Happy Halloween

We started the Halloween festivities by attending the annual carnival put on by my sister-in-law's mother. She throws quite the shindig. Easton's favorite event of the affair is launching paper rockets and then chasing after them with his cousin G.I. Jake.

This little lion was delighted with the buckets of candy he was able to obtain while traipsing around the neighborhood. I was delighted with the many mini candy bars I snuck from his bucket.

This little pumpkin enjoyed eating her tutu. I enjoyed kissing on those chubby cheeks.Little Miss Pumpkin with Grandpa Bob, Grandma Connie and the Wild Lion.

Oh, and the lion's cucumber friend.

Grandpa Mark and Grandma Debra with the cute ones.

And of course Halloween isn't complete without a visit to see Great-Grandma Glenda. One of the sweetest ladies around.

More

Last Friday my mom was in town so we met up with my aunt and we went to the Children's Museum. Easton loved it.

Here he sits patiently waiting for the helicopter to take off. He really thought it would fly away because it makes loud sound effects like it's going to. He was very disappointed when he never left the ground. Easton's 'work' as he called it was to lift and build with the blocks. If I had one of these builder stations in my house I would probably never see my child. This kid loves construction.

Las Vegas Baby!

As you may have noticed I fell off of the blogging bandwagon for a bit. For those of you who regularly update your blog. I admire you. For some reason I lack the ability to do so. When my life fills up with so many other things, blogging gets put on the back burner. Those other things I'm referring to include listing and selling my cousins home within two weeks' time. Listing another home, teaching an enrichment class, being sick 3 times (I've decided I'm not leaving the house for the rest of the winter) and various projects around the home.

As a result I am behind on our blog and would like to update what we've been up to. At the end of September we went to Vegas for a few days. Clint had some work obligations to attend to so we decided to join him and make a mini-vacation out of it.

This picture is what vacation is all about. Hanging out, enjoying one another's company and just taking it easy.

Easton chased this poor pigeon around and around before the dumb thing finally flew away.

The pool was the main event of our stay in Vegas. We spent many hours enjoying the sunshine and Easton loved soaking in the hot tub. His favorite thing to do however, was to sit in the shower for an hour at a time. The shower had a built-in bench which provided the boy with endless enjoyment. Every towel and washcloth he could get his hands on ended up covering the bench. It was his "work" he told us.

While we were in Vegas I was able to spend the morning with my best friend Holly and two of her boys. Everytime I get together with her it's as though little time has passed between us. She's just one of those friends that you can talk about anything with and leave feeling so uplifted after talking to her. Unfortunately I forgot to take photos.

Beautiful baby girl. She didn't mind swimming but was more content to lay on the lounge chairs with daddy.

It was nice to have some time in the sun to spend with my family (and to not have to do the dishes for a few days.)

Roly-Poly

Little Miss is 4 Months old. She weighs 15 lbs 8 ounces putting her in the 86th percentile. She is 25.5" long and is also in the 86th percentile for her length. Her bottom two teeth are starting to come in already. Marielle is a wonderful baby and has such a happy temperament. She is captivated by big brother and enjoys watching him run around and be silly. He can really make her laugh too.
She sleeps wonderfully. I put her down for the night between 8 and 9 p.m. and she usually sleeps until 5 or 6 a.m. I am loving that. When you get a good nights sleep it makes a world of difference.

She is also rolling over from her back to her front now. Much to my disbelief she started rolling from her stomach to her back at just three weeks old. With the addition of her new rolling ability she is quite the mover, rolling all over the floor. Little Miss steals my heart.

Fall is in the Air

I caught this little guy doing something he often likes to do outside instead of taking the time to come in and do. We got our fence put up this week and I am thoroughly enjoying being able to send Easton into the backyard to play and not worry about him wandering off. It's also nice to hide the little guy when he is pulling one of these numbers. This is our family room. You can see the crown we had installed several months ago. Love it. Clint installed the mantel, purchased for $75 off of the classifieds, and did the tile work around the fireplace.

Easton and I decorated for fall. He was anxious to get the pumpkins and the leaves out. He also wanted to hide the eggs and went and got his Christmas tree and plugged it in as well. It's a season for all holidays apparently.

Karol- the picture below is for you. It is a cake stand made with a plate and a crystal candlestick from the thrift store and glued together with an epoxy. A glass cloche on top completes the cake stand. I enjoy decorating for each season with a different item under the cloche. A little ribbon tied on top and the ensemble is complete.

Love Coconut

Growing up my mom always made yummy homemade treats for our family. I now find myself enjoying doing the same for my family. (Let's be honest- I also love eating treats.) I've been on a coconut kick lately. These chocolate coconut brownies are delish-and easy to make.
Step 1: Mix a chocolate brownie mix as indicated on the box. Spread into a 9"x13" greased pan.
Step2: Mix 8oz softened cream cheese, 2/3 cup sugar, 2 eggs, 2T of flour, 2 cups coconut & 1/3 cup of almonds.
Step 3: Spread over brownie batter. Bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Voila! I also made some lemon-coconut bars tonight, which I am eating right now, and they are yum. No wonder I can't lose that last 10 pounds of baby weight. While I've been busy eating chocolate coconut bars, Clint and Easton have been working hard in the back yard getting the rest of the sprinkler system in. Don't you love that beautiful new trailer Clint purchased? I was pleased as punch to see that beauty pull into our yard. Apparently it was a screaming deal on KSL and it gets the job done so I can't complain about the eyesore.

Easton has also been trying his hand at photography. He's very artistic.

More Family Photos

Clint was out of town when we had our first photo session. We had another photo session with the man of the house. I love this photo of Easton. He looks like a little model to me. I think this boy is now well trained on how to pose for pictures because he was doing all sorts of poses for the camera.

My little princess. Love that sweet look on her face. She must have been watching Easton and contemplating what in the world he was doing. I also contemplate that same thing. She loves to watch him run around and do silly things.

A Little Inspiration

It has been well over a year since I have done any serious paper crafting. Last week I purchased a new shirt and the following tag was attached to it. This little tagged sparked my creative juices and inspired me to make a card using the same color scheme and idea.It has been too long since I have played with my paper supplies. I have forgotten how much I enjoy making cards- and giving them to others. If you would like a homemade card while I am on my cardmaking frenzy, drop me a line with what kind of card you would like and I will send you one.

First Day of Preschool

Easton started preschool today. Five minutes prior to school I rolled him out of bed. He was so excited and a little out of it due to having just woke up. He got to play with play dough, paint a bus, eat snacks and play some sort of bear game that apparently "shcared" him.

After school we decided to hit Thanksgiving Point for the last $2 Tuesday. We went to the Dinosaur Museum. Easton was too "shcared" to sit by Marielle and myself while taking this picture. Lately everything seems to "schare" Easton. I don't mind it except for when it's 3 a.m. and the little guy is too "schared" to sleep in his bed anymore.

It was wear matching shirts to the museum day today.

Happenings

Every Tuesday during the month of August you will find us at Thanksgiving Point. For only $2 per person you can get into any of the venues. Easton enjoyed feeding the goats at Farm Country.

I made Blackberry Jam with the fresh blackberries Clint and I picked. Every year we like to battle the prickly blackberry plant to pick these sweet berries. I tried to make the jam while Marielle was sleeping but halfway through the process she woke up and was fussy right as the fruit began to boil. Then Easton decided he wanted to be a part of the process too and climbed up on the counter and filled some of my jars with water. I was trying to console Marielle, dry out my jars and stir the boiling fruit. It's amazing the jam even turned out.

And as promised, a picture of the finished frame project. Not the best picture as I was trying to console Marielle while snapping a quick pic.