictures. I showed him how to use my camera (he won't usually touch it), and I left thinking he wouldn't even pick the thing up. Then today I was stumped on what to blog about... then I checked the camera :) He took some fun photos! The above two are my favorites :)

Yesterday really was a good day. Temple days can be hard... driving to the temple, figuring out what to do with the kids while we are there, paying for gas, food, the works. Yesterday we barely got out of town in time to make it worth it. Dallas had to take the car in to get new brake pads and then we threw some food into the cooler and got on the road. Apparently I threw the food in all to fast because I forgot the bread for the sandwiches :( We ended up going to McDonald's instead. Other than that things went perfectly. The rain stopped when we got there, the kids didn't cry or whine much, I had fun shopping with the kids and Dallas took the kids to The Grove (a state park located just behind the temple). Then Evan slept on the way home while Kiah read books and played with her toys. I couldn't be a happier mom :) Dallas took some great photos while they were at The Grove which made me happy when I turned on my camera...

Sometimes the drive up to Chicago can be a drag... but yesterday I really enjoyed the time with my family. It was so nice to be able to talk to Dallas, and not have to worry about all the things that I needed to do. Just relax. We had some nice conversations... ahh it was just nice, you know? Just what I needed before another busy week.

Pumpkins

Last year when we went to the pumpkin patch it was sooo cold. We bundled up in our coats, gloves and hats to stay warm. This year I decided that we should go while it was still warm. We went yesterday and it was a hot day! Definitely a different experience :) We still had fun though.... we went on a wagon ride and picked out pumpkins, saw the animals at the petting zoo, played in the bounce house, played with tractors and toys, and the kids went on a little barrel train ride. We stayed a little too long though... the kids were a little grumpy on the way home :)

This picture goes out to my little brother Joel.... are you reading Joel?? Alison, are you reading? You should go get your husband... he will appreciate this one :) Joel used to pull me around in a tractor just like this one :) Now look who's doing the pulling? I love it! I should go find a photo of me and my brother....

Oh yeay!! Here it is, I found it :) Me and Joel... cruising  in the tractor :) I am thinking that Joel was about Evan's age if not a little older...

 These pictures make me so happy... good times!

Imagination

I love my kid's imaginations :) They pretend all the time and I love watching them. The other day we went on a walk and Kiah was pretending there was an ice cream truck that we had to chase down (Dora anyone??). Then they "flew" home like little airplanes. I love those kids so much. Last night I took some photos of the kids out by the pond. I posted a bunch of them on my photo blog... head on over to take a look :) These photos below are simply my favorites...

Deja vu

I think I have shown this photo about a zillion times but I had to show you something...

When I took the photo below, the photo above popped into my head...

Isn't that so funny? Even after a year she has the same expressions... and a lot more hair :)

27th

This was a birthday that Dallas won't easily forget, that is for sure! He had to re-take his exiting exam at Purdue University these last two weeks. Lucky for him (enter sarcasm here) he got to present his project on the morning of his Birthday. As far as Dallas could tell after all was said and done, the presentation went better than the last time :) The committee did give him a hard time (I think it's in their job title), but he was able to work through the questions they were giving him and he was able to give them the answers they wanted. The committee was a lot less intimidating from the the first time around so that was good.

After the presentation we picked him up and took him to Camille's Sidewalk Cafe for lunch (Yum!!) He was relieved to be done with the exam but he was still nervous about the results.

Speaking of results... Dallas got them today and he passed the exam!! He can now officially graduate this December. We are so happy and relieved, now we can move on with life :) No more school, yeay!!

Mmmm, I could eat here everyday.

That night Dallas wanted to take it easy and I couldn't blame him. We all had a rough two weeks with all the stress that was going on. Hopefully life will get back to normal soon, whatever normal is. We had a fun night... we made home made pizza, opened presents,watched movies and dessert of course...

Traditional Reeses no bake dessert...

The kids just love birthdays and Evan was chatting all evening about his birthday. He is excited to turn 4 :) he talks about it all the time.

Dallas let the kids blow out the candles and open the gifts... they had a fun time :)

Yeay for birthdays!