Halloween Happenings

Halloween is back!!! When I was a kid Halloween was one of my favorite holidays. Then as I went through the teen years it was still fun but just in a different way and I missed the fun of kids in costumes and trick or treating. This year has made me realize that I am in the prime of my life for Halloween fun. Being the parent of the kids is definitely as good as it gets.

A few weeks before Halloween I decided that this year I would let Spencer choose what he wanted to be. When I asked him he thought about it for a couple seconds and then replied that he wanted to be a butterfly. If you know Scott you know that this would be a big problem. Trying to still be the good parent I just let it go and decided to ask again later. A few days later... butterfly. A few more days later...butterfly. I knew that Owen was going to be wearing our fireman costume so when I was at Old Navy and saw the Dalmatian costume, on sale, I just couldn't help myself. It was just meant to be so I bought the costume and brought it home to present to the boy. He held his ground. He was not going to be a dog he wanted to be a butterfly. I explained to him that this wasn't just a dog it was a fireman puppy. Well, it worked he was sold and from that moment on he loved his costume and would wear it happily any chance he got. Every single time someone asked him what he was going to be for Halloween he would proudly reply..."a fireman puppy." If someone called him anything else they would be promptly corrected.

Now begins the lengthy run down of all our fun Halloween festivities.
The first pumpkin painted at our awesome playgroup.

The North Logan Pumpkin Walk. I have tons of pictures but had to just pick one. Spencer never was looking at the camera so I just figures I would share my favorite scene.

Our friends the Farmer's have a family pumpkin patch in South Jordan that we hit up to find our perfect carving pumpkins.

Daphne is definitely the Queen of the patch and showed us a good time while we were there.

Success!

Next was the annual Miller Family Fish Pond.

Here fishy fishy...candy candy

Owen's first fish pond and he "caught" on quick.

Next was our playgroup Halloween party.

This party was all out fun. Complete with pin the nose on the pumpkin, pass the pumpkin game. Making Halloween picture frames and wrist bands (bracelets) and last but not least this game of finding the prizes in the noodles. These kids are so spoiled.

Spencer and Dad carving our pumpkins. Nice Scott.

Well done boys. Now lets get this party get started.

This is our Joy School Party/Program. We worked super hard on our "program" which was one song that was mostly sung by the moms but any excuse for a party right?

I wasn't so sure how well the kids would do with the doughnut game but they were hilarious. They were so obedient in not using their hands.

Seriously Emma.

Halloween Day was jam packed with fun. We started off by meeting up with some friends and trick or treating down Main Street in Logan. We had to stop for this little photo opp.

The fireman and his puppy.

Pounding the pavement.

Then we headed down to grandma's house for more fun with the fam. Dinner and the more collecting of candy.

Our last treat of this fun Halloween was from grandpa. Well done Fireman Puppy.

the end.

A visit from Dave Scott Photography

My brother an his family moved back from Texas a few months ago and we are so glad to have them close by again. They had never seen our place here in Logan so they came up for a visit and did all the Logan stuff. I must say my bother is such an awesome guy. After their visit I decided that he is close to perfect and that I need to be just like him. Aubrey, don't tell him I said that we don't want to ruin him by making him get a big head. Ü

This is Dave with his boy Tyler on the right and my boy Owen on the left.


We went for a little walk in Logan Canyon and Dave was so nice to do a little photo shoot of my boys. There were so many cute pictures but I think this one is my favorite.

Spencer and Malia are only 3 weeks apart in age and it was fun to let them play together...and force them into photo worthy moments like this.

I'm so happy.

American West Heritage Center = FUN

Last week for play group we went to the American West Heritage Center and it was so much fun. The kids were all so cute and Spencer had a great time with some old fashioned down on the farm fun.
There was a huge stack of straw that the kids loved jumping in. Of coarse Spencer was again pretending to play Wipe Out.

The first pony ride was a hit...he was so brave right up to the moment the horse went under the bar and Spencer hit his head on the bar. They knew what they were doing when they put that helmet on him.

I am glad to report that Spencer has picked up some "skills" during our time in Cache County.

Owen is such a champ

Spencer's turn.
Doesn't get much better than a pirate ship made of straw with dress ups.

These goats were awesome but Spencer wasn't that impressed.

Last but not least the train ride. We are so grateful for this fun little group of friends and the fun experiences we are having with them. Dillon, you are adorable.

Classic Clips

Look at him go. Owen is one determined little guy and it may not be pretty but he will get what he wants.

Classic second child.

Lake "Tee-haw-ho"

We decided to cram all of our summer fun into the last few weeks. For the grand finale we spent the last week before Scott went back to school up at Lake Tahoe. It was a perfect way to end the summer and an awesome vacation. Prepare for picture overload




After driving for 10 hours this playground at our condo was a welcome sight.

We did the short hike down to Vikingsholm and it was so pretty. Spencer was impressed because he totally believed that Lyle the Kindly Viking from Veggie Tales lived there.

The view from the mountain above Emerald Bay.

This is a rare shot of Owen actually staying on the towels. He spent a good amount of time rolling around in the sand and it didn't bother him a bit.

Spencer was one with the sand...and his trucks...and bucket. Kids and sand are just a good combination.

Scott was so mad at me when I took this picture but I knew we would laugh at it later. This was our second time out with the bikes and trailer and Owen was not happy about it. He got so upset that it made Spencer start to cry and at the climax when we realized they were not going to be calmed down we were about 3 miles from our car. We got some laughs and some judgmental glances as we calmly rode through a neighborhood of multimillion dollar homes by the beach with our two screaming kids. The first time out with the bikes was much more successful. Owen fell asleep and we rode this beautiful trail through huge pine trees. Tahoe is a very bike friendly area with bike paths all over the place through awesome landscape. The picture below is more likely how we will remember biking in Tahoe.

I took this picture from the side of the road because I was going nuts over how clear the water was. When we were swimming in it we could see the bottom crystal clear at 5 feet deep.

The resort we stayed at had this indoor sports court so we reserved it one afternoon and got in a little tennis action. Spencer watched a movie on the portable DVD player and Owen was confined to his pack and play. It was fun after Owen cried himself to sleep.

Our condo was so perfect. Thanks Dad. We were on the ground level on the very end building so the view from our patio was the side of the mountain. It was so peaceful up there.

By far the best part of the trip was the Jet Ski for an hour*. Thanks Brian! Scott and I took turns because obviously one of us had to stay with the boys and at first I was bumbed that we wouldn't be out there together. I soon realized that the solitude was just what I needed to reconnect with my inner dare devil. I had a blast and was screaming at the top of my lungs and squealing with delight for a good portion of the ride. I thought I was so awesome and came back to tell Scott that I hit 68 mph only to find out that he hit 72 mph while singing Brittany Spears. Sorry Scott I had to share that.

*The hidden treasure was a close contender.

Aren't those pine tree's in the sand so awesome? Oh and Owen is as adorable as ever.

The beach was so great because it was so relaxing. The part if the vacation where we just sat back and enjoyed the cool water and watching our boys play. The weather was perfect and hot so the water was just the place to be.

A frog huh? well...see ya later

Cool water fall we found past Fallen Leaf Lake. Scott and I determined that we need to go back to Tahoe when our kids are older and do more hiking...and jet ski more.

Thank you Lake Tahoe we miss you already.

Bear Lake Beach Babies

A big thanks to Arica and the Craven Fam for letting us come along for a day of fun at Bear Lake. Spencer was so brave on his first boat ride and Owen was just hilarious in his big life jacket. He was more of a little ball than normal and rather than fight it and try to move at all he just went to sleep.

I love this picture.

Spence and the girls playing in the sand.

Owen was a little trooper and was just happy to be there.

Logan Canyon

Scott will be graduating from Utah State in December and our time in Logan may be over. We decided that we need to make the most of the time we have left here and do some Loganish things. We hit the Cache County Fair and loved seeing the animals (except the pigs they are disgusting). Spencer had to sit in at least a dozen diferent tractors. We played all the games at the Macey's booth (I heart Macey's) and had some good old fashoned family time. Unfortunately a big storm came in while were there so it got cut a little short, however, that did save us from having to pay for those expensive carnival rides so it was fine.

We have been to the Logan Aquatic Center. No worries there aren't any pictures. The boys loved it and Spencer had a blast on the big slippery slide. Ask him about it and he will give you the story in full detail.

One of our more recent favorites is riding our bikes along the Logan River parkway. It is so beautiful and we have come to really enjoy family bike rides on these nice wide streets.

Charlies. For anyone who knows about this "sweet spot" in Logan you will understand.

Finally here are some pictures from out little trip up Logan Canyon. We played in the mud by the river and then washed up and cooked our hotdogs over the fire. It was a great little dinner and there is just something about a campfire in the canyon to make a summer feel complete.