Trick or Treat

The night before Halloween, we had our ward Trunk or Treat. The kids got way too much candy. But, it was fun to see some of our friends and be able to talk to them and see their cute kids.

On Halloween, we always make Minestrone soup and have some friends over to share. This year, some of the Roundy family came and we had a great time having them here. Brandon also cooked a killer tri-tip in his new smoker. It was amazing. We also carved our pumpkins on Halloween this year. Dillon drew the face he wanted on a piece of paper and Brandon carved it for him. I decided to do a Mickey Mouse one for Daniel since he loves everything Mickey right now. Then I did BOO and Dillon decided he wanted a witches hat above it. It doesn't really look like a witches hat, but it was still cool.

Dillon decided he wanted to be Anakin Skywalker. Daniel got to be Darth Vader - or Darth Dan as we have been calling him. They were sure cute in their costumes.

We got to go Trick-or-Treating with them in our neighborhood. Here is a picture of Daniel waiting for everyone to finish so he can close the gate. He waited at every house to make sure that the gates were all closed. Silly kid!

Dillon and his friend Carter

Then we went to our friend's house, Amree and Richard. They are always so good to our family. We go there every Halloween so they can see the boys in their costume.

It was a great Halloween. I am so excited for Thanksgiving this year. We are going to spend it with my family and I am counting down the days!

Halloween Party

Brandon and I went to a couple's Halloween party. It was so much fun. We always have a great time there. We couldn't decide what to be, so I was walking through WalMart and saw these t-shirts and thought that we could wear them. So, this is what we came up with. I have to say that I am very happy that Brandon went along with the idea considering he had to wear make-up, lipstick and tights. He was a good sport. We had a great time and can't wait for next years party!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great Halloween. We had a little mini-celebration the week before. When I was in Utah, I found some Spaghetti that was black. I thought it would be fun to have a Halloween dinner one night. Boy was I wrong. My kids wouldn't touch the spaghetti. They thought it looked like worms. The only way I got Dillon to eat it was to have him close his eyes. It tasted like spaghetti, just didn't look like it. We had a good time though. I love Halloween and have passed it onto my kids. Brandon likes it when it is over but he puts up with me and all of my crazy traditions.

Girls weekend!

In October, I went with the Roundy family girls to Utah to celebrate Heather's 30th Birthday. She didn't know we were coming. We left on Thursday, October 16th and got to her house about 2:00 a.m. to surprise her. I wish we had a picture of her face. She was so excited and suprised to see us.

We didn't waste any time while we were there. We went to some great restaurants to eat, Gardner Village,

IKEA and

Music and the Spoken Word with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

On Friday night, we went to see the play Jekyll & Hyde at Rodgers Memorial Theater

in Centerville, UT. One of my good friends, Andrew, was the lead in the play. His sister (who is also one of my good friends), Liz, flew in from Texas and we had a little mini reunion at the Theater. It was so great to see all these people I haven't seen forever. They are such a big part of my life and always will be.

We had such a great time.

Andrew was AMAZING! I wish I could have seen it one more time. After the show, they did a little bloopers version of the show and they had us laughing so hard my head hurt. After the show I got to have a sleep over just like old times with my friends. We stayed awake until the wee hours of the morning. My body didn't know what to do. But, it was worth it. We talked and laughed and sang and just had a great time.

I am so glad that Brandon let me go and was willing to watch the boys while I spent all his money and had a great time. I did miss all my boys though. I couldn't wait to get home to see them!

It was a wonderful weekend. One I will never forget.

This is Brooke - my friend Liz's daughter. Isn't she the cutest thing in the world? I was trying to figure out how to take her home without Liz knowing.

ME!!!!

I like to play this little game in the car when the boys are either fighting or starting to whine (which is usually every time we are in the car). I start asking them questions like "Who loves Mommy?" and then they raise their hand and shout "ME!!" (Dillon doesn't say anything anymore, he just raises his hand - I guess 5 is a little old to be playing this silly game). Well, yesterday I was playing this little game and Daniel was yelling ME extra loud. I usually throw a trick question in there to catch them off guard and then we laugh when Daniel yells ME! Like "Who wants to go home and take a nap?" Yesterday I was about 5 questions in and I said "Who wants a spankin'?" Daniel didn't miss a beat and pointed his little finger at his brother! It was so funny. We laughed the entire way home. In fact, it makes me laugh every time I think about it. They are definitely entertaining.

Look what Daniel can do!

Smiling....waiting for mom to leave the room!

Blankie out...check!

Caught in the act!

Well, last week Daniel started getting out of his crib! It has been a nightmare. He gets out about 20 times and we just keep putting him back in. He hasn't had a nap since last Friday and I am starting to get worried that he will stop taking one. I am thinking that tomorrow we will try the pack and play and see if he stays in that. Last night, it took us 1 and 1/2 hours to get him to go to sleep. He just gets out and wants to play. We tried taking away his blankie and all of his toys that he insists on sleeping with - he just doesn't care. So, if anyone has any advice, please let me know what has worked for you. I am thinking that maybe we will just put him in a big boy bed because then when I tell him to go back to bed, he will be able to get into it!

Update: I just went into the family room to find this:

I guess sleeping on the floor is better than being stuck in a crib! Big boy bed - here we come!

Happy Birthday Brandon!

Cute as a baby!
Cute as a teenager! (love those dimples!)
Cute as a fisherman!
Cutest as a daddy!

September is a busy month for birthdays in my family. Brandon had a great birthday this year. For Father's Day he got a smoker that he has been reading about for 2 years. We decided since it was a little bit more money than we usually spend on Father's Day that it would be for his birthday as well. He was more than happy to accept that. We did give him a movie, a CD and a couple of other things that he loves. His mom even made him a cover for his smoker. Since Father's Day we have had some delicious food because of that present. Brandon is an awesome cook and we love it when he tries his new recipes out on us.

Brandon is such a great husband and father. His boys love him so much and already want to be just like him. He has such a big heart (don't tell him I told you that!) He is really funny and we have a lot of fun together even after all this time. We were able to go out to dinner on his birthday to one of our favorite restaurants - Flemings. It was so much fun to celebrate together. We are having a family dinner with his family on Sunday so the boys will be able to have birthday cake with him that night.

Happy Birthday honey! Love you even more this year than last.