Christmas!

It is now 2019, but I refused to publish 2010 until I added pictures from Ian's first Christmas.  Narration has long left me, but the pictures still make my heart happy.   Funny thing is I think I didn't post originally because I was disappointed in the quality of most of the pictures.  So happy to have them now!  Some things are better done late than never. Memories preserved in whatever state is definitely one of those!

Gotta love the Big Man!

'Tis the Season

Good Times

One of my most favorite activities is hiking - desert or mountains. I love it! We don't go nearly often enough (hardly ever), but last Saturday we broke out of the house and went exploring around Sombrero Mtn. a few miles away. The weather was beautiful, the kids were great, and we had a wonderful time. I hope my kids remember these afternoons when they're older. I know I always will!

Whoa! Whoa!

Ian is a furniture cruisin' baby these days (since the end of September). It took him awhile to master the art of pulling up, but now you can't keep him down. Some of his first attempts left him feeling a little nervous, but the prize was always worth the effort. He can hang on for dear life with the best of them.

He's been a busy baby since he was born, so we've always feared mobility. Our fears were well founded. As with most babies, unloading the dishwasher has become a near impossible task. It's definitely no longer done at my convenience.

The most annoying one, however, is the trashcan. The kid can't seem to leave it alone. Even when he's in his walker he'll ram the kitchen trash until it falls over. He has incredible radar for open doors of any kind. He highly favors the toilet, toilet brush, pantry, and the refrigerator. The honey with the loose lid that he pulled out of the pantry was not a joy to clean up although he seemed to really enjoy playing in it!

I caught him with his first sucker back in the boys' room and was on my way to throw it away and wash him up when I had to stop and get a picture. Looks pretty innocent, doesn't he?

He never gets in trouble, though. He smiles his charming little smile, and now claps for himself, and all is forgiven....I can't help it. We sure do love this boy - his messes and all!

Halloween

This year's parade of characters....

Ian the fierce Dragon

Ashlyn the Prissy Witch

Carter the confused Harry Potter

Isaac the mighty Ninja

We began this year's dressing up with Ashlyn's preschool party.

Then we were on to Carter's Kindergarten parade and party.

Pretty cute spectators!

Waaaayyy too much junk food!

Saturday night we had a four ward trunk or treat at the church house.

We joined trunks with the Jones'. We each had our own candy bowl, but most people thought we came as a package and would get candy from one or the other of us and then move on. It actually worked out great because there were so many people our bowls were running out fast. Combining them helped us last through the night. Carter pulled a first. After a few cars he said he thought he had enough candy and stopped collecting. Dream kid!

Isaac and Caleb - watch out!

Sunday night we invited the Jones' over for dinner, caramel apples and pumpkin carving. The kids had such a great time handing out candy and enjoying the rest of the night I may have to make it a Halloween tradition instead of trick or treating. I'm sure they won't let it fly every year, but I'll give it a try!

The pumpkins turned out fantastically of course.

All the kiddos minus Ian and Katie, plus Jake of course!

Happy Halloween!