new books

Well, my original plan was to read one book a month, but we moved and life got in the way. So I just do the best I can. I actually have been reading lately and I did read two books over the summer, but both of them were not to my liking so I didn't finish them. They were the Zoo Keepers Wife and The time Travelers Wife. Apparently I don't like books that are about someones wife-go figure. So after reading those two flops, I decided to read a book I know wouldn't disappoint--Anne of Green Gables. Such a great book. And because I've seen the movie a million times, it was fun to compare and see what they changed from the book. I also read The Help. I really liked this book and luckily went into it knowing nothing about it. I do love doing that with books and movies. It makes them so much more fun to see or read. So I recommend that book to anyone. Finally, I just finished Mockingjay. I have loved the Hunger Games series, but I still love the first book the best. It was hard because I read the books right as they came out so it was difficult to remember little details from the previous books. I'm sure that would have made the book that much better. I do recommend that series to everyone also, but since I was on a waiting list of over 1000 at the library, I'm sure most have read it also. Well, I hope to get back in the habit of reading more, but who knows what's just around the corner!

Halloween

I hope all of you out there had a fun halloween. Even though it was raining, my kids braved the elements and came out with far more candy than they needed. We also only had four groups come to our door so we had a ton of leftover candy at the house. This is not good because little chocolate bars are so easy to just pop in your mouth all throughout the day!


This is Carter's popsicle costume. We had so many other options for him, but he insisted on being a blue popsicle. So this was quickly made about an hour before trick or treating. Because it was raining, the costume didn't last all that long, but Carter was ready to come home anyway!


Ryan was a vampire. We would have sprayed his hair black, but the rain kept us from wanting to do that this year. Thus you have a blond vampire. Edward's hair wasn't black and he still looked good, right??


Samantha chose to be Spiderella this year again. We've moved so nobody saw it last year (unless you saw it on my blog). I was happy to not have to come up with a costume for her and she was happy to wear it.

Disneyland

We surprised the kids with a trip to Disneyland a few weeks ago and had a great and exhausting time! We stopped in Las Vegas and stayed with friends from Tennessee then went on to Disneyland. We spent four days there so we were able to do all the things we wanted without rushing through things. We loved it and can't wait to go back again someday.

It actually worked!

We recently inherited a kitty from the neighbors when they moved and I told the kids they could have it as long as it stayed outside. Well, just last week it followed the kids to school then just disappeared. After five or six days the kids were really worried so Ryan, Samantha and their cousin Ella made signs to hang around the neighborhood. I took them around thinking (in my so smart adult mind) "this is never going to work". Then a few days later I got a call from some random jr high girl saying she knows who took our cat and she would bring it to us. She never did bring it to us, so I did my research and found out who this mystery person was who "stole" our kitty. Then I drove to the house and told them I was there to pick up my cat. I have to admit that this house and the people there were...how should I put it... a little shady, but I just wanted to get the cat back for the kids. They gave me the cat and I surprised the kids when they got home from school. So the moral of the story is..... sometimes we are proven wrong by our children's faith in what can happen.

First day of school

The kids had their first day of school last monday and so far things have been going great! This is Samantha's third elementary and she just seems to get right in there and make friends. She loves school and it liking her teacher so far :) Ryan is enjoying it and also talks about friends he's made. He just loves the fact that he gets three recesses this year unlike last year only getting one. The kids walk home from school and Carter and I meet them half way. It's nice to walk with them because they get a chance to tell me about their days unlike last year when they rode the bus and quickly ran in for snacks and play time.
Here are some pictures of the first day.

Megan's Wedding

Megan got married this month and I wanted to post a few pics of her big day.

Here she is walking down the aisle with my dad. Unfortunately my dads eyes are partly closed, but I still like the picture.



Ryan was one of the ring bearers and he had to stand still the entire ceremony and I think he did a great job.



Samantha and her cousin Ella were flower girls and my Sister-in-law made these super cute dresses for the girls.




Here are all the boy cousins (minus Rowan because he didn't want to be in the pic). They are all so handsome :)



Kids can only last so long at a wedding before things get kind of crazy!

Nauvoo

On our drive from Virginia to Utah, we spent a day in Nauvoo, IL. We celebrated Aaron's birthday there and then that evening we watched fireworks along the banks of the Mississippi. It was a nice break from the long drive and we learned some neat things about the history of our church.


Looks like my kids would make wonderful pioneers :)


In front of Carthage Jail


This picture makes me smile. Samantha is looking so cute and girly, Ryan is giving Carter bunny ears and Carter is "smiling" for the camera. He is on this curling tongue kick whenever you ask him to smile.


You can't go to Nauvoo without posing in front of one of the statues....right?


In front of the Nauvoo Temple