Carving pumpkins and Owen's fall carnival

We carved pumpkins a little late this year - with Matt working in the city and getting home so late every night, and our weekends totally filled with activities, we had difficulty finding time for pumpkins. We finally did it three days before Halloween, and the kids loved it. 

Owen showing Nora what the inside of a pumpkin looks like.

Nora doesn't like reaching her hand in there - we got a big pumpkin, and she had to reach in all the way up to her elbow to be able to get the guts. She didn't love that part. 

Owen pulled the stuff out for her, then let her touch it and put it in the bowl. Love that sweet boy. :)

Cheese!

A little candy break. 

Almost done!

The finished pumpkin!

Owen and Nora loved hanging out on the patio while the pumpkin was lit.

Since this is Owen's first year in school, this is our first experience with school fundraisers. They have had so many fundraisers in just the first two months of school... it's kind of ridiculous. We have participated in some (like the jog-a-thon), but totally ignored many of them - we just don't have that kind of cash! The fall carnival was pretty cheap, though, and they had lots of fun activities, so we went as a family.

Nora loved the petting zoo.

Seriously, look at her face! Owen was always scared of petting zoos when he was little - he'd cling to us the whole time, and wouldn't touch anything. This girly is fearless, though. She chased down each and every animal in there so she could give it a pat.

So excited to brush the llama!

Owen like the bunnies.

Cotton candy!

Matt made Nora dance for each bite. This girly loves dancing. :)

Owen and his spider face paint.

Here's a short video of Nora dancing for food... they played her favorite song "What Does the Fox Say". :)

Pumpkin patch

We took a few trips to pumpkin patches around our house before Halloween. Both kids loved looking at all the pumpkins and riding the rides. 

Nora, Owen, and Katelyn

Nora was sad that we hadn't let her go in the fun house with Owen... she was too little. :)

She got to ride on the pirate ship with Madeline instead. She looks unhappy here, but she LOVED this ride.

Owen in the jump house.

On the pirate ship for the second time - this time Owen and I went with Nora. Katelyn and Ryan rode too!

Cute mom and dad. As we were leaving I realized that we hadn't taken any pictures of them, so I made them go back in and take a few. 

Mom and dad with the two kids left at home - Kev and Mad.

This is the best picture we got of the cousins with the pumpkins... it all went downhill from here. :)

Lookin' great, O.

.....aaaaand we're done.

This was from the second pumpkin patch we went to with a bunch of kids from church. It was SO hot. Nora loved these wagons - we had a hard time taking her out of them. Owen loved pulling her around.

Owen took Nora through the kiddie corn maze.

Corn pit! I had never seen this before... it's literally a pit filled with corn. Totally weird at first, but once you touch it, you can't keep from running your hands through it. Nora loved it, though she had to take several breaks. It was pretty crowded, and I think it was just a little too much stimulation. :)

Cutie babies - I love those toes.

This picture absolutely cracks me up... they both loved the corn pit... I have no idea why their faces are so weird in this one. :)

Corn maze

The best picture of these two I could get. Nora didn't look at the camera once.

Happy birthday Owen!

I cannot believe Owen turned 5! Here's a snapshot of what he's like right now:

43 pounds (about 50% for weight), 45 inches tall (about 95% for height)

Favorite color: red

Favorite toy: "Batman shooter thingy that got taken away" (he got in trouble for hiding, and his toy got taken away. :) )

Favorite food: pizza (favorite fruit: grape) (favorite vegetable: "nothing. I don't like vegetables." ha!)

Favorite dessert: "dinger bread men!"

Favorite book: Animalia

Favorite movie: Toy Story

Favorite song: "I love all of the songs!" (like what?) Twinkle, Twinkle; I Am A Child of God; A You're Adorable; I Love to See the Temple

Favorite thing to do: Ride bikes, go to the park, carve a jack-o-lantern, play games, watching movies

Favorite thing about school: "Inside playtime!"

What do you like to learn about? farms, sharks, turtles, outer space, dinosaurs

What do you like to take to bed with you at night? George the Monkey (Curious George)

What makes you happy? "The happiest is when I get the things I want" (Great.)

What makes you sad? "When I don't get the things I want"

What do you want to be when you grow up? a dad

We love this crazy, sweet boy. He is very active - he loves climbing and jumping off things, playing tag, dancing around, karate-chopping everything, and swordfighting with anything that could even remotely be called a sword. He loves to build things, do science projects, and do art projects. He is a very good (and very particular) artist - all of his colors have to be just right, all of his lines have to be perfect, and he's very good at drawing recognizable characters and scenes from movies or scriptures.... it's pretty funny to watch him work. When he is concentrating really hard, he has the funny habit of chewing on his tongue. I always thing he's eating something, but nope - just working hard. He loves to learn and is very curious about all sorts of things. He loves to ask questions and get explanations for everything, especially how things work. He loves school and is doing well in his class. He is a great reader by himself, and loves when we read to him. We're working our way through lots of the classic children's books that Matt and I read when we were little, and Owen loves them all. Owen loves to make up stories and songs that can go on for hours if we don't stop him, and we often find him with all of his little figures acting out epic dramas that can go on for days (as long as Nora doesn't stomp on the set up :) ).

Owen is a very loving, tender-hearted little boy. He loves his sister and takes great care of her. He is very vigilant about her eating, and watches carefully to make sure she doesn't eat anything with milk. He often hugs and kisses her, and loves to help her get dressed or put bows in her hair. They are the best of friends, and I hope it stays that way forever. :) Owen is a great helper to me - he loves to clean and help me cook. He's getting big enough that I can trust him to do a lot of things by himself. He constantly surprises me with the things he knows and the things he learns how to do every day. He definitely has a very strong personality and a wonderful testimony. We love our crazy kid. 

Celebrating at grandma Bromley's house a few days before his birthday

Matt and I got him his first bike!

He was SO excited. :)

Eating birthday cake at home on his real birthday

These two love each other so much. :)

Owen got to wear the special birthday crown in his class at school, and I brought him a balloon and birthday doughnut after school. Because all the kids in his class have October or November birthdays, they have several kids a week with birthdays, so no one brings treats to class (they'd never have time to do anything else). Instead, they got to help make a cake in class for all the October birthdays. Owen loved it. We just did a few family parties with O here and there when people could make it... I think we ended up having three different "family" parties, plus his friend party. Instead of having a birthDAY, Owen had about two birthWEEKS with all the celebrations. :)

Jog-A-Thon and other activities

Just a couple of fun activities we've done since Owen started school. :) 

This baby's hair is long enough to start doing some really fun things with - I LOVE it!

Bubble tubby!

Funny bucket head baby - I love those pink lips!

Eyebrows! Love this expressive kid.

Ta-da!!!

Jog-A-Thon!

All the tiny kids in O's class getting ready to start running!

Owen has GREAT form. :)

I volunteered to help tally the kids' laps - we just marked them on the back of their shirt as they ran by.

Nora hung out in the stroller and ate her body weight in Fruit Loops during the jog-a-thon. Awesome.

Popsicles afterwards with friends make the running worth it!

Matt took this picture from the balcony before the Temple Hill concert in early October. We played the whole Carmina Burana oratorio - it was such a fun concert! If you look closely on the left hand side of the orchestra, you can see me, Lexie, and Kevin in the violin section!