Halloween

Here is our little garden gnome. He was woken up from a nap after a very busy day of decorating cookies at Aunt Shannon's house so he was a little groggy. He was a great gnome, though.
We always go to grandmas house to go trick-0r-treating. Here they are in what was left of their costumes. They had fun going with Grandma to visit the scary house on her street. They got a big candy bar. Well, they all went except Sam. He decided he didn't want to. He stayed back and ate candy and kicked his shoes off.

Here we all are at our tri-ward trunk-or-treat. We didn't decorate our trunk but that's okay. The kids got lots of candy and we had lots of fun. Halloween is always so much fun!

Pumpkin Patch

Here is Shaunie driving her car and I don't really know why she has her binoculars on the swing ride. I should ask her what she saw.


Here is Troy with the animals and after he was with the animals. He cried for a very long time.


Here are Sam and Leah. They were a little more timid with the animals. Sam was a race car driver and totally had all the moves. Too bad he was connected to the ride.


Here is one of the best family pictures we could get of them. They are like herding mice! Here is another picture of Troy with the goats.


Here is Sam in the swing ride. I loved his smile. Here is Leah getting a little help on the game. Good thing, she could barely lift the hammer.

We went to the pumpkin Patch at Sunset Station. It has become an October Tradition. There are fun carnival games, rides, a petting zoo and just a bunch of pumpkins everywhere. The kids had fun on their rides and Troy had even more fun with the animals in the petting zoo. He ran around to all the animals but would stop just before he reached them, then he would put his had up to touch them but would usually get too excited to actually make contact. It was really fun to watch. He would've stayed in there all night and was very upset when we left. You can see him crying in the picture above. He never really got over leaving, either. We had lots of fun and ended our night by going to Walmart to buy treats (carnival treats are just too expensive, plus we had a few things to pick up). We loved our little family night out.

Welcome Sarah!

A little girl named Sarah has been the topic of much of Leah's conversation lately. Last night she got on one particularly long tangent and I thought I would share with you what I know about this Sarah girl.

1. Sarah is 5....no 10 years old.
2. Sarah does yoga and goes to yoga school.
3. Sarah doesn't go to school because her mom doesn't know where it is.
4. Sarah has a friend named Tina.
5. Tina has a brown....no, black face.
6. Sarah's mom has curly hair.
7. Sarah goes to karate (Sam wonders if she can do moves like Kung Fu Panda).
8. Sarah has gone poop and seen corn (sorry, that's gross but kinda cute) and so has Tina.
9. Sarah has a little brother named Tommy.
10. Sarah has karate skills (yes, she said 'skills').
11. She meets our neighbor boy at his karate class.
12. Sarah has blonde hair and pink clothes on.
13. Sarah has a note for me which Leah will run and go get.
14. The note says "Dear Sarah, I love you very much and I love your mom too, you should come over tomorrow."
15. Sarah doesn't want to talk anymore.

If you haven't caught on by now Sarah is the newest imaginary friend created by my little Leah. Sam has had a hard time accepting Sarah. He hasn't met her and it's really weird to him that she doesn't go to school. My Shaunie just asks questions and smiles at me when Leah talks about her. We would like to officially welcome Sarah. I think she'll only be around until Leah starts Kindergarten. Then they all seem to go away.

Family Dinner and Chocolate Shadows

We had our monthly family dinner last night. It was really good. Jody and Josh were in charge and can I just say that I LOVE FRESH&EASY! They make a pizza dough you can buy as well as a yummy pizza sauce. Jody and Josh used those yummy ingredients to make homemade pizzas. They were really good. I was in charge of dessert (I love doing desserts because it gives me a chance to try out new recipes) and I decided to try this Chocolate Shadow Cake. It's basically a three layer chocolate cake with a 7 minute frosting and a chocolate glaze. Jeremy suggested making it spooky so I added a spider web and borrowed Leah's orange spider (she really didn't like that idea). It turned out great and everyone seemed to like it, especially the Three Amigos, Troy, Ammon and Carson. They found the other kids' left-overs and we couldn't resist letting them go at it. We then decided to clean them up and threw them in grandma's big tub. Troy was a little freaked out, but at least he got clean. Thanks to Aunt Jen for taking the pics. I stole them off her blog,mooah ah ah ah!

School Carnival!

Here is Troy trying on Sam's pirate patch.

This is Sam with his Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Hernandez. She is so cute and nice and Sam is my little preppy pirate.

Here is Shaunie with our neighbor friend Seth. They are good friends and hang out all the time. Shaunie is our beautiful Princess Leia and Seth was so inspired that at the last minute he decided to change his costume from a dead football player to Anikan Skywalker. Here they are having a battle.

And here are the cutest kids at the carnival. Leah is Word Girl (Word UP!), Sam is my handsome pirate and Shaunie is my Princess Leia. What a group! I love Halloween!

Leah has been sick this week and has hardly gotten out of bed. Thanks to modern medicine she is finally getting out and being herself again. Here is a sweet picture of her dad coming home and ...well....comforting her? She had been waiting for him all day and I guess he just did the best he could. What a good daddy.

Name-uel

Since Sam has been in school he has learned that his name is really Samuel, with the -uel. He has always been called Sam so he never knew it before. Now, he fascinated by the addition of these three totally new letters. He decided to write down what everyone's name would be like if they suddenly discovered that they too had these extra letters. Pretty cool, huh?

Little Creations

We've been doing a lot of creating lately. The Leah got a huge pack of playdough for her birthday so the kids have had a lot of fun making playdough stuff. I also made some cupcakes and let the kids decorate them. I have found that cupcakes are much easier than cookies to make and decorate, and they are just as yummy. We had the kids decorate the cupcakes and then we took them to some families in the ward and ding-dong ditched them at the doors. The kids had a blast and we loved seeing them jump in the van out of breath and with big smiles on their faces.

Baby Cousin

This is little Madelyn Elizabeth Moser. She was born the day after Leah's Birthday, on the 4th. She is a doll and we were really excited to see her between conference sessions. Thanks to Jody and Josh for letting our family crash the quiet calmness of the hospital. It was fun to see you and we are so excited to welcome Maddie into the family. Just so ya know, Leah and Sam were not interested in holding her or we would have cute pics of them too.

The High School had a little Homecoming Parade around the park that is just across the street from us. It was really little but I thought that was one of the best parts about it! The band played and there were a few floats of clubs and cheerleaders and student body officers. They even threw candy! In fact, it was so short that since we were at the beginning of the parade route, after the end of the parade passed us we ran across the park to see the parade again (and get more candy). I just got a few pictures, but it really was a short parade. Doesn't Sam look cute?

I just wanted to put this cute picture of Troy enjoying the cake. He used a fork and everything!

Our little Leah Lou!
You can't be more than two!
Your sly lil' smile and big brown eyes
Keep us guessing your next surprise
We love your trot and "scewompus" hair
Your shy little ways and the things you dare,
Your pretty doll with pen on her face
The funny way you rule the place
For these little things, we love you more
We just can't believe that you are four!

Our Little Leah is getting way to Big! She turned 4 at the beginning of October and she was such a princess! She had her cousins over for some cake and ice cream. She was very excited to be four and get her "pony cake". As you can see, the cake turned out to be a little bit different than the original plan, but that was not because I didn't try to make a pony cake. If you could see under the big, pink heart you would see a very messed up pony. It's a good thing that Leah just went along with it! Whew! Anyway, she had a great birthday and really felt like a princess. We love you Leah!

First Haircut!

I decided it was time to give Troy a haircut when someone thought he was a girl. He does have a very adorable face but he IS a boy. He was so good for his cut. I used the clippers and he didn't even scream! He actually giggled a little when I first put it on his head. He is a great sport and he looks so handsome! I do have to say that I was actually a little sad to see his curls fall to the ground. I left the top a little long in hopes that they would still have a chance of showing up.

Leah's First day of Preschool

Here she is! She had a great first day of preschool. She goes to preschool up at our rec center and she feels very big doing so. She takes all of this very seriously. On the first day she was a little shy so my friend's daughter, Kenzie, took her hand and they both walked over to their seats. Here they are sitting together. These girls actually have known each other for a while, they just didn't know it. We used to be in the same ward, but have since both moved out of that ward. It has been fun to hang out with them again. We even went to McD's. I told Leah it was in celebration of her first day of school. She loves it so far and continues to tell me stories about what happens at school. I'm not sure they are all true, but at least it is a great place for her imagination to draw from.

Shaunie's Lists

Here is Shaunie's list of things she wanted me to write up in a recipe book. You can see how she crossed the items off as she made them with her dad. She must think I have a huge appetite! She also wanted to have a bake sale and here is another list of things she wanted me to pick up or write down how to make. She keeps me busy with her little projects and sales. She always has something planned.





In this picture she is having a juice sale with her friend from the ward. This is just one of the many sales we have set up outside our home. Thanks to all the neighbors and ward members who support our entrepreuner daughter.

Great Husband

Thanks Jeremy for surprising me! I didn't even know he had posted anything until I started receiving emails about comments people had written. He is a great husband and I am so blessed to have him. Thanks to everyone who wrote comments. You are all so complimentary! Just so some of you know, my birthday was on Saturday, Sept. 13th. It was a busy but good day. Jeremy took the day off (the best present he could've given me) and the kids made me breakfast in bed. It was a good thing Jeremy was home because on Friday Shaunie had given me a list of things she wanted me to write up in a recipe book. The list was all breakfast items, so I am sure she was going to attempt breakfast on her own. My good friend brought me beautiful flowers and Jeremy took me out to dinner and a little shopping. Jeremy's parents sent a beautiful and yummy fruit bouquet too. Thanks to everyone who called to wish me a happy birthday. You are the best!

Happy Birthday Meu Amor!

I know I don't get on here very often, but I wanted to make a surprise post to Rachel's blog here and say, "Happy birthday Rachel!!" Her birthday was actually a few days ago, but I just haven't had much time.

Rachel and I met in 1995, started dating in 2000 after returning from our respective missions in the beautiful country of Brazil. We were married in 2000, a year later she graduated from BYU and a year later I dragged her to the desert heat of Las Vegas so I could work on my schooling. Not only did I bring her to Las Vegas, but I brought her during the summer months and 7 months pregnant with our first child. . . Sorry honey!

We've been through a lot together in 8+ years. You've stuck beside me throughout my undergraduate studies and now through graduate school. You've been the most awesome mother to our 4 beautiful and amazing children . You've been there to push me along, when I needed encouragement the most. You teach our children about the true and restored gospel of Jesus Christ and instruct them in modest living and making righteous decisions. You're an example to me of living the Word of Wisdom through regular exercise and healthy eating habits. You help me to appreciate the need for higher education, learning, and appreciating good books and good music. I even went with you to my first Neil Diamond concert for New Year's Eve one year. You lovingly put up with my seemingly endless research into neurological fMRI studies, and even still wait up for me late at night.

I could go on and on about all the things you do for me and the kids, but there just isn't enough time to type it all. I guess the biggest purpose behind this is to tell you, and the rest of the world how much I love you, and am glad you said yes to marrying me on that cool evening in American Fork Canyon in 2000.

Thank you for everything you do! I love you!!!

Jeremy

Super Saturday!

Okay, so I just put together my annual Super Saturday post for my ward. I am hoping that the sisters stop by and check out what we are doing and that they get excited about it. I still have a few more things to add but should have it all done very soon. Click on this link to check it out. Super Saturday Blog

Misunderstood

Ok, I usually don't like to write about myself. It just makes me feel weird, but there is something that has been on my mind a bit lately. It is more a question. When you feel like someone who should know you pretty well totally has you all misunderstood, what do you do? Does that make sense? Sometimes I feel like some pretty major people in my life have me figured out all wrong and I don't know what to do about it. I have heard someone say that "It is not who I think I am, or who you think I am, it is who I think you think I am that matters most." Think about that one for a while. You may have to repeat it a couple times, I did. How do you change someone's view of you? Is that even possible? Should I even worry about it? Just asking.

Milestones

Troy has passed some fun little milestones this past week. I say they are milestones because they are things every little kid does (at least mine have done) sometime while growing up. I hope you don't mind me sharing.

First, he has taken up to 7-10 steps on his own. He is still a little wobbly, but he is having so much fun doing it. It's actually kinda inspiring to watch him fall and then be so anxious to stand up and try again. Second, he has started to say "uh-oh" when something falls or when someone else says it. His little voice is so tender and cute! Third, he has mastered the art of crawling up the stairs. He is actually quite balanced and can go up pretty fast. Lucky for Mom he is still a little shy about doing it, though I'm sure that will change. Finally, he has decided that he likes his bed when he is tired. I say finally because my other kids knew early on that their bed was a great place when you were tired, but it took my little Troy a little longer to get it. Now he will reach for his bed when he is in his room and tired. If I mention his "bear" then he'll even sometimes start doing that little excited whiny giggle. (If ya know what I mean).

Please Vote...

Lots of people are coming by to check us out. Please write why you came by... feel free to leave any comments too. I love hearing from you.

Family Picture

I had to share this great picture. Sam drew a family picture at school. You can see everyone, even Troy in his walker.

Star Wars

This is my Sam. And this is Star Wars. Our neighbors have loaned us their Star Wars movies and Sam really can't get enough of them. He has even decided to be part of the action by getting the Star Wars gun his cousin gave him and helping to shoot the "bad guys". You can see his gun in the top picture and the shadow of it in the bottom one. I love my boy.