Frightmares (and Frightmares again)

 Oh Fall!  My favorite!  Time for Lagoon in the brisk fall night.  We had so much fun at Frightmares this year that we had to go back the next week with Seth's sister and her girls. 
We love Frightmares because it's decorated in fun Halloween things, lights are up, the night is just a bit chilly, and the lines are short.  We also love the fun Halloween walk throughs the kids get to go through and get prizes and candy.  And oh, the hot chocolate!  Can't forget my favorite thing!

 This bat-guy thought he would be scary, but I think James surprised him more that he expected when he ran up and gave him a hug!

 Chloe was loving her goggly eyes she scored.

 Back with the cousins.  These two (Chloe and Tori) were inseparable.  So cute. 

 Chloe was loving her funny man glasses that she could add to the goggly eyes she scored the week before. 

 Sam, a kid after my own heart, downed the yummy hot chocolate!

Flowers? For Me?!

Seth surprised me with flowers today!  I was so giddy inside, like a young girl with a suitor.  What a sweet hubby I have.  Today was a great day.

Chloe and Lexi

 

Lexi has become one of Chloe's new buddies.  She is always so sweet to her.  Today she took her upstairs, got her all dressed and jeweled up, hair done, and make-up on.  Chloe was a princess and loving every minute of it!

Family Pictures

 Well, we finally did it.  Two years later, we fianlly have another family picture.  I don't know why it always seems like such a chore to get our picture taken.  From the photographer, to the site, to the wardrobe, to the complaining kids (and husband) :) it just always seems to get pushed back. 

I do feel like these were a little rushed, but I was just trying to get them done.  A lot of our pictures ended up being currupted (I don't know how), so this is pretty much all we got.  We got a few good ones, but I was pretty bummed that after so much work to have such slim pickings.

I think we will try again in the spring.  But for now, at least we have a few shots.

The kids were as patient as they could be...

 ...so we got ice cream to celebrate afterwards!  Maybe this will help them have a positive memory when they think back to family pictures.

Regan and Lexi

Seth was recently called as the Ward Mission Leader.  It has always been his favorite calling and he is super excited about it.  Just a few weeks after getting his calling he noticed a young girl coming to church with some friends.

The missionaries came over for dinner that night and we decided to go over to their house and find out what her situation was. 

When we went over we found that Regan (the girl Seth noticed at church) and her sister, Lexi, had been coming to church with different friends.  Their mom, Jessica, is a less active member who was willing to let her girls take the discussions if they wanted to.  We set up an appointment right away and off we went.

The girls had great friends, Amara and Bella, who had been taking them all about the church, reading the scriptures with them.  Regan and Lexi knew it was something special and took the discussions and commitments seriously.  Jessica was so supportive and helped the girls along their way.

Just after a few weeks the girls set their baptismal date and were excited to invite all their friends and neighbors.  I of course was super excited for them too and helped in the planning.  We used the song, When I am Baptized, as inspiration for our rainbow theme.  The girls loved the theme and couldn't wait for their big day.

I went and did a little photo shoot with the girls for their big day.  They got all dressed up and posed for the camera.  They were eating it up! :)

 Their baptism was beautiful and had a sweet spirit and great attendance from all the friends and leaders.

 Lexi has become especially special to us.  She comes over a few times each week to hang out and play.  The kids were very happy for her on her special day.

 We had a fun open house for them, their friends, and family after the baptism.  I think that Jessica was most overwhelmed by the love and support her girls had gotten after only a few weeks.  It really was special occasion.

Sam's Got Hops

Sam got to work on his jumping today at Tae Kwon Do.  It was so fun to watch.  I love his smile as he does his exercises.  So fun.

Tressa

We love when Tressa comes to play.  She is so much fun and the kids lover her.  Don't know how soon she'll come back after all the kids have done to her! ;)  So fun to have so many great cousins.

Story Time

Presley invited James and Chloe to come out to her library today for story time.  They were excited for the outing and had a great time.  They held hands as they walked, pointed at things and giggled together, got in trouble for running around. :)

 I love this picture of Presley just with her hand on Chloe's back.  What a sweetie.

Megan

We love going to my sister, Joy's house.  Most of her kids are older than mine, but they are always so kind.  My kids love them.  Today when we were over there I hadn't seen Chloe for a while, so I went looking.  I found her snuggled up with Megan, just hanging out.  I love these moments.  Im thankful for sweet cousins for my kids.

Signs

Sam loves to write notes now.  It's always fun for me to see what he writes or draws.  He told me he wanted to help me decorate for Halloween so he drew all these pictures for me.  I love them.  They are so spooky and perfect!

Note to James and a jack-o-lantern

 Tombstone and spider and other scary things

 Zombie

 Bat, blob, and haunted house

Werewolf, something, and a bat

Rat

 Vampire

 Skeleton

 Frankenstein, witch and owl, and mummy

 

Jack-o-lantern man, spider

 A sign warning us to stay inside because it was too cold outside.  He would switch it with the sign on the wall when it was warm. 

Arrrrr

Chloe and her cousin, Presley, are great little buddies.  I love watching them play together and hear their interactions.  Presley says "Chloe" so cutely.  She calls her "coie".  I love it.  Presley is way into pirates, so she has been dying to come play pirates with Chloe.  So we got them dressed up and buried some treasure in the sandbox for them to go find.
I'm so glad we have so much family close by so my kids can play with their cousins.

The Halloween House

One of our nightly past times in October is walking over to the Halloween House in our neighborhood.  The kids love going and seeing all the fun things our neighbors put out.  Each year they add a little more and it's fun to see what is different.   I'm not sure how many times we'll be over there this month, but I am sure it will be at least a few times a week!

Our Very Own Lego Store

This is very bitter/sweet for us.  We love the idea of having a Lego Store, but don't like that we have to pay tax on them now that they are in the state! ;)

We had to go to the grand opening and check out our new stomping grounds.  The kids loved the store and had fun checking it all out and helping build the Hulk.  The first few days the store was open there was a fun master build where you could come and help build pieces to make the Hulk.  James and Chloe had fun helping while Sam watched. 

I can tell there will be many frequent visits to the mall now! :)

I Love to See the Temple

I just had to stop and take a picture as I was driving home tonight.  What a view!  We are so blessed to live so close to the temple.  Oh!  I love fall!