October 2012

We had our annual Reese Halloween party in Grandma and Grandpa's barn. I remember going to these as a kid so it's fun to watch my boys participate in the same tradition.

Landon received a glow stick hatchet from the fish pond. He held onto that thing all night. This is how Brooks and I found him later that night.

Alex came to the party and the boys chased him around the barn. It may have been the highlight of the night for them.

Brooks and I took the boys to the Salt River one afternoon while exploring places for Brooks to take family photos. His photography skills have blossomed over the last few years and he took quite a few family pictures this year. The Salt River may have been his favorite location.

Sometimes I dread the whole bedtime thing, but most of the time there are these moments that I cherish and wish I could always remember. Getting pj's on, teeth brushed, water cups filled and complaints about hunger addressed can be a little overwhelming, but then we get to the good part. We all climb into Landon and Elliot's queen size bed and read scriptures, say prayers and chat about life. Some of my favorite moments of each day happen in this room at bedtime. I know life will get busier and schedules will change, but for now I treasure this time. These are the moments when we have important conversations about life which often stem from Elliot asking a million questions during scripture time. These are also the moments when I can tell my kids just how much I love them and they reciprocate. It is awesome!

Some of my favorite "I love you as much as..." quotes lately are: 

• as much as gooey bananas (I know it doesn't sound that great, but Ladnon is a banana fan, even gooey ones I guess.)
• as the two tall buildings (World Trade Center)
• to all the vampire squids and all the snakes
• to all the stars, planets, galaxies, etc.
• as much as the tallest building in the world

Our zoo pass has come in quite handy. We use it a lot especially as soon as the heat tapered off.

We also had some friends over before Halloween to carve pumpkins with us. The boys painted mini pumpkins and then we carved a big one. In Spokane, we could leave our carved pum[kin on the front porch for months and it stayed in great shape. In AZ, the pumpkin is moldy and disgusting after 2 days. I was sad to have to get rid of it so quickly.