Recessionista

Hey all you ladies out there! My cousin Natalie is now the official blogger for this darling company called "Recessionista" Check out the amazing give-away she is doing right now. Three TO-DIE-FOR handbags are up for grabs!!!
Nat introduced me to the blogging world (and FaceBook) last year and she continues so keep me updated on the latest and greatest. Love her! S.W.A.K.

Halloween Costumes

The kids said this was their best Halloween ever and I have to agree. Every year, Dave & Robin Veres let us come over to their house on Halloween. Robin magically transforms her house into a Halloween Wonderland. She has amazing decorations and always feeds us super yummy food. After we eat, the dads take the kids trick-or-treating. This year the Houser family brought their trailer so the kids were able to collect candy in style. In our neighborhood, the houses are spread far apart and the driveways are long (and covered in snow this year), so the moms always gather at the end of Robin's driveway to pass out candy. Robin starts a fire in her portable fire pit and we just have a great time.

Happy Halloween!!!

Here's Miss Sophie sporting her "nappy hair"
Queenie sent this darling outfit and the kids put the finishing touches on by adding the wig. The funny thing was that she wouldn't take it off. You could tell she felt so cool in it.



Not happy. She wants her hair back!



Lexi decided she wanted to carve her pumpkin with a Darth Vader face. Funny how when the kids say they want to carve pumpkins, it really means Mom & Dad get to carve pumpkins. Anyway, I printed a stencil off the internet and 2 hours (and lots of naughty words) later . . . here is Mr. Vader. You can't tell, but it was cool all lit up.


Here are a few pics from the Halloween carnival at our church last night. My camera's batteries died so I didn't get very many. Can you see Lexi (aka Darth Vader)?


Max is barely in this one.
He's hiding in the back with the curly wig & sun glasses.


This is the Gillespie family - with one extra member. They are one of those families that is always helping out. Even though they have their own baby, Cari could see that I was busy helping with the carnival so she just grabbed Sophie and took over as surrogate mother! No surprise she was the pre-school teacher for both Max & Lexi.



Our dentist (Jamin Houser) and our Bishop (Jeff Coy) tasting the chili. They were judges for the chili cook-off. Mine didn't win . . . because I didn't enter!!!
Hope everyone has a great Halloween. I'll be sure to take extra batteries so I can get more pics from the festivities tonight.

Edible Play Dough

Today is a snow day! The kids are so excited to be out of school. We have tons of snow on the ground and lots more to come over the next 24 hours. After playing Rock Band, lots of board games, and sledding outside, we (meaning I) needed a quiet activity. I found a recipe for Edible Play Dough on this blog that I love. It's called Our Best Bites . The kiddos have been entertained for a long time.
Here's the recipe:
1/2 Cup honey
1 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
Put everything in a bowl and use a hand mixer to whip it all together. PLAY!!!

Here's Princess Sophia trying to be involved in the fun.
She loves this crown and gets mad if it falls off.
Maybe this one will be a Girly Girl afterall!

Just the Kids

Miss Sophie has recently become very attached to her "blankie." She even has to eat her meals with it. Thanks to my friend Jami for sending it to us when she was still in my tummy. It's her favorite!


Look how big she's getting!


This is how I found her this morning. Just chillin on the couch reading her favorite book. This book was also Max's & Lexi's favorite. It's really worn out and sticky! She's on the patty cake page.


I thought this was so cute! Max & Lex were helping me get seeds out of a pomegranate and she really wanted to help too.



Nothing like doing Slip-n-Slide in October! Last weekend (before all the snow) we tied the record for the highest temperature. So the kids enjoyed what will probably be their last day of the year playing outside in their swimsuits.

Afraid of Hikes

Today was such a beautiful Fall day, we decided to take the kids on a hike. I thought the day was perfect. So, tonight when I was putting Lexi in bed, I asked her if she had a fun day and she said, "Yes, super fun - but I thought you were afraid of hikes." She cracks me up. I explained that I'm afraid of "heights" and she laughed. But she thought I should still be afraid of hikes since they take you high up on top of a mountain. I told her I would only be afraid if I was on the edge of the mountain looking down. This was the view from the top. Amazing!





The kids found this cool tree that had been chopped down.



Matt & Trish gave us this backpack carrier when Max was born and we're still using it. This was Sophie's first ride in it and she loved it. Jason got to carry her on the way up, and I carried her on the way down. Either way, it was no easy task . . . but I'm glad I got the downhill job.



While we were stopped for a little water break, a bee tried to attack me. Sophie thought my swatting and squealing was sooooo funny. She was hysterical. Notice the pine cone in her left hand. She pretty much ate it during our hike.




It didn't take long for Lexi to find the perfect stick!


Soph was giving daddy kisses on his hat.
Her way of saying, "Thank you for carrying me."

Our Fall Tradition

For years, going to the mountains to see the leaves changing colors in the Fall has been one of our favorite traditions. This year, we decided to stay closer to home and we discovered a perfect place in Pikes National Forest. Who knew this little pot of gold was only 20 minutes away? Well, we drove a lot futher than that along a very windy dirt road that made some of us car sick, but eventually discovered that the best place was closer to where we started than where we ended up. Lesson learned! Here are some pictures from our adventure.