Halloween Happened!!

Two years without makes you appreciate something you generally loathe.

I'm no converted Halloween believer, but this year I was at least a smiling tolerator.  And that's saying a lot.

We carved pumpkins.

 Itty bitty pumpkins because the grocery store was out (which, by the way, who runs out of pumpkins a week before Halloween???), and I wasn't going to another store to try to track down some stupid gut-filled gourds.  So we used what we had. 

 The kids were all gung-ho to carve, until I opened the tops.  Then they all went scarce. Because they seem to have forgotten what the inside of pumpkin looks like??? And Allen was at a fireside, so I got to be the de-gutter.  And scraping out scraps in itty bitty pumpkins is knuckle-bruising.  Big time.

Also, daddy came home just in time for the fun part.  Naturally.

I'm the room mom for Tessa's preschool class.  Worship me.  I threw one rip-roaring Halloween party.  Also, Eden hated every part of that danged skunk costume.  Stinker.

We met up with our favorites for some downtown Summit trick-or-treating.  Because it was strangely, yet deservedly, warm.

Also, that is the only picture I got of the children.  Ryder was some freak skateboarding skeleton thing and the girls were characters from Littlest Pet Shop.

Obviously, I am way past having any say in the costuming department.

Then we came home, I stuffed scrambled eggs down their faces, then sent them out the door with their father to trick-or-treat the neighborhood (while Eden slept and I handed out candy). 

They came home with way too much.  Way, way, waaaayyyyy, too much.

90% met the garbage can 3 days later.

So, yeah, definitely not converted.

Love.

Happy

 The weather was looking perfectly picturesque prior to conference beginning this morning.   So we headed to the arboretum with our tripod in hand.

Then is started to rain.  And our seats got soggy and our hair full frizzy. 

  But maybe the unexpected rain was an unexpected blessing because everyone thought it was hilarious and there were no complaints to be heard.  Which happens....never???

And the fiercely-anti-photo-father even muttered, "We will have to try this again soon."

Mind. Blown.

Smashing Pumpkins

 Yesterday we enjoyed our general conference break with some friends at our favorite Pumpkin Picking destination.

 It was blazing hot.  Scorching.  And we all seemed to have missed the memo.  

 So we sweated through our fall clothing. 

 It was worth it.

 This year, in addition to our usual hayride, we let the kids do the Pumpkin Slingshot.

 They loved it.  I would have loved it a lot more if my skin didn't feel aflame.  Or if I was in a bikini.

 I love that hayride.  Such a pleasant way to observe the gorgeousness that surrounds us.

 This little lady was certain that those orange things were actually humongous apples and she. was. in. heaven.  She tried to take bites out of every single one.  The bigger the better.  

 She puked a few minutes later.  Related?  I'm choosing to believe it was the heat mixed with the massive amount of cider she consumed.

 With our bellies full of cider and donuts, our pumpkins carefully chosen, and a pie in hand, we happily headed home.  To the air conditioning.

 Another successful October day spent at the farm.

   We began this morning with a pumpkin coffee cake to prepare our tummies for another day of General Conference.  Fall is certainly here. The smell.  The taste.  The colors. The football. The warm fuzzy feeling.   Oh how I adore this heart-warming season. 

Eden Rose is One!!

September 17th this precious little flower turned one.  And in true fourth child form, the event went nearly unnoticed.  Life is crazy town.  I'm sure she understood.

Ryder and Tessa helped me manage to snap a couple shots to mark this momentous occasion at the park while Linley was in cheerleading practice.  Because that was all the free time we had that day.  Or any day really.

She is a full-fledged walker, and it is sort of completely adorable.

She is getting her molars, which is far less adorable, still believes screaming is the most effective form of communication (even less adorable) and loves to give loves, which really trumps all else, cementing her status as completely perfect.

Mom and dad and Megan and Amanda were in town this weekend for the Donny Osmond Home launch party (it. was. awesome.), so we did a teensy, tiny birthday celebration then.

The birthday girl would have rather been in bed.

Or doing anything other than eating cake.

She refused to touch it.  Which was only semi-devastating.

She is such a dreamy little baby.  Spicy and sassy and beautiful and sweet and completely scrumptious.  Our life really is a little sparklier with this little miss in it.  Love you Eden Rose!!

Apples are Awesome

Two weeks ago we found ourselves feeling especially Fall festive.  We bundled up and headed to the local Pick-Your-Own Farm.  

On the menu: honeycrisp apples.  

                                               It was a happy way to spend the morning.  
                                Well maybe an hour of the morning.  If we include drive time.

The best part was the apple crisp we made and devoured that night.  A $40 apple crisp.  We're so fancy.

Happy Autumn!

The First Day of the Rest of Your Life

 September 4th marked a momentous occasion for these cute creatures.

The start of a new chapter.

 Not only was it the first day of school, but the first day of school in a different school, in a different town. My mommy powers assured me they were all a little apprehensive, but they refused to let me know.

Ryder and Linley are attending Thomas P. Hughes Elementary while Miss Tessa is a student at Mary Kay McMillin Primary.

The big Fourth grader.  He came home from his first day ecstatic, proclaiming, "I am so nice and mature this year!!"

Way to go kid.

 Lucky for Linley, this elementary school begins in 2nd grade, so everything was new to everyone in her class.  She came home proclaiming this school to be the best ever.

Let's keep it that way lady.

 And then there's the Pre-Ker.  The confident sassafrass.  She hated having to wait a few hours after dropping the kids off before she got to experience school herself.  She still hates having to wait.  Impatient little beast.

She came home her first day announcing, "we did NOT go to the gym, we did NOT go to the park, and we did NOT go to the library.  But I still had fun."

She didn't have high expectations or anything...

I suppose going to school in Berkeley Heights, and doing several after school extracurriculars in Berkeley Heights means we really are beginning our life in Berkeley Heights...we're just still living in Summit.  Commuting several times every day is pretty crappy, but the kids really are in love with the schools and I think the house will be done before I die, and we are all making fast friends, so we plug along.  Speaking of close friends, the gas station attendants and I are on a first name basis and I finally updated my playlists, so it's not all bad?!?

Hello Fabulous Football

There was one more uber important reason for our visit to Virginia.

BYU Football's opening game against UVA!!!

My parents drove up from Georgia to join us for this most celebrated event.

Forecasted was a sweet, sunny 85 degree day.

We had front row seats.

Our team was ready.

It was going to be epic.

And epic it was.  But not for any of the reasons I had hoped.

First: It was freaking hot and humid.

 Then immediately at the end of the first quarter, the game was shut down.  The stadium closed.  And every single 61,000 persons escorted outside.  To find shelter.  In a gym.  With no electricity.  Because there was a storm brewing.  A most unwelcome fierce thunder, lightning wind and rain storm.  Because ruining two Halloweens in a row isn't enough: mother nature has to take my football games, too.

We waited in the gym until the rain slowed enough to venture back to our car.  Allen and I and the 4 children left to grab dinner, then dropped Allen and the two littles off at the hotel for baths and bed.

Shortly thereafter, the two bigs and I joined grandma and grandpa back on the field for the last half.

Which was played in the POURING RAIN.

We were drenched.  Soaked.  To the bone.

 And then, we lost.  A soul-crushing-stupid-should-not-have-happened-full-of-if-onlys loss.  

But man, we had a crazy, stupid good time.

Epic.