Leaves!

We love the leaves!! Every fall I want to play in the leaves. I have great memories of this when I was a kid and when the colors begin to change I just get itching to get out and play in it. We went out to find leaves at a park 3 times and they were all mowed up. I was so disappointed. All of these great big amazing trees and no leaves waiting at the bottom for us to play in. So we went out on a quest for leaves. We were disappointed out at one of those parks so decided to go and check out Nana's trees, sure enough we found leaves to play in. I know that every year I take so many pictures of us playing in the leaves. It is so fun to capture the excitement, fun and beauty of the season. I just can't help myself, it never gets old!!


We had a few leaves that we raked into a little pile a few days after our quest for leaves. It was great to play in. We also climbed the trees out front with their beautiful red leaves. Those leaves held on until one cold and windy day and they all dropped to the ground in one day. So then we had to get out and play in he leaves again! Oh the fall is just so fun. It sure makes raking more fun then work when we get to play in the leaves. (Well, I guess the work takes a lot longer as we are throwing the pile around but it is sure fun!!) We had cousins also come playing in the leaves and carving pumpkins with us. Oh fall is so fun!!

I know these pictures are all backward from real life order but here is our fall fun anyways!!

We had a great time carving pumpkins together! We had 8 kids and carved 6 of them. They were all so unique just like each kid!!

All of the little rascals turned on me. This huge pile formed very quickly around me!!

Enjoying every leave that falls around her!

Kayla is the queen of this leaf throwing pose. She held this pose until every leaf had fallen. She was so funny!

See how long the pile lasted?

A pile big enough for 6 cousins up to their necks!


My tree climbing monkeys!

I tried to turn this picture around until I realized that this is really the way she was hanging in the tree.

I don't know what this mouse hat she has on. I don't think that I even noticed at the time. They are always playing dress up!

This tree is just so beautiful in the fall. It lasted so long this year. It is a great climbing tree.

Dawsyn was a great raker!

All of their faces are just so priceless!


This is the pure enjoyment of fall!



The girls sure love their amazing Nana!!

All of them were getting Nana as soon as she got home!

Kyndal saw a picture of her cousins doing this while buried in the sand. She has been wanting to recreate it.

Those faces!!!

The girls just love their Uncle Todd, in case I haven't mentioned before. He is just one of those amazing uncles that has so much fun playing with the girls. He lets them maul him and he carries them around and will play any game they want to until they are too tired. I sometimes try to tell them that he can tell them that he is done but I think he is enjoying all the playing and rough-housing as well! What a great uncle he is!!

Oh, My Boy in a Tie!!!

I just cannot get over how cute this is. A tiny baby in a tie is just so adorable. He usually looks like a little old man, with his bald little head and his furrowed brow, I call it his concerned look, that he has most of the time. But to add a tie into the mix, he is just beyond cute little old man. Those cheeks getting chubbier all the time. Oh it is so fun to have a baby boy!!

It is nearly impossible to get Elliette to look at you and even if it is accomplished it lasts for 2 seconds and then her eyes are elsewhere. So for a camera is even less time. Here is the best I can get of her gorgeous big eyes.

Thanksgiving

We had a fun time together for Thanksgiving. It had quite a few less people then we are used to for large family holidays but plenty enough to celebrate. It is still quite loud with 8 kids around and I don't remember how many adults, probably another 8 people. We have so much to be thankful for!! Family is at the top of my list!! Here is some of it!

My dear little family. I love to see Daddy daughter time!!

I was so excite to make these pies. My SIL showed me these 2 years ago and I have always wanted to make them. They were just so cute and I thought they were delicious as well. That little criss-cross top was just the cutest little thing I could think of.



There was apple, peach and bumbleberry pies, with whipping cream.... SOOO good!!

Gathering together the kiddos! I'm glad they look like they are having fun as picture time is not always loved by all. It must be Auntie Amber entertaining them, she always does great little dances to get them to look and laugh!!

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Adjusting

I have felt really good adjusting to 4 kids. I am very grateful to have had a lot of help around with my parents here until he was 6 weeks old. Paul also took off the week after they left to help get resettled. We began doing school again after Marshall was 2 weeks old though I thought that we would take a month off. I have just felt like we have adjusted quite well.

It is funny how our lives are totally chaos and yet we can continually cope with it. Sometimes it amazes me. There is always so many needs of me at once, so much more to accomplish then I could actually do and yet I feel as though I (in general) am at least doing the most important things and whatever else I can get done.

I think that this is a testament to our lives being on the right track and the blessing that can come with that. We have really worked hard to incorporate our scripture study into our daily school routine. It has felt so good. I feel as though as we have put these most important things first then we have been blessed with this comfort through the rest of our lives. Or at least this is how I feel like it has gone for me.

So we are busy and enjoying it! I love my family and it is definitely first in my life! It feels so good to enjoy it, even through those up and down days!

So here are a few pictures of our little Marshall. Again these were a little while ago, he is growing so fast!!

Enjoying ourselves!

Here are some of the fun things that we have been up to.

The girls all enjoying some wrestling with Grandad. Those long arms are great to have all of the girls in them! What lucky girls to have such great grandparents!

This is Dads retirement cake. It was huge and had his picture on the icing. Dawsyn stood on the stool and looked at this cake for 20 minutes. She was just so enthralled by it. It was so funny to see her reaction. To be so excited about a cake without even eating it, this must be why I like cake decorating as well! It was so cute!

Kyndal enjoying Marshall. She likes to hold him except she is always worried about him spitting up on her. She is very dramatic about it. Nearly every time he spits up on me she asks "Is it fun to be a mom?" My answer is that of course I love to be spit up on (sarcastic) but yes it is fun to be a mom.

This is one of my favorites. The girls have really been enjoying playing with great grandpa and nothing is better then enjoying him reading to them!


Grandmas tub is the best! The girls get the jets going and even with hardly any soap in there it foams right up! They have so much fun!

Saying Goodbye!!

I was feeling really sad thinking about Mom and Dad leaving on their mission about a week before they left. By the time they were leaving I was feeling really excited about the adventure that they would be on. It is such a blessing to us all that they are dedicating their whole life to serving the Lord. I am definitely feeling inspired and blessed by their serving. So here is the last pictures out the door to the airport.

They look like they could be missionaries but once they got their name tags (which we saw on Skype) they really look like missionaries.

Him now at 6 weeks old and they will return when he is 18 months. He will be the most incredible changing one!!

September Pictures

Here are a few pictures from before my parents left, the last week in Sept. I tried to get some pictures off of her computer before they left. I have some that I hope to post off my camera some time, hopefully soon but there is always more things to do then there is time to do it. This makes me extra grateful that Grandpa is making us Turkey soup for supper. Such a great treat to eat and to not have to make myself. How nice!!