Halloween Has Come and Gone!!

The start of our Halloween celebration started with a Stokes Family outting to the corn maze. We had a lot of fun and enjoyed "getting lost" in the corn maze. The kids had fun chasing the characters and climbing the hay stack. We ended the night with Grandma's orange and green rice krispie treats.

Our next celebration included Halloween Parties!! Carson and I attended Hunter and Haylee's classroom parties, which were full of candy and fun. Then a few days later we had our ward Trunk or Treat where Hunter filled his bucket to the brim. We honestly didn't need to go trick or treating with as much candy as the kids got. Then the next day we went to Kim and Julie's party they had for Branson and Miranda's classes. All in all the kids played lots of games and had lots of junk food!!

As is the Devlin family tradition we usually carve pumpkins and have carmel apples the Monday before Halloween, but because the weather was so warm and Halloween was on Monday we decided to do it the Sunday before. We invited Doug and Melissa over since my parents were in Chicago with Nate and Michele. We had dinner than quickly cleared the table and started carving pumpkins while I (with the help of my mother-in-law as I was also trying to take pictures) made carmel apples.

Our Halloween celebration ended on Halloween day with trick-or-treating. Trent took the kids out for a couple hours while I stayed home not feeling well. When they came home they all dumped out their candy and we combined what they got at the ward trunk or treat and this was the result. Needless to say, we will be having sweets in the house for MONTHS!!!

Oh Sweet Summer

Unfortunately this post will have no pictures as my computer is not cooperating, but here is our report.

Summer for us didn't get busy until July. For the first few weeks of summer we did nothing but watch movies and play outside. When July came, so did our vacations.

First we celebrated the 4th with Trent's side of the family, having our annual bar-b-que, swimming, homemade ice cream and fireworks. The kids all loved it!!

Next I catered a reception for a new pediatric dentist in our area that my mom works for. With lots of gourmet food and work, it was pulled off!! The next day was the beginning of our annual Stokes Family Vacation. We went to Bass Lake for 4 days and 3 nights. That consisted of lots of swimming, jet skis and fire side singing and skits. It was all very exciting and fun. We got home on a Saturday and Monday night, Trent, Connor, my dad and I left for Guatemala.

My sister, Heather, and her in-laws planned a trip to Guatemala and invited the Devlin side of the family to join them. The adventurous ones took the "challenge" and took off Tuesday the 19th at 2 a.m. for Guatemala. Lots of pictures were taken, thanks to Jordan and some by me. We were able to enjoy many sites and were taken all around the country, from the lowlands to the highlands. It was very interesting visiting the Tikal area (Myan ruins) and solidified my testimony in the Book of Mormon even more. The country was very green and beautiful. Our first day in Guatemala was a bit overwelming for Connor, he had only 2 hours of sleep in the 24 hours and I'd say he definately experienced culture shock. It's not every day you see barbed wire fenced in stores with security guards holding big guns... Guatemala was an experience and we are all glad we were able to go.

Then after a week of being home I was off to Boston with my friend Julie Rowley. It was girl time, no husbands, no children. We had a lot of fun and never went to bed before 11:30 even though we had been going ALL day!! It was great to see where the beginning of our countries history was formed. The land was beautiful and we were blessed with great weather, not to humid!! Ever city we visited felt very different. In downtown Boston you could feel the busyness and strength of the people. Lexington/Concord was very proud of their history and a feeling of patriatism was strong. Plymouth was relaxing, easy going. I think being by the ocean was helpful. We were also able to see how the pilgrams lived in the 1600's at the Plymouth Plantation. Salem, well lets just say they are very big into celebrating Halloween all year long. The people were a little more rough looking, witches were big. The best way to describe it would be how the atmosphere is when Halloween comes, but there it's all year! I was then able to visit my 4th Cousin 1 removed in Brighton, a subhurb of Boston. It was very exciting. I was a bit nervous at first, but they made me and Julie feel at ease. The great thing was they were as excited as I. I wasn't sure if we were going to see each other because they were on vacation in Ireland while I was there, but they returned two days before I left and we were able to meet each other at his resturant, Devlins. It was so fun to see and hear them (I love Irish and British accents) and their boys were so terribly cute!!








A week after I got home school started and that was the end of our summer, although the weather thought differently. Oh and the one big announcement we had for everyone after our Guatemala trip is that we are expecting our 5th! Yes, number 5 is on it's way and will be here in Jan. We are all very excited to have another little one in our home. When I say the number it sounds like a lot and it's hard to believe I will have that many. I guess it helps to have them all spaced out so as not to be so overwhelmed.

Baseball and T-ball and Field Trips, Oh My!!

Our little family has been busy these last few months. We have been to baseball games, t-ball games, on a zoo field trip, Connor's school play, the doctor, dentist, orthodontist, father-n-sons, Yosemite, fish hatchery, park, and oh so much more.

Here Connor is getting ready to bat. Batting was really hard for Connor because he would be so nervous! By the end of the season he gathered more confidence in himself and was batting pretty good.

I think one of the goals of all the players was to see how dirty they could get. Connor really liked sliding and got really good and stealing bases. Connor usually left field and center field. His coaches were impressed with his ability to throw great distances.

Hunter had a lot of fun playing T-ball. He loved Tuesdays. His team was called the Rays and he played with two of his cousins, D.J. and Mason. Hunter loved showing off his hitting ability and by the end of the session was being pitched balls by dad.


Although Hunter loved batting, running the bases and catching or running after the balls, he did get bored as is witnessed in this picture.

Last Monday, Hunter's kindergarten class went on a field trip to the Chaffee Zoo. He and his best friend Mason E. had a blast. They are such goofy kids. There was never a "perfect" smiley picture they were always making silly faces. Mason's mom commented that she didn't know where he got that from, I claimed it. It runs in the Stokes family.

For spring break we went to Yosemite and the fish hatchery. Trent took some days off and we spent them as a family enjoying our time together. Yosemite still had snow on the ground at the end of April. For those who know the area, the snow is usually gone or at least almost gone, but there was still a few feet on the the ground in places. We went to bridal veil falls, there was so much runoff, we were poured on. We had lots of fun and it was good to get out of Fresno!!

These are just a few highlights of what our family has been up to for the past 5 months! It seems as though we have been going non-stop and I know as the kids get older it's just going to get busier, can't wait! =/

A Race for Mac n' Cheese

We had what Connor calls a "whatever night". Basically, find it and you can eat it. Hunter and Connor wanted Macaroni and Cheese, so I helped Hunter make it. Hunter and Connor then sat at the table to eat their dinner. Hunter decided he was finished after 3 bites (as usual) and Trent asked if he was done replying in the positive Connor and Trent raced over to the table cause a loud commotion and cracking. Ending with Connor with a bowl of mac and cheese and Trent laying on the kitchen table.
NOT IN TACKE!!!

The result of the race for Mac n' Cheese

Hunter's dumbfounded expression as Connor enjoys his prize!

Trent remorseful face.

Hmmm. Now what?!?!?!

A Race for Mac n' Cheese