Cascade Springs in the Fall

The first fall Craig and I spent married we discovered that Cascade Springs was the most beautiful, picturesque, nearly perfect location to visit when the leaves start to turn. I couldn't wait to make our, now, annual trip up there. Though the canyon road is small, windy and a bit scary it is so worth the, nerve racking, trip to take in the scenery.



We began our climb to the sound of some crying children in the back. Big H and Baby M were having a competition of sorts. The crying continued as we drew nearer to the Cascade Springs turn off. We finally reached it! Now only 7 more miles and we could park and get everyone happy again. Craig felt an urgency so he drove as fast as he dared down the winding rode. This wild ride was apparently Big H's limit. He soon threw up all over himself causing Craig and I to feel horrible for thinking he was just being fussy poop.



Well we reached the parking lot and managed to get every one cleaned up and decently happy. Next was the trek down to the springs. It was just too bad we had forgotten a stroller, and a baby carrier.

We now marched one grumpy child and one fairly happy child down the trail. The baby rode the trip out in the diaper bag.

Signs and rock walls, just a few of the many distractions that made walking two kids along the trail so fun!




I guess they're our reminder to stop and smell the flowers. Though smelling the flowers is harder when you have limited time between feedings and fussiness.

We tried to enjoy ourselves anyway- even with the two 18 month old children straining our arms and shoulders.



Big H continued to grump, so we parked him on this bench and walked a little ahead. Little H said, "Uh Oh!" and went back to get his brother. Look at him holding his arms out telling Big H to "Come on"!



Though the scenery was beautiful it did not seem to meet it's usual standard of fall splendor.





We did manage to survive our little family outing which I guess is saying something. I'd still say it was somewhat enjoyable even though there were a lot of miserable factors involved.

Grandpa's Pumpkin Party!

It's a great party and a great tradition! One of my favorite events happened on Saturday: Grandpa's Pumpkin Party. It's always so fun for me to think of a new costume to wear, enjoy the family, eat some good food, play some fun games and get lots of pumpkins.



This year I was so excited to dress up as Audrey Hepburn, but I couldn't figure out how to tie the rest of the family's costume's in with mine. In the end we went with a celeb, Hollywood, movie type theme.

Craig and I dressed up as each others celebrity crush. He was McDreamy from Grey's Anatomy- I can't help but find Patrick Dempsey absolutely charming and I don't feel bad about it because I think he looks a little like Craig- and I was Audrey of course.




The boys were dressed up after a famous movie quote. Does anyone know what it is?





Here's another hint. This is my cousin Jeni dressed up as Dorothy.



"Lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!"

As promised the evening was full of. . .

. . .cute costumes,





. . .good food,




. . .fun games,




. . .and lots of pumpkins!






Thanks to Alisha for carrying this little tiger around all night!



And thanks to Grandma and Grandpa G. for another great party!

How you ask. . .I do not know

We've been putting the boys down in there beds at bedtime, and then as soon as they climb out and start playing we put them in their cribs. We really don't need the transition to happen right now, and I really didn't know if they were ready, so we haven't been pushing it. Which is why I was shocked when, on the third night of this nightly routine, the boys stayed in their beds. They did it the next night too. And the next day at nap time. I still can't believe it!



P.S. Big H did fall off the top bunk twice.

P.P.S. He now won't get of anything by himself no matter how close it is to the ground.

Poor Little Baby!

Earlier this week, while I was up feeding the baby, I noticed he had a white film in his mouth. I thought it was just milk he needed to swallow so I didn't worry about it. Then I noticed that it was still there the next day so I called my mom to see if it was something to worry about. She said it may be thrush and to call the doctor. The doctor said the same thing, so we took him in and sure enough he has thrush.



As I looked at it more closely I couldn't believe I ever thought it was just milk. It was all over his mouth. It looked just horrible!



Poor little baby. Thank goodness we got a prescription, and thank goodness it's working so well.

Our Summer Full of Projects!

Our Dresser

I was tired of the dresser we had, and I knew we would need a new one for the baby, so I started searching KSL. That way I could have a new dresser and we could rotate our current dressers so the baby would have dresser too.

Before




After



Our Nightstands

Another KSL find.

Before



After



Upstairs Bathroom

We decided to switch the bathroom fixtures around, so I could have somewhere to put my stuff upstairs.

Before




After




The hardwood floor

Our hardwood floor really needed some TLC. We used the yard sale money to complete this project. The floor looks great now!

Before




After



The boys' beds

You already saw this project in the making. Here it is complete and in their room- now if we could only get them to sleep on it.




The boys' dresser

No before picture. This was our dresser, and it is now the boys dresser. The refinish turned out beautiful. Way to go Craig!

This Weekend

It's all about Big H. . .


. . .who finds ways to tug at my little heart. How cute is he making a poncho out of this blanket made to go in the car seat? The boys love fleece. Especially when it has some fringe on it. I think I will be making him a fleece poncho for Christmas.



. . .who looks so handsome in his fancy new shirt. A great find at DI. We knew we had to by it- and take pictures especially for Grandpa Stratton. Too bad there was only one.




. . .who is getting so cute with Baby M. I love it!



It's all about Little H. . .

. . .who is too cute when he tries on mom's earrings.




. . .who is becoming such a big help. I taught him how to hold the binkie in for Baby M.



. . .who fell into the ditch. Now both boys have taken an unexpected dip.



Look at all that water.



. . .who decided the paint looked like a yummy treat, and had to get cleaned up. And had to be changed yet again.



It's all about Baby M. . .

. . .who is becoming so cute and alert.





It's all about Craig. . .

. . .who painted the boys bunk beds. . .




. . .and the extra dresser for the purple room.



It's all about me. . .

. . .receiving my sales tax license in the mail. One step closer to having a business license. It will just be a small cloth diapering business. I'm not sure how well it will do,- and I feel a little crazy for doing it- but I'm excited to give it a try.




It's all about the family. . .

. . .who made it to church for the first time since Baby M was born.