HaPpy hAlLoWeeN!

Arent' these the coolest looking Halloween treats?! My mom and sister made them for us... super nummy 2!


One the the first things we do to get ready for Halloween is find the perfect pumpkin.

Paint...

or carve...

Then light 'em up!

Then comes dress up time!...

We've got a lion...

A bumble bee... (thank you Alicia :)

And of course, a princess!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO YOU ALL!!!!

What he Loves

If you can't tell, Carson is trying to hold up 2 fingers. Now that he's officially in the terrible two's... (I won't mention the lovely fits for his independence or his persistent little character when he wants something)... but I will mention just a few things that we have figured out about him in these last 2 years.

He LOVES Mickey Mouse.

Several years ago, (I do say several because we are getting older now), Jeremy was in Disneyland with some of his track teammates competing in some kind of big race. The only thing Jeremy took home from Disneyland after that trip was a little stuffed Mickey Mouse. And some how Jeremy has kept it with him through out the years, (not necessarily on purpose). Little did Jeremy know that this stuffed Mickey Mouse was going to be his sons' favorite stuffed character that he takes to bed with him every night. Carson Love's Mickey, and if he ever sees him on other objects, his eyes light up :)

So I attempted Mickey Pancakes for his birthday breakfast... haha, they look more like a bear. :) But hey, all I had to say was, "Carson, it's Mickey!" and he was sold.

He LOVES balls

This kid can shoot a basketball better than me! If I ever want to distract him from something, I can go get a ball and start playing catch. It works EVERY time :) When he transitioned into nursery, the leaders finally figured out, if they got a ball out and started playing catch, he'd warm right up and I could leave without him crying. He very well could be my little ball player when he gets older, or at least I really hope so :)

He LOVES his daddy

When daddy comes home, mommy's out of the picture and daddy is his center of attention. (Which honestly, I really don't mind. If you know what I mean :) Carson is attached to Jeremy's hip when he gets home. And now, Carson doesn't want mommy to change his poopy diapers when daddy's around and he is very persistent about it... LOL, now I can't help but LOVE that!

So to sum it all up, this last weekend we celebrated with family. Mom and dad rented a bounce house, Carson wanted hot dogs, (another thing he loves and can pound down... more than one might I add. Ughh...), and he blew out his whopping 2 candles, with a little help from Alex. And thanks to Grandma Ellie, we had a wonderful supply of Mickey cups, plates, and napkins. Carson was in heaven :)

Even though Carson is 2 now, he's still my baby. Half the time when he starts acting up and showing us his terrible two tantrums, Jeremy, the kids and I just laugh. We can't help it, He's such a hoot and he brings so much joy into our family. We love you Carson! Happy #2 :)

The Pie Makers

Every once in awhile we like to have a couple of our nieces over for a fun weekend. So yesterday, before it was time to take the cousins home, Jeremy and the kids gathered in the kitchen like little chefs, and whipped up a Coconut Cream and Lemon Meringue Pie together. Oh they were delicious! Kate, Tate, Cami, Alex, Carson and Jeremy... I give you an A+!

Picture Perfect

So a few days ago Cami and Alex were playing animals, (or like animals!), and Cami took hold of Alex's shorts with her teeth. With a quick snap of movement from Alex, Cami's tooth comes almost completely loose! She called up grandpa, (a dentist), and said he needed to come over and finish the job. So Sunday night, tons of family was here for Jeremy's birthday and we caught it on video. The first thought that ran through my mind was, "She has school pictures on Wednesday"... so I told her, "Now you can show off that cute hole in your mouth with a BIG smile." :)

Like I said, Jeremy had a birthday this weekend so sing it with me!....

"Happy Birthday to Jeremy! Happy Birthday to Jeremy! Happy Birthday to the coolest guy the in the world! Happy birthday to Jeremy!"

ShorT and SweeT

It's been good for my boys and I to have some one on one mommy time. I have thoroughly enjoyed being at home with these two. But I just have to say something about my littlest one. He's been such a jabber mouth, and recently he's been finally putting more than two words together to form sentences. It's so cute because you can see the struggle in his little brain as he tries to form the correct words to come out. So, I went to the park today and Carson was upset about something. He threw himself on the dirty ground in complete frustration and started to cry. "Carson, do you want to go on the swing?" I ask in hope as a good alternative. "Yeah." He stands up in excitement and then says, "I like mommy." I swooped him up instantly and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "I love you too, buddy." I don't know why, but I still can't stop thinking about it. He just melted my heart today.

Ice Cream with a Cherry Tomato on Top!

This is William. William is one of the funniest little characters you'd ever meet, and you'd fall in love with this blue eyed, red haired little boy the instant you were with him! This last week was such a treat to be with this nephew of mine... and his parents of course. ;)

This is just a glimpse at his spontaneously, adorable character! (I don't know why but this clip makes me laugh every time!)

Tyler and Crystal, you sure have got a cutie on your hands!

OH TOMATOES!

This is what our counters look like right now. Jeremy planted 13 tomato plants this year... need I say more.

Back 2 School

Cami is now in the 1st grade! And as you can tell, she is ready... more than I. I love this sweet girl! Now it's me and the boys at home. We'll pull out the slip n' slide while it's still warm and I'll start canning some pears... just passing the time waiting to pick up Cami at the end of the day, anxious to hear how 'AWESOME' her first day was. :)

Hiking, Squirt Guns, and Elephants

MULTANOMAH FALLS

This last weekend we took a trip to Portland. We had spent 3 years of our life there while Jeremy went to Grad school. I forgot how gorgeous Portland truly is! On our way there though we stopped off at Multanomah Falls and hiked it to the top. This fall goes up 620 ft. and is a 1.2 mile hike, and a steep one I might add. Our two oldest hiked it with us, while Carson had ice cream with Grandpa Steve below.

On our way up we saw a nice little resting spot.

We made it to the top! I was so impressed with Cami and Alex! I wasn't sure how they would handle such a steep hike and going a mile or so is LONG for a kid, but they loved it!

What a view!

When we came back down we all took off our shoes and walked through the refreshing stream from the falls. Besides the ice cream, I think this was Carson's favorite part. ;)

FAMILY REUNION

Our motivation for the Portland trip was a family reunion on Jeremy's side. I didn't get many pics cause of all the visiting, eating, and tending to kids... but I did capture a few fun moments. :)

Cami and Alex got a kick out of sneaking up on people with these squirt guns and hosing them down. I think they're pretty lucky they are still small and cute because otherwise they would have gotten a hose down themselves in return. ;)

Carson made buddies with Aunt Sherri. It was SO cute watching these two. Aunt Sherri just sat by Carson visiting with him, for almost a half and hour! Too cute.

And then there were the games... egg toss, three legged race... it was wonderful to see everyone again! Till we meet again!

THE ZOO

We LOVE the Portland zoo and every time we go back we make sure we go see the animals. Now normally I don't take pics of all the animals because you just have to be there to really experience it all.... BUT, these elephants were such a riot to watch while playing in the water! Splashing each other, dunking themselves, it was such a hoot! You'll have to take a look at the short video I took... animals have so much character!

Mice in the House!!

Just the edible ones, if that makes it sound less gross. ;)

Nice Alex... I think you have some something in your teeth! :)

These cute creatures were really fun to make and EAT of course. ;)

Sister + Sister = Forever

A couple of weekends ago my awesome friend did a sisters photo shoot for me. She did such a good job and we had so much fun, so I had to share some of our moments.

We are:

1) Big Goofs

2) True friends

3)And if you know us at all, slightly competitive... but in a heathly way. ;)

I love this little sister (and much taller might I add :) of mine!

My friend took some really beautiful pics of my sis and I had to share some of them!

My friend had my mom come in on some of them and I'm so glad we did!

Thank you Ashleigh for these priceless pictures!

Check out her photography blog at:

http://www.photographybyashleigh.blogspot.com/