Leaves, leaves and more leaves!!!

The ginormous maple tree in our front yard is so amazing!! It's an awesome canopy or beauty in the fall. And then, when the leaves fall...look out!!! Sooooooooo sooooo soooo many leaves!!! It made for a lot of fun times for the girls. And, a side note...raking leaves is a seriously sweet ab workout!! :0) Enjoy the fun pics of the girls...could they be cuter!! :0)

Fall craft project

Seasons...Wow! Something we haven't really experienced for a long time. We have absolutely loved the fall this year. I remember dreading the first feeling of jacket weather when I grew up here, but now that I've been away for so long...I LOVE IT! We drink hot chocolate, collect and play in the leaves, we (against all of our feet's desires) wear socks.

At the first sign of the leaves changing, we went on a nature walk with the whole fam...Grandma, papa, Tawnya, us and all the kids...just around mom's block. We collected so many varieties of leaves that were all so beautiful. So, that was a very fun outting. Then, the next day, we made them into placemats with clear contact paper. The girls had very specific oppinions about their leaves, color and placement. We even made a mat for Sean. :0) It made a great table decor for a few months. This picture was taken when the placemats were almost 8 weeks old. :0) A fun project I highly recommend to everyone.

Samantha...5 one day, 4 the next...

Samantha...my little Sammy, turned 4 on Nov. 9th. She's absolutely convinced that she was NOT 3. Our conversation usually went something like this:

Mom: "How old are you Sam?"
Sam: Without hestitation, "5!"
Mom: "Really? Are you sure you're not 3?"
Sam: Jumps to the ground wherever she was... "Mom...watch how big I am" Then puts her hands on her feet, and follows them all the way up her legs, body and puts her hands high up in the air... "See! See how big I am! That means I'm five!!"

So, when her birthday celebration came (we celebrated with the family on the 8th). This was heard several times...

Guest: "Samantha how old are you today?"
Sam: "5!"
Guest: "5! Wow! How old will you be tomorrow?"
Sam: Again, no hesitation, "4!"

hahaha... Such fun little things she brings to us! But, I have to agree with her completely...I had a hard time believing she was 3 too. :0)

We all had a great time celebrating. Sean made her cake for her...a perfect pink flower cake! She loved it and...yummy! She loved all of the gifts and was so gracious to let Kaitlyn help open almost all of them. Kaity was desparate to have everything to herself. haha...good times... Especially when Samantha got to the gift from Grandma Dot and Grandpa Bunnell. They gave her a darling stuffed dalmation puppy. She opened it and snuggled the puppy immediately...very sweet. And then set it down next to her. Kaitlyn got ahold of it and has barely let go since then. hahaha... Funny the things they become absolutely attached to! :0)

Sam also got to bring birthday treats to preschool for everyone. We ended up going to Walmart and finding a really fun tinkerbell cupcake arrangment. She was excited about it and really wanted us there to take her picture (which I was more than willing to do). She had a great time having me and Kaity there to watch her big day.

Happy Halloween!

We have had a great time this year with Halloween! Party after party! Grandma Dot went all out as usual. We ate sooo well and the kids loved it.

Samantha has been able to dress up for halloween 3 different times this year and I think she's been something different each time. hehehe... She's getting very good at the costume thing. She was a kitty for Grandma Dot's party, a fairy princess for school and a bundled princess for halloween night. :0)





Kaitlyn had such a great time with halloween this year. She dressed up as a cute little witch for grandma dots and a pretty purple fairly princess for halloween. She definitely had no hesitation in trick 'r treating. Most people would have them choose their own candy and Kaitlyn would have easily cleaned out each bowl if we didn't watch. Who wouldn't....they offered! hehe..

Even Zoe got into the spirit of the night. She walked around with us and got a few doggy treats out of it. hehe...

We're so glad that Jame's came to stay with us for a while. He's been so much fun to have around. It's just a shame...he's only been here for a week and he's already had a hunting mishap...hehe...


Trick 'r Treating was fun...we left from our place and just walked the cul-de-sac's...me, sean, pumkin zoe, pumkin mason, panther drew and Aunty Tawnya. Samantha were singing an impromptu halloween song as we walked, cheered, wished everyone a happy halloween....needless to say....having a grand ol' time. :0) Mason walked along too, and he was finally happy in his pumpkin costume. hehe...



James and Joni dressed up and met a bunch of friends at the utah state basketball game. James had a great time! Who wouldn't....he was hangin with Joni...hello?! hehe...