This is Halloween.

We started our Halloween festivities with pumpkin carving at the Merkleys.  Anyone who knows Lacey, knows she is one legit pumpkin carver and knows how to get the job done.  We were a little rusty because we hadn't carved since 2008!  It was a blast though, and I love the way our pumpkins turned out.  Lacey found a perfect pirate pattern for us:)

:everyone hard at work:

Cody was meticulous with his carving (probably worked an hour longer than the rest of us!).  His cuts were the smoothest I've ever seen though, so I guess his hard work paid off!

Cody did the pirate and I did the graveyard ghost.

The little one is for Jaden:)

Uncle Danny and Aunt Monique invited us down to their place for a fabulous Halloween party.  Monique went all out!  It was so fun.  Can't forget their famous homemade brick-oven pizza!  We spent most the night by the fire to keep warm:)

The ward Halloween party was a hit!  Costume parade, cake-walk, face-painting, pumpkin decorating, doughnuts on a string, pumpkin bowling, giant spooky maze, and the traditional trunk-or-treat.

We didn't think Jaden would be too keen on struttin' his costume down the stage for the costume parade, but we were SO wrong.  He LOVED showing it off!  We could not get him off the stage, so he shared with Kenzie and Clark's turn too (his best buddies).

It was a bit chilly, but that didn't slow Jaden's trunk-or-treating down.  He was all over the parking lot collecting whatever candy he could see.

The Wade's hosted quite the costume party this year!  Everyone had such a good time, I think it will be an annual tradition.  Brittany totally rocked it.

Meet Mario and Luigi... Cutler style.

My stash was so huge!  Kinda hard to talk... and breathe! ;)

Everyone looked awesome!

These were the costume winners:

Darth Vader: scariest costume (Mike M.)
Doc Holliday: best costume (Mikal W.)

Jonathon Goldsmith (a.k.a. most interesting man in the world): funniest costume (Chuckie)

Preston (Doc from Back to the Future) received honorable mentions for scariest and best costume, and we Mario Brothers got an honorable mention for funniest costume:)

Ultimate Werewolf = best Halloween game ever!

(comparable to mafia, but soooo much better)

We made some cake pops for the party and ran out of lollipop sticks.  So we made one giant cake pop to finish off the goods.  Mike ended up taking on the challenge, and got about half way through it:)

Tonight was Jaden's first official night of trick-or-treating.  He grasped the concept pretty quickly and had a lot of fun with it.  Super, super, cute:)  

We stopped at the Wade's house afterwards for the classic movie Young Frankenstein, goodies, and games.  We probably stayed waaayy too late for a school/work night, but what do you do when the fun won't stop? :)  Jaden and Kenzie were sooo stinkin' cute saying their "night-nights" to eachother... hugs, kisses, and snuggles.  Adorable.

Happy Halloween everyone!

a day at the farm

We had a great time at Kelsay Farms over the weekend.  Jaden absolutely loved everything!  We could have spent days there without getting bored. 

:Straw Bale Mountain:

(complete with tunnels, slides, tractor of hay, etc.)

:Baby Barnyard:

:Moo Choo Express:

:Pumpkin Bowling:

:Cows and Calves:

:Corn Crib:

This was definitely Jaden's favorite!

:Milking Parlor tour:

On our way out, Jaden picked a pumpkin to take home.

: autumn :

I seriously LOVE the fall.  I can't get enough of the beautiful sights, colors, smells, everything! 

I have been relishing in the view from my backyard:

He's 2!

That's right.  Our little guy is two!  It's hard to believe I'm the mother of a two-year old!  Where did our baby go?  He's so grown up and talking up a storm.  There is never a dull moment with Jaden around.  He's all about F.U.N. and we just can't get enough of his cuteness.  Happy Birthday Jaden!

Jaden has been celebrating his birthday for the last two weeks with packages & cards coming at random times.  He gets so excited and knows exactly what to do!:)

Thank you for spoiling our son!  He is so lucky to have so many love him!  He definitely felt special.

We've been telling Jaden he gets to move to a "big boy bed" when he turns 2.  He was stoked!  He loves his new toddler version crib, and has done great!  Didn't even bat an eye.  He still waits in his bed until I come into the room to get him.  Wow, right?!?  OR he would rather wait than wander into the darkness of his bedroom... it really is quite dark:)

Breakfast in bed on your birthday has become a tradition in our family.  Jaden wanted to eat breakfast in "daddy's bed" so that he did.

Jaden's birthday was on General Conference Sunday so we stayed in and watched conference, ate cake and ice cream, and let Jaden open up presents from us. 

The cougar shirt is not from us... AGGIES through and through!  We have a little cougar in our house though!:)  Casey and Kimber taught him the ways and Jaden's loves the fight song.

Thanks for the cute shirt guys, he likes it a lot!

Then it was party time!  We did a Halloween themed party the Saturday following his birthday.  I knew we would do a Halloween theme someday with him having an October birthday.  Originally, I didn't think I would end up doing a party this year, but as we got closer and closer to the big day, I just couldn't help myself!  It was SOOOO much fun planning and prepping for this party.  Halloween is just such a cute holiday if you leave out all the scary gory stuff.

The little ones came all dressed up in their costumes.  They all looked adorable!

From left to right...

Jaden: pirate

Kenzie: witch

Clark: Buzz Lighyear

Brody: dalmatian dog

 Cole: ninja

Ella: witch

Adrienne: ballerina

Kiera: witch

Audrey: stylin' toddler model in her jeggings and boots;)

Then it was time to dig into the grub.

Everything on the menu had a spooky twist to it.  It was a lot of fun!

Love the 3 little witches all eating together.

We did a couple activities: 

'doughnuts on a string' eating contest (Kiera was the champ)

and bobbing for apples:)

The older kids seemed to like the 'doughnuts on a string' activity, and the little ones preferred the bobbing.  They were splashing and laughing non-stop!  It was really cute.

After we dried off, we came back in for birthday cake.

What started out as a giant cupcake, ended up just a cupcake top.  It sadly toppled over in the night, but was still pretty cute.

After stuffing their faces with frosting, we opened presents.  Everyone was so generous and Jaden LOVES... seriously LOVES his gifts!

 He's been playing with them non-stop since.  Can you tell everyone is fully aware of his 'Cars' obsession? :)

Thanks everyone!

We had a candy table for everyone to collect some spooky goodies on their way out.

Some birthday moments caught on video:

Happy Birthday to our sweet 2-year-old:)

On a side note:
Jaden didn't grow a whole lot the last six months, but this guy is now 37 inches tall and 34 lbs.
Still off the chart in every way.

*my 27 year old man*

Happy Birthday Cody!  

My hubby celebrated his 27th birthday at the end of September.  We're both inching closer and closer to 30 which feels crazy!  We had a great time partying it up the weekend before his birthday with some of our closest friends down in Gatlinburg, Tennessee

We stayed in a 4-bedroom cabin with a total of 7 families:)  It was cozy, but such a blast!  Cody and I bunked with the Merkleys, Wades, and Becks.  Crazy nights... super fun!

  

Some of the highlights were: 

spotting a raccoon family living under one of the hot tubs

playing games late into the night

exploring the quaint town of Gatlinburg in the Smokies... beautiful!

delicious meals prepared by all
nature walk

a huge black bear walking around our cabin

the birthday boys 

Cody and Preston's birthdays are 4 days apart and they both turned 27.  We figured it was tradition to celebrate their day together after the super fun luau last year.

 

Rachael made a fantastic ice cream cake (Cody LOVES ice cream cake!) and we had cupcakes too.  Happy Birthday boys!

 Here's a few pictures of some of the fun we had in Gatlinburg.  There were soooo many things to do!  I wish we had one more day to explore it all.

Cody did a round of mini-golf.  How could he resist?  Isn't the scenery gorgeous? 

 Cody, Jaden, and the Goffs took a ride on this 5D horse simulator thing.  I guess it's 5D since you get to shoot stuff on the screen and dirt & water spray up at you as you ride!  Ha, they had a great time.

 The candy shops and fudge were most impressive.

On Cody's actual birthday, he was busy in school and had to study for an exam in the evening.  We were able to do an early morning breakfast in bed before school, yummy dinner that night, and treats of course!

 

Happy Birthday babe.  Love you!