MENOMENA!!

On the 15th James and I headed up to Salt Lake City to see Menomena. It was phenomenal. Loved every second. It was the best $15 we had spent in a long time and was even worth the 4 hours of sleep we got (we didn't get home until 2:30 in the AM). A VERY special thank you to our friends Matt and Brittany for hanging out with the kiddos for the night. It was a much-needed night out.

These videos don't do any justice to the actual performance, but here they are anyway.

We're So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

We love it when Daddy's here to play with us. He does all the stuff that Mommy won't - throwing us in the air, hanging us upside down, and rolling around on the floor. He's also a really great tickler!

Owen has a really hard head. It comes from months and months of hitting it against walls, windows, and other people. It's a good thing it is so hard, or else he wouldn't think this was so much fun:

Pumpkin Patch Redux

The air has a bit of a chill in it, the leaves are starting to turn - it's definitely that time of the year again - time for field trips to the Pumpkin Patch! We went a couple weeks ago with our neighborhood preschool group and had a blast. Here are a few of the best shots:

This year we have 8 kids in our preschool. When you combine them with 5 younger siblings, we are quite the force to be reckoned with:

The best of many attempts at a group shot

For fun, check out this shot of Owen last year (click last year).

Love. These. Two

Staring at the Sun (not the only ones)

Though summer took it's sweet time arriving in Utah, it was also in no hurry to leave. As late as last week we were in shorts, t-shirts and, brace yourselves, swimming suits, to squeeze in a little more time with our good friend the sun. We were also joined with our good friends the Larsens, the Nelsons, and the Eldridges (no relation (that we know of)).

Resistance is Futile!

Yet again, we have a 2-year-old. Owen is a handful. He LOVES LOVES LOVES all things Thomas the tank engine so for his birthday we went all Thomas - cake, tablecloth, plates, a take along play set, several trains, pajamas, and a book and talking Thomas toy from friends. And when I say he "loves" Thomas, I really mean he is completely obsessed - he knows all the different trains' names, he loves the shows and asks to watch them all day. Now that he has the trains, he carries them everywhere he goes. From the moment he started taking an interest in Thomas I swore I wouldn't buy in to all the paraphernalia, but I just couldn't resist. I have never seen him so attached to anything. Here are the pictures from the party, with more details at the end for those who care to know.



Owen is awesome. He is still small - 1st percentile for weight! - but sturdy. He goes and goes and goes all day (except for his daily 3-hour nap) and is usually in a great mood. He loves Zoe and the kitty and playing outside. He talks all the time and is a great communicator. We love having him around.

He definitely has me wrapped around his finger and probably gets away with more than he should. But he's my baby. He loves giving hugs, kisses, high-fives, and fist bumps. He's a great eater and would drink his weight in juice every day if I let him. He loves nursery and playing with his friends. He is turning into such a big kid. We love you Owen!

Random Acts of Cuteness

We bought a small vacuum to clean up Owen's after-dinner mess but since it's pink, Zoe claimed it. She loves using it.


Is there anything more precious in the world than this?


Zoe and her friends. We were watching a movie together and when we turned around she had them set up like this. Don't ask.



"Owen, are you excited?" Response:

This girl. There aren't enough words.

Skywalk

Every year we drive up the canyon with our ward members for the annual "Skywalk." It's a 3-mile jaunt with stops for dinner and snacks along the way. Despite the warm weather, the colors have been changing around here and it was gorgeous. Most of the pictures didn't turn out well (I really really really really really really want a new camera) so I'm only posting a couple post-walk shots. Aren't these two the most precious children you've ever seen?

Back to the Grindstone

About a month ago, Zoe had her first days back at preschool. Again this year we are doing a neighborhood joy school two days a week and preschool through the district two days a week. Here are a few shots from before she left for school:

A Three-Park Day

As I said before, Ben and Travis graced us with their presence over Labor Day Weekend and we enjoyed having them with us. That weekend was also Payson's Golden Onion Days so we went to the park for some community fun.

The kids weren't loving Onion Days so we made our way over to Spanish Fork and the new park there. It was freaking awesome! There are tons of swings, a giant play structure, a climbing wall, and a huge fountain for the kids to play in. As per usual, I left the house unprepared for water play, but we improvised.


Next we grabbed lunch at Taco Bell and headed to another park in Spanish Fork (by the library). We found a quiet spot by a huge rose garden to eat and let the kids run around even more.


On Monday we headed back to the Way Awesome and Super Amazing Park (I think that's it's official name) and this time we were prepared for the water. So of course it was a little bit cold. The kids still had a blast but soon decided that they had had enough "playing" in the water (aka running around shivering) and we headed over to the non-water area of the park for some fun with our friends the Namannys. Do three-day weekends get any better than that?