Halloween

Happy Halloween!

Carving pumpkins

Ellie didn't mind the slime...

Mason did.

Halloween night

I don't even know how many times I

heard the words today, "Is it time to go trick-or-treating yet?"

Ellie wanted to be a pretty flower. I think she makes a beautiful flower!

I actually made this costume. I've never made one before.

It was a lot of fun to put together.

Mason was a Jedi. He really got into character.

Cassidy was a cute little ladybug. She loved the wings on the back and would spin around in circles trying to see them. It turned out that two of her cousins were ladybugs this year too!

Ready to go to the first house!

Cassidy is holding the first piece of candy she got. She didn't let it go all night.

Today I had to make a quick trip to the grocery store and Ellie and Cassidy came with me. While we were there, they got a treat from the workers. Cassidy has really been loving candy lately and calls it "Nani" (that is exactly what Ellie called it). After she got the candy and we were walking around the store, Cassidy kept saying, "Nani! Woo-hoo!" It was so cute!

Pumpkin Patch

Our tradition for the past 5 years has been to go to Pack Family Farms to get our pumpkins. It's a great little place that our kids love. They have a little hay maze and a huge patch to find pumpkins. This was the first year that Cassidy was able to really participate. It was fun to see her fascinated with the pumpkins and the maze!

I have to go into a little more detail with the story behind the ball. It was a pretty neat experience. I didn't go to the game, but after Dave told me what happened. Oh how I wish I could've been there to witness it all. It started before Mason even went to the game. He was getting really excited about catching a ball. We were trying to prepare him for this not happening. We told him it doesn't happen very often in hopes that he wouldn't be too disappointed when he came home without a ball.

Mason was sitting in the stands with Dave, Papa Steve and Great Papa Stan. The whole game Mason was talking about catching a ball. When Mason talks, he's not real quiet about it, so everyone around him was well aware that this little kid wanted to catch a ball. After awhile Dave noticed there was an area where a lot of foul balls were being hit. He went over with Mason and stood there for awhile. Nothing came that way, so they went and sat back down.

Mason was still talking about catching a ball, so a little while later, Dave thought Mason and he should go back to that spot. They stood there for a bit and eventually a ball was hit in their direction. Dave ran over to it and caught the ball. He walked over to Mason and dropped the ball in his glove. Dave said the look on Mason's face was one of disbelief. It took Mason a second to realize what just happened and with pure excitement and enthusiasm, Mason raises the ball in the air and yells at the top of his lungs. "WE CAUGHT A BALL!" Dave said that the game was a pretty quiet one. There wasn't much cheering happening, but when Mason raised that ball up and yelled, everyone in the stands cheered for Mason and started clapping. Someone yelled, "Nice catch, Dad!"

Mason told me later that when his dad was running to catch the ball there was another guy going for it too, but "Dad beat him to it!" He also told Dave that when he saw him catch the ball he thought, "Dad is so cool!" What an amazing story. I wish I could've been there to witness it myself. Dave said he thought that Mason, Papa Steve, Great Papa Stan and himself would never forget that moment.

Arizona Trip

We went down to Arizona this past week to spend time with Dave's parents, Steve and Nancy. What a fun trip we had! It was very relaxing and the kids had a lot of fun playing with Grandma and Papa and swimming everyday. We also got to see our good friends, the Finch's. I saw Stephenie Meyer in person and she taught me about the Post-Mortal World in her Relief Society lesson. I even tried out a water aerobics class. We had some fun times!

Mom and Cassidy swimming.

Cassidy loves the water and refers to everything

that has to do with swimming

(swim suit, goggles, water, pool toys) as "meemo."

Ellie had a lot of fun in the pool too.

She loved jumping in from the side.

Ellie and Grandma playing in the water.

Mason showing off a ball his dad caught for him at a Fall League game.

Ellie and Cassidy snuggling while watching a show.

Mason loves Cooper! He wanted to be near him all the time.

Grandma and Papa playing Bunko with Mason and Ellie.

Many hours were spent rolling dice!

Ellie, Grandma, Mason and Papa

Cassidy was already in bed, but she sure did love Papa.

She started saying "Bapa" while we were there and said it every time she saw him

(and sometimes when she wanted to know where he was).

Mason wanted a picture with Cooper. It was so funny trying

to keep the dog still for a picture. He kept going after Mason!

It was a great trip and we're already looking forward to our next visit!

He's Figured it Out!

Mason can ride his bike without training wheels! We've been working on it for awhile now and he was having such a hard time keeping the handlebars straight and wobbling all over. I finally noticed that his seat was too low and he was having a hard time pushing down the pedals. Almost immediately after I adjusted the seat, he began to get his balance. That was yesterday. Today he was riding all over the place! We've got a bike rider!

He is so proud of this accomplishment!

Ellie is super cute riding her bike as well. She can go around

the corner that goes slightly down hill all by herself now.

Yahoo!!!

Painting Pumpkins

Mason, Ellie and I painted pumpkins today. They were so excited about this. I can't believe how focused they were and the finished products were awesome!

So cute!

Cassidy loves sitting in our bed while watching "Dora."

She's so funny!

Happy 6th Birthday, Mason!

Seriously? Can Mason really be 6 years old today? For some reason 6 sounds a lot older than 5. He is an amazing kid and we spent the whole day celebrating his birthday. I got to go to school with Mason this morning to help his teacher. After we came home, we opened up gifts. We went out to lunch as a family and Mason decided to go to 5 Guys Burgers and Fries (he really loves the grilled cheese sandwiches there). Then our family went miniature golfing. It was a lot of fun. Mason got a hole in one! He seems to get one every time we go. He was pretty satisfied with his game. We came home and ate banana splits. Mason doesn't like cake very much, so he picks a different dessert each birthday. This year he wanted to try banana splits. They were pretty good! Mason invited a few friends over to play and then we enjoyed a relaxing evening together. It was a great day and I'm pretty sure Mason enjoyed himself!

He has to use two hands now to show how old he is!

Opening gifts

Smile!

Golfing

I just love this picture of Cassidy.

Doesn't she look like she has somewhere important to go?

Birthday banana splits

(Sorry, the open dishwasher in the background kinda ruins the picture!)

Happy Birthday, Mason!

Dave likes to try and catch the most awkward face during the candle blowout.

We love you!