Trick or Treat!!

Oh - the excitement of Trick or Treating! The boys could not wait! Is there anything better than going house to house and getting free candy? We went Trick or Treating with our neighbors, who our boys think, hung the moon. Paxton was a quick learner, but couldn't understand why he couldn't eat everything put in his pumpkin. He even learned to say Thank You - "nay nu". I loved watching Pax mimic everything his older brothers do.

About half way through trick or treating - Colton kept telling us that his legs hurt - we told him if you can't walk, then you can't trick or treat. Well, what he meant to say is that his feet hurt. When we got home, the poor boy had HUGE blisters on his feet. He had worn his shoes without socks, and paid a high price. We then, of course, felt horrible that we made him walk all that way. But a few pieces of candy helped the pain go away.

Pumpkin Carving Time

The boys making their "scary Halloween faces"

I think for everyone, every holiday reminds of when we were children. Halloween always makes me think of my Dad. I can remember picking out pumpkins and carving them with him. We always made one tall, skinny pumpkin and one fat and round pumpkin. And a couple of years, he even carved three pumpkins, one for each of my sisters. Then my mom would always bake the seeds - so yummy. I still haven't figured out how to make them as yummy as she did and now I know how much work it is to get those little seeds clean! Agh!


Well, we didn't carve 3 pumpkins, but we did carve one, and this year it was Colton's turn to decide what type face it would have. So, we of course had an animal pumpkin. Couldn't figure out how to carve a dog, but he was satisfied with a cat.

A Star Wars Family

Our church every year has a Fall Festival. The boys have so much fun. This year they wanted Mommy and Daddy to dress up too. So we did a whole Star War theme - Mason choose to be "a good guy storm trooper" - is there such a thing? I don't know, but we went with it. Colton was his "favorite guy" - Luke Skywalker. And of course Paxton was voted to be Yoda - though R2D2 was considered. Our family won the costume contest for the family division - which the boys were just thrilled about! Here's a few pics....

Pumpkins on the Prairie

Every year we take the boys to a pumpkin patch to pick out our jack-o-latern pumpkin, and of course take some cute pics. This year we went to Pumpkins on the Prairie and had a great time. Mason pulled Pax around in a wagon for at least 30 minutes and Colton couldn't understand why we could pick and carve a pumpkin that would fit in his hand. He loves anything little. We found the perfect pumpkin and enjoyed some great family time. As it got dark, they had family movie time complete with popcorn. We sat out in the grass and watched Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin.



In this pic, Paxton was done with pictures and ready to explore. This is him pushing both of his brothers away.

Paxton loved picking up and discovering the different gourds and squashes.

Sister Sister

My lil sis got to come in from Seattle - with my new little niece. What joy and fun! She had a conference here in Dallas, so while she worked, I got lots of time with Carly. What a sweet, little, petite, thing. There's just a difference in boy babies and girl babies. She was so cuddly and sweet. Tonya even got to be here over my birthday and we celebrated at my favorite restaurant, La Hacienda - The Ranch. It was so wonderful having her here. There's nothing like late night talks with a sister.

Yes, you see right - Colton is holding Carly. Wouldn't hold his own baby brother, but apparently, a cousin is much less threatening.

Colton's 5th Birthday Party

We celebrated Colton's 5th birthday with a Littlest Pet Shop party here at the house. Everyone dressed as a Littlest Pet Shop and we grilled out, played and jumped in the backyard and broke a pinata. Colton's one and only request for his party was a pinata! And all the kids loved it. I had forgotten how much fun they are. And of course there were presents and everyone knew what Colton loved! He received Littlest Pet Shop, Legos and Webkinz. Hmmm, not sure what we will get him for Christmas now.

A Weekend Campout

There is truly nothing I love to do more with the boys than to take them camping! It is so great in so many ways. I love the family time. No tv, no phone, no computer, no distractions... just us, with our boys, surrounded by the beauty that God created! And the stars are amazing. We had so much fun on this camping trip with the Reinwalds and Mathis's at Colorado State Bend Park. Mason swam in the river with Mr. Jason, Colton kayaked with me and dad and went swimming in a true swimming hole with natural "slides", and Paxton could run and play without being told "NO" constantly -he loved his freedom.

You can't tell from the pictures, but our camp site was at the bottom of this steep hill. So all of our camping gear had to be toted down the hill than back up. Whew - but it was worth it!


No one, I mean no one, can get kids more excited about washing dishes than Jason. His enthusiasm made me want to wash the dishes. He'd give every kid a job, and they would go at it.

Paxton enjoying lounging in his camp chair - doesn't he look so happy!

The Reinwald's enjoying the afternoon with kids.

Meghan, Colton, Mason & Lexi in front of our new tent! Yeah - I hope it will get lots of use in years to come.

Meghan and Mason enjoying their smores. Afterall, camping is all about the smores right?

Colton enjoying his birthday "smore", consisting of well, just marshmallow.

All the kids "posing" on the tree for a pic for the parents - aren't they cute.

Paxton and Daddy ready for our first hike. He was not too excited to be put in the backpack, but we of course won the battle and enjoyed his ride.

Just a fun big rock we found at the end of our hike.

Mason in a tree he climbed sporting his new glasses with transitional lenses. He is so excited about these new glasses.

Colton's Golden Year!

Our Colton boy is 5 years old! Hard to believe. This is his "golden year". He was 5 years old on the 5th! Colton has grown into such a sweet, loving, energetic, and silly boy. At 5 years old he loves anything to do with cats and/or dogs. His favorite toys are his Littlest Pet Shops and Legos, and he will never turn down pizza. There is not a day that goes by that Colton doesn't put a smile on my face and in my heart. He will be a real ladies man someday, he always notices if mommy is wearing something new and tells me daily, "Mommy, you look pretty". How could he not have my heart. He's the most sensitive of the three boys and I'm hoping he will never be too old or too big to cuddle with mommy. He has blessed our lives in so many ways and brings joy and laughter to our family daily.

The day of Colton's 5th birthday, we headed out to go camping with the Reinwalds. So on the way out of town, Colton had his pick for lunch. We went to ChuckECheeses and had a great time eating pizza and playing games.