Pumpkin Festival

We've been looking forward to the pumpkin festival for weeks, because we had so much fun there last year. Bracken wanted to pick out his very own pumpkin.

Bracken tried to bite the doughnut without using his hands. After trying for a minute or so, he looked at me like, "what kind of cruel joke is this?" and asked, "can I have it now?"

From the moment he picked out his pumpkin, Bracken couldn't wait to paint it. He made us laugh because he was so serious and careful about the whole thing, choosing his colors and very carefully painting all around the pumpkin. Even though there were lots of fun booths and activities, painting the pumpkin was definitely his highlight this year. He is so proud of it and if you come to visit he'll be sure to show it off to you.

Bracken's Goal

Bracken and I were reading the Friend magazine. We read about a little boy who had a goal to say his prayers each morning and night. When we finished reading the story we talked about goals for a little while then I asked Bracken if he'd like to make a goal.

I asked "What would you like your goal to be?" I thought he'd say something like "say my prayers," or "write my letters." Instead he was quiet for a minute and then said decidedly:

"I wanna stop the bad guys."

Weekend in Nevada

Brian and I just had a super fun date. We went to Vegas for the weekend for Brian to take a firearms class and to visit Caleb, Linsy and Kylie. Right after his class finished on Saturday we left the kids with a babysitter and the four of us went to see the Lion King musical. We got tickets for $25 each, and they were great seats. The costumes were incredible! The giraffes were men walking around on stilts, there were elephants, a cheetah, zebras, gazelles...between the acting and the costumes they really moved like the animals. We enjoy going to plays, and both really like the lion king story, so this was a fun evening!
Aunt Linsy put Chandra's hair in curlers for fun. When we took the curlers out though, it looked like she had an old lady hairdo and made us laugh.

I didn't get any good pictures of Kylie and Bracken, they were too busy playing together to look at me while I took a picture. We spent the weekend playing in the backyard, with toys, at a little community water park, and swimming in their subdivision's pool. The kids loved playing in the swimming pool. Bracken learned how to hold his breath and kept dropping our keys in the water and going under with his eyes open to get them, then he'd come up gasping for breath and run to the edge. We laughed so hard. Thanks for letting us come visit guys, we wished you lived closer!

Our Mornings

Bracken is usually eating breakfast when Chandra wakes up. As soon as he hears her coos or crys he freezes and says, "Mom! Chandra is awake!" then scrambles down from his high chair to run to her side and talk to her. "Good morning Precious, hello Little Sweetheart! Did you sleep like a duck? It's okay, Bracken is here." When I change her diaper he always grabs the dirty diaper to throw away for me, walking slowly and looking at me until I notice him and make a big deal about it.

Then our morning continues: Green smoothies and pancakes for breakfast, dishes, do our Big 5(bed made, hair combed, say prayers, brush teeth, get dressed), sing our scripture song and read scriptures, and then play on the floor with these adorable munchkins. After our little routine we either do house chores, some activity at home, or go play with Bracken's friends Bella or Jairus. Our days are not always smooth, but sticking to this little morning routine makes a huge difference.

4 Months

We love Chandra's smiles and laughter. Bracken and I make fools of ourselves to get her laughing, and she always lights up when Brian talks to her. She coos, squeals, "talks" and gurgles like crazy. Especially during the prayers at church :) ...oh well, at least they're happy loud noises.

Chandra's been rolling over for several weeks, now she's scooting as well. She's not very fast, but between rolling, rocking, pulling the carpet, and pushing herself forward with her legs she can get to the toys she wants. It's so funny to watch her move.

Pals

Bracken loved having Brian around so much this summer. This picture is from Brian's birthday in June. We went to the park and they tried making paper boats to float down the canal, but they all sank, so they used sticks instead. They went on bike rides multiple times a week, usually to buy $.75 day old bread from the Nut and Candy shop. They go to Parowan each week to mow the Parowan lawn. We'd go to the park, on walks or play baseball or football on our front lawn in the evenings. Brian is busy with studies and work now that he's back in school, but he still tries to have quality time with his little guy in the evenings as often as possible. Brian is such a good dad!