carmel apple time!!

Here are a few of my favorite creations this year:

Some of our other wonderful apples from the girls that came over:

And my own wonderful creation!! Cali, you are so mobile, I can hardly believe it!!!

Another fun October filled with some wonderful friends and family who love me!

its batty around here!

We started "Booing" our friends in the ward last week, and we had a blast running around dropping off goodies, knocking and running like a bat out of, well...you know!

So the kids love that we had a REAL bat perched on our house!!! How cool for that to happen in the month of October!! Pretty cool, huh!

Mark caught it with one of our nets and then let it go....thank goodness it didn't fly into our house, like a bird did a few weeks ago!

cuties

I LOVE these kiddos SOOO much!! I love to get my kids jammies for the summer, Halloween and Christmas!
I'm so thrilled I found Bryanna and Cali matching ones....with their size difference this might be the last year I can buy them without having to make them myself!

Mark has a class twice a week, so its two nights I am doing the bedtime routine solo! They were so good for me, I let them watch a bit of TV after their bath.

oh and Beau...our new adopted dog!! we love him...although not completely house trained, he is a very even-tempered, sweet puppy with lots of spunk and energy to keep Putter going to hours!

A funny I have to write down so that we won't forgot!

Maddox was driving in the car with my sister as she was on her way to pick up her kids from school. He was sleepy and was in the state of falling asleep when he broke out this funny stuff:

Maddox: Jemfer, if you stop driving bumpy, I'll give you a great, big kiss!

Jennifer: Oh, ok Maddox. I'll try!

He repeated it a few times....I thought he was so cute and clever using the age-old tactic....something for something!

28

Mark turned 28. Finally...he's 28. Haha! I have to laugh because 28 came and gone for me a few years ago! We had a fun day with him...with two kids in school, Mark and I went out to lunch and it was fantastic just the two (and a half) of us! :)

Also, as another awesome thing that I totally love about him is his motivation to help us stay organized around the house. We have been working on building our food storage for the last few years...you know, a little bit every month or so...with no place to put it!! Until now.... ya...check that out...lots and lots of storage for our dehydrated and canned food...that should last us til we've been married for 36 years!

Except Putter...he won't live that long, but he was sure cute climbing between shelves checking it out!

And Mark's cake request this year was a piece of yellow cake with chocolate frosting *and the Halloween sprinkles* were not his idea, but the kids...of course!

I love all 28 years of you, Mark...for the wonderful husband, provider, protector and daddy that you are. Happy Birthday, again!

I can't believe sweet baby Cali Kaye is already 6 months!!
She is sitting up!
Loves her Rice cereal and Oatmeal!
Loves our Putter Doggy.
And Lights up with coos and giggles when her big brother and sister play with her!

No teeth yet!!

She is sleeping like a champ...12 hours at night and two naps during the day!
She is sooooo good...I seem to have easy babies...what a blessing!

Bryanna just LOVES Cali...we all do for that matter!

Its amazing how much Cali looks like Bryanna's baby pictures...they could pass for twins!

first day of school!

The kids got a Father's Blessing on Sunday to prepare for the big day!

And little miss Cali as happy as ever!!

We are sooo excited for Bryanna!

So, the whole family came for her very first day of school!!!

It was pretty crazy...seriously, there were people EVERYWHERE!

Bryanna LOVES school...of course she didn't love school the first week.

She cried the first two days, and it got much better from there. She is so happy to be there, her teacher loves her and she loves her teacher. The kids in her class are so cute, too! I've gone in twice already to help out and the teacher has done a fantastic job keeping the kids busy and learning. I'm so proud of Bryanna, she is doing a wonderful job in school!

5 MONTHS?????

Has it been 5 months already????

I absolutely LOVE this baby girl SOOOO much!!!
She's always happy!!
Cali is the best sleeping baby I've ever had!!
She is full of smiles!
She is just about ready to crawl...she pushes herself up on her tummy and I'm preparing for a mobile baby soon!
No one can resist her and her sweetness!
We LOVE you baby Cali!!

And of course, we LOVE you, too, Maddox!!
He's the best boy!
Maddox is full-on swimming completely on his own now!!
I knew the summer would get him through with no swim lessons,
just lots of help and encouragement from mommy and daddy!
He is such a silly boy, always making us laugh!
Maddox does chores and gets paid for them. He says he is saving up for a "big gun" and for his mission!! What a smart little boy he is!

new niece!

Baby Joycee is Here!!!

Just a few minutes old!!

Look at that head of hair!

Happy Momma!!

Congrats to Camille and Josh!

Joycee (1 day old) and Cali (4 months old)

Cali is thinking, "Yay!! A new cousin to play with!!"

Maddox...my really silly boy!!

These kids are my life...I love them more than anything!

Gone Fishing!

We had a fabulous time going fishing this last weekend! Good ol' Utah always gives us a good time in their ponds!

Bryanna's first catch on her new Barbie pole!

Mark...just getting started for the weekend!

She's looking like a pro already!

Maddox's first catch on his Spiderman pole!

This girl has got the fishing thing down!

And so do the dogs!!

Jamie is giving Maddox a little bribery for some kisses!! He's very picky about giving away his kisses!

Posing with the pole!

We not only caught the fish, but cleaned them and cooked them tin foil style!

it was yum yum!

telling camp fire tales

Maddox and his silly face with his daddy!

He's a pro too!

Baby Cali did her baby thing...she was cute, adorable and full of sweetness!

There's the man that started it all! Thanks bumpa for a really fun weekend!

Cali is the sweetest thing ever!