Happy Halloween, from our gingerbread house to yours

I had a whole shoot in mind for these costumes, but alas, I had to stifle the photographer in me and just be a mom and pull off the side of the road for a few quick shots on the way to Amy's. We ate a delicious dinner and then headed out for some trick-or-treating around her new neighborhood. Lucy would open a new candy the second she got it and shove it into her mouth. Needless to stay, we didn't keep her out very long. Isaac, Livi and Ethan had a blast together, running from one house to the next. I'll have to get those pictures from Amy as I forgot my flash-dang it! Hope you all had a wonderfully fun and candy-filled day!

Hansel and Gretel. Please note the bread in Isaac's hand that he insisted on bringing with him so he could drop crumbs.






Hansel being upset because his dad left him in the woods. (Have you read the story lately, it's actually pretty disturbing!)




I found Lucy's dress at Goodwill a while ago and altered and changed it a bit. Isaac's lederhosen were from my parent's dress up box, they're the real deal! Everything else was stuff I already had.

Baylee

This is one of my good friend's beautiful little girl. She let us come play at her house for most of the day today so we could get out of our apartment and find some sanity. You should have seen Lucy and her frolicking around holding hands.

the Cougar Run

My sweet friend Anna, sent me the info for the annual Cougar Run this weekend - and I signed the kids up for it. Geoff's old roommate Matt, and his son Zach were in town, so we signed Zach up too.

Lucy's group was the first to go. She got scared when they shot the starting gun and I had to carry her and run. Here's a shot of her in freak-out mode before I picked her up. Sorry for the backside shot.





Here's a picture of the boys 200M starting line up (I think there were 19 runners in total in their age group). As you can see, our son isn't competitive at all...check out his face. I might also note that the boys in his sneering direction are all friends of ours boys.





And 57 seconds later, Isaac finished first place! Geoff and I were screaming like crazy parents and loving every second of it. I know both of us were thinking back to a couple months ago when Isaac was first burned and they warned us that he might lose some mobility of his leg since the burn was the worst around his knee. Seeing him prove them wrong was such a wonderful and emotional thing to see.



Isaac with his best buddy, Zach. I might add that Zach is the sweetest 4 year old I've ever come across. We REALLY wish our families lived closer!





Anna got this shot of the final results.





We love our little runner!

the Garner family

We narrowly escaped the rain from this weekend and even managed a little sunshine at our shoot, though honestly, their little boy was sunshine enough. Isn't he darling! I've never seen longer eyelashes in my life.






















See, told you so.

Ground breaking

After a ridiculous amount of time waiting...it actually happened. They broke ground on our lot today! I may or may not have jumped out of the car and started hugging the workers and our builder.

I got there right as they were doing the first dig (next two pictures). Can I tell you how excited I am to look out on these mountains in the morning!







Isaac LOVED watching the whole process. Lucy however, was too scared of the excavator, so she stayed in the car and occupied herself by coloring on my car seats with a highlighter.



This is Isaac mimicking what the excavator was doing.

Empty...in more ways than one

We packed up all our things and said goodbye to our home of the last 5 1/2 years this last weekend. Saying goodbye to the place where we brought home our babies is hard. Moving from that home to a small apartment is even harder. We're all adjusting, but I'm not going to pretend that it's been an easy thing. We know that it's just an "in between place" and are now even more anxious (if that was possible) for the home we are building in Mapleton. So, if you happen to see myself and my children looking for a wide open space to run, you'll know why.

A very strange thing

I took a quick jaunt up to Alpine, UT to do some portrait shots for Swenson Orthodontics to be displayed in their new offices. I then entered a twilight world of beautiful kids with and without braces. I'd like to know what's in the water there.

The parentals

My parents came for a short, but lovely visit last weekend. It was so wonderful to have them here, it always goes too quickly. My mom and I spent most of our time together talking, cooking and making and canning spaghetti sauce out of tomatoes I picked from our highly productive garden. Isaac and Lucy were enamored as usual with my dad, and he spent most of his time playing with them. We also managed to go on a fun date to Julie & Julia (a MUST see). Even the boys liked it!




My parents brought the kids these foam swords. I went out to take a picture of them mid-fight, but Isaac said he would like a picture like this. Apparently this is what knights do. Duh.

The kiddlets

Taking a step back

Today was the funeral for my sister-in-law's mother. She passed away suddenly and far too early from a brain aneurysm. I was reminded today about the shortness of life, and also the importance of what we do with it. I was reminded what a great responsibility it is to be a mother and to teach and raise my children. I was reminded that it's never wrong to tell your children and your companion that you love them, and to do it often.

I knew Diane Barrus only a short while, but it is evident that she has left a legacy of love and service for her family and those who loved her. We love you Megan, and are so very sorry for the loss of your mother, your friend.

Buddies

Anyone who knows these two, knows they are inseparable. Even when biking.

Here's what we've been working on lately...