Happy Halloween

My little treats.

Halloween Sneak Peak

Can't. Wait.

Bedtime Routines

Audrey's new favorite bedtime routine: reading to Joshua
Joshua's new favorite bedtime routine: having Audrey read to him
My new favorite bedtime routine: laying on the floor and watching this sweetness happen

BAM(J) Come to Texas!

We were lucky enough to have some our all time favorite San Franciscans come visit us in Texas a few weeks ago. Addi and I became friends the night before she had (almost) four year old Max, and just like our growing kids, our friendship grew quickly and I couldn't imagine my time in San Francisco without her.
We had a great few days together and we were all so sad to see their family go. Until next time friends, and hopefully sooner than later!

It was so nice to have Dave and Blake around to rough house with the kids while...

Addi and I sat on the couch and talked. Ahhh, we LOVED having our husbands around. A novelty for both of us.

Thanks Blake for reading to the kids while Dave was at school and while Addi and I sat and talked some more.

These city kids loved having a backyard to play in,

an extra room to pillow fight in,

a pool to swim in,

and a dear friend to sit next to as we drove through Sonic, Taco Bueno, and Wendy's.

Thanks to an abundant amount of young women in our ward, we were able to get a brave soul to watch all four kids so we could go to a MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GAME!!! It was a last minute decision to go which made it all the more fun! Thank you Addi and Blake for letting me be the third wheel (Dave had a HUGE test two days later) and thank you Blake for dropping us off so we didn't have to walk a mile to get to the game (and more importantly so we could get there on time!).

The stadium was beyond amazing.
Yes my shirt says, "Don't Mess With Texas". Dave got it when he served his mission here. Addi was all decked out in Cowboys colors, so I had to represent too. Don't worry, the Cowboys won.

Natalie was kind enough to drive FOUR hours with THREE kids to come see us. We all started our motherhood journey together in San Francisco and it was fun to catch up and let our kids play together once again.
THEN

NOW. Audrey and Sammy Jo had so much fun playing together.

Meisha was nice enough to come hang out for the morning. San Franciscans reunited!

Thank you Max and Jack for coming to the fishy place with us,

and watching your mommies kick some trash with the rifles. Or not.

After a full day of fun, we would put the kids to bed and then stay up way.too.late crafting, eating, talking and we even got to go to a movie. Thank you for coming, and PLEASE remember that Texans need straight teeth too!

Squatters Rights

Joshua's favorite place to sit:

It doesn't matter if I am doing the dishes, trying to clean, or talking on the phone, he loves to sit on the ground in between my feet. What a goofy little guy.

I Love These Kids

And I love the man who is making them laugh this hard.
One wrong turn while driving to our friends house, and this is where we ended up. I love this place.

All Boy

"Running through the mud puddles

chasing dragon flies

digging in the dirt

making sister cry.

Trucks and cars and lots of noise

collecting all those bugs

hiding treasures in a box

giving sister hugs.

Oh what fun he always has

laughing with such joy

and the pride he brings to us

it’s great to be a boy!"

~Author unknown

Happy Fall Y'all

Saw this plate, made me smile.
*For those reading on google reader, I postdated this post for October. I just found this picture and I wanted to blog about it, but I can't have a fall post in December.

Hot Air Balloon Festival

While Andrew and Carrie were here, we went to the Hot Air Balloon Festival with Mandy, Colby, Kaci and Brad. It was amazing to see so many hot air balloons in one place. There were skydivers, blow up slides for the kids, lots of greasy fair food, and of course, lots of hot air balloons. The evening closed with a firework show. It was an amazing night and we all had so much fun. I was impressed with how many people came and what a big deal the whole thing was. I guess the saying, "everything's bigger in Texas" is true!

Andrew and Carrie!

We have been blessed to have had so many fun people come visit. We love it! My brother and his wife Carrie were able to come spend the weekend in Sept. Andrew had to go home on Monday, but Carrie had her job training in Texas so she got to stay with us until Tuesday and then she had to go to training. We loved having them and the kids LOVED spending time with them. Audrey has a little crush on Uncle Andrew, and I think she has one on Aunt Carrie too. They were so great to my kids, and Carrie spoiled me rotten by always doing ALL the dishes. We stayed up late playing games and crafting and it was so fun to get to know Carrie better. Andrew couldn't have married a more perfect girl.

Getting shaved ice. Yummmmmmm

Andrew teaching Audrey the proper way to splash someone.

Running around at the splash park. Carrie was such a great sport to get all wet.

Eating a yummy steak dinner. Andrew ate 99% of that thing.

Aren't they a beautiful couple? Thanks for coming!

Mimi and Savy Come To Town

"A sister is a gift to the heart, a friend to the spirit, a golden thread to the meaning of life." ~Isadora James

We were lucky enough to have my sister, Melissa, and Savy come visit for six days. It was so fun having them here. The kids did so well together and we love Saberell so much around here. We went to splash parks, Chuck E. Cheese, shaved ice, yummy Mexican places, and when the kids were in bed we watched tons of episodes of "Say Yes To the Dress"- new favorite show. That and "Toddlers and Tiaras". Mimi had never seen it and I had to show her the hysterical-ness of it all.

The kids loved our tradition of having a Friday night picnic and movie.

Sweet cousins.

Finger painting

We love Savy and her awesome bed head. What a beautiful niece I have!

I don't have one picture of Melissa and me together. Could it be because we never got dressed? We spent the week in jammers and bathing suits, and pictures like that don't need to be taken.
Thanks for coming, please come again soon!