much better...

Talmage, cousin Atticus and Aunt Katie Dawn

Atticus, completely worn out!

Smile Tal!

All of us on the hayride, minus Carlos and I taking the picture.

What a cute little guy!

Everything is so much more fun with kids, don't you agree? (ok, maybe not everything) Going to the pumpkin patch or a carnival just wouldn't be the same without showing your child what it's all about! Maybe it's just an excuse for me to pretend I'm young again, but I don't care. This past week when my brother and his wife and their new little baby were in town all the kids got together to go to the Pumpkin patch and hayride at Thanksgiving Point. It was a blast! My brothers make things fun (or should I say funny) no matter what we're doing, but it was nice to have all the little ones together. Talmage loves playing with his cousins and being with his Aunts and Uncles. It sure did wear the little guys out! I'm so grateful that my family is close and we all love each other so much, it's such a blessing to have so many people who love you!

I can't wait til tomorrow, Halloween, when I can post fun pictures of Tal in his costume and the house at Halloween and Tal's program at school (please bless Talmage is not the child screaming the songs, making crazy faces and jumping around like a monkey). Until then......

OCTOBER

October brings chilly weather, amazingly colorful fall leaves, and, of course, Halloween. At our house we love to celebrate the season with hot cider, gooey caramel apples, massive piles of leaves, bright orange pumpkins and creepy-crawly spiders.
It's such a blessing to live in Utah during fall, the changes that take place are breath-taking. Halloween is Carlos' favorite holiday and fall is our families favorite time of year. We always try to make it spooky for our little trick-or-treaters. Each year we add to our Halloween graveyard in the yard. The goal is to someday make the whole yard appear to be a creepy cemetery (which may take quite a few years seeing as the front yard is kinda large). I think this year we may give big candy bars to the kids with the best costumes. I am so glad I live in a neighborhood where we get lots of trick-or-treaters.
This year we have decided to take a different approach to the mass of leaves that litter our lawn during fall...it's called a leaf blower! Gone are the rakes and bags, we should have known better when we bought this house. Just to get a clue as to how many leaves we get, look at the picture above. That picture is about a tenth of our yard, so you can imagine the piles of leaves we have for Tal to play in. It makes for great fall fun! My point...if you ever feel like really getting into the fall spirit of things come blow yourself a pile of leaves in the yard and play away!

My Hero...

This is my dad. One of the best things that has ever happen to me. I often joke with my husband that my dad is the ultimate example of a Senior Citizen. Just short of 80 years old, my dad still bales hay and straw everyday. He climbs over fences and wrestles with sheep. He walks up mountains, lifts heavy water grates and gardens relentlessly. Physically, he's just short of perfection. But, when it comes to anything else, he is perfection. When I was 14 my mom and my mom announced she was getting married, I was hell-bent against it and everything that had to do with it. I should have known that it would be the best decision my mom had ever made. The affection I have for my Dad cannot be matched. I absolutely love everything about him. From his grumpiness to his grim smiles and snickers. He's such a great example of how to live a life full of hard work and service. He doesn't say much but he doesnt need to. I feel his love, it's almost tangible. I love him...he's my dad...my hero!