Happy Halloween!!

Somehow I mixed up the order of all these Pictures...but that's okay:). We had such a fun holiday. Halloween night we went over and ate pizza with friends. It was a great way to start the night. Then we headed out to trick or treat. Macie loved that Brooklyn was also Belle.

Here's the crew... Asher was a dragon, Macie and Brooklyn were Belle, Georgia was Anistasia, and Sadie was a Tinkerbelle.

Mmmmmmm...we came back and ate all the candy we wanted! That night we let the Dad's put the kids to bed and Julee, Courtney and I headed to Wal-Mart and stocked up on Halloween decorations for next year. I just had to go and get some decorations after hearing all month from my girls that our house is so boring. I should probably do this after each holiday we got some great deals.

This Halloween Grandma drove with Aunt LeeAnn to help her move here!! They had quite a drive down, but finally made it safe and sound. We couldn't be happier to have her here! This year Macie dressed up as Princess Belle and Georgia was Princess Anistasia! The dresses were so much fun, and the hair sparkles topped it off.

Ava was the cutest strawberry ever! The Julee was so nice to let us borrow the costume. I'm surprised we got such a great picture with the stem on her head though; she cried most of the time it was on.

I was able to go and help out at both school parties this year. I love being in their classrooms!

Georgia's class is studying the body so all of their crafts were a different part of the body.

I love the pumpkin patch! This year we stayed here and went to the fair and picked out a pumpkin for everyone.

We had some friends over and carved two of the pumpkins! They turned out so cute. I think they get a little better every year.

The kids picked out all of the insides. My girls love getting their hands all messy and playing with the seeds. This year we cleaned all of the seeds and baked them in the oven. They were actually really good.

The kids also drew the faces and then Jamie and Jermoy carved.

SPOOKY!

I also made my favorite apple pie! This is my high shcool seminary teacher's recipe and it is sooo good.

1st Crust:

1/2 cup crisco

1 TBSP milk

2 TBS boiling water

whip with a fork

Add 1 1/8 c flour

1/2 tsp salt

Mix together with a fork and roll out with enough flour to hold together but not get dry. Form into a 9" crust.

2nd Topping:

1/2 c butter

1/2 c brown sugar

1 c flour

cut together with two knives until mealy

3rd filling:

Peel and slice 6 Granny Smith apples. Mix gently with 3/4 c sugar, 2TBS flour and 1 tsp cinnamon.

Put apples in crust and cover with topping. Bake at 425 for about an hour. Cover edge of crust with foil and lay a piece of foil over top.

ENJOY!! It also best when topped with Blue Bell homemade vanilla.

I'm not always too crafty, but I saw these cute ghost brownies on my friend Summer's blog and I think they turned out so cute.

50's Day

After 6 weeks of having her ears pierced, Georgia was finally able to change her earrings. Her friends Soli and Camille gave her these pretty "long" earrings. I'm not sure I like how old they make her look :). On the 50th day of school the Kindergarten got all dressed up in 50s clothes and had a dance to celebrate! I was going to have Macie wear rolled up jeans and a white T shirt with her hair in a scarf, but she got very anxious about that because she was told that 1950 girls wore poodle skirts. So luckily Caitlin's mom had a great idea of buying a poodle at Wal-Mart and pinning it onto a skirt. Great Thinking - Macie was very HAPPY.

This is Macie's good friend Caitlin. They met in class, and have been great friends right from the start.

Macie was so excited to have Emma come and visit! Oh we miss Emma!! Emma is one of those friends I love to have come over and play. The girls can just play all day long and never argue.

At Aspen Grove this summer we had fun shooting bow and arrows so Jamie saw this set at the store and bought it to shoot when we go out with the 4 wheelers. It took the girls some practice, but they finally were able to hit the target. Jamie is such a great DAD! He loves to go out and spend time with his girls. They always have so much fun with him!

So Ava's not really riding yet, but she has fun being outside with us.

Photo Studio

I decided to be brave and take the girls to get their pictures taken. I even talked them into wearing clothes that match their room (where the pictures will hang), and letting me curl their hair. It was worth the effort - they look so pretty. Georgia Ashlyn 8 years old.
Macie Joy 51/2 years old.
Ava Grace 4 months old.
Ava's favorite thing right now is the bath tub. She kicks and smiles, and then when the water splashes her face she gasps in shock, and then starts kicking again.
Her cute new headband.

The past two weekends I have gone to some garage sales looking for baby things, and got some great deals!! I got this awesome Phil and Teds stroller (I have wanted one forever, but never wanted to spend the money :)!!!, with the double attachment (not shown though), and some great toys for Ava. The girls love to come too - I give them a couple dollars and they can get some pretty good stuff.
While Jamie was out working on his bike this weekend, he found this scorpion - it was huge!

Visitors

We had so much fun with all of our visitors this past month! Grandpa and Grandma , Granddad , and Uncle Dallin all came out to visit. Grandpa came out for the weekend of Georgia's baptism. It was fun to go and get carmel apples at the outlet mall and hear that their mission papers have been turned in! Grandma got to stay for an extra 10 days to take care of us. It was wonderful to have her enjoying the everyday life we live of taking kids to school, dance, piano, and girls scouts. We loved playing the piano with her, cooking, shopping, little treats, and just being able to spend lots of time with her!

Granddad also stayed for a few days after the baptism weekend. He really bonded with little Ava, and the girls loved playing games with him. I think he and Macie played Guess who a dozen times in a row. What a sport!

Dallin stopped in for a few days. It was really nice that he could some and see us in our house before he leaves on his mission. The girls loved all the candy and treats he left.

Thanks for the great memories; we cherish all of the visits! Come back Soon!

Monkey Bar Fun!

The first month of school the nurse must go through boxes of band aides for the kindergartner's blisters! They get them because the cool thing to do at recess is play on the monkey bars. I think Macie has been a dozen times. The other day I counted 9 blisters on her hands. I have tried to talk her into avoiding the monkey bars and playing something else, but she'd rather suffer through the blisters than stop crossing the monkey bars!

Georgia Turns 8

Can you believe eight years have already gone by?! Who said chocolate cake is the best? A few months ago our family had cheese cake for dessert, and Georgia couldn't get enough of it, so for her Birthday we made one just for her...I can't believe she ate the whole thing!

Streamers on the bedroom door have become a tradition ever since we moved here.
One of the best things about your birthday is that you get to choose what you eat all day long. Georgia chose sausage rolls, eggs and melon for breakfast- yummy!!
Ava and I took cupcakes to her classroom and everyone sang Happy Brithday. She loved the attention!
The long time family tradition has been you have to be eight years old before you get your ears pierced, so we took her to the salon after school. She was so exctied, but so nervous too! They gave her a soft stuffed dog to hold and then pierced her ears. She looked shocked, but said, "that wasn't so bad"! Macie was so sad she couldn't get hers done too. Georgia felt like a queen - so pretty!

To celebrate we went to Chili's for dinner. Then we came home for swimming and a movie. Lots of fun!

This is my favorite! She got all dressed in white and was baptized on Saturday September 20, 2008. She really prepared by reading the whole Book of Mormon this past year, and also giving us family home evening lessons on baptism. She even looks more grown up.
Macie, Dad, Georgia and Mom
Georgia came out in her jumpsuit all embarrassed at how she looked. She began laughing when Jamie came out and said, "I am even more embarrassed for you, Dad!"
What a treat to have Granddad and Grandma and Grandpa come for the baptism.
What a wonderful day....