Halloween

We had such a fun Halloween. Dylan totally 'got it' this year. We first went to our ward trunk-or-treat, and it took him about. . .ummm. . . 2 cars to realize what the whole trick-or-treat thing was all about. He grabbed his candy and then would tell me 'next one mom'. His bucket was so heavy by the end of the night he could hardly carry it. But of course would NOT let me carry it for him. He had a blast.

Dylan and 2 of his BFF's Maddie & Luke

We carved pumpkins as a family one night. Dylan was not a fan of the insides. He totally frieked out any time a piece of it got on him. We did 2 pumpkins - Dylan called them the happy pumpkin and the scary pumpkin and was so excited to put them out on our porch.

On Halloween we had some friends over for BBQ'd pizzas and witches brew and then went out trick-or-treating. We went to a few houses on our street and then called it a night. When we got home, Dylan kept 'trick-or-treating' in the candy I was handing out. More ended up in his bucket than we gave out I think.

Steamboat Springs

I am really late in posting this, but better late than never right? We went to Steamboat Springs over Labor Day weekend with some friends and had ThE best time. Here are the highlights from the trip.

1. Riding the Alpine Slide (Dylan had a blast!!)

2. Eating WaY To much junk food

3. Hike to the waterfall and picnic lunch

4. Staying up late every night

5. Eating WaY To much junk food

6. Playing games

7. Bike ride along the river

8. Eating WaY To much junk food

9. Laughing a lot

10. Playing at the park and swimming

It was so fun to get away for a few days to the beautiful Colorado mountains. I think I gained 10 lbs in the 3 days that we were there - but that is totally normal RiGht?? We had a blast!

Isn't this the typical boy/girl picture? Mia looks adorable with a big smile on her face and Dylan is. . . .picking his nose. So proud!

All the Ladies

Alpine Slide

Dylan rode in the trailer with his best friend Luke

Loved my little beach cruiser bike!

The whole group minus one family. They had left that morning to head home.

Dylan is 2!!

I cannot believe that my little baby is not a baby anymore - he just turned 2! Can that be true? Where did the time go? He has grown up so fast, it seems like yesterday I was pregnant. He is such a sweet little boy, and brings so much happiness into our lives. Dylan is obsessed with balls (he especially loves bouncy balls) he loves playing with cars, riding his new tricycle, playing at the park, and doing puzzles. He has recently discovered movies (he calls them moo's) and his favorites right now are Cars, Toy Story, Little Mermaid, and Nacho Libre. Yes - Nacho Libre. :) He asks to watch them daily. His favorite foods are hot dogs, fruit snacks, corn on the cob, and of course anything sweet. He loves to drink 'juice' (aka Dr. Pepper or Diet Coke) - good thing we have connections in the dental world.

I love that when he wakes up in the morning he stands in the corner of his crib and yells 'Mom - ma' over and over at the ToP of his lungs until I come get him. I love that he LoVEs to give me hugs and kisses all the time. I love that he likes to dance, sing, act goofy, and laugh with me. I love that he wants me to smell his feet and say 'eww yuck - stinky' - this totally cracks him up. I love that all of the sudden he has started calling his dad Paul instead of daddy, and he calls me

'Fafrine'. I love that he is such a helper - he loves to help me do the laundry & dishes, and he is really good at picking up all his toys. I love his laughter, his little voice, and all the words he is learning to say, even though we have to have the 'mommy translation' for a lot of it. I love this little boy more than anything and am so happy to be his mom. These past 2 years have flown by so I am trying to savor every moment of every day that I have with him!

We had a little birthday party for him at the pool with his friends. We had lunch and I made him an Elmo cake. He had so much fun! Now anytime anyone asks him if he is 2 the first thing he says is 'pool' because he remembers going swimming for his birthday. And then he proceeds to tell about his Elmo cake and how he blew out the candles. It was such a fun day!

Birthdays

We had a crazy busy fun-filled birthday weekend at the end of August. With Dylan's birthday falling just the day after mine, I realized that we are always going to have a whirlwind couple of days with all the birthday festivities going on. Maybe as I get older, I won't want such a big deal made of my birthday and we will just focus on his. But since this year was the big 3-0 we had an all weekend long celebration. Paul and my friend Whitney put together a fun night out with friends to watch the Rockies play. The weather was perfect, the company was even better, and on top of it all the Rockies won!

They launched shirts up into the crowd. . .and Ryan caught one. . .just Stacey's size :)

Train Ride

We ventured out to this cute little park not too far from our house a few weeks ago. We took a picnic lunch and made an afternoon of it. There is a man-made 'wading river' to play in, farm animals to see, and the highlight by FaR (according to Dylan) - a train you can ride. We had such a fun time just goofing off and enjoying a relaxing afternoon together. Summertime is the BeST!!

Just goofing around having fun

Trying like idiots to take our own picture :)

Lake Powell

We did our annual trip to Lake Powell with Paul's family in July. We camped at the lake and played on the water, took a trip to the Grand Canyon (my first time there), played lots of games, relaxed, and I even got to read a book while Dylan was entertained by his cousins!

The drive there is waaay too long - but very pretty!

Dylan loved playing with his cousins

Our hike (well...more like a 15 minute walk) to Horse Shoe - really beautiful!

Paul golfing with his dad and nephews

Summer Fun!

Is summer over already?? Where did the time go? I loVe LoVe lOvE this time of year, and it always goes by way too fast. We have done LoTs of fun things. We've tried to take advantage our BeauTiFul summer weather in Colorado while we were home and have also had fun traveling to a few places to visit family and friends. I have loved EveRY minute of it!

Our first trip this summer was to Utah for my younger sister's wedding/my family reunion. Janell was the last of 8 kids to be married in our family, and she was such a GoRgEOus bride!

Dylan & Roman LoADinG up on sugar at the reception - these 2 are trouble makers!

She had her reception in my parents backyard - my mom sure knows how to throw a party! It was so fun to see relatives that we don't see often enough, and especially to be together with all my siblings. We haven't all been together since the last wedding in our family 2 years ago - so it is always so nice to be in the same place at the same time. It is totally cRaZy at my parents house with all of us from out of town staying there. There are people everywhere, every square inch of floor space is taken up by someone sleeping at night, the noise level in the house is just about as loud as a big crowd at a football game, and there is always a line for the bathroom in the morning. It is coMpLEte chaos. . .but I LOVE it! We stay up way too late, eat way too much, and laugh a lot when we are together. We are already looking forward to next year!

Riding 4-wheelers & motorcycles at Amy & Robbie's cabin - such a beautiful place up in the mountains in Utah.
Fishing with Grandma & Grandpa at the cabin.

Watching the hot air balloons launch on the 4th of July

BBQ for Janell & Chris