Leaf party!

A little late with these pictures. You'll be seeing more posts like this, as I am WAY behind.

Grandma raked up all the leaves just for her grand kids to play in (plus a couple extras that are close enough to be considered grand kids.) The kids had such a blast playing in the leaves. Grandma had big piles all over the back yard. The kids would run from pile to pile, jumping, and falling into each pile.



There was a lot of giggling and laughing. It was just so cute, that all three mommies, and grandma had cameras and we were going to town with catching sweet little moments like these next two pictures.

Megan even got in on the fun. Chasing all the little ones with hands full of leaves. I didn't get any pictures of her on the blog, sorry Megan, but the computer chokes on more then three pics at a time. And I thought these were cuter!



I LOVE the look on their faces. SOOO happy!

Tractors!!!!!!!

There was a road getting worked on next to the area where we got our pics taken. Kevin and I both knew there was no way we would make it home with out making a stop for Matthew. He made a mad dash for those big machines when they came into view. Luckily, it was Sunday, so he was able to get a real close look at them.



Boy, are those machines big, especially next to a small little boy! Matthew couldn't stay still for more then two seconds. Kevin was worried that the pics weren't going to turn out because the boy wouldn't stay still long enough.



What a sweet little boy!! He's running around trying to point out to mom what tractor is what.

My tractor knowledge has grown since having my little boy. I know what a grader is, a front loader, a mixer, -well that last one isn't really a tractor, but it's in his book of tractors, so I'm counting it!

The things we learn from our kids. Love it!!

Starr family pics.

Thanks to Kevin's sister, we were able to get family pictures of the Starr family. It's been about five years since our last family picture. I was pregnant with Allison, and Jay was getting ready to leave for his mission. It's been a while, and wow, the family has grown.



There is a beautiful amphitheater directly west of the Timpanogos Temple. It's as busy as Temple Square on a Saturday, but so worth it. Beautiful stones, beautiful surroundings, beautiful time of year. I highly recommend this location. Location, location, location, right?!



The first picture is my personal favorite of the whole clan. The picture below is my favorite of just us.



I also really like this next one, I only wish it wasn't done on an angle. That's just me though. The kids are smiling and close to looking in the right direction. I also think Kevin and I look pretty good. Just the angle, ...not digging it.



I've got more candid shots of the kids that I will post later. The kids had a blast with all the leaves. So that made for some super cute pictures.

Tired little boy.

If you are tired, it doesn't matter where you are or what you are doing. Just shut those eyes of yours, and let sleep happen. That is what I have learned from my sweet little Matthew. We have found him asleep in some of the strangest positions. It seems to work for him though.



My only question is: How does he not fall over?

Hiccup

This post was supposed to be with the post you will read next. However, it didn't work that way. The computer hiccuped on me again.

This is Grandpa and Derek's cake. Again trying to combine the two birthdays. The fancier part is Grandpa's, and of course, the Legos is Derek's.





With this cake I used a chocolate marshmallow fondant which tasted so much better then the usual fondant.



The top layer was a grasshopper fudge cake. Mint flavored cake with chocolate ganache, and cream filling. Awesome!!!


The next layer was a really rich chocolate cake. The filling was a cream cheese icing filled with crushed up Skor bars, and another chocolate layer. Again, YUM!!

Some more of my cakes...

I did this one for my cousins' little girl, Meagan. She had asked her mom if she could have a professional cake done, but darn, they're a little too expensive. Or so she was told. I arrived about an hour before the party began with the cake, and surprised little Meagan. Meagan was so excited. I'm not even her mommy and I got a little teary-eyed. That was fun!



The flowers are made out of gum paste, they turned out so cute!




Happy Birthday Meagan!!

My boys.

What a sweet picture this is for me!! A boy and his daddy, that he loves so much, chillin with some light sunday reading.







I love those boys!!

Grand Opening.

So, we were a little bored one saturday morning. Allison had a primary activity at the temple, and we had a couple of errands to run. We had some time to kill since the activity wasn't quite long enough to let us do the errands we needed.
That very same day the new Cal Ranch store in Vernal had it's grand opening. As soon as you walked in, they had a table of "freebies" and the employees made sure that you took advantage of that. I got a niffty handkercheif, Kevin got a bright orange hunting hat (not sure when he will use that, well, not sure when I'll be using my hanky either. But they were free, so...) The employee gave Matthew a wooden horse, and when he heard that we also had a girl, he grabbed a fold up foot rest for her.
It was fun, and if we need anything for our country life we now know where to go. However,we had a lot more fun when we got home.

Here we have Kevin sporting his cowboy look. (This is as close as we can get) The hat he is wearing is NOT the freebie hat. I hate to admit that the hat came with Kevin. I've tried to throw that thing away, but Kevin always finds it and saves it.



Kevin is showing Allison how to properly ride the horse so you don't get thrown off.



Allison loved it all. (She even stole my hanky, she liked it so much. Soo sad :( )



Here we have Allison showing us her new 3-legged foot stool, or if you have excellent balance her new sitting stool. (No one in my family was skilled enough to balance on that 3-legged thing, thus no pictures of us actually sitting on the thing).



We apparently don't get out much. But it sure made for a fun day for all of us.

A boy and his tractor.

The tractor...



The tractor and the boy meet.



Love at first sight.



Best buds forever.

Madalynn's baby blessing

We blessed Madalynn the beginning of August. There were some of the fam who were unable to make it. I've been meaning to put these up earlier then this so they could see them. Sorry it took so long, but here they are.

The family picture. Wow, our little family is not so little anymore. And boy did it take several takes to get everyone looking. Thank heavens for digital!



Her almost smile. And her tiny little tongue that she leaves out all the time. Something her daddy did when he was little.



The full dress shot. Very simple, but gorgeous!