Trick or Treat!!

Who's scarier?

Ooey, gooey pumpkin guts...

Evie had this original idea to add "hair" to her pumpkin. It turned out really cute, and she was very proud.

Soli helping sort the pumpkin seeds.

A Pink Lady, a Thunderbird, a Rock Star, a Little Mermaid, a Zorro, and a "Mini" Mouse

Soli's favorite part of her outfit was her shoes.

Evie making her best mermaid face and swimming arms.

Think...KISS.

The coolest Zorro in all the land.

After the kids came home with their loot we gave them 10 minutes to eat as much candy as they possibly could. The rest had to be turned in to the candy patrol. After 10 minutes they were all sick of candy and they haven't asked about it since. Dave and I were disappointed that no one ralphed this year. Maybe next year...

Emerson with some concoction involving Starburst and far too many pieces of gum.

At the Farm...

Okay...so, yes these pictures are from over three months ago, but I just love them so much that I had to share. The fall lighting was lovely and we had a ball picking out the perfect pumpkins. (Don't forget you can click on any of these pics to make them bigger.)

Disneyland!!

We made a trip down to Southern California in October for Dave's 20 year high school reunion. While we were there we visited with both our Grandmas (neither of whom had met Soli yet) and we hit Disneyland! We hadn't been there since Evie was a baby and Emerson was just 3. We had the best time! The weather was perfect, it wasn't too crowded (we went on a Friday), and everything was decked out for Halloween. Pirates of the Caribbean has been redone to incorporate Jack Sparrow and some other parts of the new movies. As a family, our favorite ride was Buzz Light Year. So fun!! Here are some pics of our adventure.

Me and the kids with my Gramma Jane.

Dave and the kids with his Gramma Sarah.

Dave with fellow graduates from Newport Harbor High School.

Me and my beau!

Evie was smitten when Tigger swooped her off her feet in Disneyland.

Evie was so excited to see the Princesses at Disneyland. So she and Soli and I waited in line for an hour (the longest line we waited in) to have our turn taking pictures with the princesses. I was surprised at how starstruck I was when we finally got our turn!

Can you guess which line we're standing in here?

Buzz Light Year is an interactive video game ride. You get these laser guns and you shoot at targets throughout the ride. Your points are tallied in your little buggy. We loved it!

The haunted mansion has been redone (our maybe they just redo it during Halloween?). It was decked out with a "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme. So refreshing and fun!

Splash mountain was another of our favorites. The weather was warm and lovely, so we took advantage of the cool splashes.

She's walking!!!

Finally at 17 months she decided to take her first steps! And this is how it happened... We had been working with her for months trying to get her to take a step or even just to stand on her own. But she just wasn't ready. Sometimes I would catch her standing when she didn't know she was doing it, but as soon as she realized, she would instantly drop to the ground. Anyway, one night Dave and I got a babysitter and went out to dinner just the two of us (which happens about once every two months - if we're lucky). About half way through our dinner we got a call from Cole, our 10 year old. He was so excited and he said, " I taught Soli to walk!! She's walking all over the house!" I thought surely he was exaggerating and maybe she was taking a couple of steps. But when we got home, sure enough, she was walking all over the house!! She had taken maybe 3 steps on her own before, and that's being generous. We couldn't believe it! Months of trying to get her to take even just a couple of steps and all of a sudden she was all over the house. What an exciting night!! The kids were dancing around her hooting and hollering and urging her on. They couldn't sleep until after 10 PM! It was like Christmas! We were so proud of our baby girl. She's her own little person and she waited until she was ready to show us her moves. As much as I love my babies, I'm awfully glad to have everyone on their own two feet! Good times! Thanks for checking in and Happy Thanksgiving! ~Heather

"Look Mom! I'm doing it!!!"

"I gotta call someone!"

"Gramma, you'll never believe it! I'm a walker!"

Fall in Yosemite

We took the kids to Yosemite the last weekend in September. It was just beautiful and so much fun. We rented one of the cabins at Housekeeping Camp (why they call it that, I just don't know). We grabbed the kids after school on Thursday and spent 3 nights in our cement cabin. It was really more like a tent with 3 cement walls and a canvas curtain. It had a cement floor, a double bed, and a set of bunk beds. It was rough but very cozy. Cole and Dave climbed half dome on Saturday and the other kids and I rented bikes (and a bike trailer for the girls) and cruised the valley floor. We had a great time and we're excited to get back there in the Spring.

Emerson - 7, Evie - 4 1/2, Soli - 17 months, Cole 10 1/2

Soli standing on her own...sure to be walking any time!

Breakfast time!

Emerson making friends with the locals.

Evie learning to ride without training wheels.

I love this picture of the the two of us.

Dave and Cole on the way up the Dome.

Peering over the ledge of Half Dome.

Soli and Mommy on dishes duty!

Gettin' ready to cruise the valley.

Half Dome in the afternoon sun. Dave and Cole are up there somewhere!

Evie and Daddy tossin' around a fly line.

"Bouldering"

Catching Up...

I have been so bad about posting on my blog lately!! Since my last post was in July, and you know I've taken about a million pictures since then, I thought I would just post a smattering of my favorites over the past several months. Here we go...P.S. You can click on any of these pictures to make them bigger.

Evie and Soli getting ready for our hometown 4th of July parade!

Evie and Emerson selling their fresh squeezed lemonade.

And they were just so cute!

Coleman made the allstar baseball team this year. He was so excited, and we were so very proud!

So we spent a lot of our summer watchin' baseball! (Which you know we love!)

Soli was her brother's biggest fan!!

We hit Raging Waters the day after school got out. Here's Emerson smiling? for the camera. So fun!!

Coleman and Joe on Gramma's ranch in Montana.

Sissy Time!! Evie and Soli (16 months) "hangin" on the swing set.

Emerson grew his hair out all summer. It was pretty cool. This was taken just before the buzzers came out. Sigh... I actually bribed the kid to cut it, and now I'm wondering why...He looks so cute with his golden locks. Oh well. They'll grow back.

Evie started her first season of soccer this Fall. After watching Emerson play for the past three years she couldn't have been more excited to get her turn on the field!

Here's our Soli girl cruisin' around Gramma's cabin in Montana. She was 15 months in this picture. She is just as sweet as they make 'em, and we are so thankful to have her in our family. She is 17 months old today and hopefully she will be walking soon, soon, soon.

First Day of School. This year Coleman is in fifth grade which is his last year in our Elementary School. Next year he'll ride the bus across the river to the middle school. Our elementary school is just around the block from our house and I will be so sad not to have him there next year. I'm just not ready...

Go Giants!! (Since we didn't get enough baseball over the summer... ha, ha!)

We hope you are all happy and healthy and that you are enjoying the first signs of Fall. Thanks for checking in. ~Heather