Pink fairy

Cass is off to school and LOVING her make-up!

Toddler Halloween Party

Being a spider is too stressful

costume parade

cute friends

pass the pumpkin game

had it with the costume

Edmund from Narnia

Lion- fits his personality perfect!!

Cade, Luke and Jake had a party at the church with their pals a couple days ago. They changed their mind about their costumes on our way out the door- so they'll most likely be something different tonight for the main event.

Shots

I've forgotten how miserable babies are the day they get their shots. It hasn't been THAT long since I had a newborn, yet I'd completely forgotten. The crankiness, the piercing cry....poor Jake! Gotta go- the crying has started again....

Carving pumpkins

Warren and I got to carve 2 pumpkins each this year. These pumpkins were HUGE! The pumpkins this size at the pumpkin patch were going for $30 a piece- now isn't that a bit ridiculous? The kids were a little disappointed when we left the patch empty handed- but I was much happier with our purchase of pumpkins at our neighborhood grocer for $3.88 a piece instead. My hand was so tired when we were done! Warren did Cade and Luke's. I carved Jake and Cassidy's. I also carved all their names in them. A little tradition- and I get to use my creative side a little...

Cass wanted me to make sure I took a picture of her actually putting the seeds in the bowl- documentation of the help she rendered. :) We have a TON of seeds! :)

Cassidy's pumpkin

Cade's pumpkin- note Luke- obsessed with getting the pieces we'd carved out- sticking them back in. Maybe growing more like Cade with the love of puzzles?

Luke's pumpkin.

Jake's pumpkin- Hey!! Who's back there with the knife!!! Aaahhhh!

I had to keep moving the pumpkins around the house to try to keep them away from Luke. He's standing in a chair in this pic. He is known for his chair moving techniques to get to anything up high. I conceded to putting the pumpkins on the ground so none of them would get knocked off the counter and broken.

Fancy doo

This one took awhile, but I love it!!

At the Pumpkin Patch

Pumpkin patches here in TX are definitely different than CA. They're more like pumpkin carnivals. The kids had a great time playing with the bounce houses and doing the chunkin pumpkin launch. But, I myself was longing for the charming pumpkin patch back in Merced. Bear Creek Pumpkin Patch is amazing there. With rows of flowers, surrounded by orchards, corn mazes, everytype of gourd you can think of, and pumpkins of all varieties growing on the site. It's beautiful. I was caught a little off guard here- yes, I see the pumpkins all lined up- but where is the PATCH?!! We did have a good time- just a different feel. We think this orchard was owned by members of our church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints)- Warren kept getting comments on his BYU shirt. I wish I would have got a picture of the sign they had out, "The only ghost here is the Holy Ghost." Now that is a refreshing thing about TX! I don't think I ever saw a sign like that in a patch in CA.

Daddy's the funnest!

Interesting Comparison

We don't live in California anymore, but we have heard plenty about Prop 8 and all that the supporters have been going through. Protests at the temple where were married, etc. I thought this picture was quite the parallel. It's a painting depicting a scene 6 B.C. Samuel the Lamanite is the man standing on the wall. He was a prophet preaching about the coming of Jesus Christ. As you can see, the people were trying to kill him for his prophesies. Miraculously, the arrows weren't able to hit him and he was able to give his message. He stood for what was right- even though it was an unpopular decision. What a great example to us all.

Our own "Wildcat"- Luke after too much rootbeer!

To Cassidy's delight, we joined the other crowds of little girls and moms and went to High School Musical 3 last night. Warren let us know he was really doing us a favor by going- especially when he saw he was probably the only male over the age of 8 in attendance. To keep Luke entertained Warren got some popcorn and rootbeer. After drinking large amounts of soda on an empty stomach, Luke was on a total sugar buzz. He was going absolutely nuts! Running and rolling up and down the stairs of the theater, dancing each time a song came on- crazy. Atleast he was quiet- and thank goodness for matinees! Warren and I were speechless after seeing the large groups of little girls all dressed up for the event. Packs of 10 girls per mom were all lined up for seats as we were exiting the theater. I was glad we went early!

Teaching Jake about Scooby Doo

Cade begs me daily to go to the library. Here he is enjoying his Scooby Doo books we checked out this week after storytime.

Cade feels it's his duty to fill Jake in on all the fun things in life. He loves to include him in all his fetishes- Star Wars, Scooby Doo, etc. So cute!

Another quote

"We each do the best we can. My best may not be as good as your best, but it's my best. The fact is that we know when we are doing our best and when we are not. If we are not doing our best, it leaves us with a gnawing hunger and frustration. But when we do our level best, we experience a peace." - Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Bubbles

Thank you, Mimi! We love packages!! Here are the kids enjoying the bubbles you sent them- Yoda is enjoying them, too!

Playing Restaurant

This has been the dramatic play activity of the week. They've been having a ball with their friends playing with the tea cups and water. I even cut up some celery for them to use as food. Though when I came out I noticed a plate of smeared peanut butter. I guess someone thought the celery was too bland and got into the pantry and helped themself! :) (I'm pretty sure this someone is Cassidy- though no one complained!)

Lovin' on Jake

These kiddos are so sweet with their baby. I'm glad he's still a novelty around here even after 8 weeks! Cade's all of a sudden been especially interested. Everyone he meets he tells them, "My baby Jake is SO SO SO SO SOOOO cute!!"