Zoey & Tate Turn Three!

The Saturday before last we had the great pleasure of attending Zoey & Tate's 3rd birthday party.  Em is a party planner extraordinaire, and this party didn't disappoint in cuteness and creativity.

The theme was Curious George and she made the little kids Curious George t-shirts with good ol' iron-on paper.

And at any given moment one of those cute little monkeys could be seen eating a banana.

The snack table was adorable.  She had healthy muffins and a colorful fruit plate, and there was a popcorn bar with all sorts of flavorings.

And look at this cake!

The kids were happy playing outside in the kiddie pool, and we adults loved catching up.  It was perfect.

(Photo by Ceci)

Pumpkin Patch

A few nights ago we finally got to the pumpkin patch at Pack Farms, and by the time we got there it was dark! We've never searched for the perfect pumpkin in the dark before.  I thought maybe we'd see The Great Pumpkin!  

Geoff and Tennie stayed home to work on math homework, so it was just Adele, Ceci and me.

Conference Weekend

Conference weekend around here means slowing down, being together, receiving great direction from our inspired leaders, good discussions, yummy food and friends and family. We all look forward to it for weeks, and we are sorry when it's over.  It was especially fun this time to see Ceci in the Saturday afternoon session during Elder Foster's talk!  

Adele and Ceci set up their conference spots.  (Tennie has moved on...)

By Sunday afternoon they looked more like this...

And at some point they got my phone and looked like this...

We made our Fall Priesthood Session Pumpkin Donuts (cousin Bailey joined us).

They're even taking over my role at the oil!

And we have now added deliveries to our great neighbors.  I'm including all pictures because the faces are too good (Ceci especially).

And my favorite.

We had our traditional Sunday brunch with cinnamon rolls from our favorite GF bakery, Sweet Cakes.

Sunday afternoon I watched the son of my great friend, Hayley, while she and her older children went to the conference center.

It was so fun to see her, and we didn't have nearly enough time to catch up, but we did get a quick picture (even though we had a photo bomber...)

Geoff, Adele, Ceci and I went on a quick evening hike on the Living Room trail.

A beautiful night to end a perfect weekend.

A Visit from Kate and Eli

Friday I got to watch my little two-year-old niece and nephew, Kate and Eli, for a few hours, and we baked some healthy cupcakes together (well, they had their own dry ingredients to pour, dump and mix).  A few hours wasn't nearly long enough!

Come over and play again soon!

September Odds & Ends

I have some random pictures from September that I'll post all together.

We had a multi-stake youth activity climbing Ensign Peak.  It just so happened to be raining/hailing and cold and, therefore, very muddy!  Good memories!

Ceci used one of my empty craft drawers to create a dollhouse.

Our girls and their visiting friends keep the neighborhood yogurt shop in business.

I had a dish soap leak and it filled the kitchen sink with bubbles.  It was like Tennie was three all over again when she saw the suds.  Kept her content for a good 20 minutes.  (I used to pull a chair up to the sink and let her play in water and bubbles when she was small.  She remembers...)

Someone was giving away bunnies at school.  Much adoring, and mourning their lack of yard, from these three.

Ceci and some of her class friends at an after-school STEM Expo (hands-on activities showing the science behind detective investigations...pretty cool!)

Girls did a youth activity at the Ronald McDonald House, which got Adele excited to work out a weekly volunteer opportunity there.  She loves that place.

Overall it was a busy month adjusting to various aspects of school.  I'll write an update on their/our transition soon.

Beaver Creek Trail

Yesterday Geoff took the day off, and we picked the girls up from school and headed straight to the mountains for a bike ride.  The colors were beautiful, again.

Beaver Creek Trail is aptly named.  There are beaver dams all along the way.

It was spectacular.  Some colors were nearly fluorescent, and others were beautifully muted and earthy.  My iphone just couldn't do it justice.

We came across a little bike ramp, and Ceci wanted to try it.  The first time she didn't quite make it.

The second time she made it with help.  (I love these pictures that capture Geoff as a dad. He is so encouraging and positive, and always there to help see the girls through any challenge.)

And then she got it, no problem.

I don't see a jump in the picture of Geoff, do you?  In typical form, he'll take something small and go big.