SLACKER

O.K. so I thought if I kindof started where I left off, that I could kindof get caught up. I can't believe that it was Halloween time since I updated this blog, but I have been sucked into the world of Facebook-(don't ask) and it has taken up quite a bit of time. Soooooo,

for Thanksgiving, we took a roadtrip to Arizona, we went to Pine to one of my sisters cabin. It was beautiful there. We were all there except one missionary and my brothers family. We missed them, but we sure had quite the crowd! The view was amazing! We had a little rain, but that didn't stop the activities. Some went rock climbing, Paul ran about 100 miles and we played a little volleyball too. Loved being with my family. Then we went to Prescott, where we went antique shopping and saw my two nieces who are rodeo queens in the light parade!!! Yee Haw!! they are dang cute.

So, now on to Christmas. The beginning of December Dan and I went to Colorado Springs to our annual conference-we had a great time. We stayed a night in the Broadmore Hotel- WOW is all that I have to say about that. Then when we got home, I had one mad little 4-year old who wanted to do Christmas decorations a LONG time ago. He would get mad when we would drive by the homes that already had its lights up. He kept begging me to get them up.

He was so excited when we finally got the lights up on the tree and he helped me with the decorations. The prodding didn't stop there. We HAD to get the lights up on the outside of the house, there had to be some presents wrapped under the tree and never were we to ride in the car without the Christmas music playing. He sure kept me on my toes this year. Now that everything is put away for next year, he is still giving me a hard time that we didn't get ALL of the lights on the outside put up- when it was nearing Christmas, it was so dang cold, I didn't do much of anything outside anyway. Next blog will be about Christmas day, the fun things we did during the break and New Years. What is in store for 2009?????

Halloween

I never used to be a big fan of Halloween. But for the last few years, I have really started to enjoy the festivities of it all. We did a lot of fun things as a family this fall. We always love to do the traditional things, like picking out our own pumpkins, carving, etc. But we found some other fun things to do too. We went to Cornbellys at Thanksgiving Point and we also went to Farnsworth Farms one night and did a hayride, watched a video outside and had hot chocolate and doughnuts. I am really getting into the spirit of Halloween!!!

Discovering the little tools that are easier to carve with has definately made pumpkin carving a much more enjoyable experience. I could never figure out how everyone could do such intricate carvings with such a huge knife. One favorite find to make Halloween a better holiday. (I know that everyone on the planet knows about these, but I am really slow).

Costumes were a lot easier this year. My Darth Vader wanted to be Darth last year, so we got the costume together and then at the last minute, spiderman was much more attractive and Darth Vader was a stupid idea. So, this year we decided to try it again, and it worked. Luke Skywalker had the look and with a borrowed karate uniform....Tada! The other two costumes were on sale and there you go... No sewing, no going broke, and not a lot of thought had to go into these this year, who knows aobut next????

I know that these look professionally done, but no, they were done by some pretty creative kids. PURE TALENT.

Dan found a new way to take the little boys trick-or-treating this year. He thought that this was a FABULOUS idea! Since the kids run from house to house (note the child in the back ground demonstrating this fact) this would be a much easier way to keep up with them. Nice, huh?

Another Birthday

Luke turned 6 in October. It just happened to be on our anniversary when he decided to come into our family. We had a couple of small parties with the family for his big day. We were at grandmas in this pic and he was able to be with his cousins from Colorado-girls! He was a little embarrassed when we all sang to him.

There is nowhere like Chuck E. Cheese-yum. to spend a little time to celebrate. This year was not a friend party, but we took one of his best buddies with us anyway.

Happy Birthday to my big 6 year old!!!

Family Nights

Where can you have this much fun with your family? Only at home when you plan to have the evening set apart for family time!!! I love family nights. I love that my kids are sad if we happen to skip one. I love it that they get excited for an activity or treat or to plan a lesson. Now, I know that these days may pass, but for now I am cherrishing the time that we do have to spend together.

FALL

Fall is definately my favorite time of year. We went for a hike behind the new Draper temple just as the leaves were changing. It was so pretty.
We went up to Park City and I tried to get some of the beautiful scenery in the photo, (no, not Dan and Luke), but the photo didn't give the foliage justice. It was so nice up in the mountains.
One of my favorite parts about this fall was a visit from my friends the Skeens. The BYU homecoming game brought them down from Seattle. I love spending time with them. Their visit was WAY too short, but at least they squeezed me in on Sunday. We weren't too good with the self-timer, but we finally got a good photo. :)

Thanks for the visit----We love you and your family. See you soon (I hope)!!!

Hunting Season

WARNING: These photos are not for the weak stomach. But I do have to say that my nieces ROCK. Two of my nieces drew out for the antelope hunt near the ranch. So, they drove up to Utah with their dad and went hunting and got their prize!!! We were down for conference weekend and were able to witness their skills with a gun- (I guess it runs in the family)!! Their oldest brother and sister got the much loved job of skinning the animals. I know where I am going if this economy gets so bad that we all have to live off the land-They have SKILLS!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays

Josh is 4!! Can't believe that my baby is 4 already. He is such a bright spot in our lives. He has such a fun personality. We didn't do a traditional party for him, but he was able to choose 2 friends to go swimming with us.
Our even numbered birthdays are for family, so Josh got to pick what he wanted to do for his activity. He chose the Alpine Slide-so we went to Park City and went on the slide and then did the Coaster, which we highly recommend-If you ask Josh what he did as he went down the coaster, be ready to plug your ears because he will literally share with you the exact sound he made all the way down....AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH.
My cute Luke turned 6 on our anniversary:) Those of you that think that it was such a great anniversary present, well lets just say that it was such a great moment, then in the years to follow, not so fun to have both on the same day. We don't regret having Luke in our lives-he is wonderful. (We have been waiting for 2 years for the front teeth to come in....)
For his family birthday, we took one friend (and his sister) to Chuck E. Cheese, (his choice). Wow what a party that was. We celebrated later with cake and ice cream. Love my boys. Fall is a busy time with birthdays at the Sampson house.