Pumpkinland!!!

SICK...this past week and a half my two poor kids have been desperately sick. Vomiting, pooping, caughing, sneezing, running noses...the whole bit. It was awful. However, they are finally on the mend and I have time to remember the good times we had right before our week of sickness...

I LOVE fall and Halloween and try to soak up every last bit of it I can. A few weeks ago we went to Pumpkinland with the kids. They loved it! Here is Jane with her typical, goofy smile preparing for the corn maze lined with funny Halloween jokes..adorable.
Here's Ryan and the kids in the gourd hut... it was very cool!
This was our failed attempt at taking a fun picture...the kids weren't cooperating.
Beckham loved being chased by mama in the corn maze :)
Though painfully slow, Jane walked the whole maze by herself.
Just a cool picture with the sun lowering while we were still lost in the maze.
After the maze, Jane got to feed the many goats some cabbage. This had to be one of her favorite things to do.
Of course, we had to take our traditional picture inside the giant pumpkin :)
What a fun fun place Pumpkinland is! We had a blast picking out our pumpkins, too!
Here's Jane and Beckham at home a few days later...sick as dogs... We decorated Jane's pumpkin though to break up the very monotonous and long days. Her's is a scary Frankenstein!!
Beckham got a tiny pumpkin too :) Ugh, please ignore the ugly, giant foot destroying the picture...
Well, some more fabulous, fun memories made and some not so fabulous ones as well. But, life moves on and I can't wait for more Halloween fun!

The Worst Feeling Ever...

Several scary experiences with my kids have unfortunately proved to me that I am no good in stressful situations...I could never be a super hero...I simply lose it altogether and end up being completely useless. Here is a sad example:

I manage property and the office is attached to my home. During the morning hours, which are notoriously slow, I leave the door open and go about my business. A few days ago, I was doing my hair while the office was open. Beckham was playing next to me and Jane had grabbed her second juice box for the morning. I told her she couldn't have it and to go put in on the counter. Seeming unusually obedient, she walked towards the kitchen as if she was going to actually put it away... I am finally making progress with this listening thing, I thought proudly.

I had gotten preoccupied with my hair and realized that I hadn't heard or seen Jane in awhile. I went to go check on her, expecting her to be easily found as usual. Well, she wasn't. Relatively calmly, I checked every room in the house as well as the kitchen, pantry and laundry room. She didn't show. Slightly more panicked, I checked all the closets and even went outside to see if she had somehow escaped our locked tight house. Still no sign of her. Completely losing it, I run around the house again, yelling Jane's name in a panic.

Now, in these situations my mind tends to land on the most horrible scenario and in this case I was sure that Jane had gone into the office to play when unbeknown to me someone had come in the unlocked office door and taken Jane. It took no time at all for me to be completely freaking out, tearing up and screaming Jane's name around the house and even outside. (My poor neighbors again thinking I am crazy).

I was about to call 911 when Jane wandered out of my closet where she had been hiding behind the door sipping the forbidden juice box. She was crying, obviously because she heard me screaming like a helpless idiot for her. I hugged her so tight and didn't want to ever let her go. That was just about the worst feeling ever...

Ryan and I have since then installed a door chime which goes off, quite loudly anytime someone enters the office... Annoying, but great at the same time!!

Happy Birthday Jane!!!

Jane is 3 years old!! We went all out and had a super fun birthday bash for her on Saturday. We went to her favorite park and invited all the family. Here is Jane at the very beginning of her party with her cousins, Braden and Ashton!
She also had fun with her cousins Spencer and Stewart who were nice enough to come to her party :)
All the kids had fun pulling down the many balloons, Christina and I had painstakingly taped all over the pavilion. Oh well, at least the kids had a blast...
We had pizza, fruit, a delicious salad Ryan's mom made and soda pop (thanks Angie :) all of Jane's favorite foods- unfortunately. She had about two bites and was off playing again.
Next, Jane opened up her presents. Just about every one of her presents was Princess or Tinkerbell themed. Thank you Disney :)
All the cute boys tried to act interested as Jane opened girly present after girly present.
Mae watched intently...
Ashton got super excited about Jane's Aurora doll for some reason :)! What a good sport he is!
And finally...the grand finale...Jane got her new Cinderella dress she had been talking about for weeks. It did not disappoint...
Since the boys were such good sports about all the girly presents, they got their own supr fun, very boyish goody bags!
And they were very appreciative :)
Yes...there was cake...lots of cake. Jane dropped three consecutive pieces on the ground before she could really dig in. So, good thing the cake was way too big :)
Here we are at home enjoying Jane's spoils. We sat on the blanket Christina gave her and played the Princess matching game Jared, Heather, Braden and Ashton got her. She loved it!
And of course, she watched her new Tinkerbell movie with her new Aurora doll, snuggled up in her new blanket!! Thanks for all the sweet presents, everyone! She is in heaven right now!
Here we are visiting grandpa the next day! The kids had fun on whatever toys they could scrounge up at grandpa's house.
And my mom came over on Monday, Jane's actual birthday, and gave her a set of princess shoes. She was thrilled and has yet to take them off.
We love our sweet little Jane and are so proud of her. She is so smart and talented. She loves to sing and dance and is very artistic! I love watching her talents flourish and grow brighter every day! She is surly destined for great things :) Thanks to everyone who helped make this birthday so special for Jane :)

Summer is Winding Down

Summer is winding down and I am excited, excited, excited for the Fall (my favorite season). However, we have still been enjoying the last few days of summer. Jane loves her cousins Braden and Ashton. They had a blast playing together one afternoon. What could be better than helmets and body armor?
Ryan, the kids and I took a morning drive up Provo Canyon to see the beautiful changing colors. Our drive led us to Squaw Peak. It's so beautiful up there!

Jane loved hiking around with Daddy :) She is such an adventurer

Here's one of Jane and Mama...Best friends :) I love that gal!

Here's Jane taking in the view...

Another Saturday, we took the Fam up to Snowbird where we stumbled accross Oktoberfest...hahah! It was pure craziness! At least Jane got to have a little fun...even though
we had to wait in line for 45 minutes for a 5 minute round of jumping.

We also took advantage of the gorgeous summer evenings and had an impromptu picnic at a park. It ended up being a ton of FUN!! Beckham just loves being outside :)

Ryan and Beckham had some fun together. They are good buddies!

He kinda likes mama a little, too.

Ryan does a mean job of grilling :)

Well, goodbye sweet summer and welcome Fall!! Lots more amazing adventures and good memories await us :)

Our Big Boy, Beckham!!

Our big Boy, Beckham, is almost 10 months old!! I am a terrible mama though, and this was his first photo shoot!! They turned out pretty good, though! This was my favorite one :) I know, he's quite a looker, right?

We are so proud of our little guy! He crawls and army crawls around everywhere. He is very curious and loves to explore...in fact he hardly ever sits still :) He loves being outside, too! He stand up on everything...which means he falls all the time as well, unfortunately. He has had his fair share of bruises. His favorite thing to say is mama (atta boy, Beckham!)





We love our perfect little boy :)

A Week of Firsts for Jane

This was Jane's first week of school at the adorable little school, Kid's Village!! Oh how she loves school. When I dropped her off the first day she ran in and never looked back...ya she left me in the dust looking on sadly...it was depressing :( but I am so glad she acclimates well to new situations like that. I can tell this is going to be a great school year for Jane!

Here are her first day of school pics! Jane, age almost 3, anxiously awaiting her first day of school. This day had been talked about for months...
With her little school bag...with her name embroidered on it! I told you...the most adorable school ever.
She couldn't wait...what a champ!!
Like I said, she ran right in and never looked back. I was left behind, the attached mother unable to just leave, taking picture after picture...and I swear, she never looked back once. So i finally left and she had a great first day :) Yay Jane!
Also, as a last before school fling, my mom, Jane and I went to see "the Lion King" show in Salt Lake. This was Jane's first play and she did so great!! She stayed pretty quiet and interested in the show. There was only one moment in the play where Jane let out a gigantic "Simba" Lion roar...but everyone laughed so it was all good. It was an amazing show!! Thanks mom :)
Here's just a cute pic of Ry with the kids! I love our little family and I am so proud of our big girl, Jane!!