Because it's FUN that's WHY

We are asking ourselves WHY we did this with three crazy toddlers but it's done and they will be better next year, right? We did our annual Bishop Family Pumpkin Carving home Evening and they all turned out SO good! We decided to make it a competition but then we realized that we don't have an unbiased judge on the premises so I decided to let YOU GUYS be the judge!

( I thought you could see them better with all the lights out :)

HERE THEY ARE! (In no particular order):

Bryce's with an ORIGINAL pattern

Charlie's
(We couldn't carve it because it has a ROT SPOT on the back of it's head AND Charlie can't actually hold a pen yet so it was really ME who drew the face but don't let that sway your decision!)
Kensie's
Also an original piece
She calls it her "Spooky"

Eric's
Kensie chose the pattern (naughty dinosaur?!) but it was Eric who executed it quite beautifully I might add.

Mine

Saved the best for last! (Wait I thought these were in no particular order? Oh well!)

What do you think?
I LOVE HaLLoWeeN!

This is SO much fun! They have so much cute stuff to give away! Check them out!

It's Official!

I am now Mary Magdalene! Our Stake is in it's second year of putting on Savior of the world and they began rehearsals back in August I believe. They called Eric and me last week because our stake president heard us sing in church a few weeks ago and called the producer, who then called us because they wanted us to fill some roles that they had that were still empty. So we auditioned last week and got the call that I will be playing Mary Magdalene and Eric will be an apostle. I know I can speak for both of us when I say that it has been way TOO long since we performed on stage! We are really excited to be a part of this show and can't wait to get into rehearsals on Thursday! Hopefully we'll be able to catch up with everyone else who has been rehearsing for months now. But it shouldn't be a problem. I mean, we are professionals after all. :) The show will run the 2nd week of December, running Every night of the week and then a matinee and evening show on Saturday the 13th. So if you can make it, we'd love to see you! It should be an awesome experience.

It's OBVIOUS.

What you can't tell what Eric and I dressed up as for halloween?


Clearly, He was a Crocodile in a mud puddle and I was the Crocodile Hunter in a great pair of boots!
Cortney and Steven invited us to crash their ward's halloween party and we had a lot of fun. Who can resist a good hot dog and some trunk or treating?
Charlie in true puppy fashion kept trying to run away.


Kensie was a ballerina Elephant and after many painstaking hours spent, last year's spider was turned into this year's bat for Bryce who has been asking to be a bat since march!
We're excited to dress up and do it again in a week or so! ( mostly so I can take charlie trick or treating and then snitch all his candy when he's not looking! tee-hee!)

Family Fun...Frenzy? (I couldn't think of another word that started with F)

So Today we had so much fun it almost kills me! Literally. It's a lot of work to have fun with 4 1/2 toddlers! But we did it didn't we! Today was our neighborhood's fire station open house and luckily we live right up the street from the station. I had this great idea to walk. It's down hill on the way to the station. I didn't really take into account the walking home back uphill with 2 strollers and 3 other adults who are not accustomed to walking up said hill. So I'm very sorry guys! I think I may have killed my brother in law. But it was worth it right? It only took you guys 15 minutes to recover! haha really though. Here are some pictures from the open house.

The Cousin Friends becoming junior fire fighters

Ryker got to be one too
What would you do if this crew showed up at your house to put out the fire?
SCARY

Had to post this one of Cute Roxie

They each got a turn to hold the hose. They said when the water is coming out of it they have to have at least 3 guys holding it or they can't control it!

Kensie's Turn

The Fire Station's New Mascots
The cutest little Fire Fighter Ever!
Now You know why my husband married me. One word: GODDESS

So HOT! (hehe pardon the pun!)
Charlie was there too I swear! He's too squirelly. He doesn't stay long enough for us to get his picture! Luckily He starts nursery in 2 weeks!

The fire fighters were very friendly and very enthusiastically informative. One of them even offered to come to our house to fix our smoke detector! The kids had fun climbing all over the truck and trying on the uniforms. Eric and I jumped in there too. Man those suits are heavy! And they have to get them on in less than 60 seconds!! Those guys are amazing! Then we came home and watched Wall-E and made Fried Ramen for Dinner which is a most delicious and economically friendly meal! Steven found it on his mission and passed it on to us. It cost us about $3 to feed 8 people. So Yummy! Then we took a little trip to the pumpkin patch.

They had these fun wagons you could use to haul your friends and your finds!


Pumpkin Friends!

Charlie LOVED those tiny pumpkins!

Cute Roxie with her little pumpkin

B & K with their picks

Heading out to the car with our Treasures!
The sign said they had pumpkins on the vine and I guess that wasn't a complete lie. The guy did have one vine with a few scrawny pumpkins on it and the rest of the pumpkins were housed under a big tent NOT ON A VINE! BOO! Anyway, He let all the kids pick a tiny pumpkin for free which was really nice of him and then we bought a couple of big ones to carve in a few weeks. We really did have such a fun day with all the kids. Hopefully creating some more of those GOOD memories. Oh and my new found candy obsession? Caramel Apple Sugar Babies. yum-O!
BTW: You can view the rest of our adventures on my new facebook album!

You can't vote if you're not registered!

The deadline is October 20th!

Register to vote here!

This is a link to the government page so even for those of you not in California, you can get registered here also.

Family: isn't it about...TIME?

I did these interviews with the kids after Bryce's first day of school so I could document the feelings of the day.Originally, I only intended to interview Bryce but then Kensie wanted a turn and when she was through, Charlie climbed up in the chair for his turn. I thought it was so much fun that I may just have this become a recurring piece on my blog. The videos are a tad lengthy but I thought at the very least the grandmas' and other family from afar would appreciate seeing the kids and hey what am I saying? It's MY blog! So Enjoy!

Bryce's First Day of School Interview


Kensington's Interview


Charlie's Interview

Garaunteed to make you smile...

I was clearing some files off of the memory card in my phone and found this video of Bryce dancing to the Backyardigans. All I can say is, CLASSIC!

Of kitty tales and Frogs ...

First of all, Kensie is a little pixie. She makes us laugh a hundred times a day. Seriously, I think she stays up all night working on her material for the next day. Anyway lately when I do her hair, this is how it goes:

Me: "ok what do you want? A ponytail, pig tails, braids or wear you hair down?"
K: "No Mom, I want a Kitty Tail, right here." brushing her hand down the side of her face onto her neck.

hahaha I tried to think of a kitty tail hairstyle and what it would look like. We decided it was her bangs pulled back and put into a braid. She loves it and now I don't even need to ask which hairstyle. We know it will be a kitty tail every time!

Aaand, Thank You SO much Aunt Cortney for Scarring my child for LIFE! Sound Familiar?
Kensie: "Mommmy I have to sleep in my bed the froggy is going to get me!! Did you hear that? he's coming! Hurry go to sleep so the froggy won't get you!"
I guess I should be thanking you because now Kensie will stay in her bed and go to sleep for fear of "the froggy". Granted she now whimpers and talks herself to sleep saying " he's not real, the froggy is nice. the froggy won't bite me he's nice..." But she's staying in bed so it's a start.
It's all good. After all, If we didn't have family to scar us for life, who would? Who would...