Fall Frenzy

Whew! Does anyone else feel like they haven't been able to stop and breathe since school started. Here's what we've been up to for the last 4 weeks....taking Pas to school, picking him up from school, doing pre-school with Carter, PTA meetings and responsibilities, canning salsa, freezing corn, making jam, apples waiting to be made into pie filling and applesauce, church callings, and meetings, doctors appointments, flag football, all those outdoor tasks that need to get done before it's too cold to do them, football games, homecoming parades, plus the usual laundry, cooking, cleaning, bill paying, shopping, diapers, and trying to spend some time with my kids (occasionally I even get to see my husband!)....it's nice to be busy, I just wish I had the energy my kids have to keep up with it all!

1st Day of 1st Grade

Pason started 1st grade on Thursday. He is excited to be back in school with friends. Carter is lonely but we are doing pre-school at home and he is enjoying that. Mom can't believe how fast summer went and is looking forward to getting back into a regular routine!

Campin' in the Beartooths

We did make it camping once this summer. We drove up the road a little ways and couldn't believe what we saw. If you have never been over the Beartooth Highway, put it on your bucket list. I can't believe we've lived so close for 6 years and never took advantage of the beautiful scenery and campgrounds. I won't even post pictures of all the lakes because my pictures don't do it justice but it was awesome! It was Eli's first camping trip and we invested in an infant backpack so we could do some hiking. It was a fun weekend filled with tinfoil dinners, smores, hiking and mosquitos. Can't wait to go again next year!

Carter and his 2-Wheels!

Carter really wanted to learn to ride a two wheeler this summer, so earlier this month we took him to the church parking lot and off he went. He still needs a little help getting started, but once he's going...look out!

Yellowstone 2010

On our way home from Idaho we decided to go through Yellowstone Park and make a day of it. We told the boys no dvd's because we had to watch for animals. They weren't too happy about that at first, but we gave them a map that also had all the animals you can find in Yellowstone and the search was on! We saw elk, bison, pelican, deer, chipmunks, and yes....even a bear. It took all day and a couple near misses. We just missed seeing a grizzly wtih 3 cubs at one point, and another time there were two adult grizzlies and two cubs, but they were too hard to see without binoculars. We had pretty much given up on seeing a bear and we were headed home when we came upon traffic stopped right in the road. Jared told me to get out and see what it was. I got closer and realized there was a black bear right on the side of the road. I am not a bear fan so I hurried back to the van and Jared, Pason, and Carter got out to take pictures. Hooray, we could leave the park with no disappointment! The boys also really enjoyed seeing all the thermal features. We did Old Faithful and then walked about 3 miles around the loop to see some of the other geysers. They did pretty good, but towards the end they had to take turns getting shoulder rides from dad. Pason asked if we saw everything and when we told him there was lots more to see, he asked if we could go again. I am glad that we could tell him we would definately do that.

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

So Pason and Carter left with my parents after Eli's birthday party to spend the week with them in Idaho. It was SO quite here that week. I loved being able to clean the house and have it stay clean for longer than 15 minutes, but we missed them. Especially Eli. He kept crawling to the gate by the stairs and looking to see if the were downstairs. However, I do think Eli enjoyed being at the center of Mom and Dad's attention for a whole week! Pason and Carter had a blast with their grandparents. They went for a picnic and hike (which was unfortunately cut short by Pason's allergies), went bowling, mini golfing, saw a movie, played in the water with uncle Erick, jumped on the trampoline, etc. Jared, Eli, and I drove down late Thursday night. Friday got up and all went fishing. We tried to do this last year with Grandma and Grandpa, and it took us several hours to catch one tiny fish. This year Grandpa did his research and found a stocked pond to go to. This time Pason caught a fish on his 2nd or 3rd cast. No one else even had their line baited yet. A few minutes later Pason had caught another. Then cousin Natalie caught one with Pason's pole. Carter was starting to get worried because he hadn't caught one, but a few minutes later, after Jared took him to his "lucky spot" he had caught one. Then another. Then Pason caught another, so of course Carter had to catch one more. If we hadn't been waiting for Erick to catch one I think we would have been done in less than an hour! Anyway they loved it! They even like eating the fish. Saturday we had family pictures taken and then had dutch oven dinner with all my siblings. Sunday my youngest brother Erick spoke in church before he was to leave for his mission in Guatamala. It was very enjoyable to visit with family. Monday we got up fairly early to go home by way of Yellowstone Park. I was afraid the boys would sleep the whole day after such a busy fun week, but they surprised me. I'll post more about Yellowstone later. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Rowan for such a fun time!

Eli is One!

My baby is already one! It is so unfair how that just happens so fast. It was crazy getting ready for his birthday because we only got home from the lake a few days before. Trying to figure out what to get him was tough. With 2 older brothers it seemed like we already had all the cool boy toys. Luckily we had gone through the toy boxes a month or so ago and thrown out some old and broken toys. So we no longer had any firetrucks. It was perfect! He loves pushing cars and trucks around right now. We also got him some stacking cups, a book, and pajamas. Grandma and Grandpa Rowan came up from Idaho to celebrate with us. They did the same thing they did for Pason and Carter, and got Eli his first teddy bear at Build-a-Bear. Pason and Carter really had more fun than Eli did...so did Mom! Now we have Bernie, Bagley, and the newest edition, Baxter! Eli was more interested in the cake than the presents. I made him a puppy dog cake, (sometimes I call Eli "Puppy" because he likes to crawl around with my slipper in his mouth!). After we sang he very hesitantly stuck one finger in the frosting. After doing that a couple of times he stuck two fingers in the frosting, then four fingers, and when he realized no one was stopping him he went for it with his whole hand! Isn't it funny how any other day that would just be a mess, but for a first birthday we take pictures, and laugh, and encourage it! Shortly after the party was over Grandma and Grandpa left, taking pason and Carter with them. So Eli got to be the center of attention for a whole week. He is my little buddy, at least when daddy's not around, then he's Daddy's little buddy. We love him so much!