Pumpkin Nuts

Growing up I always thought that Halloween was just a prelude to the fun holidays, the holiday you almost skip over to get Thanksgiving and Christmas. But, lately I've begun to believe that it is one of the most fun, because it's when we all get excited for this part of the year. Decorations come out, people start to gather, and best of all, treats come out of the woodwork!

So, last night we headed over to have dinner and carve pumpkins with some family. It was a blast to be with all ages of kids. There seem to be several age stages to pumpkin carving.

1. So young that you have no idea what is going on.

2. Someone else carves the pumpkin with your instructions.

3. You spend a lot of time drawing, tracing, cutting, and it's very important that it turns out

4. The age when you begin to freehand and hope you don't cut off your finger.

We had so much fun, and the caramel apples at the end didn't hurt. Thanks Kevin and Heather!

Cooper participated in dinner and showed support in some Halloween pajamas.

We were all carving with little teeny toothpick knives, which actually worked really well.

But, what the heck Heather? Even Mercer looks a little worried.

Steven had a new idea for his pumpkin this year. He had me find a teeny pumpkin and a very tall one. He carved bars on the big pumpkin and had me carve a deranged face on the small one. It actually turned out really cute, but with the flash of the camera you can't see the light shining through.

Happy Pre-Halloween Celebrations!

Paul Mitchell Spokane

A few people have asked me about Steven's job, so here are some pictures of the school! They are just beginning enrollment, and classes start pretty soon. The school has come so far just in the few weeks that I've seen it. I can't wait to see the finished product. I only took a couple of pictures, just imagine the rest!

The reception area...

Some of the stations..

Cooper loves it inside the school, he found out this week that it echoes..

A Few Things

Yesterday we pretended it was our anniversary. Steven recently began working for our brother-in-law George at the new Paul Mitchell the School, Spokane. Steven is the Director of Admissions, and he's loving every minute of it! But, unfortunately the first day that classes begin (November 4th) is our anniversary. So, we took advantage of a semi-empty Saturday to celebrate!

We were lucky enough to have Mercer, so we headed to Old European, our biannual celebration spot! We had such a great time, but there were two moments in particular that stuck out.

1. Mercer ate a huge blob of butter before Steven or I could stop him. He made a funny face and then looked at us and said, "Yum. This tastes like ice cream!"

2. After ordering orange juice for Mercer, our waitress brought us all water to start. Mercer took a drink and said, "Guys, this tastes like water." With a clear look of disdain for both of us.

We ran a few errands, and then we headed over to Mallory's last soccer game of the season. Steve had a blast playing catch with Austin and Landon. I'm sure it was his talent that enabled him to catch the ball more then Landon, and not his height.

I really love this picture, and I wish that I had been closer to get a better shot. I was watching Cooper and when I looked over to the game of catch, I couldn't find Landon. Then I found that he had stopped playing to talk to Mercer about all his cars.

As as special surprise, Steven got us tickets to go see Phantom of the Opera at the Opera house in Spokane. We went to dinner at PF Changs beforehand with Kiley, Jarom, Staci, and Sydni. Jarom was mortified when I pulled out the camera for the waitress to take our picture. I'm glad I did it though!

It was so fun to have an evening with everyone, and the show was amazing. Special thanks to Matt and Dana who watched Cooper for a very long time so we could go.

Happy Anniversary!

We got the treat bags done! It was a task that I was not able to complete without help. Thanks Steve!

We were a little tired after.

One of our Halloween decorations is a pillow that looks like a ghost. The past couple of times Mercer has stayed with us he has really gotten attached to it, and he calls it "My Ghost." So, last night I told him that he could sleep with it, since after reading stories he walked upstairs and got into bed with it. So, here is Mercer and his Ghost, each in their own little beds made by Mercer.

A Few Things....

Tim's braces are off! He looks so handsome, and he says that he doesn't really remember them being on. Amazing news since he got them off yesterday...

I'm working on a crazy project for Copper Basin right now. Hundreds of Halloween treat bags for kids who come to their model homes. I had 10 huge bags of candy this morning, and they only filled 40 bags. So, Tim and I went back today and got 20 bags more. The looks we got were fun!

Also, we went to the doctor today, and we found out that we are having a girl! We weren't sure how our appointment would go today, last week they told me they heard two heartbeats. So, we weren't sure what would happen today. We are so excited and open to girl names!

Tim came with us and it was so fun. He took our picture together..

I'll post the end result of our Halloween extravaganza!

Nobody Was Watching?!

Cooper is almost crawling, he drags himself around the house. I only realized there was a method to his madness when I noticed the diaper basket constantly messed up.

Introducing...Cooper's new favorite toy, diapers!

A Little Too Close

Certainly not like his mother.