A WHOLE week with Pappa & Halloween

Part of Bradey's apprenticeship he has do get so many hours in different departments of the company. During mid-October and the first of November he was gone for 8 days straight twice, but on the upside he was home for 6 days straight afterwards!! The first "hitch" (October 18th-25th) we went up to Washington to visit my dad!! OH my goodness it was so much fun!! Dad took off the ENTIRE time we were there!! The traveling part wasn't as bad as I thought, thank goodness for DVD players in cars!! Although what should have taken us 9 hours, took us 11 hours! :/ But when we finally got there it was worth the drive!! Every time we've seen Dad since Carter was born, Carter's been too small to understand and recognize his Pappa. But this trip they REALLY bonded!! It was so adorable. He LITERALLY when EVERYWHERE Pappa went! If Dad walked out the door, and Carter saw him, Carter would start crying like there was no tomorrow! And of course Londyn had to play with ALL of the expensive music "toys" of Pappa's. The piano, the guitars, and the Karaoke machine!! We got to go to some family friends' soccer games, play at the park for HOURS, walk to the river with the dogs, play with Michael and Susan, and the kids' favorite ride in Pappa's truck! They also got to sit on Pappa's tractor, but no riding on it because it rained like crazy and there was LOTS of mud!! :)
We got home and the kids were SOO happy to see their Daddy!! And they got him for 6 whole days!! We were so busy that we didn't have time to carve pumkins until the Saturday of our Trunk or Treat! Bradey and I have a deal. I gut the pumkin and he gets to carv the designs out!! I think they turned out rather well! After getting done with the pumkins we put our costumes on. This year was a bit easier than last year. The kids are older and WANT CANDY!! So they were better sports about it. We were the characters from Peter Pan. Londyn was Tinker Bell, Carter was the Crocodile, I was Peter Pan, and Bradey was SUPPOSE to be Captain Hook. Bradey REALLY hates Halloween. He always says, "It's the mother of ALL NON-holidays!" So when he didn't dress up! But that's ok we had a fun Halloween anyways!

Carter's 1st birthday!!

Wow I cannot believe a year ago we were going to have this little man!! He still has handsome as the day he came home!! ;) It's funny because I remember how ACTIVE he was in the womb, and at the age of 1 he is as active as ever!! He walks like he's 2 years old!! Talks very well and clear (the few words that he knows are Dad, Mom, Londyn, Please, Thank you, Lily). I love to watch him when the radio is on. He loves to dance along with Londyn!! :) His favorite song and the song that ALWAYS makes his frown go upside down is 5 Little Monkeys!! He loves to be the alligator and SNAP THOSE MONKEYS RIGHT OUT OF THE TREE.
The last month he has decided he's not going to be pushed around by his older sister anymore!! He fits right back, and when she wants to trade, YEAH RIGHT!!
His SMILE just melts anyone's heart!! Especially when you are having a bad day, he'll just smile at you, and ALL your worries will go away!
These few pictures are all of the week he was born!

This one makes me laugh because he STILL pulls this face when gets really sad!
Look closely and you can see his "Melt Your Heart" smile!

Bradey Mini-Me!!
My perfect family a year ago
My perfect world now!!

We had a blast celebrating Carter birthday!! WE did it on the 21st (his actual b-day) here at the house. Everyone that lives in the area in our families came!! This little boy is SO loved!! :)
WE started the day off with Tesha's kids coming over and playing. Surprisingly everyone got along and not very many separations had to take place!! Then everyone else joined us for dinner and ICE CREAM CAKE from COLDSTONE!! YUMMMMM!! Carter LOVED his cake. It was like an enormous peanut butter cup with chocolate ice cream in it!! Which are his FAVORITE things in ONE!! He received a lot of new toys and clothes, and Londyn is VERY grateful for the toys!! haha!!

I'm ALL ready for my PARTY Mom!!
Cousin Fun!
Present time!
Yes Football!! The boy LOVES to watch FOOTBALL!!
Digging IN!!
Lily was on Clean up duty!!
Thank you ALL for the wonderful gifts!

Its amazing how much your heart grows for each individual that comes into your life. My heart has tripled in size in the past 3 years!! And I am SO grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with this wonderful family!!

Vance Reunion & Lagoon!

Wow what a past few weekends we have had!! The last weekend in July we went to Choteau, Montana for my mom's family reunion!! WE had a great time. My favorite part was the drive. The beauty of Montana is majestic, in my eyes!! It was Carter's FIRST time camping. Even though he was teething, I think he did AMAZING!! We took Lily with us and she did awesome as well!! There was shooting, duck races (with a BUNCH of CHEATING!!), and AMAZING FOOD!! OH how I LOVE the Vance Family! They ALL know how to COOK!! We had slow cooked pig for dinner one night, then had the BEST homemade bagels I've ever had the next morning!! YUM!!

This is how Londyn helps Mommy pack!!
We're on our way!!
How does the dog get the front seat?
Bradey was in heaven for hours!!
Grandma thought this was the best place for a duck!!
Thank you to Miss Gretal for sharing her little car with LondynAnd letting her hog it all weekend!! ;)

The week after we got home, Londyn and I headed to Lagoon with my family for Dennis' work party. It was SO much fun. I haven't been on a roller coaster since I was in high school, so thoroughly enjoyed this trip. Londyn did awesome the first ride, but then we took her on the Lady Bug ride, which is the kiddy version of the Rocket. She was NOT impressed. She kept saying, "Mommy my tummy, owie!" So she didn't go on any rides for awhile. The funny thing is, we took her on RattleSnake Rapids after lunch, after that she went on EVERY ride!! Oh goodness, such a Water Bug!!

We are ready for RIDES!!

First Ride of the Day!
The Lady Bug RideJessa LOVED all the slow rides!!
Flying the Airplane
Hot Mama's in the Car!!
The girls weren't to sure about this flying elephant thing!
So the bumper cars was the last ride, and the funniest!! Londyn had NO IDEA what to do. The guy running the ride kept trying to tell her what to do, and she just sat there stuck!!

The next morning we were able to go to The Spoken Word in the Conference Center. Mom, Abbi, and I took the kids to the theater room. The boys kept saying that it is SO much better in person. So maybe some day I'll get to go with out kids!! ;) But we had a lot of fun afterward with all the fountains and we even got to go up on the roof! Londyn kept pointing out the temple!

Waiting patiently for the program to start

Playing in the Water
"Look Mom temple!"
Going into the Conference Center, to go to the roof
"Look, Mom, temple!" Again

After all was said and done, we had a wonderful time, but I was glad to get home to my boys. Bradey and Carter stayed home due to Carter's teething, and Bradey's not a fan of rides or big crowds of people! So they just had a hang around the house and relax weekend!

My Silly Kids!!

On Sunday July 25th Carter decided he need to read the paper like Daddy while waiting for breakfast!

On July 28th Londyn and I had a "Water Park" in our backyard while Carter took is afternoon nap. We had a blast with just a plastic side, a sprinkler, and a NAPA bucket!!


Then on the 29th, Carter and I played in the morning while we waited for Londyn to wake up for the day. I got him to laugh a lot!! I LOVE his laugh!! And then he decided to be a boy and make a huge mess of the living room!!