The Elementary School Carnival

Last week the school had a big PTA fundraising carnival, and it was one of the first very hot days of the year. (Very hot, meaning we broke an uncomfortable sweat.) We went with our friends, Rebecca, Jensen, and Noah. (The husbands were working.) The kids had a good time "fishing" for prizes (twice), getting balloon creations, getting their faces painted and nails stickered, eating snow cones, and riding on this crazy tractor-deal. Madeline is in this yellow tin can creation, and Raleigh is in the first red car. The driver went so fast that Noah fell down inside of his tin can right when it started! He was zooming all over the place- (which made me wish I had joined them.) It was the first thing the kids did when we got there, and probably the most fun. Let's just say that all the kids were crying that night when we put them to sleep because they were just plain worn out from having too much fun!

What a hat!!

Kensington had too much fun and too much sun.

Watching the cloggers and eating snow cones and getting a little grouchy.

Two Little Buddies

Madeline and Jensen have had a lot of fun playing together lately. They do the cutest things and get along so well. The other day Madeline dressed up in her bride costume and came into the room where they had been playing. Jensen looked at her and said, "Is that a WEDDING DRESS?!" Then he said, "Well, I guess I better go upstairs and put on my suit!" They both graduated from preschool this past week, too. They played "Husband and Wife" at our house the other day, and I heard things like, " The mail's here, honey" (from Jensen), and while taking a little "family" photo, he also said to Madeline, "Hold the baby up, she knows how to STAND!" They compromised very well. We're glad to have such good friends for the girls to play with.

J.TEEEEEEE!!!!

What could be more exciting than a reunion with your best friend from high school?! Dionne had a blast seeing Jenny and getting giggly and hyper (only this time about motherhood and the old times). It was just like we left off- always so fun to see you, JENNY!! We were busting a move out on the dance floor with our kids and each other- it was a blast! (Imagine a former cheerleader and her sidekick dancing to Can't Touch This.) It was fun to see a miniature Jason- Keaton, his son- chasing Madeline around all night, tickling her!! I found her and Raleigh hiding in the girls bathroom in one of the stalls trying to keep away from him! Raleigh and Madeline had a blast, dancing out in the middle and following beautiful Kayla around trying to be like the big girls.

Tyler is a miniature Jenny with his cute round face and the same coloring as Ben. (Lucky kid!) His little eyebrows are adorable!

Dionne gets to hold Tyler!

Here's Grandpa Whitehead with his two gorgeous daughters! So cute. They got him out on the dance floor and all danced together.

A Lewis & Matthews Reunion

Chris & Amanda and Baby Briant came over for another wild picnic on the living room floor. We were all a bit tired, and then we all got the GIGGLES when we were playing an old game that Dionne's family used to play for Family Home Evening. We'll explain it sometime in person to anyone interested. Raleigh and Madeline love it. But the funny thing was watching Chris get SO into it. He and Dallas are hilarious. Amanda started laughing so hard she started crying big tears down her cheeks when we unveiled one of her chicken-leg pictures, and that got Dionne going, too. Only one person almost wet her pants this time, and it was the person who most recently had a baby . . .

Madeline, our fledgling photographer, took this picture.

Cute, cute Briant in his winter PJ's- Chris & Amanda's miracle boy!!

The Great Marble Race

We have such cute neighbor friends, Jayden and Lauren. They came over to play with all of the new Christmas toys, and they especially had fun with the new marble race. It also doubles as a waterpark for Polly Pockets.

A Visit from the Boys

Jensen and Noah came down yesterday and brought with them a Sesame Street workout DVD. Our girls have pretty much been bouncing off the walls being cooped up inside the house, so it was a welcome way for them to expend some energy. They worked out pretty hard, got the giggles, and then they all somehow ended up behind the pushed-out couch in this position, staring at the TV. Raleigh, who loves to pose for the camera, saw that I was taking a picture and flashed us all a smile . . .

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

James was Caesar.

Ethan and Lauren were a donkey and a camel. (They both clarified for me when I commented on their "horse" costumes. Oops.) Jensen was a king, and so was Will.

Raleigh was an angel (looking like she was flying high on drugs, but actually it was a few hours past bedtime.) Lydia was a perfect Mary.

Jayden was a shepherd, and Madeline was Joseph.

Our little block party @the Gooch's house was really fun on Monday night. The kids put on a little pageant of the nativity for us, and we all ate too much sugar. We enjoyed our neighbors and had a lot of fun!

Willard "Pops In"

The first time Willard came over to play with Raleigh, she was so excited to tell Dallas when he got home. "Willard popped in today, Daddy!" Popped in? We don't know where that came from, but he has popped in a few other times, and we always enjoy the entertainment when he comes over. He's a good kid and a good friend to the girls.

Four Gorgeous Princesses Going to the Ball

Raleigh and Madeline with their next-door neighbor friends Jayden and Lauren. They all dressed up and "went to the ball" which was in the kitchen. We saw some exquisite dancing.

Stop #2 on Halloween

Our 2nd Stop on Halloween was at Chris and Amanda's for our 2nd Annual Halloween Party with our good old friends from Provo. Here Chef Chris holds Kensington. In the second picture our family poses with Dylan and Abigail, who dressed up as Captain Hook and Snow White. Amanda made the cute flower hat for Kensington (which she was not happy about wearing at the time), and the last picture shows Kensington wiped out after the night was over. We got to take all the kids trick-or-treating while Amanda and Amanda relaxed with the younger kids. The neighborhood was alive and HAPPENIN'! It was almost LOUD- there were so many people out there freezing their buns off trying to get candy. Raleigh and Dylan were the fastest and kept about a full house-length ahead of the rest of us. Dallas and Dionne traded off holding Chooby. Madeline was in the middle, and Abigail trailed behind. Rikki and Kevin helped us with any stragglers, and it went really well! We only had a couple of near-fatalities when we tripped over cords holding up puffy Halloween decorations in people's yards. (Guess we should've stayed on the sidewalks, but we were trying to keep up with the kiddies.) They all got the hang of saying "Thank You" audibly, and we had a really good time. After about an hour of Trick-or-Treating, we went back to the Lewis' to defrost, eat some pumpkin cake, sneak some of the kids' GOOD candy, and catch up with our buddies. Then we packed our kids in the car and drove our long drive home with super-tired, sugar-overloaded kids. But we had a lot of fun, and we'll do it again next year!

Halloween Pictures

Raleigh-Belle poses with our cuter-than-cute upstairs-neighbor friends, Noah and Jensen. Noah is a gorilla and Jensen is Captain Moroni.

Jensen says that he is going to marry Madeline in the Salt Lake Temple. Madeline's response? "But I'm going to marry Daddy."

Well, look how dashing our footman is! Dallas strikes a pose wearing his blue Polo button-down and tie, Dionne's green pea coat, his BYU sweatpants, long church socks and shoes. For those of you wondering what that giant papier mached balloon was, it was going to be part of a carriage for the princesses. Unfortunately, the combination of warm glue and cold weather shriveled that carriage back down to a pumpkin just about at the stroke of midnight. But we still say, "That would've been so cool!" And "Maybe next year!"