Fall Festivities

The other night we got together with some of our friends for some fall fun. We started off making pizza.

The boys all thought it was delicious and I would agree.

Then the boys (big and small) carved or painted pumpkins. Painting pumpkins takes concentration.

The grown boys finished products.

While the boys worked on their pumpkins, the girls made caramel apples. Yum! The pictures do not do them justice. We used kraft caramels for half of the apples, and made a caramel from honey for the others. The honey recipe was so easy and tasty, I think I will use it again next year.

Trick or Treat!

The boys had a lot of fun trick or treating this year. It only took Will a couple of houses before he figured it out, and once he did he was booking it from house to house.

They also got to see their Dad and school and trick-or-treat there, too.

Will was a giraffe at Zach's school and Zach persuaded him to wear the dinosaur costume Halloween night. Joe was Spiderman. I can't figure out how he even knows who that is seeing as he has never seen the movie, but he thinks he is pretty cool.

Preschool Halloween Party

This fall Joe started a little Preschool with his friends. We aren't super structured (some may call it more of a play-date), but once a week each mom takes a turn to teach all the kids a little lesson or do a little activity or craft. I have loved it so far, and so has Joe. Last week we all got together and had a Halloween party.

The kids got to pin the smile on the jack-o-lantern,

read Halloween themed stories (how cute is Joe with his arm around his friend),

go fishing for goodies,

enjoy a Halloween themed lunch,

and decorate pumpkin cookies!

I think the party was a success. Joe had a blast (despite the fact he refused to wear his costume).

More Visitors

We were so happy to have a second set of visitors come in October. My friend and former next-door-neighbor Allie, and her boy Easton came to visit.

The trip included a visit to the Zoo. Unfortunately, Will didn't even last two seconds and we had to leave early, but Joe stuck around with his buddies.

Lot's of playing with Easton. These two got along so well together! Sometimes Joe's idea of "playing" (usually some kind of chasing or roughhousing) isn't appealing to a lot of kids, but I think Easton actually enjoyed it.

And lastly, a visit to Wheatfields for their famous Creme Brulee Waffle. I had never had it before and it was delicious! We are so blessed to have such great friends!

Kissin' Cousins

We were so lucky to have Jerry (Zach's brother) and Ashley (my sister) and their kiddos come visit us last week. Someone told me that our kids are called Kissing Cousins, I always called them double cousins. Whatever we call them, we had a blast while they were here. We took a trip to the Zoo, Winter Quarters Temple, Vala's Pumpkin Patch, and on a rainy day, the McDonalds Playplace so Zach and Jerry could have a little jam session uninterrupted at home.

We were having so much fun I hardly took any pictures. I tried to get the kids attention while Zach took these pictures of the four of them. I thought if I asked them where my belly button was I could get them all to look, and maybe get a smile out of them too.

Joe thought it was more fun to find his own belly button. It took only a second for all four of them to catch on.

This turned out even better than what I was hoping for.

The rhinos were all hiding when we were there so this is the only one we saw.

Joe thought the turtle was pretty cool.

It's hard to get a picture of these two together, at least one of them wants to be on the move almost all the time.

Getting ready to feed the goats at Vala's.

The kids got along great, except for a few minor tiffs. Joe and Sarah were pretty funny and would have little arguments. One recurring one was about Joe's name, which Joe pronounces wrong and Sarah doesn't. It was pretty funny. Sarah also liked to tease Joe that Jeremiah's name was Winnie the Pooh. Such silly kids.

Pregnancy brain must be in full force because the night before we had church I told Jerry and Ashley that church started at 9:30 am. Sunday morning I again told Jerry the same thing. As Zach and Jerry were leaving with the older kids I told Zach, maybe Ashley and I would make it for Sunday school as well (we were just planning on going to sacrament meeting with the baby.) Zach assured me that we wouldn't since it started in half an hour. I insisted that Relief Society was more than thirty-minutes, and what was he talking about? Zach reminded me that our ward starts at 9:00 am not 9:30am. Oops. I'm not sure why I had 9:30 on the brain, we've been going to church at the same time since January!

Another highlight of their visit was getting some cuddle time with sweet Jeremiah Jr. He did great on the trip. It was great to be able to meet him at one month! The next time we see him he will be eight months old, and we will have a three month old! We are so thankful for our wonderful visitors. Thanks so much for coming to see us!