Trunk or Treat

We went to my parents ward this year for their annual Trunk or Treat. The ward is huge now and last year Lillian made out like a bandit with all the candy, so I knew they wouldn't feel bad about not being able to trick or treat on Halloween this year. I hate it when it falls on a Sunday!! We actually went to our new ward's Trunk or Treat also, on Wednesday, but I didn't really have a chance to take any pictures. Oh well, next year. Last year, Preston was too young to really do much trick or treating, but this year was an entirely different story. He picked it up, so quickly!! I took Lillian around to all the cars and Brandon took Preston. Lillian was Tinker Bell, and Preston was the Gingerbread Boy. Several months ago, when Preston was beginning to run, we began singing the gingerbread boy line, "run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me I'm the gingerbread man." But instead of saying gingerbread man we would say Preston man. It was so cute because he would start running, usually when Lillian was trying to chase him, and he would pick up speed going faster till he crashed into the couch. Sometimes we would intentionally chase him just so we could say it. Eventually he would start running faster after we said it!! Anyway, that is why he was the Gingerbread boy for Halloween. I made his costume this year, and it was really easy. I found a pair of brown sweats and a brown matching sweater and then some Halloween fabric to sew on. It turned out beautifully and he looked so handsome!

 After watching Lillian on Wednesday at our trunk or treat, Preston was a pro! Now we just need to work on saying "trick or treat." I wasn't able to get to many pictures of Lillian, she was fast and sometimes too close to the camera. The ones I did get were cute, though. She was really good about say "trick or treat" and then saying "thank you" after receiving her candy. I was very impressed!!

 Ooooo...he's so stinkin cute!!!

 I can't remember what he was looking at, but whatever it was he really loved it.

 Candy, please!!!

 I totally forgot to bring her silver shoes!! Oh well, at least she was comfortable.

 More candy, please!!

 Sitting on Grandma Mickelsen's lap after going trick or treating. They had a TON of candy!!

 Do you see what I mean about not getting both kids to look at me at the same time. AHHHHHHH!!!

He went right for the candy and if we didn't catch him he would put the whole thing in his mouth, wrapper and all!! He wanted the candy that bad!! LOL

My Pumpkin pictures

I love Autumn!! It is my favorite season. I love the colors, the smells and the cooler weather it, usually, brings. I realize, of course, living in southern California that our Fall is nothing like what it actually is in other states. But that's okay, I love visiting Utah in the fall because the weather is so perfect. Anyway, moving on, I have a tradition that I started when Lillian was born of going to a pumpkin patch and taking pictures of her and the pumpkins. I have continued that as I have added another kid. This year it seemed almost impossible, however to find the time to go. My Saturday's kept having things piled on top of them, but we were eventually able to go, the day before Halloween. Not the best idea, since the place was packed and we had a good distance to walk. The kids didn't mind and actually really enjoyed the outing, even though it was short due to other activities taking place that day. I actually got some great shots of the kids in front of the pumpkins. However, my favorite picture of the two of them was actually outside the bathroom we stopped at before beginning our "trek" to the pumpkin patch. While waiting for Brandon, Lillian climbed up on top of a rock and, of course, Preston wanted up too. Such a darling picture!!

 As it turned out getting them both to sit AND smile at the same time was next to impossible, but whatever they still looked adorable.

 She has grown so much since last year.

 and he isn't far behind her either.

 My favorite picture of Lillian, it turned out beautifully!!

 Lillian loved running around to all these things and sticking her head in, she requested a picture, of course, at each one!!

 Preston wanted to do whatever Lillian was doing too, but getting the concept through proved a little more of a challenge. We did eventually get him to put his head through and then he wouldn't stop!!!

 His 2yr molars are coming in, so he is in the "chewy" stage. It's either his fingers or the bottle!!

 Again, getting BOTH kids to look at you was really challenging!!

 We almost go both of them....

 This was the best one!! Oh well, at least both their heads were in the holes. LOL (next time we will work on the smiling part.) ;-)

 Preston was fascinated by all the pumpkins. He kept running around to all of them and saying "punkin." It was hard to get him to sit still, yes I realize he's not quite two and toddlers don't sit still anyway, and smile for me. He was just too distracted by all these pumpkins.

 These are the best ones we could get of the 3 of us with the pumpkins. Wish we could have gotten Brandon in the picture, but we didn't have anyone to take it.

 As you can tell, Lillian was really hard to photograph. LOL Her eyes were closed in most of them. Still a cute picture, though.

It was really fun to take the kids to the Irvine Railroad's Pumpkin Patch and I am so glad we were able to make/find the time. They had a wonderful time, especially eating the bag of popcorn we got them.

Preston's haircut

Just after my birthday, Brandon informed me that he needed a hair cut. So after dinner, I had him sit down in the bathroom so I could cut his hair. I have been doing it for most of our marriage and have gotten quite proficient at it. I am able to to do the "steps" and everything. After his hair cut, Preston wanted one too, which was totally fine with me since he needed one too. I really haven't been able to get an actual picture of him getting his hair cut since the first 2 times we BOTH had to hold him so he would sit still enough for me or Brandon to cut it. The first time his hair was cut, it was actually just a trim and I had my friend Cyndi do it for me. It was really a quick job since it was really hard for us to get him to sit still, but it was enough. Anyway, since this time around he wanted to get his hair cut, I wasn't going to pass up a golden opportunity. He climbed right up into the chair and sat still for me,  I had Brandon grab the camera for me and take a video.  So it's just the last few minutes of him getting his hair cut, but he did such a good job sitting their for me and it turned out great!!

My Birthday

Once again it's that time of year. My favorite season, holiday, oh yeah and my birthday.  My mom and I love decorating cakes, especially around the holidays. This year was no different, I wanted a Halloween themed cake, of course. After a little deliberation I finally decided on a graveyard decoration. The cake was cherry chip, my new second favorite flavor of cake. The cake turned out really cute, and tasted even better. Lillian and grandma helped me decorate the cake. We went to Olive Garden, my favorite restaurant, for dinner. I couldn't decide so I got my usual, Chicken Alfredo Pizza and the Chicken Gnocchi Soup.....double yummy!! My parents and us really enjoyed dinner! The kids ate well too, even Preston who is not much of a pasta lover.  Not sure how he is related to me...since I LOVE pasta but oh well. Lillian absolutely loved the fettuccine alfredo, I think almost more that mac and cheese. Now there's a girl just like her mother, LOL, and yes when I was a little girl, I used to request, home made mind you, mac and cheese for my birthday dinner. Mmmmmm just thinking about it makes me want some now. :-D Anyway, now-a-days, I still love mac and cheese, but my favorite is fettuccine alfredo.
After dinner we headed back to my parents place to decorate the cake I had made in the morning. Traffic was still bad anyway, being a Friday, and neither Brandon nor I were in a big hurry to sit in it. It was a wonderful birthday, and I really loved being able to spend the time with my family. Thanks for a great evening!!

 Use your imagination!! My birthday cake.

 One of two movies my loving hubby got me. He also got me a little rechargeable hand held vacuum. (Something I asked for, so that Lillian and Preston can help clean up their mess after eating).

 Of course, no one can open presents without my little "helper." Where ever there are gifts to be opened a little Lillian isn't far away. :-D

My parents got me a http://www.pamperedchef.com/ pizza stone, which I had asked for. With a growing family one pizza isn't enough, okay most of it my hubby eats, but think down the road. LOL So anyway, I needed another stone so I can cook 2 pizza's at one time. That's actually what was in the big box, the pizza stone box, (see my lap). My parents also got me this little recipe collection from Pampered Chef. It was one you downloaded and printed off. He printed them off at work on their color laser, they look beautiful.   (Note to self, must get myself a color laser printer.)

 My little boy waiting for cake and ice cream. Rocky Road ice cream and cherry chip cake.....yummy!!

Lillian wanted to pose for the camera, so that's what these last two are of. She loves taking pictures and then asks if she can see the picture. She will continue this routine till you tell her no more. LOL

Lillian's Birthday Party!!

My little birthday girl, Lillian!! Can't believe she is 4 already. 

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 Lillian invited some of her friends over to celebrate her birthday. I will try to remember to scan the invite and paste it here. It turned out really cute. She wanted a Strawberry Shortcake themed party. I was eventually able to find everything I needed for her party, after going to several stores to find Strawberry stuff, thanks to Party City! We played a few games, Strawberry themed of course. We played Berry Walk (musical charis), pin the strawberry on the vine and Berry Toss (like bean bag toss). The girls all really enjoyed them, but since I was the one doing the games, there aren't any photos. Next we opened presents. Lillian loved everything she got and the girls really enjoyed "helping" her open them.

Larissa (Rissa) Taylor with her gift for Lillian. Danica is in the front.

Opening the gift from Sariah and Danica.

Coloring books.

Sticker and coloring book.

Wondering what else is in the bag.

Tinker Bell stamp set.

Opening the gift from Jenna Case........

.....with a little help from Jenna and Danica.

A Rapunzel doll, Cinderella music cd and princess silly bands.

Showing Mommy what she got!! We haven't quite got the concept of holding gifts up and still showing our face. LOL

Examining all her gifts and trying to decide which to open first.

The girls!! Rissa Taylor, Jenna Case, Lillian, Sariah and Danica Wood holding the gifts they got for Lillian. Lillian is holding the gift Jenna got her.

The cake!!! And yes I did make it!! It turned out better than I expected. I was really please how well it turned out. At first I wasn't sure how it was going to look. I had a picture in my head and on paper of what I wanted it to look like, but as you know actually achieving that is an entirely different matter.

The next activity was the Strawberry Shortcake pinata!! The girls each took turns pulling a string while Mark Woods held it up. Brandon had packed it really good the night before, so it was full of candy. ;) Lillian's turn.

We let the birthday girl go first then each of the girls took a turn. Rissa is taking her turn.

Then Sariah.

Guess we missed getting a photo of Jenna's turn. Danica is taking her turn, with a little help from mom.

Then it was Lillian's turn again, and she pulled..........

.........the right ribbon!! All the candy started coming out.

Tracy helped the rest of the candy come out and the girls went hog wild. 

Jenna grabbing all the candy she can to put in her bag.

Lillian instead chose to eat the candy first, instead of putting it in her bag. Guess we need to work on that concept. LOL

Rissa and the candy.

Lillian still eating the candy.

Jenna, Rissa, and Lillian gathering candy.

Rissa holding her stash of candy, waiting for her bag. LOL

Tandy was my photographer for most of the party. She was trying to get the girls to all smile, so she was having them say something, but I can't remember what it was.

Smile!!

Lighting the candles on the birthday cake. Lillian absolutely loved her cake.

Singing Happy Birthday to Lillian.

Blowing out the candles. Can she do it??????

Yup, she did it!! We all enjoyed the yummy strawberry cake and vanilla ice cream. I hated having to cut the cake, but after all it is for eating. LOL Lillian had a wonderful time playing with her friends and cousin. All the girls had a wonderful time.  Lillian gave each of her guests a party bag filled with Strawberry Shortcake themed items. I think all the girls made out like bandits, with the party bags and the prizes from the games. LOL!!!

Jenna Case, Lillian's cousin.

Larissa (Rissa) Taylor (I don't think she wanted to smile for mom. ;-D)

Sariah and Danica Woods.