Halloween

We live on a lonely cul-de-sac that doesn't get many trick-or-treaters (at least by the standards of the streets around us). Paul is determined to change this. Paul works towards this goal in two ways. First, he gives out full-sized candy bars. This is definitely a draw for the kids, but the dentist in him won't allow him to quit there. He has to include a tube of toothpaste and a toothbrush. Second, he likes to create a little atmosphere. With some scary music, fog machine,dry ice in a witches pot, spiders that jump on you when you get your treat, a remote control leaf blower (I guess it is the noise that is scary), a gorilla in a cage that made a little girl cry, and many other tricks and surprises we had plenty to keep Tyler and his friend entertained the whole evening. We still don't have massive crowds, but the word is out. I think we get a few more every year.



Seth was a great skeleton.



Makenna was a pumpkin or a "pumpkin princess". That is what Makenna said she was. She loved her costume and she will NOT look at the camera when I take pictures. Funny!



Hailee approached me this year with her costume ideas. It started "With the economy like it is..." as if the economy has changed her life this year. Well, she didn't want me to have to spend money on a costume. Good idea! She had an idea with stuff we already own. She would be a vampire baby! What is that, you ask. I asked too. A vampire baby wears footed pjs, pigtails, and has a bottle. Then it gets weird. The vampire part is the cape, white face, blood dripping from her mouth, and the bottle is full of blood (or red kool-aid). Seth thought it was the best costume in th world. I just like the creativity. Hailee went trick-or-treating with a bunch of friends, all were just regular babies. Hailee likes to be different. Vampire baby!!



Post trick-or-treating feast. Yummy! Kenna looked at the camera, but not on purpose. Ha! I caught her looking.

Hope you had a great Halloween!

Football Season

Where do we spend all our time these days? Both of my boys are playing football (Seth-flag and Tyler-tackle)and Paul is coaching with both teams. We spend a lot of time talking about football, watching football, and thinking about football. I really do love watching the boys play, but can you blame a gal for being tired of football by the time the NFL is playing on Monday night? Yawn!! I think I will turn in early.

He Will Run No More

After 4 marathons, Paul has officially retired from marathon running. With a PR of...wait for it...2:58 (chip time) in the St. George marathon, he will run no more (marathons). Paul even announced this to the medic in the medical tent after he passed out at the finish line. He told his friends, he told his family, and I believe he even convinced himself. So you can imagine my utter disbelief when he told me last night that he wanted to run the Mesquite marathon...for no good reason. Truth be told, he is already signed up to run the Boston marathon. We both qualified and just couldn't let that go to waste and it doesn't count since he will call it a training run (for his Iron Man training) So come April 2010 we will be celebrating our anniversary by running a marathon and I thought Paul was retired. You can imagine my reaction then when he tells me he is retiring from triathlon once he does one Iron Man in May. Bah!! I do not believe it. I just smile. Who wants to be married to an old retired guy anyway.

Happy 12th Birthday Tyler

I can't believe he is 12. I don't even have digital pictures of Tyler as a baby. That really dates him...or me. I feel nostalgic as I look through pictures of him over the last few years.



Ty has always been such a good, kind, and obedient person. Paul and I just thought we were good parents until we found out that Tyler was just making us look good.






Tyler got the priesthood the last Sunday in September and will pass the sacrament for the first time tomorrow. 12 is definitely a milestone. We are excited to see what the next 12 years hold.

Happy Birthday Tyler!! We love you!

Back to School

TYLER-just started intermediate school which means 6 classes, 6 teachers, electives, and band (he signed up in an effort to get his mean mom to let him quit taking piano...not going to happen). He has been so excited every day. He likes the added stress and excitement. Elementary school was just too comfortable.

HAILEE-I don't think she will mind that Kenna is in this picture with her. Hailee is Makenna's hero, her "big dister", and everything else. Makenna needed to be in the picture and Hailee always takes care of what Kenna needs. Hailee is growing up so fast. She is very capable and helpful. Hailee doesn't want to do what everyone else is doing. She tried that last year (gymnastics) and now is going off on her own (karate). I have no idea where she came up with the idea, but she is sure it will be her sport.

SETH- is a first grader. Amazingly enough, he was the hardest one to send off on his first day. I have to admit I shed a tear. All-day school seems like the beginning of the end to me. Now someone else is raising him with me (she'll probably do a better job-she is one of the best teachers in the school) and it just goes downhill from here. He was so excited the first day, but that excitement was tempered a little by "too many recesses and not enough drinks". I think he was just tired after a long day.

MAKENNA- started pre-school today. She only goes for a couple of hours. I think it is enough for her and more than enough for me. Fridays at preschool are gymnastics, so she will be endlessly entertained. Makenna is a detail gal. If I answer her questions concisely, she will say "now tell me the whole story". She means the whole story, leave nothing out, and it better take a long time to tell. If I don't know anymore to the story, she will take over and make up some story.

I already miss them. How many days until summer again?

I LOVE LAKE POWELL

I have missed the lake. Sure we have a couple bodies of water here in St. George that some would call a lake. They serve their purpose, but I have really missed Lake Powell. I am sure a lot of that is the memories that our family has there. We have such good memories of our time in Page. We didn't make it back to Page to visit friends last summer, but we got there for the 4th of July weekend this year. Great to be back! Great to see our friends in Page!

The "beach" (I use the term loosely) is always a hit with the kids!



Hike on the rocks above the houseboat.







Wakeboarding





Yes, that's me.....with Paul's head.



On the boat








It was a wonderful 4th of July weekend! We even caught a few illegal fireworks that someone paid a fortune for.

the Backyard Begins

I have been waiting patiently...ok not very patiently for a backyard for two years. For one reason or another, we have not gotten around to putting it in. UNTIL NOW!!! Paul was holding out for the pool and pool house version of the backyard we initially dreamed of, but I just wanted something other than sand. We had a great deal to get our pool that didn't work out and it was a hard thing to get past, but the pool is going to have to wait. With some persuasion, we will now have walls, grass, and basic landscaping. Pools can always be added later.





So we have walls! Hooray for walls! Next step-sprinklers-I think.

I AM BACK

I now have a great camera in my possesion (hand-me-down from my sister)and it has inspired me to blog again. I just looked at previously mentioned sister's photoblog and this camera is not the same in my hands as it is in hers. Darn!



Great camera! Even better lens! Sub-par photographer. Oh well! At least I am blogging again.

Still Devastated

I haven't even looked at my blog since before Easter. When I think of blogging, I think of posting pictures for my mom, friends, or sisters to catch up. Well, I can't post any pictures so I haven't looked at my blog. On Easter Sunday after getting everyone ready in their Easter best, I went to grab my camera for a quick shot on the way out the door to church. NO CAMERA!!! Then it hit me. I left my camera at the park after our Easter egg hunt. I have lots of excuses: we were so cold, the battery had died and I was using my brother-in-laws, there was a lot of chaos and stuff to carry. BUT, I left my camera at the park. There is even photo proof of this from my brother-in-laws photos. I did go back to see if I could find it. I really tried every avenue, but it has been stolen. Well, I do have a little point-and-shoot camera but the fun is gone. I was going to say the art is gone, but I am not that good at photography. I am working on a solution to my problem, but until then I am sad!

Makenna's 3rd birthday

We celebrated Kenna's birthday both on her real birthday (April 2nd) and the next day. On her birthday we went to the park with some friends, enjoyed the sun, and had cupcakes. The pink party was Friday.








It was PINKALICIOUS!!

Zions Hike

I had so many other pictures that I liked from our Zions hike that I decided to make a slide show. There are A LOT of Seth posing pictures. I think it was the first time in my life that one of my kids asked me to take more pictures of them than I wanted to take. I heard "Mom, here is a great spot. Take a picture of me here." more times than I can count. My response became "Oh great! Remember that one for the way down." or "I think my camera is stuck. I better get the next picture." Enjoy all the Seth poses.