Leaves. . . everywhere!

Living up in Salt Lake in an older home means older trees with more leaves. We are so excited to finally have piles of leaves to rake up and jump in. After the kids' last soccer games, we came home and celebrated by playing in the leaves with neighbors. Will thought it was too hot, so he just had to take his shirt off. Of course, Ezra had to take his shirt off as well. Cute little tummies!

A Terrific and Testing Two-year-old

Yesterday we celebrated Ezra's 2nd birthday with Kerri and kids, Kurt and Ashleigh, and Blake (missed Dave). I'm thankful we have family who were able to support Ezra on a busy weeknight. During the party, Ezra was serenaded over the phone by his Nana and Bapa. When they were done singing, Ezra said, "Bye." This little guy can be sooo cute right now, but I have to admit that the way a 2 year old tries to assert their independence is VERY trying sometimes (okay, a lot of the time!).

Even though he can be a stinker, I just love this age. I love:

*how he says, "Morning," each morning when I get him out of bed
*his buckster teeth
*his tight hugs (at knee or around neck)
*how he says, "Sorry," if he's asserted his independence on one of us (like last night when he threw a truck at Will's face)
*how he calls his blanket his "baby"
*how he is learning so much so fast
*his blonde hair and big blue eyes
*how he giggles when he's tickled
*his love of books
*his silly spirit

I've been truly blessed. Now just help me remember this during one of the many assertive episodes!

P. S. THANK YOU to Eric who designed, assembled, and decorated his very cool train cake after a busy day at work.

I've been tagged. . .

I noticed on Kerri's blog that I have been tagged. So here goes. . .

5 Shows I Love to Watch:

1. The Office
2. Arrested Development
3. Oprah
4. House Hunters
5. Little Einsteins

5 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Goodwood BBQ
2. Mimi's Cafe
3. Johnny Carino's
4. Cafe Rio
5. Citris Grill

5 Things that Happened Yesterday

1. Packed 72-hour kits
2. Got multiple hugs from Ezra
3. Had Ezra meltdown in the Dollar Store
4. Learned more about Matt & Ananda's engagement
5. Paid bills

5 Things I Look Forward to:

1. Date nights with Eric
2. Watching The Office with Eric
3. Dance jams with the family
4. Bedtime
5. Time to scrapbook or read with no one to interrupt me

5 Things I Love About the Fall:

1. Cooler weather
2. Crisp, blue skies
3. Colorful leaves
4. Wassail (totally agree, Kerri)
5. Watching the kids play in a pile of leaves

5 Things On My Wish List:

1. A safe and healthy family--always
2. The Nifty Fifty lens
3. To take a photography class/course
4. To have zero debt
5. A good night's sleep

5 People I Tag: (I'm not sure if 5 people read my blog, but. . .)

1. Janae
2. Eric
3. Sandy
4. April
5. Liz

Crazy Hair

This week is Red Ribbon Week at the kids' school. Today's theme was "Drugs can be hair raising," and so the students could come to school with crazy hair. The picture above is our very quick interpretation of today's theme. I think we did pretty well for the less than 5 minutes we had this morning!

A Busy Saturday

After two soccer games and picking out pumpkins, the kids had a blast dressing up for the "Trunk or Treat" held in our church parking lot. I love how Abby and Will seemed so happy with their costumes. Ezra was tolerant of his monster costume. He'll definitely be nice and warm on Halloween night!

Trunk or Treat led right into an annual party at the Black's house. (The same party where my water broke with Ezra two years ago.) It was a fun night filled with yummy food, friends, pumpkin carving (with lots of help from Eric), and Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas playing in the background.

Double, double, toil and trouble. . .

. . . fire burn, and cauldron bubble. The witches were out in full force at Gardner Village, and so we visited for our FHE activity this week. (All the witchiness made me feel right at home!:-)The big kids loved finding all the witches (especially the one in the row boat on the water), whereas Ezra was a little freaked out! Nothing that a little candy from the quaint candy shop couldn't cure though!

Will Quotable #451

Today Will gave a talk in Primary. He did a wonderful job. Not before I had finished the thought, "Phew, we made it through," Will steps off the podium, pulls off his jacket and loudly and dramatically says, "This jacket is killing me!"

The Fun Continues

Yesterday we made the drive down to Thanksgiving Point for the not-to-be-missed Cornbelly Maze and other Halloween activities. The kids absolutely love this tradition. This year was no exception. We had a blast except for the lovely 15 minutes we couldn't find Will and for my unforgettable experience in the porta-potty. But that's a whole different story. . .

Besides the maze (in the shape of David Archuleta), the kids enjoyed frolicking in a heap of dried corn kernels, zipping down long slides, jumping on the pillow-like trampoline, digging in the dark sand pit, dressing up in the princess area, playing in the water, and much more! At the end of the night, I was glad we all made it home (Will and all) and that we could all have access to a hot shower to decontaminate!

October Rocks!

There are so many fun things to do in October! Our latest adventure with the family was at "Storybook after Dark" at Red Butte Garden. We enjoyed painting our own faces, listening to (and watching) a Navajo tell a story and make a sandpainting, playing games, getting warm by the barrel fires, making seed bags that will grow into "monster" hair, choosing our own oak tree for a prize, being wowed by the cool lighting, and much more. We love the Garden and plan to renew our membership each year!

A Nor Cal Weekend

This past weekend we had the chance to go to Nor Cal for my brother Rob's wedding. He married Jen in an outdoor ceremony with a beautiful woodsy backdrop. So pretty. We are so happy for Rob and Jen and feel like Rob definitely couldn't have found a better girl! Jen is awesome, and we wish the two of them the best!

Even though it was a quick trip, we still had time to enjoy my parents' rural property and play with cousins. It was darling to see Abby and Will be so loving towards their littler cousins. (Abby is the oldest of the six cousins with four of the six age two and under!) They also enjoyed spending time with their two older cousins at the wedding.

It was great to spend time with my family. I appreciate them. I appreciate how my mom tries to make everyone happy. I always look forward to the bag of Lindt candy, home decor magazines, and bottled water she leaves on our nightstands. I love how my mom and dad play with my kids and how my dad stayed up late watching movies with them in the motorhome this trip. I also love how Frank and Rob make me laugh all the time and love me even though I wasn't the best big sister growing up. I'm thankful to Uncle John and Johnnie for their generosity and love. I appreciate Myrissa and the time she spends with Abby and Will. I enjoy Josh's sweet spirit and smile. I definitely miss my family already and am looking forward to seeing them again.

A Fall Walk

Every fall our family enjoys going into either Big or Little Cottonwood Canyon and enjoying the fall colors. The chldren love to find leaves, turn over rocks, explore, and throw sticks and rocks into the clear stream. I enjoy seeing my family happy, feeling the cool, crisp air, and clearing my mind. I think I'm the happiest when I'm in nature with my family. I'm thankful I live in an area of the country where the beautiful mountains are so close to home.

My husband

is seriously handsome! I feel so grateful that I am married to a wonderful person who loves me and his children and who is easy to look at, too!

So far a successful soccer season. . .

Last soccer season was quite interesting with Will. Visions of him crawling out onto the field, scoping out "contrails" in the sky, throwing grass at the coach's wife all stand out as the epitome of his interest for playing soccer. Contrast that to this year! He is so excited for practice and games. He has scored two goals (one was in the other team's goal, but still, he is making contact with the ball)! He has also shown great sportsmanship. I loved how at the last game he was yelling across the parking lot to the other players, "Good game!" He's such a sweet kid!

Abby is doing great, too. I love hearing her cheer her team on. She's also had four shots on goal, but three have narrowly missed and one was deflected off the other team's coach's leg. I'm proud of her hustle on the field. She's such a fun girl!

School Carnival

Abby and Will's school just had a carnival last Friday, and boy, did they have fun! It was tons of fun to see people we knew and to see our children have fun with their friends. It was, of course, difficult to keep track of Will, but who could blame him? With unlimited rides on the bounce houses, a cake walk, snow cones, hair spraying, games, and much more he was in HEAVEN. The kids came home tired, dirty, and happy. They slept very well that night!

Raytheon-Sarcos Work Party

About a week and a half ago, our family attended a work picnic with Eric. The highlights: watching Will run around with a balloon concoction on his head, Abby getting her hair brushed with a toilet scrubber by the comedian/juggler (after she yelled, "Eeewww!" when he said he would juggle it and a toilet plunger), watching the kids play on the nearby playground, and having our family win three different raffles! One of the awesome wins was when Will picked the dvd "Harry and the Hendersons." Sweetness. Winning the dvd was almost as fun as watching Abby get her hair scrubbed with the unused toilet scrubber. (She did not realize it was unused, though!)

Can anyone relate?

Lock down the school! Will's in kindergarten!

So I've been totally fine with Will going to kindergarten. Maybe it's because I've been so preoccupied with getting Abby adjusted to first grade. Even though I've been fine for him and me, I've worried about his little inquisitive mind and restless energy and how that will all play out at school with a cute, young teacher! Does she have locks on her doors? But after today's experience, I'm all for Will showing his true self. You see after taking some time to calm Will, giving him a lot of reassurance, and getting him settled on the rug in his class I said my good-bye and walked to the attached mud room to watch how he would do for a couple of minutes. I wanted to be sure he was okay. When it was his turn to go to the front, get a name tag, and be greeted by his class, he just crumpled over and started to cry. I then promptly lost it myself and had to leave. I had never seen my friendly, out-going little boy act that way. It was so TOUGH to watch him react that way. I luckily saw Kerri outside the kindergarten area, and she checked on him for me a couple minutes later. He was not crying at that point. Talk about being relieved! And even more relieved when he exclaimed, "I love school!" as I picked him up after his first day. So after seeing my little guy act so forlorn, I'm thankful for his usual friendly and silly demeanor, and I don't worry his teacher will enjoy Will because who doesn't? And yes, no need to worry because she does have locks on her doors!

I'm also excited Will gets to go to school with his cousin Kate! It was fun to go to lunch after school with Kate and some of his friends from the neighborhood! Here's to a great year. . .