Happy Halloween!!

The boys made Halloween costumes pretty easy on me this year. We just had to choose a weapon and the rest just followed. The weapons of choice this year were guns (ever since Jer shot his dear the boys have been obsessed with them! So naturally they were Cowboys! Every time they changed their minds I would just have to tell them that they would not be able to carry their guns (not that they could at school anyway)...So cowboys they were! We went to dinner at some friends house and then headed out into the pouring....miserable rain. I made the boys take off their costumes..except for the guns of course to do any trick or treating! So the neighborhood just thought the boys were gun crazy kids! The rain may have slowed them but it definitely didn't stop them, we made it around the block and that was good enough for me and gratefully for them too! Here are some pictures of them when they actually looked like Cowboys! Jer and I got dressed up Friday night for our friend party...I'll post more on that when I get all the pictures from it....Robin! Tate smiling but not looking at the camera...even with a gun at his head!:)
Here is the Chub next to what was left of his green pumpkin! He loved that thing and it showed, he had it inside more than it sat on our porch!

Cole trying to be a tough guy! He was mad because he didn't get the hat of his choice!

Tate had a little Halloween program, his Teacher was nice enough to do it on Tuesday so we could go the the elementary parade on Thursday. I don't think he is going to be the performer of the family. He sang and knew all the words, but did none of the actions! I sure love him and his "I don't care attitude." Here he is with Brecken, Grandma and Carter.

A rare shot of Tate looking at the camera!

Lake Powell TRI....

Finally after months of talking about and training for the Lake Powell Tri, Jer got his Day! After a crazy week with Red Ribbon stuff, Young Women's, and kids we headed down Thursday for the race and my much needed vacation! We stopped off in St George for the night and with some luck all of our friends were able to get work off and come down with us. We went to the St George temple Friday morning then headed for Lake Powell. Jer will probably do another Tri but it definitely will not be the Lake Powell one! While the scenery can not be beat, no one was impressed with the organization or the grab bags. The weather didn't cooperate with us either, it was rainy and cold the entire race... Definitely not my idea of a Lake Powell vacation. Jer finished in 2:42.52 which is not too bad for an "average guy"! The great friends and the feeling of accomplishment made up for the bad weather and poor organization. The Crew after the race
Jer and I

Jer & Jer kept passing each other at different points throughout the race, but ended up finishing together.

Look at their competition with a photo finish, I think she won!!

The "freezing" wives club

Jer at the beginning of the run, looks like a drenched rat....poor guy not only had to ride in the pouring rain, but had soaked tennis shoes to put on when he started the run!

What can I say, what a fashion statement! This was Robin's attempt to keep her hair dry. None of us knew why since the rest of our bodies were soaked.

Jer finishing the swim, he said this was definitely the hardest part for him.


Everyone else had a wet suit on, Jer and the big man were the few proud enough to attempt it without one. The water was warmer than the air, but Jer will probably use one in the future due to the fact that they are like wearing floaties.

The boys heading out to set up for the race.

PUMPKIN PATCH!!

Halloween season would not be official if we didn't make the annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We actually grew pumpkins in our garden this year, but most...alright all of them are about the size of an enlarged softball! So it was nice to go and get some pumpkins that we would actually be able to carve! We went to a patch in west Layton, the kids really enjoy the tractor ride out to the patch to pick the pumpkins. After they have the "perfect" pumpkin we head to the Pizza Factory for dinner. It ended up being a crazy and late night because everyone else in Utah had the same idea we had, but I don't know what we were expecting going on a Monday night. But the kids had a blast and are excited with the pumpkins they got! Carter and I on the tractor ride!

A family pic.

Carter was pretty proud of the green pumpkin he choose.

Tate helped Grandpa pick the perfect pumpkin and after looking around decided that it really was the perfect pumpkin and asked Grandpa if he could find another one!!

Jason and Tom enjoying the tractor ride....maybe a little too much!

Cole's perfect pick!

Part of the crew on the Tractor ride!

More of the Crew!

The whole crew getting ready to go pick pumpkins!

UEA

For UEA we headed up to the cabin (I drove and Jeremy rode his bike....he said it was training for his upcoming TRI, I say it was to get out of a car ride with 3 busy boys!). We always have such a blast and the kids never want to leave. Everyone (who lives in the State of Utah that is) ended up coming which makes the trip that much more fun. We never really have an agenda when we go, but that's the beauty of Huntsville. The TV stays off and the kids are outside running free, riding 4-wheelers, chasing chickens, catching grasshoppers, playing football or baseball and anything else that involves getting dirty or playing with bugs! We love the cabin and can't wait to head back up! At night the kids would entertain everyone by having a wrestling match with Grandpa Stuart. He had just as much fun as the kids and it really helped the kids settle down for bed!?!

Carters form of lacrosse!

More wrestling... note Lainey trying to help free carter from Grandpa!

The kids could really 4-wheel all day and with the sleds hooked on the back it allows everyone to participate the whole time!!

We even made it over to lake and Jer would have done one last ski trip but the boats battery was dead! The water was freezing so nobody SHOULD have swam, but that didn't stop my genius husband from pressuring Cole and Olivia to jump in with him. Needless to say we left promptly after they jumped in to go home and warm up!

All the buoys had been pulled onto shore which made a good play toy for the kids!

Jensen, Tate and Carter making a sandcastle on the anchor of one of the buoys!

The Brown is DOWN!!!!

October has been crazy for Jer between traveling for work and training for his triathlon. We can now scratch hunting off of the list of things to do! Jers hunt opened on Saturday and he and his brothers headed up at the crack of dawn to see if they could get one. Unfortunately they had so much fog that they could barley see in front of them let alone find a deer to shoot. So yesterday Jer headed up the mountain by himself(much to the dismay of his nagging wife), and shot this 2 point. He had hiked in about three miles and had to drag the thing back out all by himself (I'd like to say I told you so, but i felt bad for him..he was toast when he got home.) He vowed he would never hunt again, I told him he just needed to never hunt again....alone!! But we have lots of meat if anyone is looking for a good deer steak!?! The boys were mesmerized by the deer head!
My hunter with his kill!

The boys could not stop touching it and are already talking about when they get to go hunting!

Conference Weekend!

We had a great conference weekend last week. It was very relaxing and turned out to be a beautiful weekend! I for one will not complain about the nice weather! On Sunday in between the sessions we went for a little hike up North Canyon. The boys did great and had fun looking for things to make a "craft" with to keep them occupied during the second session (no it didn't help keep their attention but it was worth a shot!)

What a handsome bruit!
Love this picture!

When we got to the top the boys wanted to try and help Jer spot some deer!

The trouble makers with their bags of goodies!

Cole is getting pretty good with the camera!

My Soccer Players!

Now that the soccer season is almost over I am finally getting around to blogging about it!! Cole and Tate played again this year. Coles age group is actually getting fun to watch. They have positions and pass... its not the bunch ball that Tates still is. Oh well I guess that it only gets better from here(until Carter starts!). I was a little worried for Tate last year cause he could have cared less about soccer but he has really surprised me this year and is a pretty good little player. I think it helps that he has a few of his friends on the team and loves going to the games. They each have one more game left and then life can return to normal and not revolve around soccer! Tater Tot!

Cole playing, he really seemed to enjoy defense!

My soccer players!