Halloween 2012

I hadn't planned on taking the kids trick-or-treating since we just moved in 2 days ago, but I knew it would crush Mason when he saw all the other kids coming around if he didn't get to go. So we got them dressed and a little before 6 we headed out. Steven came with us to do our row of townhouses before heading back home to hand out candy.

Mason really caught on this year and was a pro at knocking on the doors.

He was so funny though because most of the time he would knock on the door and then run down the steps instead of waiting for them to open the door and give him candy. I had to keep telling him to stay up there, or to go get his candy. Such a silly boy.

After Steven had headed back I ended up at the same door as our neighbors that live 2 doors down and another family that lives in the town homes here. I ended up talking to them and since we were all headed in the same direction we just ended up trick-or-treating all together. There was 7 kids between all of us so it was quite the group when they all knocked on the door. It was nice to get to know some more families and I think Mason enjoyed having other kids to go with. 

Here they are again after we finished trick-or-treating with Mason's happy pumpkin all lit up.  

I carried Emma the whole time we were trick-or-treating and she did great, never made a peep, just smiled at anyone who would talk to her. Glad it wasn't cold tonight and that both the kids had a good time. 

Well that concludes our Halloween festivities for 2012! 

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Fall in Utah

I had so badly wanted to get some fall pictures of the kids back in Maryland, but there just wasn't time for it. So today since we didn't really have anything planned I tried to take a few pictures of the kids out in Grandma Terrie's front yard. Unfortunately I couldn't get a a very good picture of both of them to save my life! Mason just wanted to go play with the leaves and the kids tool bench in the garage.  These were the best two pictures of them together. 

I tired to get Mason to let me take some pictures of just him, but that was obviously way to much to ask. So while he went to play I snapped a few of Emma. Although she was being cute and smiley the lighting was awful. Oh well she's still a cutie.

This one just makes me laugh as she was falling over in slow motion. 

Carving Pumpkins

After the Halloween party and visiting their great grandparents we went back to grandma Terrie's house for some more Halloween fun.

Had to get a picture of all the grand kids dressed up for Halloween: CJ holding Wyatt, Brayden, Emma, Mason, Cheyenne, & Brianna.

The cutest little dragon and cheetah around!

Love this little cheetah girl!

Action shot of Mason when he and CJ were playing together. CJ has been so good to play with Mason and watch out for him, so glad they get along well.

Once I got Emma bathed and in bed I was able to help Mason clean out and carve the pumpkin grandma Terrie got for him.

He loved cleaning out the gooey pumpkin guts and wanted to do it all by himself! I had to convince him towards the end to let me help him get it all clean. Such an independent little stink!

When I asked what Mason wanted his pumpkin to be he just kept telling me to make it a "happy pumpkin". So that's what I tried to give him. There was a picture of a cute smiley pumpkin on one of the carving books, but the pattern was gone so I tried to freehand it the best I could. I think it turned out okay and Mason loved his happy pumpkin, although it only took him about 5 seconds after I was finished to push on his nose and break it. I had to surgically put it back into place with a toothpick.

Mr. Happy Pumpkin

Well it has been one busy, but fun-filled day! We sure do miss Steven and wish he could have been here today. They left Maryland this morning around 4:30 and will be stopping somewhere in Nebraska for the night. They've had a long day of traveling and I think they are already over this trip. I know they can't wait to be done and we can't wait to see them. They should be getting in tomorrow night around 10:00 or so. 

Visiting Great Grandparents

Following the Workman Halloween party we went over to see Steven's grandpa Ray and grandma Trudy so they could see all of Terrie's grand kids in their Halloween costumes. We hand't seen them since we came home in July and since then grandpa Ray had a serious fall and his health has been declining ever since. I was really caught off guard to see him struggling to even walk with the walker now, and he didn't know who many of us were. It broke my heart to see him this way, but confirmed to me even more that we are back in Utah for a reason. He has been on hospice now for awhile and they have only given him an estimated 3-6 more months left, so this will very likely be the last holidays we will spend with him.

Mason (the dragon) waiting for him to come in.  

Great grandma and grandpa with all of Terrie's grand kids. (Emma, Wyatt, Brayden, Mason & CJ)

Emma with her great grandparents

I'm so thankful that we were able to go visit them, and just wish that Steven could have been there too. 

Workman Halloween Party

The kids and I were lucky enough to be able to attend the Workman Halloween party today, which was a first for all of us. The party was at 2 pm, so I tried putting Mason and Emma down for early naps before we went. Mason slept for maybe an hour and little Emma was a stinker and only slept for like 20 minutes, so neither of them were in great moods. Luckily Emma was happy for most of it and tolerated being held by someone other than me. 

Emma with her great aunt Sara and grandma Terrie. 

Uncle Bubba dressed as "Dog" the bounty hunter and cousin Brayden as Charlie Brown.

Mason the dragon eating a few Halloween snacks, he really liked Grandma Terrie's jello jigglers and the chocolate chip cookies. 

This was Mason being a shy and grumpy dragon. He kept pulling the dragon's face down over his face when he didn't want anyone to see or talk to him. 

The little kids playing a game where they were supposed to pop each other's balloons. None of them really got the concept of the game so it was pretty funny to watch. 

I think Mason ended up sitting on his own balloon. Emma really didn't like this game and started crying every time a balloon would pop. Poor girl was so tired and grumpy. 

Costume Parade: they were supposed to come down the stairs, do a spin at the bottom, and then say what they were dressed as. 

When they asked Mason what he was he looked up and instead of saying he was a dragon he said, "two". It was pretty cute and we all laughed. 

After the parade they got to go trick-or-treating at the doors in the house. Here's Mason getting candy from Steven's Aunt Gay and cousin LeAnn. 

We didn't stay long after the trick-or-treating because the kids were getting very cranky by this point and we still had to go see grandma and grandpa Jentzsch before going back to Terrie's. Despite having cranky kids, I had a great time and it was fun to get to see everyone. Hopefully we'll get to come to more of these now that we'll be living in the state!

Emma in the Walker

This morning Emma tried out Grandma Terrie's walker for the first time. She really liked to grab for Winnie the Pooh. 

Love that big smile and how she is curling her toes.

Mason wanted to play with her in the walker too, and was pushing her around in it. 

I think he may have been a tad bit jealous that the attention was all on her at the moment, because this was something new for her, but at least he was being cute with her.

One-Way Flight to Utah!

Well it was a long night last night sleeping on the air mattress and then getting up early to get everything ready for today. Mason was sad this morning that he didn't get to go in the truck, but did seem excited to go on the plane with his backpack. Steven dropped us off at the airport around 9:30 and we did the curbside check-in. Then we headed in to go through security, which was quite the chore with both kids all by myself. Thankfully BWI has a second security checkpoint on the lower level which is usually pretty empty (not sure people know it's there) so that's where I went so I didn't feel rushed to get through, and the other passengers that were there offered me help. We finally made it up to our gate and found a nice rocking chair near the window where Mason could watch the planes. 

Emma was being a good girl playing with her banana and the tag that was put on her car seat. 

Our flight was scheduled to leave at 11:20 am so right before we started to board I put Emma in the moby wrap I was wearing and tried to prepare Mason to board. While we were standing at the gate waiting for the family boarding a lady in the "A" line which boards first caught my attention. She looked very familiar to me and when our eyes met she asked if I was in her ward. I said yes and then she asked if I was traveling alone, again yes. Her line was starting to board, but she said she'd sit by me and help with the kids before she boarded. As I was about to walk on the person taking the tickets asked if I was going to take on Emma's car seat, when I said no because I didn't buy a ticket for her, she told me that it was okay because our flight wasn't full and there would be plenty of room. I was elated, and of course took her seat on with us. When we got on the plane I found Dawn (lady from our ward) and she had an empty row in front of her so that's where we sat. We had never talked before at church, and didn't even know each other's names, but we quickly got to know each other. It turns out she is a nervous flier and was happy to have my kids as a distraction during the flight, while I was super excited to have her help with them. I guess we were an answer to each other's prayers! She was so great to play with Mason, he even went back to sit by her to color and read a book. She also held Emma for me a couple times so that I could give Mason attention during the flight and make a trip to the restroom. It was truly a blessing to have her there. 

The kids also did great which was another huge blessing. Emma slept for the first hour in her car seat next to the window. 

Mason enjoyed lots of snacks and different activities. 

During the time he normally would have been napping and was clearly showing signs of being tired he laid down on my lap with his mickey and blanket and quietly read the safety information pamphlet. I thought he might actually go to sleep, but there was no suck luck. 

He did awesome though, and unlike our last flight home from Utah he didn't get scared this time at any point during the flight. I also kept him on the aisle seat which may have helped, since last time he didn't like looking out the window. He did look out them a couple times, but got bored when he only saw clouds. For most of the flight he was busy flirting/playing with the college girl sitting on the row next to him. She was a good sport and humored him. The funniest part of the flight was when we landed and he kept exclaiming to everyone "we made it" and that he was "going to grandma's house now". Everyone of course was just laughing and kept saying how cute he was. As we walked off the plane he even told the pilot that "we made it" and gave him a high five. I was cracking up. Dawn again was instrumental in helping us get off the plane and down to the baggage claim. 

I was able to get all our luggage and the car seats and was waiting for Terrie to arrive. She kept trying to find us and it turned out that she was at the wrong terminal. Once we figured that out she was able to find us and the rest of our trip home was pretty smooth. When we got to her house Amanda was there with the other cousins including CJ, Brayden, and baby Wyatt who I hadn't met yet. We got to spend the evening chatting with them and catching up. Grandpa Cory and uncle Cory also made it to Maryland safely about the same time we got into SLC. Hope their safe travels continue as they leave Maryland tomorrow morning. 

Also, can I just say that it's weird to be in Utah and know that there is no return flight, that we are staying here. It doesn't feel real.