It's Beginning To Look A LOT Like Christmas

Christmas is in the air. I've been so wrapped up in school, birthday planning and other projects that it just didn't feel like the holiday season yet. But, it hit me in the face yesterday big time, and I love it. Brian got into the season yesterday as well and decided to hang up Christmas lights. Ashlyn wanted to go out and watch, and I complied. I went out 45 minutes later to see the progress and this is what I found:

Yep, that's Ashlyn up on the roof with Brian. Take a closer look:

Scared me to death! But Brian reassured me that she was safe and hadn't/wouldn't move an inch unless he told her to. At one point she quite seriously asked Brian how she would get down if he fell off the roof. And then a half hour later, they were both back on the ground safe and sound.

And then this morning we woke up to this:

Yes, Christmas is definitely in the air. The downside to all that snow was what it did to our beautifully colorful trees:

Bummer.

Fall Makes Me Happy...

And it's coming to an end, which makes me sad. I am particularly sad to see the 2010 fall season come to an end because it has been amazing. The colors were stunning this year.

Our Fall Extravaganza began when we went on our second annual tram ride at Sundance between the morning and afternoon session of Conference on October 2nd.

It was unseasonably warm this year. Last year we were all bundled up and huddled together under blankets, but this year we didn't even need jackets.

We invited my parents to join us this year, and they did. And since Mindy was staying at my parents house that weekend, she joined us too. As well as her adorable girls.

The leaves were pretty, but we were told that the colors were more vibrant the week before. They also told us the same thing last year. And we still saw a lot of green.

We got off at the top to eat some sandwiches, carrot sticks and granola bars. Too bad we left our waters in the car. I'm quite sure that was Brian's fault ;o) And then a bee flew into Brian's mouth. No kidding. Serves him right for not bringing the water.

This next picture is a testament to how hard it is to take a decent picture of a group of kids. I had thirteen shots to choose from and this is the best I got...

And then back down we went.

And even though we didn't see the 'peak', the weather was perfect, the company was fantastic, and the scenery was beautiful. Speaking of beauty, it doesn't get any better than this -

Next up, a trip to Missouri (more on that later), with the hope of seeing an autumn 'show'. I hadn't ever been east of Colorado and I was quite excited at the prospect of seeing some amazing fall colors. However, we were a little disappointed. There was literally one picture-worthy tree in Kirksville.

So, we missed the 'peak' at Sundance and there was no 'show' in Missouri. However, I have never witnessed such beautiful fall leaves in the Salt Lake Valley as I did this year. And it went on for weeks! Oh, it made me so happy to get in the car and drive or just walk around and look at all the colors. Or to simply look out my front window.

And now the trees are almost bare and we are headed for some very cold, snowy days. But, it was fun while it lasted.

5 Months

Luke is five months old now. And he is even more adorable than he was at four months.

He has completed one milestone - he rolled over for the first time on Sunday night, and has done it a couple times since then.

He would probably do it more if he spent more time on the floor....anyway, just look at that smile. It makes my heart happy.

He has also upgraded his diet to include rice cereal, which consequently means stinkier diapers. Dang it.

Ashlyn got to feed him his very first cereal, which was quite exciting for her and something that she took quite seriously.

She even instinctively opened her mouth, because we all know that helps. I actually think it is humanly impossible to feed a baby without opening your own mouth.

And after she had fed him the entire bowl, she grabbed the washcloth and cleaned his face. What a good helper.

Luke is really starting to babble, which is cute, although it usually sounds like he is chewing you out. He also continues to gain weight - which is killing my arms - despite the fact that I swear he spits up more than he eats.

Overall I think Luke is a very happy baby, but he does have fair share of "unhappy" times. There are times when even I can't console him and I have yet to decide why. I sometimes think it's gas and sometimes think it's acid reflux. Maybe it's both. But we'll keep him; gas, acid and all.

A Cars Party!

Ever since Ashlyn's Backyardigans birthday party back in March, and every party we have attended since then, Trent has been talking about having a Cars party. To put it lightly, Trent loves cars, particularly "Cars" cars, and more specifically, "Lightning McQueen." He eats, drinks and sleeps cars...literally. I can't imagine that they are very comfortable to cuddle up with, but he takes at least 1 car to bed with him every night. And he takes at least 1 car with him wherever he goes - the store, grandma's house, church, the dinner table, you get the idea. Trent even lines up his cars, so they can watch "Cars" with him.

Since Ashlyn's birthday, Trent has endured princess, polk-a-dot, and Hello Kitty themes (to name a few), all the while talking about having a "boy party" or a "Cars party." So, the anticipation for this event was eight months in the making, and I knew I better make it good. There are a LOT of photos here, and I am going to mainly let them do the talking, so lets get started!

The invitations:
The decorations:

The food:
For dinner at Flo's V8 Cafe - a salad bar, homemade breadsticks, and fruit.
Trent approved of this menu, but for the kids who don't like salad, there was a back-up plan - chicken nuggets.
To drink - apple juice, aka:
For the sweet tooth - rice krispie stop lights, cozy ice cream cones, and a variety of candy which included Trent's favorite - tootsie rolls.
The activities:
Brian started things off with a "Who Said It?" game.
Here's a sample, see if you can name a few -
"I'm happier than a tornado in a trailer park."
"No, not me, you rock and you know that"
"Respect the classics man, it's Hendricks."
"I create feelings in others they themselves don't understand."

We then moved on to our craft -
candy race cars.
And finally, we held our very own piston cup race!

We have a perfect "track"/loop on our main level and the kids took turns racing Lightning McQueen as Brian timed them. They each got two chances to get the best time. The winning time of 8.8 seconds and the winner of the piston cup was Landon!

The presents:

Trent got absolutely spoiled with gifts. Trent is lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive family. We truly missed those who couldn't attend - Aaron, Monica, Ben, Maggie, Stacey, Patrick, Ako, and Libby.

The cake:

The favor bags:

Decals for the boys and touch-up paint for the girls.(a ding dong)
And that is all! Whew! I was absolutely exhausted when it was over (and all the next day), but it was totally worth it. It was a very memorable evening. Trent soaked up the whole thing and was the happiest little boy in Carburetor County!