Ward Halloween Party!

My adorable crew of costumed cuties - A sorceress, an angel, a pirate and a parrot.  I love that this may be my first picture of all four kids where Cole isn't actively dashing away while I click the shutter.  He's even smiling!  May this be a continuing trend.

Evie and Lizzie worked together with a couple of army men to reassemble a skeleton.  A fun puzzle!

My favorite room was the coloring room.  The kids were so cheerful in here!

Cole took a turn playing the beanbag toss...or drop.  When you're that close, it's tough to miss.  And it really made him happy to do the things big kids were doing.

Carson had an excellent moment wherein he brushed aside the blindfold saying, 'I don't need it' and perfectly pinned the tail on the black cat.  Of course, the teenage girls running the game got a real kick out of that!

Carson also won at the cake walk and chose a yummy chocolate cupcake.

Lizzie wanted me to take a picture of her finished coloring project.  She worked very hard on it!  I love that her halo spent much of the night either askew or fallen off completely!  It was cute.

I wanted to remember how I did Evie's hair.  She wants me to do it another time without the need for costume.  It's a scarf woven into a french braid headband.  It's actually really cute!

This is how Cole spent most of his time.  It's really the easiest way to keep track of him with three others scrambling around.

There was a costume parade and Lizzie and Carson ran across almost too fast for me to catch.  I did miss Evie.

Outside, going car to car, it was more like winter and we were very glad we brought coats and layered up under the costumes!

This was part three of what's ending up to be Halloween in four parts.  There was the day of school Halloween parties and the pumpkin farm with Grandma, then the ward party, the tonight is pumpkin carving and treats with Grandma and we'll finish it up with trick-or-treating on Halloween night next week.  How awesome is that - a week of Halloween fun?  Hooray!

Celebrating Cousins

A get-together with cousins is always fun, but this time had a purpose.  Well, dual-purpose.  First, was to help make a support movie for Aaron's 7 year old cousin, who is in the nearby children's hospital for a bone marrow transplant.  This treatment is because she has Fanconi Anemia.  The kids all raced around in capes and took superhero poses.

The little boys couldn't keep up with the running, but they displayed their superhero-ness cheerfully.

The second purpose was to choose pumpkins to decorate or carve at Grandma's party the Saturday before Halloween.  The kids were all happy to pick their own pumpkins!

I loved that Ben just sat down and wanted to touch all the pumpkins!

This picture of Cole just makes me happy.

The BIG Backyard

We had such a treat to join Aunt Katie and our cousins at a local hidden gem, 'the big backyard'.

Cole spent all his time climbing ladders and sliding slides, while Carson spent almost all his time pedaling around on this big wheel.

Cole was also thrilled to have found more balls than he knew what do with.  He spent time organizing them and throwing them around.

Jess loved this little cozy coupe!  She and Carson made rounds.

It was, really, a big, indoor, backyard!  There was everything that should be out in the fun.  We really loved it!

On the sad side, it was a bit expensive, but we've already targeted a couple of 'free days' that they sponsor, and we're excited to go again sometime.

Happy Autumn Pictures

One morning, when the girls were leaving for school, we had the most beautiful fog with sunlight glowing through.  Some fog is creepy, but this glowing fog was gorgeous!

Lovely driveway in the fall.

These pumpkins.  Oh, these pumpkins. :)

It's Fall and I'm in LOVE!

There is something about autumn that makes me swoon every year!

Is it that it's just right for comfort foods like hearty stews?

Is it the evenings and mornings that are cool enough to want to snuggle in blankets with books and hot cocoa?

Is it roadside farmer's markets overflowing with colorful goodness?

Is it harvesting and, my new love, preserving?

Is it throwing on a sweater to run outside in the leaves?

Is it the burst of vibrant color as nature puts on it's dancing shoes and skirts before sleeping the winter away?

I think it could be all these.  Today, while I could have been stuck inside canning pears, I took the boys on a 'what makes me smile?' photo hunt.  These are some things I loved, with a few at the end for Carson.

Can I say color?

This is what we see driving up the hill to Grandpa and Grandma's house.  Some of that is their property, some their neighbors', but it come together so nicely!

One of the trees in Grandpa's woods.

The next hill over from Grandma and Grandpa's place.

I loved that this tree looked like a flame, with the deep red at the top, then dark orange, gold and green going down.  Lovely.

Produce stand!  The squash was beautiful, the wheat crispy fresh, and the corn colorful.

Carson loves Grandma's chickens and we spent a few minutes taking pictures of them.  This one red hen was very brave and wanted to be in every picture!  I have lots of her.  I wish I'd gotten more of the timid speckled ones.  And the rooster.  I'll have to go another time with fewer distractions, because the chickens are so beautiful!