Fall in Wyoming... & Halloween

TJ- Mike Wazowski

Elizabeth the Garden Gnome!!!

Okay... so I use the term FALL lightly! In Wyoming Fall comes in the form of not falling leaves but falling snow! We have already had 2 major storms in October. The first storm produced just under a foot of snow and the second just over two feet. Needless to say it was cold and I was worried about the kids on Halloween being so cold and no one being able to see their costumes (since they would be under their coats). BUT we were lucky the weather was gorgeous (for Cheyenne). I believe the temperature was around 47 degrees, which sounds cold to you humidity freaks, but it was so nice. NO WIND! and just wonderful. Our friends came up from Denver with their little guy. We had such a great time Trick or Treating through the Ft. Warren Officer Housing.... so much fun! Elizabeth played the roll of our Garden Gnome and TJ was starring as Mike Wazowski!!! I hope you will enjoy the pictures.

Pumpkin shaped sugar cookies!! YUMMY!

Tyler using his snow thrower that KT got him for
Christmas last year... He loves it!

Dakota the Pirate, TJ- Mike Wazowski,
and Elizabeth the Garden Gnome.

My Fireman, Tinker Bell, and Cleopatra

Spooktacular Time at the Redfearn Halloween Party

Our neighborhood Halloween Party was held today. So it was our trial run with the boys in their costumes. They looked so stinkin' cute. I could hardly stand it. I knew my kids were the cutest ones out there, but doesn't every mother feel that way about their own kids? They were yet another dynamic duo this year, Buzz Lightyear and Woody from Toy Story fame. Alex, being the "oldest" was Woody....the one who is the self-appointed leader. Then there's Buzz, and although Ben is really nothing like Buzz, it just seemed appropriate for him to don the spacesuit since he loves airplanes so much......I figure it's not much of a stretch for him to go from planes to the Space Station.......anyone else following this logic?

A guy in our neighborhood puts up a bunch of the blow-up decorations in our common area. He does it for the kids and our kids love them. So here they are in front of the Jack-o-lantern.

We go out in the afternoon sometimes and play, "Race To The....." and they have to race to the blow-up thing that I call out. "Race to the cat," "race to the pumpkin," "race to the skeleton on a motorcycle..........." Yes, you read that correctly!

As part of the festivities, the boys made a foam frame and a neighbor lady took pics. Then she ran into her house and printed them all on great photo paper. We had the frame and the pic before we left. How sweet! So here's one I snapped while she was taking pics, too.

Alex giving me the obligatory "cheese" so he could get back to his cupcake.

Ben looked so precious standing there waiting for us all to finish our cupcakes and "get up!!!" I had to take this shot.

Another activity was "decorating" their own pumpkins. They had all these really cool push in face pieces and each kid could make their own face on a small pumpkin. All of the mouths were gone by the time Ben got around to getting to that box, so his pumpkin is mouth-less. But didn't they turn out super cute?

Crash!

We are all OK...but the brown van...or smilie as the kids call it...isn't doing so well! It took the police an HOUR to come and check things out and issue the OTHER lady a ticket! (And she wasn't wearing a seat belt...it really could have been horrible if Emily hadn't swerved and missed t-boning the driver side door!) Nooooooooooo...not the Clemson plate!!!!!!!!!!!!
The blinker was broke, but the headlight still worked!

It also messed up our power steering! It wasn't our fault, so now we wait for the insurance to get it all in order!

Kate's Baptism Day!

So the day started out just fine...we were on time. Everyone was happy, ready, and lookin' good! Then a little accident happened on the way to the church...see the other post...and so by the time we got to the church, it was 30 minutes after the baptism was supposed to start! So, I had no time for pre-baptism photos! :( I think my dad got a few! So, my photos start after she was baptised... Kate in her special white dress...after she was baptised!
Kate with her Mimi and Oma!

Kate and her special friends that came to support her on her special day!

Kate and her cousins...this was the group that did a special musical number...
"Jesus Once Was a Little Child" It was darling and huge hit!

Kate and Bishop Coltrin!

The Bright family on Kate's special day!

We are so proud of Kate for taking this big step in her life! We know it is one of many good choices she will make in her life! We love you Kate!

Our visit to Nivens Farm!

It was a perfect fall day with my family in town! What better way to spend it than a trip to the apple/pumpkin farm! So, we loaded up two cars (we couldn't all fit in one) and took a little trip down some beautiful SC country roads to Nivens Farm! This is my all time favorite photo of the day! They are all saying their animal sound! SO CUTE!

Three jumping cousins!

Bowen on a pumpkin and next to the tractor!

Kate and her fall pose!

Brooklyn looking darling as usual!

Clair...in non outfit matching shoes! Her other shoes were "killing" her feet!

Papa picking the apples from the tops of the trees! That was all that was left!

Look at those bus riding babes!

Farmer Bill and Sherree!...our own "American Gothic"!

Three cousins who love each other VERY much! The next day we made a yummy apple pie!

Tyler Turns 30!!

Elizabeth helps daddy blow out the candles.

The Happy Birthday Boy who spent his day
watching football and lounging in Air Force Sweats.

Dun... Dun.. Ta... Dun.... The CAKE!!

Happy LATE Birthday to Tyler.... .he is officially a member of the "Dirty Thirty Club"! We had a dinner out in Ft. Collins on Friday night the 9th just the two of us, and thank goodness for that, we got stuck down there and had to drive a "back" highway (2 lane road through NOBODY towns). It was a blizzard and the 45 minute drive took us 2 and 1/2 hours. Saturday was his "REAL" birthday and we just had a small little family party. I made Tyler a U of Miami Football cake. Enjoy the photos. & Happy Birthday, Tyler!

Kate turns Eight

Kate turned eight on October 5th. She asked for a Reese's Cup cake. So I made a devils food cake with peanut-butter frosting and crumbled Reese's Cups on top and around the bottom! It was SO yummy! Since Stephen was gone I wanted to do a little something special for her. We already had big plans for Saturday and her baptism. So, we had a few neighborhood friends and school friends over. It wasn't really a party, just cake and ice cream. Kate enjoyed having friends over and eating her yummy cake!

Honoring a Local Fallen Solider

A Gift From Our Neighbor

Our neighbor gave us this fantastic motorized ride-on tractor. His son is too big for it and he just gave it to us! The boys freakin' love it! The battery ran out today, so I've got to charge it. Maybe I'll wait a while to do that so the fighting over it will take a break.........