Happy Halloween!!!!

Oh my!  This year seems to have gone by rather quickly.  Halloween snuck up on us and wouldn't you know it...we had to carve pumpkins the night before.

Haylie digging the slime out.

Not Brody's favorite job. (Mine either)

The finished product.  Haylie had a kitty sitting on a branch.

Brody had a wolf (I think.)

Ready to go to school.  At the very last minute Brody changed his mind from wanting to be a zombie to wanting to be a rodeo clown.  This was much easier on me.

Mrs. Blackburn...the new principal at the Elementary School.

Haylie walking in the parade.  Her costume turned out really cute.  Thanks Monica for helping me make it.

Mrs. Taft striking a pose.

Brody and his friend Ethan.

Mrs. Torgerson going back in time.

Mrs. Johnson the librarian.

 Lots of witches this year.  But I'm pretty sure I had the cutest one there.

This little girl was so cute.  She told her parents, Eric and Trudy Torgerson, that she wanted to be a Fat Cop for Halloween.  So, so funny.  She even waddled when she walked.

Trick or treating at Grandma's.

Always nice to take pictures with Great Grandparents.

Mom and Dad were getting ready to fly to Mexico the next morning so we didn't stay long.  They were busy working on their flight plan and that needed all of their attention.

I took the kids to the Carnival at the Elementary School and trick or treating to the grandparents and a few older people while we waited for Shane to get home from work.  We picked up Shane and finished out the Torrey area.  The highlight of the night, as always, was going to Adus' house to see what he had in store for us this year.  He always decorates and goes all out.  This year he had a CREEPY baby doll that gave me nightmares. (At least he wasn't chasing kids with a chainsaw or wearing a shrunken head mask.)

Shane's birthday wish...A trip to Lake Powell!

When I asked Shane what he wanted to do for his birthday, his response went something like this. "I'm going fishing.  You can come if you want, but I AM going fishing."  The kids and I figured that if we wanted to spend anytime with Shane at all on his birthday we should probably go with him.  We all loaded up in the pick-up with the boat in tow and headed to Lake Powell.  It was a beautiful, and enjoyable day.  We always enjoy going to the Lake but because of my surgery we were only able to go 3 times this year.  Disappointing for all of us.  Our plan is to make sure we go enough next year to make up for the trips we missed this year.

This picture is from our trip earlier in the year.  In the bucket, on the floor, is a baby crawdad (Pinchie) whom the kids loved playing with and played with him most of the day.  They liked him so much that they convinced us to let them take him home.  Unfortunately, for "Pinchie", the the cats liked him just as much. 

My little fishin' girl.  She has always really enjoyed catching and playing with fish.  Never afraid to pick them up and hold them.

That's a beauty little Midge!

Brody likes to fish as well.  So glad my kiddos love being out and enjoying outdoor activities.

Let er' lay and watch er' pay.  Famous quote from Shane Durfey.

See what happens when you practice patience.

Brody giving it a try.  He is usually a little more patient than Haylie. 

This photo was taken on our second trip.  As soon as we got parked, Haylie grabbed her pole and headed towards the lake.  She didn't even wait for her life vest.

Practicing Patience!

FISH ON FISH ON!!!! 

She baited her own hook, casted all by herself, and caught a fish all while we were setting up camp.

She needed a little help getting the hook out if it's mouth.

So proud of her Catfish.

That's my girl!  Way to get a hold of it.  Uncle Trev won't even hold a catfish, and I don't think Uncle Dust will either.

They love playing in the water.

Swimming back from the other side.  I think Haylie's winning.

Back to the opposite side again.  Time to empty rocks out of the shoes.



Shane and I decided that we would fish along the shoreline while they were playing.  Yea...that didn't happen.  So...

...we decided to kneeboard.

At first Brody wasn't so excited.

But then he loved it! 

 Wow BD...look at those guns.  Maybe Mitch should take you to the gun show!

Getting tired but won't let go.

Haylie's first solo attempt.

When you feel like you are balanced...go ahead and pull yourself up.

Almost there.  Keep pulling!

 SUCCESS!

 Look at that smile.  It says it all.  She was so proud of herself and so were we.

She rode and rode.  What a little trooper.

The wind came up during the night and these two little friends got separated from their camp.  Luckily for them I have two brave kids that set out on a mission to rescue them.  They had to swim/walk a long way to get to them.  I was getting a little nervous about them being so far away from camp but they had their vests on and I could see them at all times. 

 After playing with them for a short time, the people in the other camp came back so they made the hike over the their camp to return their new friends.

This was our trip for Shane's birthday.  Not nearly as warm as in the summer but...

We couldn't keep them out of the water.

Haylie waiting for Brodes to roll his pants so they could explore.

They've found something.

I made Haylie wear pants because it was quite chilly when we left.  When we got there the weather was nice so I told her she could run around in her undies. 

She wasn't so sure about it at first but then I took this picture and showed it to her.  She agreed that it looked like she was in her swimming suit.  Besides, there was nobody else on the Lake!

We fished for most of the day until it started to get cold.  There were only 2 fish caught all day.  Haylie caught a catfish, and yours truly caught a walleye.  Guess we showed those boys how it was done.  Best of all, when we returned home, Tracy called to see if we had caught any fish.  I told him I caught one and Haylie caught one.  His response..."didn't Shane fish?"  One to remember for sure!

Fall Vacation!

The weather was absolutely beautiful for fall vacation this year.  We were fortunate to have some of our family members down for the long weekend.  Monica, Trevor, Matt, Meghan, Dillon, Triston, Tavia, Cory, Nissa, Carter, Corbin, Hadley, and Lexi were all guests in our home at one point or another over the weekend.  The kids really enjoyed having cousins to play with, Shane enjoyed hunting with the guys, and I enjoyed just sitting, watching and visiting.  Couldn't ask for more unless it would be that all of our family could have been here.  We really enjoyed visiting with the family members that were here but missed those that weren't.

Hadley absolutely LOVED the swing.  It was her first solo ride.  She kept saying "whee" the whole time she was going around.  Notice the unique way she figured out how to hold on.

Holding on the correct way.  What a cute little thing!

She loved Savanna and was so careful and soft when she would pet her.

Carter performing for the photographer.

Corbin giving it a try. He has the most infectious smile ever.

Corbin wanted me to take a picture of him doing a flip. Wow...look how high he is. Not bad for a 4 year old.

Tavia spent a lot of time in the morning out talking to Buckie Sue.  We were watching her out the window.  She would walk a little way and stop.  Buckie would walk up to her and stop.  Then she would give her a good rubbing on the head and nose and talk to her.  When we went outside, Buckie had flowers in her bangs.  After a little while Tavia and Haylie decided they should give Buckie a complete makeover.  They put numerous ponies in her mane and even braided her tail.  Thank goodness Buckie was so patient!

They kept going until all of her mane was in braids.  Unfortunately...I didn't get a picture of the finished product.

I can't believe how much these two look alike.  I made the comment to Shane that if you didn't know any better you could mistake them as sisters. I have been asked numerous times by different people if Tavia was my daughter. 

Lexi came to stay at our house on Saturday night and the kids were once again very excited.  She didn't get there early enough to do very much that evening.  She had been on a great adventure "car ride" with Grandma Connie for the majority of the day.  Lex said she was glad to be out of the car and be able to stretch her legs for a little while.  We got giggling at her when she told us about her breakfast earlier that morning...Pringles and stale cereal without milk.  The next morning before we left for church I made sure she had a good breakfast...waffles.  Although, I was half tempted to set out potato chips, candy or some other kind of junk just to see her reaction.  What a fun little girl to have in our home.