weekend in utah

two weeks ago my mom and i traveled to utah to spend the weekend with my grandma. brooke joined in on the party at the last minute. we spent a couple days up in deer valley/park city. it was so fun. 

the weather was beautiful up there. 

while shopping at city creek the following day we stumbled upon the pinterest convention at the convention center across the street. could that BE more up my alley?!

on sunday we went to sacrament meeting and then had a big family (and friends!) dinner. it was a great weekend filled with laughter, good shopping (utah has the best home decor crap) and sodalicious cookies. 

HALLOWEEN!

we had a great (but suuuper busy) halloween season this year. nothing like a ward trunk or treat to get things started. and it didnt rain. so that was a plus.

pumpkins on the porch.

donut party invitations!

its so scary to make the donuts each year. the yeast, the 5 billion times they have to rise, rolling out the dough, cutting each donut out by hand. its a lot. but so worth it. 

craig's contribution each year is his amazing pumpkin ghosts. they are the best. 

spooky mudroom. 

the calm before the storm.

tess enjoyed the donuts. 

she couldnt get enough.

i cant blame her though. they really are so yummy. theres a reason we only make them once a year...... :)

the striped gang. 

the actual day of halloween was INSANE. dont ask me why but i signed up to chaperone sully's pumpkin patch field trip. it wouldnt have been thaaaat bad if it hadnt POURED the entire time, i had to bring tess and i slipped and fell in the mud while carrying her. so yeah. glad sully had a smile! 

the minute i got back from the pumpkin patch and changed out of my muddy clothes i had to go right back to the school because im the room mom and was in charge of the halloween party. holy crap.

after a relaxing afternoon (we allllll needed it) the kids got their costumes on and we headed out for some trick of treating. i was very proud of that freaking vending machine i made. what tagg wants, tagg gets. except next year he is wearing a store bought costume. 

tess had practiced her "trick or treat" and had so much fun running up to each door with her brothers. it was so dang cute. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2016!

a band aid birthday!

tess celebrated her second birthday last month! we had a little band aid birthday party for family. she looooooves band aids ("bamaids").

band aid birthday banner!

happy tess.

that night the boys chose the dirty bird (red robin) for tess' birthday dinner. that way, she could have the waiters sing to her. 

after dinner we came back home for presents, cake and ice cream. she couldnt sit still.

grandma cheri and grandpa rod!

just a few pictures of her during her birthday week. she loves a good stroll through target like her mom.

dont even ask what shes doing here but i loooove her smile. i think her brothers have taught her some bathroom humor....

i was fixing her piggies in the mall one afternoon when a stranger walked by and said i had to have an action shot. ha! 

happy birthday to our princess tess.

pumpkins

we took advantage of the perfect fall weather on the first saturday in october and went to the pumpkin patch. tess liked the adventure. except for the dirt. 

the advantage to tagg's little friend coming to the pumpkin patch with us... i made him take a family shot. 

our full wheelbarrow!

i love looking through past pictures of our annual pumpkin patch trip. it used to be just be craig and me. now there's five of us!! 

looking for her brothers. 

dont worry, i cut back all those unruly stems. :)

and last week we picked the pumpkins from our own pumpkin patch! my friend marissa gifted us pumpkin seeds last year and we planted them right away. it was very fun watching them grow all year. tess was pretty proud of her beautiful little light orange pumpkin.

crafts in october

i just finished this circle quilt. i havent made a quilt in a long time but there were so many beautiful and inspiring new fabrics that i just had to. tess likes lamby. 

we had our annual halloween craft night. basically an excuse to eat a loooooooot of treats. 

our numbers may be dwindling but gosh darnit, we are going to keep these traditions alive! 

scottsdale with my girls

a few weeks ago amy and i met up with megan (who lives in utah now) in scottsdale for a girls weekend. it was very fun, sunny and relaxing. except for the bumpy landing into phoenix. that wasnt very relaxing. just ask amy.she may have had to wipe a few tears from my face.....

our first night there we ate dinner at blanco tacos. their pork tacos are sooo yummy.

made the valet boy take our picture.

made the shoe salesman (who megan became great friends with) take a picture with us.

we snuggled together in bed that night.

and went on a hike the following morning. 

after our hike we relaxed by the pool for the rest of the day. 

hammock time!

hot tubbing after the hot tub was closed. rebels. 

a very long but fun bike ride the next morning. i love looking at the gorgeous desert landscape.

my friend, april, met up with us at the adult pool that afternoon. she is the freaking best.

on our last afternoon in scottsdale we ordered pina coladas and read magazines by the pool.

it was such a wonderful weekend with these girls. until next time!