Pumpkin Carving

I've always liked carving pumpkins...my favorite part is scrapping out the insides and roasting the seeds...Yum. (rinse then off then toss them with some olive oil, seasoning salt and chili powder, bake them at 350 for 15 minor so and waala...roasted pumpkin seeds)This year it was fun to have the little Monster get down and dirty in the pumpkin guts with me!

Visitors

As you can tell...Bridger was very happy to meet his new cousin and to have family come to visit last weekend! ...And I can't say that I wasn't excited too. We've been planning this birthday-bash girls-trip for my mother-in-law's 60th birthday for months! Finally...her big day rolled around and everyone made it into town. This is little Lily (Iliana), She is Jason and Clarissa's new baby.
Bridger with Aunt Shantell

All the sister's and sister-in-laws in the family came into town! Shantell flew in from Kentucky on Wed and her and Terra "kidnapped" Mom and drove her down South. Jen drove up from AZ and Clarissa drove in from Ca.(ok, so it wasn't a "no-boys-allowed" girls trip...Jason came too...Chad needed a buddy). We all surprised her at a restaurant, She had no idea that everyone was here and seeing her so happy and surprised was well worth the wait.

We went to Tuachan to see Les Mis...LOVED it (again).

Then on Friday we went hiking in Zions. (we let the boys come along) The weather was great!

me, Shantell, Terra, and Jen (I think Clarissa was feeding her baby)

Mom & Daughters

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM SMITH!!!

I know I'm really lucky to have such a great mother-in-law. Kathy is such a wonderful Grandma and Bridger just loves her so much....actually I think he's a little obsessed with her.

We had a great weekend and can't wait til we can all get together again...even if husbands have to come.

Family Portrait

Last year my sister gave me a family portrait session for Christmas, Awesome gift?....I thought so too! We finally used it last month and here are a few of my favorites. Abby, the photographer did a great job! Her Site is under "sites i like" on the right, it's called AKstudiosdesign. Her pricing is totally reasonable and she gives you a CD with everything which is rare. Thanks Amanda for the gift and Thanks Abby for the photos!

Trip to Arizona

This trip was LONG overdue. I grew up in Tempe Arizona and so we have lot of family and friends there. We hadn't been down since before Birdger was born, so last weekend...we decided to go! We packed as much fun into one weekend as humanly possible. Here's some pics of out trip...

We were cramping B's style by keeping him strapped in his seat for so long, so we stopped at the Hoover Dam. Then we stopped in Prescott to visit Chad's Bro. and his Family for the evening.

We were able to see our good friends the Carusos. Chad and Justin were Mission companions in Mass. They are like Brothers when they get together and it was great to see them!

We stayed with Mandy and Matt Westover and their cute girls Kali(3) and Tadum. Mandy has been my Best Friend since Preschool. We were pretty much joined at the hip all growing up. Her family has always treated me like one of their own and were such great examples to me! When my parents decided to move to Utah after my Freshman year of High school...I was devastated because i was terrified to be without her. We have tried to get together at least once a year since i moved. Even though it was easier before we got married and had kids, we've somehow been able to pull it off!
We left Bridger and Tadum alone for a few minutes and these are the shanangans they got into... bag of marshmallows dumped all over the couch!
It was so fun to see our kids play together! Before we came down, Mandy warned me that Tadum was going through a "rough phase" right now and she was worried she'd try to wrestle Bridger. But little did she know that wrestle is bridger's middle name. They played great together!

All the kiddos on the train....All Aboard?
Sara (Mandy's Sister) and her little girl Ella on the train ride

We took Bridger on the Ferris wheel at the October-fest...I don't think he loved it...
But he did love dancing to the music!
Us and the Westovers at the October-fest in down town Tempe! Great food, music, and beer...no beer for us of course, but i think October-fest is just another name for beer-fest. Don't worry, We got there early and left before the drunkards started yodeling.
"This awesome cake is for me??" Kali had a rockin 3rd birthday carnival! Complete with cotton candy, face painting, and even a blow-up jumping castle. Mandy really knows how to throw a party!
Matt and Chad hard at work on the cotton candy








We took the kids to a new outdoor shopping mall that had fountains and splash pads all over, and I couldn't keep Bridger out of them. He had a blast!

Me and Mandy
Thanks mandy and matt! (and mom & dad painter and the rest of the family) We had a great time! Miss you already Mandy!

Do you think the property manager will approve if I put this in my yard?

I couldn't resist...Happy Fall!

This made me laugh...I don't really know why, but it did

Whats in a name?
1.YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): skittles pilot
2. YOUR GANGSTA STAR NAME (favorite ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe):
mint sandal
3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): teal elephant
4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Anne Orem
5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (first three letters of your last name, first two letters of your first name): smi ra
6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): purple water
7. NASCAR NAME (the names of your grandfathers): bill james
8. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher's last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Fredricks Fremont
9. SPY NAME (your favorite season/holiday, favorite flower): Summer Lily
10. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you are wearing right now): blueberry sweatpants
11. HIPPIE NAME (what you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Smoothie Maple

copy and paste it. Everyone needs a laugh once an a while.

Learning to SHARE...

The picture says it all.