Fall Family Fun

 

 

After many months of not blogging, I figured it was time to catch up. Our family loves fall! There are so many beautiful things to see, delicious things to smell and taste, and fun things to do.

 

 

Here is our little Katie-Bug at 10 months old. Oh, how we love this girl!

 

 

Kate loves to stand. She has loved to stand with help since we shot this picture in October. We thought she would walk early for sure, but it turns out she is not all that interested in walking when she can crawl as fast as she wants to get whatever she wants. :)

 

 

 

We love to visit Black Island Farms in Syracuse. They have corn mazes and a big courtyard full of giant slides made of hay and plastic, a huge potato sack tube slide, a tractor-pulled train, bounce house, hot chocolate, farmer's market and other fun family activities. It is SO much fun! Jacob especially loved riding the tractor-train.



 

 

 

We went to a family party with the Aston family (Brian's mom's side) in Orem this fall. It was fun to spend time with everyone.

 

Before the party, we went up American Fork canyon to take pictures. The colors were amazing! We hiked a little and enjoyed the beautiful fall air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Sunday, Jacob decided he wanted to be a missionary at church. And so he was... :)

And Katelyn was just her cute, happy self...

 

 

WE LOVE HALLOWEEN! Here is my jack--lantern...

Here is Jacob's...

 

Just before Halloween, we got our first snowstorm. Boy, did we have fun making a snow-witch!

Our 2 little musicians had a jam session the day of the snow storm as well...

Katelyn found her new favorite toy this fall...the stairs. She would start climbing them as fast as she could get to them, giggle all the way up, and show off these triumphant grins when she got to the top...

This year Jacob wanted to be Wall-E. (He had been obsessed with Wall-E all month for some reason.) I'm not a sewer and I have no plans to improve upon that at this time in my life. Fortunately, a Wall-E is a giant cube! I can totally spray paint cardboard and use duck tape to come up with an inexpensive costume. So that's what I did, and it was really fun for all of us!

 

Since Jacob decided  to be Wall-E, I thought it would be fun for Kate to by EVE. Like I say, I am not a seamstress, even by the tiniest measure, so I went with what we had. A few homemade stickers on a white dress and black headband, a little imagination from the viewer's perspective, and TA-DA, and EVE costume. (It didn't matter what she wore anyway, she's so darn cute in anything!)

Jacob had a blast trick-or-treating around the neighborhood and then we visited my Grandma Joyce in Ogden, and partook of her delicious Halloween chili. MMM...

 

This is one of my favorite scenes from motherhood so far. Jacob and Kate love to eat breakfast (and sometimes lunch and dinner ;) facing out our kitchen window. This particular evening they were watching the snow fall.

 

We have the perfect size hill for a 2-3 year old to sled on right across the street. Jacob had so much fun riding around and playing in the snow.

 

Daddy and Kate had fun in the snow too...for a short time. Brr!

 

 Finally, I had to throw this picture in at the end of this post. This is another favorite mommy memory photo.

 

 

 

Whew! More posts to come about the holidays and the new year...Until then, we send our biggest hugs and loves to all our family and friends! We love you!

Summer-Part 2

Camping Trip by Liberty, UT-so gorgeous!

 It was a little cloudy that weekend. We made it just in time to roast our hot dogs, find a football (Jacob's new best friend). gobble up dinner, and jump into our tent....where we spent the rest of the night...

 There's nothing like a little family bonding time in close quarters...especially with a 2-year-old and an air matress. I'll let you all put that together and use your imaginations. :)

These two had a great time. It took us forever to get them to sleep, but eventually it happened. :)

Daddy and his little helper...

 Yes, we have a thumb-sucker...

There was a trail not far from our campground that led to a waterfall. The hike was beautiful, lots of green. We couldn't wait to see the waterfall at the end... :)

And, here it is! A slightly anti-climatic finish to our uphill climb, but it was still a pretty view, though it was lacking in water.

This picture is included simply for the "aw..." factor. She melts my heart, and that's nothing to the way she melts her daddy's heart. He'd do absolutely anything for her.

Katelyn is a little comedian. We call this face "the cheeser." She scrunches up her nose so hard when she smiles and does the cutest little snorting sound. It cracks us all up, and she loves it!

We had a play date a few weeks ago, and I just had to share this picture. SO CUTE! :)

Here she is attempting crawling. This was a few weeks ago. SHe is now a master and can get around anywhere she wants (almost-she's really wanting to do stairs, but hasn't figured that out yet. Thank goodness!)

Another picture simply for the sake of cuteness. Oh, how I love this boy!

Daddy's little helper in the garden...We got quite the crop this year. Good job, boys!

Jake LOVED, LOVED, LOVED swimming this summer. I was sad the day I put the pool away.

Jacob loves to help our awesome neighbor, "Grandpa Porter" in his yard as well. We have the bestest neighbors in the world. We are so grateful for the Porter family. They make it a little easier to be away from our St. George families.

Jacob got a mustache in the machine at the grocery store one day. Looks like a little "Grandpa Brian," huh? haha!

My mom came up and we went to the Box Elder County Fair with my amazing Aunt Pammy! Aunt Pammy is a blast! We love her so much!

Jake had the time of his life.

And, Kate was as beautiful and happy as always. :)

Cute aunt Pammy lovin' on Katelyn. :)

Our next big adventure was the annual Draper family trip to Fish Lake over Labor Day weekend. Jacob talked about it for weeks and weeks, and I think it was all he had dreamed of and more...

 This was his first fishing outing. He LOVED the boat. He didn't really fish this time out, just pretended, but he had a great time!

Jake looked like it was Christmas morning when he got to ride the 4-wheeler with grandpa. He was so excited!

 Beautiful ride...

 My brothers rock! I'm so glad we all got to be together that weekend. I love and miss my family!

Me and my little man. He's so much fun!

The little guy didn't quite keep his energy to the end, but how cute is this?

Uncle Jamie's such a good helper.

 Kate spent most of her time exploring the cabin and perfecting her crawling skills. She's so adorable!

Grandma Terri hates it when we take her picutre, but I think she's beautiful and I love seeing her hold my babies. So, whether you like it or not, mom, I'm putting this pic up for the world to see what a beautiful grandmother you are. Love you!

On Jake's second trip out, he got to fish FOR REAL!!!

 Here he is, worm on hook and all, just waiting for the big catch...

 AND LOOK! He got one!

 Best fishing trip EVER!!! Thanks mom and dad! We love you!


Back at home, life is good. Brian has now started his 7th(?) year teaching and is loving it. I'm teaching dance 2 days a week and loving being home with my babes the rest of the time. Jacob and Katelyn are our sunshine. They make every day precious and special.

 

Brian brought home an old, yucky trumpet that hardly plays for Jacob. The little guy is in heaven! He can actually buzz a note! Go Jake!

Katelyn is 9 months old TODAY!!! I can't believe how quickly she is growing. She loves crawling around, exploring the world, snuggling (especially with mom), singing and chattering to herself and everyone else, and going on walks. I can hardly remember life without her. What a blessing this little girl is. We sure love her!