i heart faces -- Chalk

Inspired by the children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon

"The apples would be very tasty, Harold thought, when they got red."

i like the yellow ones best

Fall is here. The weather is cooler {most days} and they leaves are starting to turn. A couple of days ago Collin was playing outside and he came running in just so excited that the leaves on our trees were turning yellow. I tried to show him the red leaves on the mountains above our house, but he couldn't see it. So on Saturday evening we took a trip up to Snowbasin ... just Logan, Collin, Ruby, and I. Sophie was at a sleepover with her Grandma. We rode the lift up to the top and ate dinner. It was so much fun. And the leaves were beautiful.

at the fair

We went to the State Fair last week. It was fun.

We did and saw and ate all that we could before our time was up and it was bed time for the kids. We did miss out on a few things {like the butter sculpture and the yummy looking funnel cakes} ... but we did see all of the animals {my favorite part}, ride a few ride, and we did buy the $2 Chinese fans that the kids saw upon arriving and then spent the next hour begging and pouting over. Oh and we participated in our favorite attraction at the fair. The children's farm. They love it ... so much fun!

The kids worked hard milking cows, picking apples ...

planting and harvesting their crops, collecting eggs, shearing sheep ...

and riding their tractors ...

in order to make some money and buy some goods {yummy treats!} at the store. And did I mention that these two are FFA members in the making?!?! Well they are.

We love the fair!

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

She has a thing for Barney. An obsession really.

But it most definitely isn't her thing to have momma take her picture right after waking up from her nap!

i heart faces --Smirk!

This little guy was such a ham in front of the camera. Just one smile after another. But in a couple of pics I caught this smirk. I think he thought I was a crazy lady.

two wheelers

Sophie and Collin learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels last night! Wahoo! I was almost certain that Sophie was going to go off to college without ever learning how to ride her bike. But she proved me wrong. They had such a blast cruising around the church parking lot. I of course didn't bring the camera. But I did snap some shots today as they were riding. Collin can't seem to stay off of his bike. He loves it.

Sophie learned how to ride first. We actually took her training wheels off a couple of weeks ago so a friend could ride her bike and we never put them back on. We practiced a little bit then, but haven't touched it again since until last night. She picked right up on it this time.

When Collin saw that Sophie was riding her bike without training wheels there was no way he was going to left behind. He demanded his be taken off and away he went. We knew he was ready and have tried take his off several times before but he was always too nervous.

The kids were so proud of themselves. Collin kept shouting "Look at me! I'm riding a two wheeler!!" His first go at it I was running along side of him and he shouted at me"Mommy, you don't need me anymore!" Ha ha! He meant that he no longer needed me. And Sophie exclaimed "This is the BEST family home evening ever!!"

And of course I couldn't resist taking some shots of my little tricycle rider! She wants to be just like the big kids.

i heart faces -- Vroom Vroom!

The theme this week at i heart faces is Vroom, Vroom!

The kids sure did love this car. They could have spend all evening in it.

pre-school

Collin had his first day back at pre-school this year. He was so excited. It has been hard for him to stay home while Sophie has been at school the past several weeks. He eagerly got dressed in his new school clothes and wore his back pack all morning. He was even pretty cooperative for pictures ... although he was cold. When I dropped him off this afternoon he looked nervous. I asked him if he was and he very quickly told me "no!" I guess he was just taking everything in. I am sure he will love it!

I hope you have a fabulous year at school bud!

Love, Mommy

xoxo ... and a smile

saying goodbye

Last week Ruby said goodbye to these ...

Being that she was almost two years old {YIKES! Is she really almost 2?} I decided that it was time. My older two kid were so done with bottles by a year, but not Ruby. She only has 2 {sometimes 3 a day} but she still made me feed them to her like she was a newborn ... laying down, rocking in the chair. Occasionally it was a pain. But most of the time it was wonderful. Wonderful to get to spend that special one on one time with just Ruby. She did so much better than I anticipated she would. Just a a few tears for the first several times I gave her a sippy instead of a bottle. I was worried that this would take milk out of her diet, but so far so good! Next up ... the binky! But I am not ready for that yet. I'll use that to help me feel like she is still my little baby!

county fair

A couple of weeks ago we ventured to the county fair. I LOVE the fair and I look forward to it every year.

I love the pony rides. I have such fond memories of pony rides at the fair when I was little. I almost wished that I could have gone along with the kids! {grin}

I love the petting zoo! This year only Ruby was afraid ... although I am sure she would have LOVED it if I had forced her to go inside.

I love the animals on show! We said "hi" to the chickens and the bunnies. Oh the bunnies were so soft and Sophie kept asking for one all the while Logan kept trying to talk her into getting a chicken instead.

We picked this one ...

I love the booths, the vendors, the food, the colors, the sight of carnival rides (even though we wouldn't let our kids ride them!) and the clowns.

I love the clowns ... clowns that make balloon animals.

And clowns that make you smile and giggle ...


I love happy kids worn out from all the fun! {grin}

I love it all ... can't wait for the State Fair!