The Last is a First For Pumpkin Parties

Every year my Grandparents hold a Pumpkin Party near the end of September. This year was the same with one exception: there was no Grandpa Guthrie at Grandpa's Pumpkin Party. Which, sadly, means they are coming to an end. Our last Pumpkin Party, but our first without Grandpa.



The evening wasn't as hard to get through as a thought it would be. The Pumpkin Party is a very popular and loved tradition, and I thought being there without Grandpa would be a little sad. The only sad part was that Grandpa wasn't there to watch us pick his pumpkins. I guess he probably was there in many ways.

We enjoyed a yummy dinner.



And fun games.



That has to be the funnest line ever! Even if I didn't know what they were waiting for I think I'd get in line.






We had fun seeing everyone's costumes.









And we had fun showing off ours.




This year the twins went as Clark Kent and Superman-- thanks for the idea Maridee!




And Baby M sported an adorable Micky mouse costume.






It would be even cuter if he would leave is cap on.

Craig and I went as Michael and Fiona from TV's Burn Notice.





We need to get some good toy guns to really sell the costumes!

Little H wanted to sport his glasses like Daddy. I tried to put them in his pocket, but he would get mad and hang them back on his shirt collar.



Sorry little guy, but Grandma doesn't like mice, especially when they are in her house.



Time to pick some pumpkins!








Now its time for some wheelbarrow rides with Uncle Dixon.



Thanks for the fun party Grandma!

You Guessed it!

Another update post!

My cousins and I have been getting together a lot. I've been loving it. I grew up with these girls and it's been so fun to get to know them again as adults and mothers. Last time we got together everyone came down to my parents house for a nice swim. It was such a fun day. We totally need to do it again!





The boys and I enjoyed a fun primary activity with Nephew K. It was a pioneer activity and there was a parade. my mom told my nephew they were going to decorate his bike. He said he wanted it decorated like a horse. This is what we came up with. I drew the head, and my parents did the rest.



We finally started having FHE in our house. It's been fun to try and come up with activities that the kids will enjoy and that will still teach them about the Gospel. This week we did a sort of scavenger hunt thing. We went around the house, yard and park finding different clues that taught us about Joseph Smith. The kids loved it!



Baby M said "Daddy" on Sunday. We drove up to my Grandpa Guthrie's hill so Craig could see where it was. Craig opened the baby's door, to get him out so we could walk up the hill, and he handed him some food and said "Daddy!" It was really sweet!



Last but not least: Our "Thomas" Boys! If you haven't heard the boys LOVE Thomas the Tank Engine! Little H is especially into it. We'd love to shower them with "Thomas" toys, but the darn things can be very pricey. We made the mistake of taking them to the "Thomas" isle in hopes of finding something small and cheap. Well there are small things, but they are not cheap. We did discover that we could buy "Thomas" clothes for pretty cheap. Little H asked for Thomas at the store the other day and I thought, "Well lets go see if we can find some pajamas. I want to get you some anyway."

Wal-Mart has this great line of $5.00 pajamas and, low and behold, they had two pairs of "Thomas" ones in just the right size. We also found some way cute Thomas shirts that were $5.00. My mom graciously bought those for the twins. She wanted to buy them a "Thomas" toy to play with in the pool, but ran into the same problem we did. The jammies, and the shirts, were a huge hit. Little H pulled the pajamas out of the box while we were at the store. The rest of the day, whenever he caught sight of them, he'd carry them around like a blanket and bring them to me and say, "Thomas!" After he took a bath, and was finally able to put them on, I told him to go show Grandma and Grandpa. He'd find them, puff out his chest, point to the picture and yell, "Thomas!" That night I took a picture of the two "Thomas" fanatics. Say, "Thomas!" Look at those grins!



Then the next day, after church, he found the "Thomas" shirts Grandma bought. He brought it to me and asked me to put it on. He was so excited about his new shirt. He even brought his brother's shirt to him, to put on. Those boys and their "Thomas"!

A Hill for Grandpa

My Grandpa died unexpectedly at the age of 83. This sounds strange to some. He was an elderly man. But it sounds even stranger to us to refer to him as elderly. The man was incredible. He did things as a grandfather that amazed and astounded.

In his 70's he hiked The Narrows in Zion's National Park with my parents. I'm talking about the long overnight hike.

As an 80 year old he joined a street bicycling group that rode from Highland to Cedar City. They even wrote about it in the papers. People could not believe this "elderly" man was so able bodied. It was no shock to his family of course.

Recently he talked about how he was slowing down. But even so he remained very active. He skied all winter and was still out riding his bike as often as he could-- though he said he didn't plan on anymore more rides to Cedar City ;). In fact riding his bike was exactly what he was doing when he died. He was riding up-- or down I'm still not clear on that-- a hill that his friends, and fellow cyclists, had come to call "Lloyds Hill". He suffered a sudden heart attack, fell over and died. The people that found him say his feet were still on the pedals.

They wrote about it in the papers: "Elderly Man Found Dead in the Road". It still sounds so strange, "Elderly". It's hard for me to think of this article being about my Grandpa. Each time I read the title I have to remind myself that they are talking about him. I wish I could tell them more about them, so they would know the man they found was anything but elderly. I guess the best way to do that is to tell everyone about "Lloyds Hill".



Some friends of my grandfather had a sign made for "Lloyds Hill". Now maybe when people ride up it they will ask questions. Maybe people will find more out about this man who passed away on this hill and come to know him as we do. The friend that had the sign made even plans to start a blog so people can share their experiences as they ride up "Lloyds Hill".

I'm happy to know I can share this small piece of my Grandpa with people. That maybe they can come to know this exceptional 83 year old man. Thank you to those who put up this sign. It really means a lot to me.

Father's Day and Some Summer Events

Thanks to a friend of mine we discovered there is a splash park not far from our house. Before we were driving up to Highland and Salt Lake to enjoy splash parks. Of course, each splash park is enjoyable in it's own way. I think the Highland one is my favorite, but this one is a plus for convenience.






We finally convinced Baby M he could crawl. It took a lot of effort on both our parts. He did a lot of crying and screaming, and we tried to have a lot of patience. He really isn't a fan of crawling. I think he'd much rather walk. He can pull almost pull himself up, so I'm sure walking isn't far away,



June 17

We attended a close friend's wedding. She's actually younger sister to my best friend when I was growing up. We've kind of drifted a part, but her family is still really important to me so I was very excited for her little sister. Isn't this the coolest cake?



June 19

We celebrated Father's Day by having a nice breakfast, or I guess more of a brunch. I made Craig some yummy crepes and invited my parents over. Later that night we had a nice steak dinner with the rest of the fam. With no Grandpa's to see it was kind of a lonely Father's Day.



Craig got a fancy flag to put on the house. The twins enjoyed marching it around the house, and they were rather disappointed when Dad put it away.



And the boys got some scrubs just like dad. I wrote Future Murse on them. That's a term used for Male Nurses.



June 20

Friends and family gathered together to mourn the loss of Grandpa Guthrie. Not the happiest of occasions, but still it was nice to get together with friends and family. This is Baby M giving my Aunt Maxinne some hugs. He kept leaning into her. It was so cute!






My grandpa's grave is close to another friend's grave. She was a girl I worked with before I moved to St. George. She died not long after I had the twins. Such a special spirit.



I was sad to see her father passed away last Christmas.



June 27

We got together to celebrate the birth of one of the most important men in our lives. Craig's birthday was Monday and we had fun swimming in the pool and eating some goodies.



Craig's cake this year was a homemade pumpkin pie and some Princess Cakes from Ikea. The princess cakes were good, but I wasn't a fan of the pumpkin pie I made.



Baby M however loved it all.



Random

Here's Craig pretending to blow out his pretend candles. I didn't bother with them because usually the wind makes them pointless. However, they probably would have worked this year. Figures!



I got bit by the art bug not too long ago. Decided to sit down and make something fun. I don't know if I like it, but it at least I enjoyed making it.



I also painted these as invites for my parents anniversary party. They turned out pretty cute!