Picking the Perfect Pumpkins!

For FHE on Monday night...we decided to take our annual trip to the pumpkin patch! They have several in the area, but last year we found the perfect one, called Linder Farms (http://www.linderfarms.com/)! They have it all...the pumpkin patch (16 acres), hay rides, a corn maze, a "cow train" ride, astro jumps & straw maze for the little kids, and of course, yummy food to enjoy! Here's some pictures of our fun-filled FHE!

Stop #1: THE STRAW MAZE

Here's Abbie, Annie, Parker, and Matt w/Connor right after we arrived. The kids could hardly wait to start running through the straw maze!

Can ya tell Annie's excited?...I think she liked the maze. Actually, from what she says, all of it was "freakin' fun!"



Abbie stoppin' to pose for the camera...I don't think this maze was too hard for her, since she made it through in about 15 seconds...LOL! She did keep asking to go into the big corn maze, though...I guess she wanted something a little more challenging!! :)

Isn't Parks handsome? He was a little unsure about the whole maze bit, but once I went through with him, he got the hang of it & had fun running between the bales of straw!!!

Stop #2: THE ASTRO JUMPS & SLIDE

Parks LOVED going down the slide!!

Annie had fun too...she went down just every possible way!! She also made Matt & I nervous w/that sucker in her mouth... :)

Here's Abbie taking her turn & having loads of fun too!

Stop #3: THE COW TRAIN

Here are the 3 (Abbie at the back, Parker & Annie closer to the front) ready to go on the cow barrel ride!

Stop #4: THE HAYRIDE

If ya can't already tell from the smile on their faces (especially Annie & Abbie), they were pretty flippin' excited to go. In fact, Parker was probably the most thrilled with it. After one of the stops (to drop people off in the fields to search for pumpkins) he turned to me and said, "I so excited, Mom!"...it was TOO cute!

Stop #5: THE PUMPKIN PATCH

Parker could hardly wait to start playing in the dirt!! The pumpkin didn't impress him nearly as much!

Annie was the one hunting for the best pumpkin! She has a really good eye for a good pumpkin...she loved looking for them! Not that they were hard to find (believe me, there was a plethora of pumpkins!) ...but she searched for just the perfect one!

Abbie enjoyed the hunt too...she wanted to find the biggest pumpkin to take home!

Here's the kids w/the pumpkins they picked out to take home!!

Stop #6: GETTIN' SOME GRUB!

Of course, we had to finish off the fabulous evening with a little bit of yummy food...nachos, fries, hotdogs & some soda! :)

Proof of Craziness!!

This is what I discovered on the way home from the mall today. As a little "treat" (because the kids were all so good), we stopped in See's Candies to get them some chocolate to enjoy on the way home. Well, apparently Parker's treat melted & he decided to do some "artwork" on his self!! I couldn't resist grabbing the camera as soon as I got home because this is definitely a first for our family! Maybe the girls are just too tame, or Park's is just WAY more creative with his food....LOL! Apparently he had fun though....because he was smiling so huge, saying "Me so dirty mom!"

The funny thing...it didn't get on his shirt, the car seat, or anywhere else but his hands & face! I'm not sure how that happens, but it sure made clean-up easy enough! What a crazy kid!!

Abbie turned 8!!

We had a VERY busy week, last week. We had a bunch of family in town the beginning of the week, because we welcomed a new cousin into the family. Then, on Tuesday, Abbie turned 8! She has been SO excited to have her birthday! We made it special with gifts, a "crown & wand" cake & most exciting of the day was that she got her ears pierced! I picked her up after school & we went to get them done! She picked out some really cute earrings & has been so good at cleaning & twisting them like she should! She has grown to be such a fun girl! She loves playing with her friends, reading books, helping me when I bake & is such an awesome big sister to Annie, Parker & Connor! We love you Abba-Dabba!

Here she is patiently waiting to open her gifts! We had her wait until evening & she was SO good about it!

Another fun thing about turning 8, is that she was able to choose to be baptized! So, again, we had loads of family come and visit for the weekend! She was a total princess in the dress that Gramma C made for all the girl cousins to be baptized in! I think she felt special because she is the very first one to wear the dress. Aunt Missie made her some adorable bows that she chose to wear along with some fun jewelry from both Grandma Judy & Gramma C. It's hard to tell you how special it is to watch one of your children get baptized...it was just an amazing feeling to sit & watch her get baptized because she wants to follow Jesus!

Here's Abbie & Matt all ready in their white clothes!

Another picture of Matt & Abbie....this was right before heading back to the baptism font!

One more picture of Abbie...just by herself! Isn't she beautiful!

Thank you all who came and supported her on this special day! We love each & all of you!!

Did you know Samuel the Lamanite drives a John Deere?

Is this news to you?....it's news to me!! But, as Parker was playing with his "quiet toys" in church on Sunday, I laughed a bit to myself when I looked over & saw Parker having Samuel the Lamanite driving a line-up of several John Deere toys!! He was having a ball & I just giggled away!! Parker is at a really fun stage right now...probably one of my favorites! With the girls starting school, he's become my little buddy. We will sit down & read several books (Robert the Rose Horse is one of his favorites right now) on the couch together. He loves to be my "helper" by pushing wet clothes into the dryer, or sitting on the counter while I work on putting dinner together. Almost every morning he asks if we are going to "some stores"....like the "Cookie Store" (aka Wal-mart) or the "Popcorn Store" (aka Target) and he's just says the cutest things. Lately, I'll say, "Parker, I love you" and he'll reply with "no, no, no...I love you, Mom" and we'll just go back & forth until we are both giggling! He's our handsome devil and one of my most favorite boys in the whole world! I love you, Parks!

Our San Francisco Trip!

Yes...after almost 10 years of marriage, Matt & I were able to get a little getaway (with Connor in tow) to San Francisco! We had a blast!! It was so fun seeing the sights, window shopping, relaxing, eating at some fun places (including getting some famous Sourdough Pizza!), and just being together!! So, here are a few pictures of some of the things we did...more to come later!

Here we are on Alcatraz Island...San Francisco is in the backgroud. It was cool to see Alcatraz, hear about the history & just be there...Matt thought it was totally cool! Getting the earphones & doing the self-guided tour is the way to do it!!

The Golden Gate Bridge! We had a funny time taking this picture...there were some crazy people on either side of us that wouldn't move away so that we could get the picture...luckily Matt's brother, Kyle, was able get decent shot!

Standing at the end of Pier 39! It was a breezy day, but we had fun exploring down at Fisherman's Warf!

Ahoy Capt'n! At the Hyde Street Pier they have several old ships that you can explore...that was pretty cool. There was a shipping ship, a ferry boat & several others...