Fall Goodness!

We went to the Pumpkin Patch before Halloween to pick out some pumpkins, and basically to bask in all those fall colors and decor! MY FAVORITE!

Rachel was a beautiful Cleopatra for Halloween!

Doesn't she just look Egytian???

Daniel was a Transformer....BumbleBee to be exact!

Halloween silliness!!!

Mr. Tough Guy!

Some Random Rachel Beauty

Maybe I'm just the mom....but I think my girl is gorgeous!!!

I love you Rachel!!! Don't ever forget how beautiful you are....inside and outside!

Daniel's Favorite New Job

I can't believe that my son is actually old enough to mow the lawn!!! Yikes! We never would have discovered this if Brian hadn't sprained his ankle one saturday in the middle of mowing. Daniel jumped right in and said he could do it. Well....here he is.....

How do you think he likes it??? That is a real smile! He loves it and begs his dad every saturday if he can mow the lawn! I know he will eventually moan and groan about this "chore", but for now, we are enjoying his excitement. It makes him feel big and responsible. GREAT JOB, Daniel! Love you! :)

Volleyball!

Rachel just finished her volleyball season, and she did really great! She has a powerful serve and is getting more confident in bumping as well. She loves this sport, and worked really hard to improve her skills.

Rachel and her friend Alyson at the high school event.

I love her intense look of concentration!

There goes her serve!!!

Happy on and off the court!

Great job this year Rachel! We are so proud of you and all you did this year in volleyball! YOU ROCK!!!

Rain Gutter Regatta

Daniel had a fun Cub Scout event this past summer....the Rain Gutter Regatta! The boys had to build a boat and race it against other cubs. It was pretty fun!
Daniel getting ready for his race...

BLOW....Daniel...BLOW!!!

A close-up of his fancy boat.

Daniel's boat did really well, and his hot air that he blew on it made it really fast! (Was it the boat or the hot air????) Either way, it was a fun event for all! :)

Random Stuff!

Ok, so I haven't blogged for quite awhile, so I am posting a bunch of random stuff that has been going on for the past few months. Lots of pictures to follow....

This is a cute picture of Rachel and Daniel at our family cabin in Utah. This was taken during the summer when we were visiting there.

Here is Rachel on the first day of school. This is her sixth grade year, and she was so excited to begin her last year of elementary school!

All big and bad.....first day of school confidence!

Daniel on the first day of fourth grade! He was also excited to start this school year!

Rachel by the sign on the first day of school. It is our tradition in our family to take a picture in this same spot on the first and last days of school to see how much they have grown!

Daniel at the sign!

I love this picture of Rachel trying to dance with Daisy! Adorable!

Rachel at the grape harvest! Hot and dirty, but such a great service to participate in!

This is an apron I made at our Relief Society craft day. I was really proud of how it turned out...seeing that I am NOT a seamstress! I had some great friends who helped me every stitch of the way! (Literally!)

Cub Scouts!

Daniel has been working really hard in Cub Scouts this past year, and earned his Wolf rank!

Here he is with Cub Master Rusty Moon who is explaining all the awards Daniel has received!

Here I am putting on his Bear neckerchief! He is now officially a Bear!!! Congratulations Daniel! We are so proud of you! Keep it up!

Daniel's 9th Birthday!

Happy Birthday Daniel! July 20......I can't believe you are nine years old! The day started off with balloons in your room to begin the celebration early!

Love balloons!

Excited to open presents!

Finally.....the long-awaited pocketknife!!!

The cake!

Blow....Blow....Blow!!!!

Happy Birthday dear Daniel! We love you so much and hope your ninth year is your best yet!

Yosemite/Visit from the Johnson's!

The day we came home from camping, Brian's sister Tammy and her family came to visit us from Utah. We rarely get company, so it was very exciting to have family come to visit! We took them to Yosemite to enjoy the beauty of that place and the gorgeous waterfalls!

Here is Tammy, Devin, Cody, Chiara and Tyson by the redwood trees!

Chiara, Tammy, Devin, Tyson and Cody at the beautiful lookout for Yosemite.

Rachel by a waterfall.

Chiara, Daniel, Rachel, Devin, Tyson, Cody and Brian posing by a giant redwood tree after lunch.

Postcard scene.....yes I took this picture! Gorgeous!

Daniel and Rachel inserted into the postcard! :)

Tammy and Devin!

Here we are! I love this spot!

Daniel acting cool!

Here we all are: Daniel, Devin, Tammy, Cody, Tyson, Brian, Chiara and Rachel. Love this picture! We had such a great time with the Johnson's! Hope they come back to visit real soon! We love you guys!