Phew! It's been a crazy month. I wanted to hurry and get all of the "pre-Halloween" updates done before we went trick-or-treating so I don't fall too far behind so here we go...

We had our ward trunk or treat. It was pretty low-key which was actually really nice. The girls loved seeing all their friends and collecting a little candy on the way.

Sponge Bob even made an appearance. You know it's going to be awesome when the Bob shows up. This is a group picture before the chaos ensued.
Here the girls are with their great friends the Richards. Can you believe that tractor costume?
The best part of the trunk or treat was our "cousins but not our cousins" the Gaileys came up for the weekend. We didn't find out about the trunk or treat until the night before so we had to do some quick improvisation with the costumes. Luckily we found these skull t-shirts the older boys could wear. Zach was particularly thrilled with the spiked dog collar. Who knew that when Bryan and I dressed as "goths" a few years back the old costumes would get so much use?
For little Connor we found a lab coat and funny glasses and turned him into a "mad scientist." He looked hilarious.

Unfortunately being mad scientist takes it's toll. Bryan said he must have had a tough night of call.

We had a friend wear his military uniform and of course Bryan had to live vicariously through him and try the heavy gear on. Total stud if you ask me.

That night we made a last minute decision and headed over to Boo at the Zoo.

We let the girls go on the little rides there. They were so excited they were shaking. It was so fun to see them running on each ride with pure joy on their faces. The weather was so nice and Bryan and I could have watched them all night long.
This jumping frog was a little terrifying for supergirl. She tried real hard to be brave, but a few screams of terror escaped a time or two.

This was when super girl really started flying. I was so impressed with how great the zoo does with the Halloween festivities. One of those last minute decisions that we definitely did not regret.

The next weekend we had great visit from James, Natalie, Scott and little Sarah. We had a Halloween dinner of chili and mummy hot dogs. It was so great to just spend a couple of days with Natalie just chatting (James was doing residency interviews). We love spending time with them.

That little Sarah is such a doll. The thing I love most is her hair is EXACTLY the same as Audrey's was at that age. I could just squeeze her. She's such a happy, easy-going girl.

James was so good to sit and read/entertain the kids. We really do love having visits from family.

And last but not least we carved our pumpkins. Julia wanted a kitty pumpkin and Audrey requested a witch pumpkin.

The kitty pumpkin was actually not too difficult.

The witch pumpkin on the other hand...carving that six inch thick hide was literally giving me contractions. Bryan had to do it and I think his arm is still sore. Thankfully Audrey was cool with the very simple nose and mouth on the witch because let's face it, not even Bryan has that big of muscles.

The finished product. I even roasted the pumpkin seeds today. How's that for supermom?

One Year Older and Wiser Too

My Julia turned the big six this past week. Six. How is it possible that I am a mother of a six year old? These are definitely the years that birthdays are a BIG deal. She was beyond excited. She and Audrey were bouncing off the walls for an entire week beforehand and for three days after. We still have birthday hangover to be honest.

We had to have a little party at our house. Julia helped me decorate. Audrey was particularly enthusiastic about all of this and had to throw in some cheerleading moves. It was a pajama party complete with a movie and pizza.

Six years old. That's right. I remember when I turned six I was so excited that not only would I hold up one hand of fingers, but two hands.

They spent the evening decorating bags, making necklaces, eating pizza, watching a movie and eating cupcakes. Julia loved every minute. It almost made it worth my 9 month pregnant body sitting on the floor helping eight little girls thread beads onto their necklaces. Almost. I had forgotten what a big deal present opening time for little girls.

The next morning on Julia's "official" birthday she requested pancakes with nutella and eggs. She also requested a smiley face. I tell you what, this mom delivers.

We also opened some presents from us. Even though Audrey had found my hiding place earlier and given Julia a little sneak preview, we decided we'd give them to her anyways. She can't help it if her little sister is a sneaky stinker. Can you tell which present Bryan wrapped? We ran out of wrapping paper and rather than take my advice of finding a bag, he improvised.

Luckily she didn't care. She loves Littlest Pet Shop right now and was in heaven with her new toys.

This little one on the other hand had a little bit of a rough weekend. It is so hard when your sister gets all the attention. Audrey has spent a lot of time talking about HER birthday party. Unfortunately she still has seven months to go. I'm sure it will be magical when it finally arrives Audrey.

Lucky for her a friend from church was having a birthday party and she got to go. She wore her supergirl costume and looked oh so cute. I laugh every time she puts it on, revs herself up, throws her arms up and yells, "super doowl!"

I told Julia she had two full hours while Audrey was at the party with just Bryan and me. What did she chose to do with her time? Play with her new toys uninterrupted for at least an hour straight. I sure do love this girl and her imagination. Little sisters are the best, but sometimes having toys all to yourself is even better.

After that it was Connect Four and princess games.

Then to make it a SUPER birthday weekend we headed to a pumpkin patch with some of our good friends. These girls love playing with Riley.

Can you find Bryan?

There were so many fun things to do. The kids literally bounced from activity to activity. Audrey was so thrilled with this dress that she refused to wear a coat even though it was chilly. I suppose the running around kept her warm.

They played in the corn, which may or may not have been thrown a time or two.

We got lost in a corn maze for a bit. As we were in the middle of it we noticed that there was quite a large group that was following us, as if we knew where we were going. Little did they know that two three year olds were navigating. Following us may have not been their best choice.

Here's Audrey contemplating the meaning of life while staring in the distance. Maybe she was contemplating why she was so cold.

This picture SO reminds me of Bryan. Isn't that Ohio sunset in the background beautiful?

A family shot in the pumpkins. Audrey's face is literally covered in dirt. Always a sign of a good time I say. And she finally broke down and wore the jacket.

Overall I would say the birthday was a success. Julia sure is a sweet little girl. As I'm getting ready to have my third, I have thought back to when I was getting ready to have my Julia. There is something about the anticipation of your first child that is unique and indescribable. She has exceeded my expectations in so many ways. She is such a source of joy in our family. We sure do love you Julia and are so thankful that Heavenly Father sent you to us. I cannot imagine my life without you and my life certainly wouldn't be complete without you. Happy birthday sweetheart.

Dancing Queen

The day finally arrived. Audrey finally started dance class. She was so giddy with excitement the entire day and hasn't stopped talking about it since. She was very focused and she wasn't going to have Julia telling her what to do, no sir. She's three now and three is BIG.

Here's her cute teacher Miss Sherri. She does such a good job. My girls love her.

Some of the crew after dance.

We have had an indian summer around here and the weather has been SO warm. We took advantage and headed to yet another park. Of course I had to take more pictures than necessary.

The leaves are so amazing right now. I am going to miss this so much next year.

The girls sat and played in these leaves for a very long time.

We found a giant mushroom that looked like a ball. So what did we do with it?

Smash it of course. We had to see what the inside looked like. Actually Bryan smashed it. I probably was telling him he shouldn't and to just put the dang thing down.

I took some pictures of the girls by a tree.

Such a perfect family day. I am going to be so sad when the weather turns cold and all the leaves are gone.

And here we are just shy of 35 weeks. The countdown is on. I am getting excited/nervous/scared/claustrophobic/anxious (can you even feel all those emotions at once?)

I do know that I will be happy to NOT be pregnant but I am going to take time to enjoy this last month. October in Ohio is so great and I'm going to do my best to not spend it sitting on the couch with my feet up. Even though sitting on the couch all the time right now is VERY tempting.