Happy Halloween!

Ok, another catch up post!  Happy Halloween!!

We love Halloween around here.  It's definitely one of my favorites.  It always seems to come and go too quickly. (like everything else...)

This year, Eric did NOT want to dress up as a family.  I was a little sad about that but I knew the day would come eventually and it did make Halloween less stressful and cheap.  :)  I like that!  When we were in Utah this Summer, Eric found an old T-Rex costume that my youngest brother wore when he was about Eric's age.  So, Eric asked Grammy if he could borrow it.  (side note: Eric is obsessed with Dinosaurs).  With Eric's costume done, all I had to do was find one for Ryan.  Ryan loves Monster's Inc so I found a cute and cheap Mike Wazowski costume at Target and voila!  I was done!!  I thought both my boys looked to.die.for.CUTE in their costumes.  Ryan actually loved wearing his and didn't ever want to take it off, including the hat!  We had a ward Trunk or Treat and a class party and of course actual Trick or Treating.  The boys brought home SO much candy, it's insane.  I'm almost embarrassed to admit it but all that candy is almost GONE!  All that's left is the yucky not very good candy.  Jene and I definitely took our "candy tax"!!  

We hope everyone had a happy, safe and spooky Halloween!!  

The County Fair Y'all

Time to play catch up, yet again!  I'm pretty sure I need to do 2 posts to catch up.  :)

The end of September here in Newnan, we have our Coweta County Fair!  This year we took the boys and met up with some of our most favorite friends.  Of course we had a great time!  The boys are at such fun ages where Eric could pretty much go on everything he wanted and Ryan is just old enough to go on most of the kiddie rides all by himself.  The rides are always a hit but this year they had an exotic petting zoo which came in a close second.  They had Giraffes, camels, zebras and many more animals you could pet and feed.  Both boys got to feed the animals but Eric was definitely more timid and afraid.   Ryan on the other hand is, fearless.  Now, instead of droning on and on about the fair, I'm sure the pictures tell a much better story than I ever could.  

All I can say is that we had a great time and it was worth every penny to see the JOY on our boys faces that night!!!  Some of these pics are blurry and not the best quality but it's what I got.  :)

 

Back to School

Eric's first day back to school...

Eric missed his whole first week of Pre-K because we were still in Utah so he was more than ready to go back when we got home.  I thought I was more than ready too but I had a really hard time that first day.  I thought this being our second year in school, that I would be totally fine but I wasn't.  I cried.  I have a love/hate relationship with the first day of school.  I love the feeling of excitement.  I love how excited Eric is and to see how big he has grown but I hate dropping him off and leaving him in the care of strangers.  I love where Eric goes to school and I totally trust them, but still....I barely know these people.  I have to pray every day for his protection while he is away from me.  It's the only thing that brings me peace.  Anyway, enough about me and more about Eric, the student.

Eric was a little nervous to have new teachers but he is growing to love them like he did his teachers last year.  He has jumped right back in the swing of things.  He comes home singing songs and actually wanting to do his homework.  I only hope he continues to have a love of learning through out his life.  He's so smart and has such charisma about him...he's going places and can do big things one day, if he chooses.  But please, don't let that day come too quickly.

The Dog Days of Summer

The first of July through the first of September are called "the dog days of summer" and that's pretty much how much I have to catch up on my blog.  I thought I had already done the 4th of July but I was mistaken.  Oops!  Oh well...here's to our dog days....

Our 4th of July was RAINY!!  It rained all.day.long.  All of the festivities were canceled.  No parade, no fireworks.  We did not want to stay inside all day long so we decided to be brave and take both boys to Monster's University.  Eric is old enough for movies and will sit and enjoy it, Ryan on the other hand...was not ready.  We made it through the entire movie without having to take Ryan out of the theater but that doesn't mean that it wasn't a squirmy battle inside.  He was quiet though, so it worked out.  Eric really loved the movie and now he wants to watch Monsters Inc. all the time.  After the movie we came home and put Ryan down for his nap and just hung out.  Our dinner plans were fun and we were all excited to go to a Potluck dinner with a few other families.  It was nice to still be able to enjoy the holiday with friends regardless of the rain.  The food was good, the company was good, our day was good.

The end of July, I was getting ready to take a 3 week trip out to Utah but I refused to fly alone with the kids after my last flight with them.  So, my sweet brother Brett flew out to Georgia, stayed a few days with us and then flew home with me and the kids to Utah.  We had a fun time showing Brett around Atlanta.  I think we hit up all the different Chick fil a's in our area (there is one on every corner just about out here).  We even hit up the first ever Chick Fil A, which was a first for me too.  We went up to the Atlanta Temple and drove through downtown, did some shopping and just hung out.  Our flight to Utah went smoothly and I couldn't have done it without Brett's help.  I mean, I might have been able to but I would've had a nervous collapse onboard.  Brett took one kid, while I had the other and he took Eric to the bathroom for me and just was an extra set of hands which was so great!  I'm so grateful for his willingness to help out!  He's an angel.

My Utah trip in a nutshell....My 3 week Utah trip was planned when it was because my little sister, Michon, was getting married.  I wanted to come out a few weeks early to help with any last minute wedding prep that needed to be done.  We had a lot of errands to run, loose ends to tie up with some of the plans, wedding favors to make, invitations to mail and all sorts of wedding things were going on.  It was so fun to be there for this part but it was also exhausting.  Luckily, my younger brothers helped watch my kids so that I could be available to help.  I got to be there for my sister's bridals, I got to help do her hair and make up for them too.  It was fun to be involved!  We had bridal showers to attend and I got to meet her cute fiance (now husband) Ricky.  What a great guy and not to mention totally cute!  It was just fun to be home again.  I love the summer in Utah.  No humidity, cool nights, the mountains...oh it was magical!  I got to see lots of relatives I have not seen in years.  I got to eat at Cafe Rio a few times and visit the new City Creek Center.  I got to see old friends from high school and old Georgia friends who moved to Utah.  I got to shop at Downeast and actually try on the clothes before I bought them.  I got to go to the Manti Temple for the first time and see a live session.  I got to sit at home with my family and play games, watch movies and just hang out.  I wore sweats daily and had my Mom's cooking.  There were dinosaur museums, cousins, splash parks and more.  My Utah trip was amazing, like it always is!  I appreciate things so much more now that I live far away.  Jene was only able to come out for 5 days.  It was nice to have him when he was there.  I loved going back to the Salt Lake Temple with him...8 years later.  We hadn't been back there since our own sealing.  It was a special day for everyone.  I can't begin to describe the beautiful, spiritual feelings that I felt and I know Jene felt and our family felt.  We are so blessed!!  We were all sad when it had to come to an end.  I'm still sad.  My kids are still sad, especially Eric.  He and my mom have a special connection and he misses her like crazy.  We are settled back home and have started our new school routine and it's been good.  We love Georgia and it is our family's home but nothing beats "home" where you grew up especially surrounded by all your siblings, parents and all things nostalgic and familiar.  I can't wait to go back!!  

There are a ton of pictures.  I tried to narrow it down and I did....so, yeah....I'm not even going to describe each one.  It pretty much sums up our Utah trip!