Happy Holidays!

Yesterday before church we took some quick pictures of the kids in their Christmas outfits from Grandma May.

Ashlyn was really excited to have her hair curled.

Carter was sporting a new hairdo as well - he just got buzzed on Saturday.

And a little bit of sibling love

These pictures probably would've been a little more festive in front of the Christmas tree, but the tree has been seriously destroyed by the kids this year. The entire bottom half is ornament-less and the few presents underneath have been mauled. There just wasn't time to pull it together and get pictures before church!

Happy Halloween!

I bet you thought that Ashlyn was going to be Sleeping Beauty for Halloween (based on a previous post) . . . and so did I!

Earlier this week I bought this monkey costume at Old Navy for a great deal. I intended to save it for Carter for next year. Ashlyn saw it and wanted to try it on, so I let her. She loved it and decided that she wanted to wear it for Halloween. Hey, I can go with the flow (as long as she wants to wear a costume that we already own!)

Here is our little chicken:

Carter's little friends, Maddie and Ryder were also chickens. Carter is 13 months old, Maddie is 11 months old and Ryder is almost 17 months old.

These are Ashlyn's friends Sammy (the witch) and Azelynn (Jessie). They are the chickens' big sisters! Ashlyn was jumping during this picture. She was so excited to be a monkey!

Finally we got her to stand still for a picture! They are all pretty close in age, but Ashlyn is definitely the shortest.

Just before trick-or-treating Kari and Bryon stopped by for a visit.

On Friday the kids did a little trick-or-treating at Brad's work.

Aren't they cute from behind?


Carter was great at getting the candy, but Ashlyn was a little bit more reserved. We could barely get her to take it. She also wouldn't say "trick-or-treat" or "thank-you" until after we were out of earshot of the candy-givers!

Carter put a candy bar in his bucket . . .

then took it out and left the bucket behind!

Jenn and Diana both made adorable felt bags for their kids and then Jenn made this one for Ashlyn. It would have gone perfectly with her Sleeping Beauty costume, but she loved it just because it was pink (lately she is obsessed with all things pink). I think it is adorable!

Last weekend we drove up to Sundance to look at the pretty colored leaves in the canyons. Most of the leaves had already fallen to the ground, but it was still a beautiful day, so we stopped for some pictures near a totem pole.

Happy Halloween!

Family Pictures 2009

Yesterday we went to Portrait Innovations yet again to get our family picture taken, as well as photos of each of the kids. They turned out alright.

This is the family picture we ended up choosing. We think it is cute that both of the kids have their hands rested on our hands.

This is the picture we chose of Ashlyn.

We bought this sibling picture in sepia to hang in their bedroom.

This was our favorite picture of the whole session, the one we chose of Carter.

Here are some other sample pictures that we took with us on the CD, but we can't make copies or anything.

This was a toss up for our family picture of choice. Looking at it now, I kind of wish we chose it.

"What are you crazy people doing?"

An Afternoon at Nelsons Grove

Friday we went with Diana and her kids to nearby Nelsons Grove. She recently bought a new camera and she was trying it out.

The next 5 pictures are ones she took of my kids.

Yes, I know Ashlyn needs her bangs cut. We're trying to grow them out, but she doesn't always keep the clips in her hair.

Ashlyn pretty much chooses what she is going to wear every day, so ... yeah.

Rock climbing

Carter climbed into the fountain (it wasn't turned on) and ended up getting himself soaking wet. We had to take off all his clothes and his diaper and I didn't have an extra diaper. So, he got to wear a spare pair of Ashlyn's panties. It was special. Ashlyn thought it was hilarious.

Here's a picture of the kind of things the kids do during the day.

Conference Weekend Traditions

I think we may have come up with some new Conference Weekend traditions. For example, we might make a habit out of mixing up a big batch of fresh salsa with some of the last of our garden's tomatoes.

Ashlyn helped me de-stem lots of cilantro. She even got creative with the stems.

I love it!

Also, I think Conference Weekend we'll try out our Halloween costumes for the year. Here's a sneak peek:

What do you think?

Carter's Party

Sunday night we celebrated Carter's first birthday with Brad's family.

He didn't exactly get the hang of opening up presents, but what one-year-old does anyway?

In my family it is tradition to have an angel food cake for the first birthday. I put too much cake batter in the pan while making it, and it overflowed and well, didn't turn out. So, since it was Sunday, and I had limited ingredients . . . Carter ended up with a no-bake cookie cake. I know it's impressive.

Carter barely even ate any. Oh well . . . it's just sugar anyway . . .

Happy Birthday Carter!

Exactly a year ago, at 12:01 in the morning Carter joined our family. We've sure loved having this ball of energy in our lives!

Before Brad left for work this morning we let Carter open his present from Grandma Cheney. Here he is enjoying the blocks she gave him:

We gave him this couch that folds out and you can drive cars on it. Ashlyn enjoyed the couch and blocks just as much as Carter!

If I was to describe Carter in one word it would have to be determined. It is pretty difficult to sidetrack him when he has his mind set on something. He'll figure out a way to get what he wants and let us know if we aren't making him happy!

A few interesting facts about Carter:

Carter has about 5 words - Daddy, Momma, No, Ball, and Mine (this one is very recent)

Carter loves balls

Carter's best buddy is definitely Ashlyn

Carter loves to eat and will still put almost anything in his mouth

Carter's favorite color is blue (the only reason we know this is because Ashlyn told us, so it must be true)

We love you sweet boy! Happy Birthday!!!