Kid Picts 2011

I was going to go to Target photo studios to get some pictures of the boys, when my friend Jaime volunteered to take them for me.  I think what we got is far better than anything Target could have conjured!

 

Carving Pumpkins and Happy Halloween!

We've painted pumpkins before, but this was the first year that we've had Jacob and Braden help to carve the pumpkins!  At first they were pretty skittish about the pumpkin goo--my favorite part!  But as we got going it was so much fun. 

Braden seems to ALWAYS have his finger up his nose lately! Gross!

My favorite part is Jacob's drawing of the face he wanted on his jack o' lantern.  Jason cut it out exactly as Jakey drew it-- chin, ears, cheeks, facial hair, and all!


Sunday night at Grandma's house, the boys got to carve pumpkins again with Uncle Davis. He drew some faces for them and they got to pick out what went onto the jack o' lantern.

So Jakey decided that he wanted to be Darth Vader this year.  I don't think he realizes that Darth Vader is a villain.  He's only seen a few Star Wars clips, but he can sing the Darth Vader theme song, do the breathing thing, and knows that Vader has a sword, shoots lightning from his fingers, and can fly with his cape-- pretty cool!  After searching craigslist.com and finding some contenders, we were having dinner at Grandma MacKay's house when... out comes Jakey wearing a Darth Vader costume!  Davis had found their old costume box and with it some gems that I hope to have my kids wear one day (Jason's Karate Kid costume Raggedy-Ann, and an adorable poodle skirt to name a few!) 

Bray wore the dinosaur costume we had Jakey in when he was 2.  Braden was ALL about the candy.  I've never seen that kid with a tighter grip on a bucket-- he was so cute. 

Unfortunately, Jason had a work conflict that night. But, thankfully, the Takos's couldn't make their ward's trunk r' treat and so joined us. Christy and Zach took the boys for me, while I cared for the twins.

Cabin buddies reunited!  What a cute bunch of kids!

Silly Boys!

 So, this started out as an effort to get a close-up picture of the brothers...

Then we got a little silly...

and even more silly!

It was a very silly photo shoot. :)

Hangin' out at home

Don't know whether I've metioned on this blog how much we love the Huntington house we are currently renting.  It has so much more room for the boys to play, run, build forts, and just be kids.  We live in a wonderful ward with people that have become lifelong friends and enjoy spending Sundays with "the salt of the earth." Here are just some fun pictures of life at home.:) 

Love the "Picasso Potato Head!"  This is one of Braden's favorite toys-- he loves sticking things in little holes.  Unfortunately that also means I have to keep a close eye on the electrical outlets.

Fort buddies!

Pirate Jake!  I drew on his mustache with a washable marker.  Little did I know, however, that the marker would react with his skin.  I let him go to bed with the 'stache, and when I washed it off the next morning it was still there-- but all red!  oops!

Smiley Babies!

Brooklynn and Ethan are starting to SMILE!  It is the best!  However, those smiles are hard to catch on camera, so here's our best efforts so far.  And of course, these happen to be two of my favorite outfits that they are fitting into right now.  It's amazing how fast they grow!

The MacKay Cabin ahhh.....

We didn't think we'd get the chance to go to the cabin this year, due to obvious circumstances.  But, with a little inspiration from our friends the Lea's, the companionship of the Takos and Larkin families, and some hard-nosed determination to just get out of the city, we braved the weather, toughed-out our colds, and went for it!  We arrived to snow, an ice-cold cabin, and pressure-plugged ears late Thursday night.  However, we woke to a sparkling mountain morning and a wonderfully relaxing weekend with lots of wonderful new memories on the horizon!  Friday was just a chill-out day, Saturday was fishing, and Sunday was my favorite--a beautiful nature walk. 

Nothin' like sharing some licorice and hangin' out with your buddies.

Half the out'n is the eat'n! We had dutch oven chicken and potatoes, homemade grilled pizza, french toast casserole, lots of bacon and eggs, and of course treats, candy, pumpkin bars... YUM!

Coffee table + camp chairs = kids' table--Brilliant! Not to mention adorable.

ahhh.. All kids and babies asleep. Adult time at last--playing a fun game of "Loaded Questions."

Fishing, throwing rocks, hot chocolate--is there anything better in kid-dom?

This walk is always my favorite thing at the cabin. It's simple and the route hasn't changed.  Yet, as our children grow, it is new every time.

Love our shadows in this pict.