Family Pictures

 Before our friend Dani moved in July we had her take our family pictures. She did such a great job and we love them all. She was so good to work with and it was the least stressful family pictures we have had by far! Thanks Dani we love them! (Gracie decided the day of the pictures to try a new smile- and I love how a couple of the pictures show how Brooklyn was missing 4 teeth.)

 

Deer Camp

 Me and the gals made our yearly trip to Deer Camp and grandma joined us!! This was big- in my 31 years of life my mom has never come to Deer Camp. She did before we were born, but after, my dad would take us and I think she would enjoy some alone time! ;) (Sean was going to come, but our best friend Nicks' mom passed away and he wanted to go and spend some time with him.) The gals were so excited to get up there and go on a horse ride- they have been asking for months to go on a horse ride. Ella even had her first horse ride and I rode as well. It was a blast! My aunt Paula came up too with Marlee and Marjika- Kami and Kyle also. And my cousin Camille and her boys Taylor and Colton were also there. Nat, Derk, and their kiddos were there. And then the regulars were there too- my dad, Brian, Bruce, and Ric. The food didn't disappoint either and we had a blast! There were however 2 big things missing- my brother Brett and his wife Chels- we miss you guys!! Until next year...

The horses were ready to go when we got there and Pops and Ric were ready to take them

Brooklyn had a blast and was excited to get to ride by herself!

Gracie had so much fun too and they did not want to get off the horses!

Ella's first horse ride

Pops and his gals

This picture is funny in a couple different ways- my mom went to take a picture of Camille and Ella and her hat was over her face and it just turned out that in the background I am trying to get on the horse with Ric's assistance!

It is true- Suzie is at Deer Camp!

 Brian took chopping wood very seriously!

  And the night wouldn't be complete without Smores over the fire!

HaLLoWeEn!!

 We had such a great Halloween this year! The gals picked their costumes- Brooklyn wanted to be a cheerleader and I talked her into being a Utah State cheerleader. My sis-in-law Chelsea saw the cutest bee and cupcake costumes you have ever seen so that is what Gracie and Ella were. I especially loved this year that the gals were able to wear their costumes more than once! Gracie started the week off by having a fun Halloween party and trunk-or-treat at her preschool. We attended our Ward Halloween Carnival on Wednesday night (I am the 2nd counselor in our ward Relief Society Presidency and so my committee and I were in charge of the whole thing. It was a big success and lots of fun. I was so sick this week with a sinus infection, but still managed to have lots of fun!) One of our neighbors had a little Halloween party on Thursday night that we went to- I slacked and didn't get any pictures. On Saturday, at the Newton Library they had Witches Storytime that we went to- my sister was in charge of this activity and it was lots of fun- she even managed to get my mom to dress up as a witch for the occasion! We then went to the Maynard's and carved/painted pumpkins. And then Monday was the big night of trick-or-treating! We hit a few houses in our neighborhood and then went to Paula's for the annual Halloween chilli and cinnamon twists- to die for! It was such a fun week!

Ward Halloween Carnival

Witches Storytime- this may be the one and only time the kiddos see grandma dressed up! :)

Carving pumpkins

Halloween Cuties!

 Our Lil' Cupcake

Go Aggies!!

  

Our sweet little bee- she is so literal- someone asked her if she was going to sting them and she informed them that it was just a costume and that she wasn't a real bee!

Love these gals!!

The annual witches brew with Jan

Fall Fun!

The gals had their Primary Program on the 16th. They decided they wanted to have the Taylor Swift hairdo (3 barrel) and looked darling! They both worked hard and had their parts memorized and did a great job. Days like that are such proud mommy moments! The gals and I joined the girls for a weekend of fun in Park City over UEA. We had a blast! We also made are yearly trip to the Pumpkin Walk- the gals loved it!

"Jesus has taught me to love everyone."

"The Temple is the place, I am going there someday"

The kiddos had a blast in the hot tub and my cousin Jan was such a good sport to get in with them!

Meanwhile inside- Gracie was so exhausted she fell asleep right on Karen.

Catching Up (again)

My Blog is like my laundry right now- no matter how hard I try I cannot keep on top of it. We have had a great couple of weeks! Brooklyn and Gracie are both enjoying school and both got to go on field trips. Brooklyn got to go to Hogle Zoo and I was lucky enough to get to go with her. Minus the fact that it was the worst day of weather we have had. The Fall has been so lovely except for last Thursday- the day of the field trip. As we approached Hogle Zoo, the snow started and we walked around in the pouring rain. The kids actually did really well with it all- I didn't hear any complaining. Gracie went on a Fall field trip with her Preschool class to a really cute place in Paradise that has lots of Halloween blow-ups (which my kids love), a wagon ride, and a little train ride. It was fun to be able to go with her and the weather was excellent- in fact, I got a little sunburn. We also celebrated Sean's birthday. The gals decided to do some decorating and wrote him some cute notes. Ella continues to grow way too fast. The night of Sean's birthday she had rice cereal for the first time- she seems to really enjoy it! Life in the Maynard home is good right now!

Hogle Zoo in the rain. Good thing for rain ponchos, umbrellas, and rain boots! If you look close in the drinking fountain picture you can see the rain coming down. And the picture below shows how wet my shoes got. Note to self: next time you see rain boots on clearance, buy them!!

  Ella loves spending time in her saucer and is getting too big!

It was Red Ribbon Week this week- Big Blue made an visit to the school and Brooklyn was SOOO excited! She had to wear her Jr. Aggie shirt. Her class even had a picture with them giving Big Blue 5 in the newspaper. She feels so famous.

 Gracie loved her field trip and you can tell from the pictures that the weather was so much better!

 

 

The gals decorating for Sean's Birthday!

 

 Garrett is more than obsessed with Witches and was more than thrilled when he got to dress up as a witch. He keeps saying that is what he wants to be for Halloween- Nat talked him into being a skeleton- but this night, he decided that he wanted to be an idiot for Halloween. I laughed out loud in bed that night thinking of Garrett saying he wanted to be an idiot- good luck with that one Nat!

Miss Ella Sue having cereal for the first time. The pictures go in order she tasted, smiled, and then wasn't so sure!

Sure do love these gals of mine!!

Ella 4 Months

4 Months have come and gone and Miss Ella Sue is growing up too fast on me!! At her 4 months visit, she weighed in at 14.56 lbs putting her in the 62% and is 25.25 inches 77%. Ella is such a good baby! She loves to smile and has the cutest little smile- you know that when you talk and look at Ella you are guaranteed a smile. She also has the cutest little laugh. She loves her sisters and loves to watch them. She loves her little toys and goes between her swing, excersaucer, and bouncer. She is a drooling machine right now- most days we go through a couple outfits because of her drooling. She hasn't lost any of her hair, in fact it just keeps growing. I have all these cute little headbands that I would love to put in her hair, but she has so much hair that they don't stay in- so most days she is sporting a nice scare hair look. She is such a blessing into our family and brings so much happiness to us!