Halloween

Our Toucan and Puppy.

We had a great time trick-or-treating.  We went together as a family and left our bowl of candy on the porch.  We are in a new neighborhood, so everyone gave handfuls of candy.  At one house a little boy handed out the candy and after he gave the candy to Porter, he handed one to the little boy. We spent about 30 minutes and had full buckets by the end.  Lincoln said he had a million nine candies.  We didn't get that much, but we did get a lot.

Odyssey

 We just bought a minivan!

 In our driveway with our Honda Odyssey.

That is one good looking van.

We bought a new minivan!  Our truck needed some repairs, but we didn't want to put any money into it.  We purchased a 2012 Honda Odyssey.  The year end clearance got us a reasonable price.  So far we love it! (In case you are wondering, we are not expecting, we just needed a new vehicle and a van is the most practical right now.)

So Long Dakota

 Our first picture of our Dodge Dakota.

The last picture of or Dodge Dakota.

It was a little heart wrenching to trade in our truck.  We had a lot of good memories with it; camping won't be the same without it.  When we bought the truck, we were newly weds going to USU.  Now we have our degrees, a house, two kids, and we live in Colorado.  A lot has changed in six years, but the truck looks the same, just a few thousand more miles on it.

Corn Maze

 Lincoln petting a calf.

 Outside the ghost town. 

Charlotte and Lincoln lost in the corn maze.

 We made it out in about 20 minutes.

 Lincoln riding behind the tractor in the barrel train.

Daddy and Porter taking a ride.

We went to Mile High Farms today.  We had a great time.  Lincoln didn't really like the corn maze, but he liked all the animals and the train ride.  Porter didn't cry, but I don't think he liked any of it.  Caleb and I had fun though.

Halloween Party

 Lincoln (Luigi) and his preschool buddies.

The Jack-o-Lantern Lincoln made at Joy School.

Today was a Halloween party at Joy School.  Lincoln was a little scared at first, because of everyone's costumes.  Lincoln wants to be a toucan for Halloween and we haven't found (made) one yet.  Hopefully we will find something by Halloween.  Lincoln had a great party.  He drew the face of this Jack-o-Lantern and scooped out the seeds, then the teacher carved it.  Lincoln had so much fun, he told me Halloween is his favorite holiday.

Breadsticks

Porter and Lincoln eating breadsticks.

Whenever I make spaghetti for dinner, I also make breadsticks.  Porter's favorite food is bread, so he devoured them.  He even wanted Lincoln's breadstick.  I took this picture after we had been done with dinner for about 15 minutes.  Lincoln said he "could eat breadsticks all day long."  Also, if we get upset, Lincoln tells us to "stop being a breadstick on a cloudy day."  He must think about those breadsticks a lot!

Laundry Day

Lincoln and Porter playing in the clean laundry.

Laundry is my least favorite chore.  I have found a way that makes it a bit easier for me.  I let the kids play in the clean laundry.  This allows them to have fun and I get some folding done while they play.  Look how excited Porter is, that has to be fun and it is. However, Lincoln is on a picture strike and stops what he is doing to look mad or close his eyes...I hope this is just a phase.

Caleb's Birthday

 Caleb and Lincoln on the bridge.

Lincoln and Porter going down the slide.

Today was Caleb's birthday.  We didn't do much, but we spent the evening together.  We had dinner at home, opened presents, then went for a walk to a new playground.  We all enjoyed the playground and the crisp fall weather.

Sad Face

Porter is sad, wanting to go outside, but it is too cold.

Caramel Apple Tradition

Caramel apples covered in Reese's Pieces and white chocolate with cinnamon sugar.

Every fall conference, I make caramel apples.   I make the caramel from scratch and even made the sweetened condensed milk.  The Reese's Pieces kind is Caleb's favorite, so I always make those.  The white chocolate with cinnamon sugar is a copycat recipe of an apple pie caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, which is now my favorite kind of caramel apple.  They were delicious!

First Snow of the Season

Caleb and Lincoln having a snowball fight.

Dishwasher Helper

Porter helping unload the dishwasher.

Porter loves to help me unload the dishwasher.  He loves to pull the racks back and forth.  He also likes to take everything out.  While I was putting dishes in the cupboard, Porter managed to get in the dishwasher.  Most hilarious thing I have seen.  I wish I had this much fun with the dishwasher.