Halloween!

On Friday Dave and I went to the Daniel Webster Elementary School Halloween Parade to see the kids display their costumes. Then we attended their class parties afterwards. They looked so adorable! Lauren was Batgirl and Matthew was Batman.

Batgirl and her friend, the Princess

Lauren, ready to save the day, if necessary

Matthew and a rowdy bunch of Superheroes

Lauren was paired up with a Batman in her class for picture time.

Matthew and Lauren on Halloween night

A brawl in the alley with the villainous Cat Woman. Where was Robin, you might ask? He was throwing a tantrum about putting on his costume.

Me and the kiddos on Halloween night. Robin (Parker) is missing, since he decided to keep his identity on the down low, and the Riddler (Dave) procrastinated and didn't get his costume ready in time.

Ahh, there is Robin! He decided to be a truck driver instead, driving his truck along the sidewalks and driveways while the other kids trick-or-treated. Anyone want an unused Robin costume?

Apple picking!

On Yom Kippur we went to Barton Orchards to pick apples. This is becoming our yearly fall tradition. The kids have a great time riding the hay ride, picking apples, petting the animals, and playing on the playground. What a great outing!

Matthew is in the middle - he's just invisible

Adorable, Parker

Matthew was our expert apple picker, climbing up to get the hard-to-reach apples.

Ezra and Parker had some good male bonding time together

In the leafy treetops

The tree climbers

At the playground

Summer Highlights

Sadly, our summer days are over and we are back to our busy schedules again. Here are some highlights of our summer (in random order):

Matthew, our hiker extraordinaire, on his way up to Timpanogos Cave

Dave and his brother, Jeff, at Timp Cave. Parker was unimpressed with the view.

Matthew and Parker taking a break after the hike

My Mom, Lauren, and me on our way up to the cave. Lauren, as you can probably tell, is not a big fan of hiking uphill.

My young and spry Mom made it to the top and was very proud of herself. Way to go, Mom!

Hanging out with the cousins at my Grandparents' condo in Tooele, Utah.

My cute golf-playing, bridge-playing Grandparents, who are in their mid 90's.

Matthew scores a 10 for form and enthusiasm, at my Grandparents' pool. Isn't it the best when there aren't any pesky lifeguards around, incessantly blowing their whistles? Freedom!

Parker, Matthew, and Lauren at the Natural History Museum in the city. We met Uncle Michael and hung out together.

Care free pool days at Saxon Woods

Tahlia and Lauren after swimming lessons. I think they liked being in the same class!

My family at Heritage Park. Who can resist a good train ride, especially with a vehicle-obsessed toddler?

Dave and the kids at Hogle Zoo, and some mysterious owl. And some mysterious arm.

Dave at Snowbird. Awesome view!

Hogle Zoo with my crazy apes.

Lauren, our animal lover, at Heritage Park

So precious, I can hardly handle it!

Grandpa Brooks playing with the boys in St. George.

Katie and Parker in the hotel hallway. Isn't life just delightful?

Parker, my water boy, never seems to tire of the pool.

Exploring the Snow Canyon caves in St. George

Lauren in the caves

I call this one "Legally Blond in the St. George Desert," because, after all, you can still look good while you hike in 108 degree weather.

Ahhhh, Dave and me at the Salt Lake Temple. 10 years and counting!

Parker and me during our fun-filled day in SLC. We had a great trip to Utah and a great summer!

Yeah, I'm a Wanderer, I'm a Wanderer...

I have a wanderer in my family. His name is Parker and though he is only 2 years old, he has a long, dark history of wandering. He can't say too many words so he is also a quiet wanderer. Yesterday (and a very stressful day it was) I lost him 3 times at the wave pool! The first time I was talking to my cousin Cathy in the wave pool and I noticed I couldn't see Parker anywhere until finally I spotted him up on the high ledge where the lifeguards sit, above the pool. I spotted him right as the lifeguard rushed over to grab him, worried that he might try to jump into the pool. I rushed over and grabbed him and just shook my head, laughing it off. "He sure is a wanderer!" I chuckled to Cathy.

He tried to wander off several more times but I caught him before he went too far. I even tried to appease his need to wander by wandering with him for a while so he could see the whole water park. Apparently that didn't help, though, because he suddenly disappeared again and this time I couldn't find him for at least 3 to 4 minutes. I walked around the whole park, getting more and more panicky. I had just turned my head for a second! Cathy and I split up to search different areas and the kids were on strict orders to also look for him at the kiddie playground. I finally found him by the water fountains and gave him a very serious lecture about staying close to Mommy. By then, I decided I was done for the day. Time to go home. My heart can only handle so much in one day. So I started packing up, getting my things together, and the kid suddenly disappeared AGAIN! I wandered all over, looked inside the changing room (a place he seemed fascinated with), looked by the exit in case he bolted to the parking lot, and finally I saw him in the arms of a security guard who said to me "Try to keep a closer eye on him, he was wandering all by himself." Try to keep an eye on him! Wow, why didn't I think of that? Thanks, Mr. Security Guard, I'll definitely keep that in mind!

I have lost this boy so many times I'm amazed he is still alive. I lost him in the Cincinatti Airport when I tried to order some food for lunch. I was the crazy mom yelling "Has anyone seen my son?!!" I finally found him at a gate serenely looking out the window at the planes.

When he learned to crawl we lost him during Sacrament Meeting. I'm blaming Dave for that one (he was on Parker duty). In the middle of the meeting we suddenly couldn't find him anywhere. We looked frantically around for several moments until finally someone in the back row, on the opposite side held him up. He had crawled under at least 7 benches before someone finally stopped him.

Every day Parker tries to wander out of the yard into our back alley so we have a bungee cord that we lock around the gate, which traps him inside the back yard. Recently, we came home from Church and walked into the house, forgetting to lock the gate. 15 minutes later we realized we hadn't seen Parker for a while and saw the gate open - a sure sign that Parker had escaped! We called frantically for him, running up and down the alley, not knowing how far he had wandered. I tried one of our neighbor's yards that had an unlocked gate and there Parker was, standing on top of a trampoline with a nonchalant look on his face, like "hey guys, what's going on?" We were so relieved to see him and immediately Matthew and Lauren (his older and wiser siblings) exclaimed "Parker! You aren't supposed to wear your shoes on the trampoline!"

Last, but not least, we lost him at security while trying to enter onto the ferry to the Statue of Liberty. The security guards decided that for everyone's safety we would not be allowed to carry on Matthew's scooter, and we would also need to fold up Parker's stroller. During the commotion we looked up and couldn't find Parker anywhere! Thank you security, for keeping us all safe from the dangerous scooter! Very helpful! The scooter thanks you for all of the attention bestowed upon it, whilst our children wander off unnoticed. Anyway, we searched all around and finally found him in the security office off to the side.

I suppose we were doomed from the beginning. My Dad is a notorious wanderer - still. I have so many memories of my Dad wandering off in a public places and my frustrated Mom wondering where he was, and if we should wait for him since he might be right back or just leave and hope he would find us eventually. Dave's Dad was also a wanderer. He tells us that when he was 3 years old he walked 3 miles away from his house, and when a policeman found him and picked him up, he slapped the officer and said "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers!" Since Parker is only 2, it looks like we have many more adrenaline rushes to look forward to in our future years. So, if you see a chubby toddler wandering around by himself please let me know!

Parker's Rockin' Moves

On our trip to Pennsylvania Parker showed us a new side - the wild side!

The Poconos

Last weekend we went to the Poconos in Pennsylvania for a weekend getaway. We absolutely loved it! There are so many fun things to do in Pennsylvania. The kids love having a pool to swim in every day and I loved getting away from cooking, cleaning, and schedules!

Matthew and Parker - can you feel the love?

Lauren and Parker - always willing to pose

Lunch at Subway

Do you see why we take so many pictures of Parker?

We went to the Crayola Factory in Easton, which is such a cute town.

Dave's artistic creation

Matthew's hot wax creation

We went to Bushkill Falls, where the Greens met up with us, and mined for gems

Lauren loved finding her treasures

Victoria, Kenya, and Lauren

We hiked around the beautiful waterfalls - it was gorgeous!

I couldn't resist taking this. Poor Collin was behind us and we didn't realize it until some strangers pointed behind us and asked if he was ours. We turned around and the poor kid was face down in mud, just lying there! So sad but so funny.

Parker on the trail

Matthew and Kenya

Our family photo - or it would have been if Matthew had cooperated. Now we just resort to tough love. You don't cooperate, you're cut out of the family photo!

The waterfalls were beautiful

Lauren, Matthew (below), Tahlia, and Victoria after the hike. The kids did so well with all the walking and hardly complained.

Afterwards we went on the paddle boats and then played miniature golf. It was a great trip!

Our Little Graduate

Our little girl graduated from preschool this year (sniff, sniff)! She did so well this year and absolutely loved it. We had our graduation ceremony at Mrs. Green's house. The kids sang many songs they learned this year, and each of them had different parts they had memorized for the program. Each received a graduation cap, a book they had made about themselves, and a cape with their photo on it. It was so adorable!!! 

Lauren is a great singer. She really sings out and knows every word, smiling all the while - so totally opposite of my preschool graduation, where I refused to sing any songs and barely moved my lips, thinking no one would notice - well, my Mom did, and I got severely chastised for it! 

Lauren has learned so much this year and is ready for Kindergarten next year. We are so proud of you, Lauren!!!