Halloween Party at Grandmas!

Every year we have a fun Halloween party that Grandma Jensen started a few years back .  All of the cousins get together in their costumes and have a fun night of yummy homemade chili, sugar cookies, games and, of course, candy.

They all played bingo and won prizes.  My kids loved it!

They also went on a treasure hunt with flash lights to find skeleton bones.  Grandma also makes cute treat bag party favors for all the kids.

My cute mom spends hours decorating her empty nest for the big party.  She always goes all out to make things fun for the kids.  She really is amazing! 

Yes, I did dress Lexi up for Halloween.  Even though this costume was way too small for her. LOL! My sweet little kitty!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween!

Caleb and Izzy couldn't wait for Halloween! All week long the kids were asking how much longer until the big candy day!  Darth Vader and Ariel were ready to go.  It was raining pretty hard that night so, lucky Brandon got to be the one to go out with the kids.   

B's mom came over to see the kids in their costumes and took this cute picture of our family.  Lexi was asleep but woke up right after to see grandma.

I just love this picture of my cute girls.  Lexi really didn't dress up this year.  I know I am a slacker getting a costume for her so she celebrated Halloween in this cute kitty shirt with candy pants.  Adorable!

The kids love it when Grandma comes over and I know she loves to see them too!

Our pumpkins turned out pretty good.  We waited until the day before Halloween to buy and carve them then into the trash they went 2 days later.  I know I need to get into the Halloween spirit more.

We hung out with our good friends the Reid's that night.  We ate pizza and went trick-or-treating in our old neighborhood where they live.  It's always nice to spend time with good friends!

One more Halloween post to go tomorrow! I'm on a roll!

Izzy's Pre-School Halloween Party

Izzy had a cute Halloween party at her pre-school.  She sang fun Halloween songs that she had been practicing around our house all week.  She couldn't wait to dress up and show her friends her "Ariel" dress.

At least I didn't need to buy a costume this year.  Thank goodness for dress-ups!

Hee Haw Farms

Izzy had her first field trip for pre-school. There are only 5 little girls in her class and they are all adorable! They went to Hee Haw Farms to do all of the fun activities there.

There were fun picture areas for silly photos!

Even a giant pumpkin ruler!

A fun hay ride and corn maze! Izzy favorite part of the field trip was picking her own pumpkin.  I couldn't get that picture to upload but is was so cute!

I can't believe how much Izzy has grown up this past year.  She is my sweet little princess!  I loved being able to go with her on her field trip!

I Love This time of Year!

A couple weeks ago we had our annual family bbq in the mountains.  We do this every year in the fall around conference time.  All of kids look forward to it!  My kids absolutely love being with their cousins!  This rock has had many pictures of the kids on it over the years.  It's amazing how our family is growing up!  This picture is for my sister Heidi because we always miss her cute kids in pictures like these. 

I just loved listening to conference on my way up the canyon!  I always walk away with a greater appreciation for my sweet family!  I am so blessed!

Cute Lexi isn't quite walking yet so i just let her crawl around in the leaves.  She loved it!

These two are quite the pair!  They have so much fun together!

We missed having Brandon with us because he was on a business trip.  With or without him the traditions still continue!  Until next year!

Yay! Finally Settled!

Finally! We are settled into our new home!  I can't tell you how happy we are to not be in a transitory state anymore!  The reason we even moved was so Brandon could attend law school.  So, we sold our house and rented to make it all work.  He decided that it wasn't for him and changed his mind so, a year later here we are back on the mountain in a different house ready to start our new life in our new home.  Anyway, school has started for both Izzy and Caleb and it has been wonderful to have time alone with lexi. We are all still adjusting to the changes, making new friends and, of course, missing our old friends as well.  Even though we were only in the rental home for a year there are still a lot of memories there that I will never forget.  My sweet little Lexi was brought home from the hospital in that house. It's sad to think we will never be there again.  But, time for new adventures in a wonderful area!

Short Sales!

We found a house in Sandy that we absolutely just love!  My only frustration is that it is a short sale.  it just got listed two days ago and we are putting an offer in on it on Monday.  My quesion is, has anyone ever delt with a short sale before?  How long of a process are we looking at?  I hate getting everything figured out the traditional way.  However, if we get this, it will be a steal and we will raise our kids there.  Tell me your short sale stories!

The House Hunt!

We have been looking for houses now for about 4 months and still can't find the right one.  I know, I know many of you are probably thinking, "Why? There are so many good deals out there right now."  Well, yes that's true but that doesn't necessarily mean that you are getting the right home in the right location.  I am just so concerned about finding the right place for my kids. I really want a yard and a family neighborhood.  Those are my top priorities. I like where we are right now (renting) being close to the school and a nice ward but there is no one for my kids to play with.  It is a little older neighborhood and Caleb has had a hard time.  I know the right home is out there somewhere and it will feel right when we find it.  It's just a big decision! We'll see how these next couple of weeks go!