Halloween Day 2009

It was a busy Halloween day at our house. This morning Laura went to a birthday party. Then, while the weather was good, the lighting was good, and the girls were good, we took a new family picture. Thanks Mom and Deb for helping us get some great ones. These are my favorites from the endeavor. It will be wonderful to have a new one above the mantel - particularly one that includes Miss Eliza. Here are my favorites:

Then we went for some yummy food to fill our bellies before Trick-or-Treating; a J-Dawg and Pumpkin Spice Krispy Kremes. YUM-O! But the girls just couldn't wait to get out and Trick-or-Treat! We layered them up to withstand the cold, glittered their hair, took some pictures (in front of Sara's "Mister Bones"), and they were off! And, I must say, they made beautiful little princesses.

Sara really "got" Trick-or-Treating this year and Laura was bouncing off the walls. They went a long ways and got a great haul. Jason and I took turns with the trick-or-treaters, or at home with Eliza and manning the door. We got a LOT more kids this year than we did last year. They loved getting to see both Grandmas and Laura was so beat by the end that she fell asleep on Grandma F's lap. It was grand fun!

Halloween Preview

We've had some Halloween fun before the actual day this year. It began with Stephanie's fabulous party that Jason and I attended. We had a great time getting to know new people, doing a fabulous scavenger hunt around SLC (which we won - Hooray), dining on good food (I made THIS pumpkin soup with less cumin and vegetarian friendly w/ vegetable broth) and enjoying everyone's clever villain costumes (we came as Bonnie and Clyde).

Then the girls went to a great Halloween Bash hosted by the YW of the ward. Jason was good enough to take them while I suffered with one of the worst kidney stones I've had in years. But, I got the girls ready and they posed for some pictures for me. And, they came home gushing about how much fun they had.

I adore their princess costumes this year. I love that they are comfy fabric, modest, fit correctly and that we will get a ton of use out of them. I got them HERE; yes, it's local and I love supporting local business. The costumes have already gotten a ton of use from the birthday party, regular dress-ups and we will use them in Disneyland. Sara just won't take hers off and she has some bruises to show for her tripping.

Today, Laura celebrated her first Halloween in school. The little girls, my parents and I went to see her parade. It was a fiasco, but Sara and Eliza were remarkably well behaved and Laura loved the support. Naturally, the little ones had to don Halloween shirts to support their sis today. Holidays are such fun for kids!!!

Tutu Cute

Yep, just another post of pictures. Jason got me Photoshop (Elements, not the full version) the other day and I took these to play around with. I originally was going to take pictures of only Laura because she is such a wonderful subject. But, Sara wanted to take them too. I think these ended up so typical of their personalities. Oh, and I love Photoshop; thanks, honey.

Best Views Ever

This, this is why my life rules! Three happy, healthy, smart and beautiful daughters and I am savoring them. These smiles just make me joyous!

Early Fall Activities

I love the fall. So, it wasn't hard for Deb to convince me to go on a fall drive with her. The colors were beautiful! But, man, it was cold! So, we stayed in the car most of the time. And she got some great pictures. Read more about our adventure HERE or HERE.

Then, this Saturday we took a super quick trip to the cabin to dig a trench so the spring run-off wouldn't wash out the cabin's foundation. It was beautiful up there.

The big girls swung on the swings while Jason swung a pick-axe. Eliza LOVED watching Laura and Sara from my Mom's arms as I pushed. Her little head just went back and forth and she watched them for a long time. I think she likes the cabin as much as the rest of us do. Don't you think this smile says it all?!
Then on Sunday, Jason's Mom had a celebration for the October birthdays in that family...there are a lot of them. And, I got some good pictures of the event.

Sara as the "statue" and very proud of herself

Laura catching up with Emily who couldn't make it to the princess party due to illness.

A new picture of Jason and his sibs. We needed a new one. Weight has been lost, hair changed, new glasses. Who knew adults could change so much in 2 yrs?! I know I'm biased, but isn't Jason so hot?! I love his new glasses!

Everyone enjoyed seeing Eliza now that she is so much more alert.

Girly World

There is girly fun everywhere in our house. We spent the long weekend lounging and having a great time. My goodness that Eliza loves to be involved...and isn't she getting big!

While Laura is away at school Sara and Eliza really bond. Eliza just grins and grins at Sara.

Though, in this picture, she is grinning at Mommy. We haven't gotten a picture of the full-on grin, but here is her half smile while she is goo-ing at me!
And, Eliza is very tolerant of the Sara lovin'! My repeated cry is "Sara, get off her." Not because she is being mean, but because she is being overly loving. The other day she told me that she gave Eliza "three guys." But, this is what I found in Eliza's crib. Every bit of Sara loving Eliza is in this extreme!

One of my favorite things to do with Miss Sara while Laura is away at school is to snuggle with her on the couch. Now when I ask her to snuggle me on the couch she says "I go get a book". We spend a lot of time reading and snuggling. She loves to do that with my mom too.
It's getting cooler and the girls needed sweatshirts. Naturally, we bought Disney ones. We like the $8 price tag of them here at Wal-Mart instead of the $40 price tag at the park...and they are cute too. I love the hood on Sara's and now that Laura is in big girl sizes, hers is "cool."

Laura got a Mermaid for her birthday. Sara loved the mermaid and it was causing some trouble. So, we got Sara a Mermaid too. Her reaction to finding out it was for her was classic. It was almost out of the package before we checked out. Then "Mermaid come in car?" to which we replied "Of course, sweetie, it's yours. In fact, you can bring it into the house with you." "Ooohhh" "You can play with it in the tub the next time you take a bath" "Ooohhh, Thank you, Daddy, Thank you!" And they have not been out of her sight since. She is precious.

Eliza's Blessing

We blessed Eliza this Sunday. My goodness this little one is blessed to come to earth with so much love and support already in place. Since I don't do a baby book, all the information for it will be here.
There was a wonderful turnout. Eliza is the last child that will be born to this generation on both sides of the family. The list of people in her circle were as follows: Jason (Daddy), Gary (Grandpa F), Dan (Grandpa B), Steve, Matt, Bret, Bob (Uncles), Jordan, Ben, Jeff (Cousins), Larry, Tim (friends). Jason gave her a beautiful blessing - we all cried. And apparently she woke up and was perfect during the blessing. Then all the family and friends came over to our house afterwards. Check out this group!
Jason helped me get the house spotless (with my typical week-long schedule following Laura's b-day party it was not bad) and the Moms helped me like crazy with the food. And, thanks to the planning and the help, there was no craziness to get it all together the day of.

(Melinda's parents)

(Jason's parents and Paternal Grandma)The menu was a potato bar (65 potatoes) with butter, cheese, chives, sour cream and bacon. It worked great for the huge group and satisfied at lunch time without too much mess, stress or expense. My mom did fruit and chives and Jason's mom did veggies. My girlfriends, Steph and Karyn, (with help from my sis and the moms) kept everything great on the buffet and cleaned up for me. Thank you girls!

(Friends Stephanie, Larry and son Creed)

(Friend Karyn)
It was so great to be surrounded by family. Eliza was so good natured and hosted a great party. She looked beautiful in her dress (a gift from my Mom - love this tradition) that featured my favorite girly detail - smocking. We got a picture of everyone that was there, so if she ever wonders if she is loved, we'll show her how much.

(Melinda's brother Steve's family: Jennifer, Jeff, Becca, Joey, Alex and Kaitlyn - Steve had to run right after the blessing ceremony and perform bishop-ly duties)
(Melinda's sister Tana's family: Tana, Matt, Jordan, Heather and Garrett. Melissa Nicole and Ben)
(Jason's brother Todd's family: Todd, Tyler, Rylie, Taryn)

(Jason's sister Keri's family: Keri, Bob, Keslie, Bryson, McKenzie, TJ, Emily, Aysha)

(Jason's brother Bret's family: Bret, Aaron, Jacob, Sophie)

Thank you everyone for your love and support!