Aiden's 4th birthday and Halloween

Sorry for the picture jumble, I am trying to get these on here at long last. Aiden's b-day was celebrated 3 times. First time was on Oct 22nd, the day before I left too go to Utah. Uncle Shane was visiting us, and we went to the pumpkin patch. We then opened presents, had cake, and carved the pumpkins. On Aiden's actual b-day, Oct 27, I was in Utah (with the camera, so no pics) but Dad spoiled him. He had donuts for breakfast and Taco Bell for dinner. His actual party was on Halloween. The kids all came in costume and we had fun Halloween games. Our friend Luke from NC has come up every year since Aiden's first b-day. He went trick or treating with us. It was raining that night, but the kids still got some good loot!

Elder Harmston

Mom and I were privileged to take Elder Harmston to the MTC on October 28th. He is going to the West Virginia Charleston Mission!
I love this Murel in Salt Lake.
We went site seeing and we got caught in a snow storm in October! It was so BEAUTIFUL though!!

Brenden was so excited to go. He drove us crazy as the hours drew closer for him to go. He was very sweet to Mom though even though he was ready to leave. It was so rewarding after all of his hard work to get here to see him go. I know he will serve the Lord with all of his heart and might. We look forward to hearing all about it!!

This scared me to death when I saw it, and then I remembered it was only a few days from Halloween! There was even a CTR ring on it! It was in the MTC parking lot.

A great way to measure kids growth!

We live 30 minutes from Paramount Kings Dominion. The last 2 years we have bought season passes, but we have really gotten the most use this summer. First I will start with apologizing that these are not really photos of my kids. I wanted to show the rides to go with my story. We started going in April and the first thing you do when you get to the park is get the kids measured to see what rides they can go on. Taryn was under 36" and thus limited to about 9 rides. That was fine by her, she loves all of the rides. Well over the summer she grew. We kept "measuring" her at the park and she never quite hit 36". Yesterday, it finally happened!! Right on the line! So that added the Log Ride (one of my fav's) and the kiddie roller coaster. What a look of pure enjoyment on her face!!!
The next one that had a major change yesterday was Logan. He finally hit 48" which lets him go on all of the roller coasters and the water slides. He has been upset all summer being left out of what Madison and Spencer could do. "This is awesome!" (His exact words.) He also is finally tall enough to "drive" the antique cars. He has been waiting all summer, and he was on cloud nine driving Mom around!
The next person who had a growth change this summer was Mom. No I did not add some to my height (I wish) As of yesterday, I have lost 42 pounds since May 1st. I had a wake up call back in April when I came and tried to get on a roller coaster and did not fit. I love roller coasters, but the saddest part was missing out with my kids. I got right to it, and joined a gym and weight watchers, and what a difference!! I had the best day! I have been going all summer, but too chicken to try. I am down 4" on my stomach so I thought I should give it a try, and everything fit just great! I need to loose more to be a little more comfortable when you are thrown around in those tiny seats!! It felt so awesome to be on rides with my kids! I tried 5 new roller coasters! What a rush!!


This ride... oh too scary! I chickened out at the last minute along with Logan and Spencer. Madison, however, hopped right on! You should see this ride, spinning you around and around upside down, dropping you over fire even! This was right up my alley 20 years ago. I need to get brave enough again to try it! I just had to give kudos to Madison for doing it alone!

All in all we got a lot of mileage out of our pass, and we still have until November. We have been about 14 times this summer because I was brave enough to try with the kids alone during the week, and I had a friend with a pass who would come and go with us. We have had a great time! We then have fun here with Dad on the weekends. We hope to branch out to some of King Dominions sister parks as we travel next summer! (Like Kings Island & Worlds of Fun!) Lots of fun ahead!!!

The Beach

I love going to the beach. Growing up in Nebraska, I never went to the beach more than a few times my whole childhood. It is nice to be 2 hours from the beach where we can go a few times each summer. It is a favorite place of mine to be. There is something so calming about the atmosphere and the beauty.

I wanted to go and stay over night for a few days once the season winds down (the prices are much lower), but we traded up for a much better vacation at Christmas when we will be joining family in the mountains instead! So we went down for the day on Friday. It was the wrong weekend to go because of Hurricane Bill. I didnt think much about it affecting us when it is so far away, but after just a few hours they closed the beach due to the strong rip tides. The waves were the huge! I was nervous with the kids, but the lifegaurds made everyone stay close to shore.

All in all it was still a fun day away as a family. I am so thankful for all of the wonderful blessings that we have had this year.

By the way the pictures are from our last trip to the beach, I forgot my camera this time! Oh Man!!

My Baby is 2!!

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Taryn's birthday was packed with Fun! First we helped a friend who is moving by watching her daughter that is the same age as Taryn. We actually had a double baby shower together since we were both having a girl after several boys. So it was fun for Taryn to have Sydney over. We then went to a carnival at the YMCA. It was fun with games, rock walls (note Logan is nearly at the top) a fun little train, and an inflatable obstacle course that even Taryn did! We then finished the day at Chuck E Cheese. (We had promised the kids months ago to go there, and we did not realize it would fall on the same day as the carnival.) Mom and Dad were tired, but the kids were ready for more! Taryn hadnt been there since she was a few months old, she really loved it, running from one thing to the next. I love the pic of her on the bike with her brothers peddling to keep her up in the air and her looking around at everything. She really does have her brothers wrapped around her little finger!

At two her personality is in full bloom. She has the words "no" and "mine" down perfectly. She has a real talent at throwing tantrums and getting pitty. She is also a little Houdini. She disappears in the blink of an eye. We love her dearly despite the 2 year old behavior. Time really does go by quickly, so knowing this is our last one, we are trying to "enjoy" the behavior. One thing is for sure, she is also very good at making up to you, she is very lovy, cuddly and loves to kiss. Happy Birthday Taryn! We love you!