Halloween

Just 7 months later, that's all. Last year we went with a Phineas and Ferb theme. Here is the whole gang: Linda, Candace, Perry, Ferb, Isabella, Phineas, Vanessa, and little Suzy Johnson.

Perry didn't do a very good job wearing his hat and Ferb wasn't too happy being Ferb, but I thought we all looked pretty good. Last and probably least, here is Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

We even got some pumpkin carving done last minute. Here is Evan's pumpkin (carved by his mother).

Here are Audrey's and Alivia's pumpkins (also carved by their mother).

Probably the most exciting part of all, the trick or treating. Evan had a hard time keeping his hat on, so it came off before too long.

It was really cute to watch Alivia go trick or treating. I wish I had some pictures. She would run up to the doors and yell knock knock. Evan was really funny because he would strike up conversations with everybody. He would ask them what they were watching on TV and if he could come in and watch it with them. They all told him he should just go get more candy, so that is what we did.

Miscellaneous

Hey Mom, take our picture in our new pajamas from Grandma.

Now take one in the dark.

That worked well. Audrey played soccer again last fall. She did a fairly good job of guarding the goal.

Alivia chipped her front tooth. It really just makes me cry every time I look at it. And it makes her cry every time I try to take a picture of it. I'm glad it wasn't any worse though and her tooth is still the same color as the others. And at least it was a baby tooth and she will lose it. Now I just have to wait about 6 years for that to happen.

The Circus Came to Town

And Nonnie was nice enough to take us to the Circus. I remember going to the Circus or Disney on Ice with my grandparents when I was little. They were such fun times. Now I enjoy seeing my kids doing the same thing. Only two of those kids are mine though.

Hey Evan, look at those elephants. Isn't that cool?

Evan? Evan? Apparently all the excitement wore him out because he slept through about a third of it. Oh well. Maybe next time he can enjoy all the action.

Let the Preschool Begin

So way back in September, Evan started preschool. I think he looks so handsome. He was very excited to go especially since he got to take his Captain America backpack.
Now here he is on his last day of preschool with his fabulous teachers.

He really loved going to preschool and he can't wait to go again next year.

Finally Made It

We have had plans to go to Austin for a long time, ever since we moved to Houston really. Unfortunately we never made the trip while we were living in Texas. We always planned to go to New Orleans too, but we never made it there either. So they have stayed on our list of places to visit for the last 10 years. We were finally able to cross Austin off the list last September. Colby, Audrey, and I flew to Texas last September for the BIG game. I really was cheering for BYU even though I may not be wearing blue. I just couldn't bring myself to wear blue and label myself as a BYU fan. I wish I could have been in the marching band. This is like my dream marching band, I think it just looks spectacular. I guess I should have gone to a bigger college.



Audrey didn't go to the game with us. She was more than willing to stay behind in Dallas and play with her cousins.
I think it is funny how Audrey is looking at my camera and the other two were looking at their mom's camera. Haha.

Labor Day (But Without the Labor)

So on Labor Day we headed to the zoo and so did just about everybody else. It was very crowded, but we were apparently trying to get the prego woman to go into labor with lots of walking and the zoo is a perfect place for that. Unfortunately it didn't work. The kids had lots of fun as always.

The baby finally came 10 days later. Audrey loves it when she can hold a baby cousin.

And just because I didn't have anywhere else to post this picture and it happened near Labor Day, here is a picture of Evan sleeping on his bookshelf. He really can sleep anywhere.

End of Summer

Well we finally made it back from Chicago on August 19th, just three days before Audrey's school started. We had planned to come home earlier, but that never really worked out.

We ended up flying with Southwest. Our car was still in Boise, but we had a 3 hour layover in Salt Lake. I didn't really want to drive home from Boise with the three kids at night by myself, so I dropped them off with Colby in Salt Lake and then continued to Boise by myself to get the car. I'm sure the drive ended up being much, much faster without them. It was a great summer indeed. I really need to hurry and finish all my posts about last summer since Audrey only has 4 more days of school. I'm sure this summer (just like last) we will end up playing outside a lot and eating a lot of popsicles. Have I ever mentioned how much Alivia likes popsicles? It is an obsession really. She would probably eat a dozen a day if I would let her. Not only that, but she eats them really fast too. She could probably eat three in the time it takes Audrey and Evan just to eat one.

To Milwaukee We Did Go

We of course couldn't just go to one baseball game during our visit to the windy city. We headed north to catch a Brewers game. We took Evan with us this time and left the other two kiddos in Grandma's care. During the game Evan kept chanting go Utes. It really made me proud. It was really a fun stadium to go to and definitely worth the drive.

 

Now if only we had gone to a White Sox game as well, then our baseball tour would have been complete. Colby has already been to that stadium though back in 2005 when they were playing the Astros in the World Series. Sad, sad times.

To Rockford We Did Go

While we were in Chicago, we took a day to go to the children's museum in Rockford. It was very fun, but it seemed to take forever to get there. Even though it is only like 50 miles away, you are only on the freeway for like 5 miles.

 

Chicago (Part 2)

The trip to Chicago just wouldn't have been complete without a visit to the Shedd Aquarium. We had never been before and of course it was crowded. The kids loved it and as luck would have it my camera battery had very little life left in it so I was only able to get a few pictures.


We didn't have a lot of time to spend at the aquarium because we had tickets that afternoon to see Peter Pan in a tent. It was very enjoyable. We even took Evan with us and he really liked it. You would never know it though by this picture that he went with us; he refused to get in the picture because he couldn't be Peter Pan.
Also while we were in Chicago, Audrey caught a big butterfly, the biggest (and probably only) one she has ever caught. We even had to find a place in our suitcase for this thing and we had to pack it in this container so it wouldn't get smashed. In case you are wondering, we no longer have the butterfly.
Last but not least, the kids also enjoyed the very bubbly bubble baths that grandma gives.