Hey, Big Brother...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!

Tricks, Treats & Hot Air Balloons

After dinner on Saturday, we all drove down the street to the Peoria Sports Complex for their Halloween festival. The kids got to trick-or-treat to some Harley Davidson riders (the first of which was dressed up and freaked Kimble out). Then we all sat down on the outfield grass and watched the balloons inflate. It was amazing to see all four rise up and glow in the night sky. We finished the night with a couple games, then went back to grandma and grandpa's house for cupcakes. Overall, Kimble and Karter had a great night and are now even more excited for Halloween.

Johnson Halloween

Saturday afternoon, we made our way over to Peoria to celebrate Halloween with the Johnson family. We ate some yummy grub, then got the kids dressed in their costumes for pictures. Every year we get a picture of all the kids together, this year we moved to the bigger couch in the living room (we just keep growing). Here is a list of all the costumes (left to right): Jamie- witch, Karter- Peter Pan, Kimble- Tinkerbell, Hailey- Cinderella, Jacie- Belle, Avrie- lamb, Kylie- Aurora (sleeping beauty) and Landen- scarecrow. They were all adorable!!

Thanks, Mom!

Yesterday, as of 3:30 pm, Kimble's costume was just pieces. I am not a seamstress by any means, so I headed over to mom's house. My mom worked and worked (I pinned)... by 7:30 pm the costume was complete. THANKS MOM, you're a lifesaver!!

Photography

Yeah, Heather!! She has finally gotten her blog up and running. Check out her photography and design skills @ hjcustomdesign.blogspot.com...

I've Been Tagged!

Okay, so I have been tagged by Jessica. I have to warn you that I am not an interesting person, so I really had to think to come up with 7 interesting and random things about myself...

1. I hate (yes, I said hate) to sweep/mop, but love to vacuum. I think I just like to see the lines in the carpet.


2. I like to go for random drives around the neighborhood.


3. I started thinking about Christmas back in August. I have my Christmas card layout ready, I just need the family pictures.


4. I look forward to Mutual every Tuesday, just so that I can go somewhere without any kids.


5. I avoid writing in cursive, I don't even like to write my signature.


6. I have never seen an Indiana Jones movie, but I love the ride at Disneyland.


7. I always drive, Kevin's driving makes me nervous.

So, there you go. Not very exciting I know, but that is me. Now I tag: Ann, Julie, Rachaell, Keeley, Steph, Amy and Bre.

Amazing Adventure

About a week ago, my parents gave us a gift card for Amazing Jake's. Kevin had been there before and was just itching to go again (I think he has been craving pizza). So yesterday, we decided to head on over as soon as Kimble got home from preschool. Luckily, we got there only 30 minutes after it opened, so there was not a huge crowd yet. Kimble was so excited, repeating "we're going to get pizza" the entire trip over... but when we actually arrived and walked inside, she was speechless. I have to admit that I was a little excited when we walked in, too.

Kevin said that we had to eat in the movie room. They had three different movies playing at once. So we sat in the middle and got to watch all the movies at the same time. Kimble was so loving this place already. After we finished eating, we headed over to the game section. The first thing Kimble wanted to do was ride the horses, a.k.a. the carousel.

Karter was definitely not as enthusiastic as Kimble was for the ride. He seemed to take everything in stride, until we found the basketball game. He ran to it and started hitting it, to let us know that this is what he wanted to play with. Some how, he knew it involved balls. Kevin also helped Kimble play Skeeball, it is one of her favorites.

Once we ran out of points (tokens), we cashed them in for some fun trinkets at the prize counter. Man how we love those prizes...not. Kimble broke her slinky in about 10 minutes, oh well.

In the end, it was a successful and adventurous trip.

Birthday Wishes...

Happy Birthday Dad!!

Park Time

My sister, Steph, brought her boys over yesterday to play (they are on fall break and needed something to keep busy). We all headed over to the neighborhood park since the weather has started to cool down a little. The kids always seem to have a great time playing together, which makes it that much more fun when they are able to make the trip over.

Karter wasn't sure what to do once he got on top of the platform.

Parker was awesome on the bars...what a macho man!

McKay was so proud that he could do what big brother Dallin was doing.

Kimble decided she was sad...it only lasted about a minute.

Who wants to go to Burger King for lunch?!

How Much?

So, I am participating as a vendor at a country boutique here in Queen Creek in just two weeks. A couple of the YW leaders are putting it on and asked me to make some crafts. I decided to sell glass jars with ribbon tied to the lid as one of the crafts. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I put some time into matching the ribbon, cutting all the ribbon and tying it all on. My question is: how much would you pay for one? Kevin and I have different ideas (I guess because I put the work into them). Any constructive criticism would be appreciated!

*Keep in mind, I have not trimmed the ribbon yet.

Every time the men head off to the priesthood session of conference, the women and the children hang out and have dinner together (We missed having you with us Amy!). Last night, we had a nacho bar for dinner, YUMM-O, and cupcakes for dessert.

The kids each got to decorate their own cupcake with sprinkles. Some had more than others.

McKay was so careful when he shook his sprinkles on.

Parker made sure his cupcake was covered.

Dallin only cared about eating it... that cupcake did not last long at all.

This was Kimble's second cupcake... the first disappeared before it even got frosting.

Karter was just happy to have a cupcake.

The cupcakes were awesome... Thanks Heather!!

F.Y.I.

Just wanted to let you all know that Kevin is now on the HOA board for our community. There was a vote on Tuesday at the community meeting and he was easily voted on. It sounds like with his background at the town, he will be playing a very important role for the committee. He is really excited about the new position. I think that it will be a great fit for him; I just hope that it doesn't become like a second job. Way to go Kevin!!