Carving Pumpkins

For FHE the week of Halloween I decided to carve pumpkins with the kids. Jason was at class so we did it by ourselves. I let the kids pull all of the seeds out of the pumpkin and they thought it was pretty funny. Brooklyn was pretty fascinated by the whole process and Carson kept wanting to cut the pumpkin himself. By the time we got one carved I decided that one was enough! We turned off the lights and lit the candle and it was fun to see their reaction. We set it on our porch and Carson made sure we lit it every night that week. It was really a lot of fun to do with the kids. I think it will get more and more fun as the years go on.

Straw Maze

The Saturday before Halloween we decided to take the kids to the straw maze that Will works at. We drove up to Archer and I was amazed at the size of the maze. It was huge!! I tried to take a few pictures to show the size of the thing, but I still don't think they do it justice. It took us over an hour to get through the maze, and that was with Will helping to guide Carson (who was our leader) through. I can't image going through it without a guide, let alone at night when it is haunted! No thank you!

We let Carson lead the way and he thought it was cool to be in charge. He actually did a really good job! Brooklyn had fun walking around in her squeaky shoes following her big brother. I love that she looks up to him so much and always wants to do what he is doing.

We really had a great time going through the maze and will probably try and do it every year. The kids wore their minion hats because it was pretty chilly that day and they looked adorable in them. It was also fun for them to hang out with their daddy because he has been so busy with work and school.

After we were done at the maze we went to Big Judd's to eat. They have HUGE 1 pound hamburgers. Jason and I split one and we could only finish about half of it. While we were at dinner, Brooklyn and Carson filled up on soda, which is a very special treat for them. They thought it was pretty amazing. :)

Boo at the Zoo

Last year we went to "Boo at the Zoo" and loved it, so we decided to go again this year. Jason was in class every night of the week, so we really wanted to go at a time when he could go. On Monday night he had a break between classes and that was the only time we would have enough time to go together. The week before Halloween we had BEAUTIFUL weather - the week of Halloween was awful. The Monday night we were going to "Boo at the Zoo" was rainy and cold. We decided to brave it anyways since the next few nights were supposed to be just as bad and Jason wouldn't be able to go.

We bundled everyone up, grabbed some umbrellas, and went for it. Carly came with us and it was a huge help. We had someone else to help keep the kiddos dry and warm. Brooklyn stayed wrapped up in her stroller, covered in blankets and seemed quite cozy. Carson trudged along in the rain and had a blast, despite the cold. He loved all of the lights and especially loved the Giraffe that followed us around. After "Boo at the Zoo" he started putting his slippers on his hands and pretending to be the giraffe at home.

We had lots of fun, but by the time we were done we were all freezing. We came home and I put the kids in a nice warm bath and we all had a cup of hot chocolate. "Boo at the Zoo" is going to be a tradition we continue as long as we live in Idaho Falls.

Cousins!

Ashley and Shaun went to Salt Lake for their anniversary and Kenzlee, Brock, and Joslynn stayed with us for the weekend. The kids LOVE their cousins and it was lots of fun. Kenzlee was a great help with Brooklyn and Joslynn (who love to fight) and Brock and Carson played really hard. It's fun to watch Carson and Brock play together. Carson is finally old enough to really play well with Brock and they have lots of fun. They both slept on the bottom bunk and poor Brock got smothered by Carson.

On Saturday we went to the playground at the elementary school by our house. The kids played on the slides, jungle gym, and swings. They also played on the teeter-totter. Carson had never seen one or played on one before, so he thought it was amazing. I took turns with the little girls on my lap and we teeter-tottered with Kenzlee.  Brooklyn and Joslynn would laugh and laugh when it was their turn. So sweet and so cute.

At one point we all piled on a tire swing and slowly (to make sure no one fell off) rocked side to side. I did my best to get a decent picture before anyone fell off. :)

 

Later that day we painted pumpkins in the driveway. Once again, Brooklyn had a lot of fun with the paint. I don't think there was a single inch of the pumpkins that didn't have paint on them. 

We had a lot of fun with our cousins. We need to make this more of a monthly tradition!

Fall Craft with Maddie

One of Carson and Brooklyn's favorite things to do is make crafts. They love it, and so do I. I think I'm going to be one of those moms that has boxes and boxes of art projects because everything is just too precious for me to throw away. Brooklyn really, really, really likes painting. Anything involving paint is fun and extremely messy with her around.

We went over to Maddie's house to do a fall craft with her. The kids make hand print trees and then used their fingerprints to make leaves. Carson's was really cute and he worked hard to make it look like a tree with falling leaves. Brooklyn, on the other hand, had lots of fun with the paint. :)

We displayed them in our home for the fall season and then put them away with our fall decorations. I am going to pull them out each year and hang them up during Autumn (they are on canvases). Pretty soon their hand prints won't be so small.

Playing in the leaves

We had a few weeks in October of AMAZING weather. It was warm, sunny, and perfect. I love fall even though it only seems to last a few weeks in Idaho. We met up with some friends at the park to play on one of the really nice days. The kids had so much fun playing outside in the sun. Pretty soon they found the leaves and had a blast. I think it was the first time Brooklyn has played in the leaves and she loved throwing them up in the air. It was hard to get a good picture because they had so much fun jumping and dancing in the leaves.

I really enjoy days like this with the kids. It's so fun to watch them play and just let them be kids. I think I'm going to be really sad when Carson goes to school and isn't by my side to play with all day. I guess we just need to work really hard at making more memories like this one. :)

Pumpkin Patch

When my dad came up to help us move, we decided to take a break from all of the work and go to the pumpkin patch. The weather was pretty nice for October and the kids had fun. There are TONS of pumpkins and the kids liked picking out their own. Papa pulled them around in a wagon, which was a huge hit.

They also have a train that will take the kids for a ride around and through the pumpkin patch. Carson and Brooklyn both love trains so we thought it would be a lot of fun for them and their cousins to ride. Carson did love it, but Brooklyn screamed the whole time, even though she was on Jason's lap. Even with the wind blowing we could hear her across the pumpkin patch. Silly girl.

Inside the Big Red Barn they had a little of kittens that the kids could hold. Carson was in love. It was so cute to watch him tenderly pet them and pick them up. Brooklyn didn't want anything to do with the kittens. Cranky baby!

We were so glad to have Papa with us. Carson loves Papa so much. So does Brooklyn, but you can't tell in the picture because she was screaming at the top of her lungs. Seriously, she was so cranky.

We love going to the the pumpkin patch. It has become a family tradition for us and I'm looking forward to many more years to come.

When the flu hits...

We had a week of sickness at our house. It started with Carson getting sick while at preschool and throwing up about every 20 minutes for the next 2 days. Then Brooklyn got it. Her's didn't last very long, but she was still up all night. I was hoping that Jason and I would avoid it, but I wasn't so lucky. I got the flu really bad for 2 days and couldn't get out of bed. Jason stayed home from work to take care of the kids for me, but he still had to go to class. The kids did a great job of DESTROYING the house in the short amount of time that he was gone. Oh well. It kept them busy. :) I do know one thing, being big and pregnant and having the flu is miserable. I hope it's something I never have to repeat. Jason is such a great husband and takes amazing care of my while I'm sick. I wish I could say that I'm better about taking care of him, but I'm not the greatest. Something for me to work on.

General Conference Weekend

We thought it would be a great idea to go down to General Conference this fall. We wanted to visit Jason's parents and grandparents and take a break from school and Idaho. :) We also wanted to look for a van while we were in Utah. With our third baby on the way we felt it would be so much easier, especially since all 3 of my kids are in car seats. Grandpa Hileman was able to get us tickets to the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference. We left the kids with a YW from their ward and had a great time. The session was amazing and I left uplifted and inspired.

We were also able to find a van for our family. We did lots of research and decided to get a Honda Odyssey. We knew what our price range was and had a list of vans to look at while we were there. We went to a ton of dealerships and couldn't find anything that we felt right about. We decided to go to one final dealership and the moment we saw this van we knew it was the one for us. It was in our price range, had everything we wanted and way more, had fewer miles than we were hoping for, and it was in great shape. We are super happy. I never thought I would be as happy about having a mini van as I am. :) It also gets great gas mileage and the kids love it. 

We had a great weekend and enjoyed spending time with family, listening to our inspired leaders, and getting away as a family. I've also loved going through the Conference talks in the Ensign. I ordered the Conference Notebook from the redheadedhostess.com and I love it! If you are looking for a great way to study General Conference I would recommend it.

Moving and New Adventures

August was a hard month for me. For some reason, our little family seemed to have everything up in the air all at the same time.

• Jason had a very stressful job (which he loved and was good at) but it took way more than 40 hours a week and was very demanding. On top of that, it wasn't very flexible with him in school and he was often stressed, which could be felt by all of us. Since he is almost done with his Computer Science degree the classes are only offered a limited number of times and most of them are during the day in Pocatello. We were able to find enough classes for the fall semester in Idaho Falls, but after that we knew that something needed to change.
• We had been blessed to live in Kevin and Steph's house for about a year and half and we loved every minute of it. We loved the ward, the neighbors, the location, how big and beautiful it was.... but there was always an air of uncertainty behind when we would have to move out. How much notice would they be able to give us? How much notice would they get? Where would we live? Would we have to move in the winter? Would we be able to find something in our price range? I am such a planner that it was always a stressful point in the back of my mind. 

  

  Where we lived for the past 18 months

  
  
• The baby. We had a new baby coming in December and figuring out our budget, living situation, etc was stressing me out just a tad.
• Jason started school again the end of August, which meant that I was a single mom again. Don't get me wrong, I completely support him being in school and he works unbelievably hard to make sure we are taken care of, but working fulltime and going to school fulltime in a degree that requires a lot of time means that we never see him. He leaves before we get up in the morning and gets home after we are asleep at night. The weekends are spent with him at the library doing homework. We literally only see him a few hours a week.  Its hard on everyone. The kids miss him, I miss him, and he misses us. Having a 3 year old and a very active 16 month old while pregnant and never getting a break can be a little draining.

So basically we didn't know what was going to happen with Jason's job, or his school, or where we lived, with a new baby on the way, and 2 little kids that need lots of love and attention and can't afford for mommy to be stressed out. I was at an all time low.

I constantly had a prayer in my heart and I poured my heart out to Heavenly Father on a daily basis. I felt like only He truly understood my feelings and how it was bringing me down. I knew that He had a plan for us, but trusting Him when He wasn't giving us much light at the end of the tunnel was challenging. It is interesting because I never doubted for a minute that He knew EXACTLY what He was going to do with our lives and that He had it all worked out. The thing I had a hard time with was not knowing how He was going to do that. To me, it seemed impossible and at some times, hopeless.

 Then, all at once, everything started to work itself out. A new opportunity presented itself at work and it was perfect for Jason. A lot more flexibility with school, less stressful, dealing more with IT (which is what he wanted), and a new learning opprotunity for him. Perfect.

Jason's professor emailed him to let him know that they were going to be moving a lot more classes to Idaho Falls so he wouldn't have to commute to Pocatello as much as we originally thought. Sweet.

I woke up one morning with an overwhelming feeling that it was time to move. I had looked at places to live multiple times since we had moved into the Sommer's house and was never able to find anything. While looking for what felt like the millionth time I stumbled across a house that wasn't even finished yet and had everything we were looking for. The only problem was that it was a little out of our price range. We kept looking around, but our minds kept coming back to it over and over again. We really wanted to be able to pay rent using just Jason's income because my school income was so unpredictable and we wanted to be putting it all in savings. Jason and I prayed about it and I had the very distinct impression, "Natalie, this is what I gave you your job for." After that, we went for it and we couldn't be happier with our decision. The house is perfect for our little family.

  The house is a twin home, but it is only connected by the garage so you would never know it is connected to another house. It has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths upstairs and an entire unfinished basement. The basement is as big as the house so we made a playroom, office, storage area, guest bedroom, and craft area downstairs. It has a fenced backyard that is the perfect size and a huge 2 car garage. It feels really open and big and we love it. We have great neighbors and an excellent ward.  Had we waited a few more days it would have been gone. I'm so glad that Heavenly Father let us know the right time for us to move.

My packing buddies

Moving was hard because I was 7 months pregnant, had 2 little kids, and a husband that was never home, but we managed. Our ward was a huge help - offering babysitting so I could pack, helping me clean late at night, and we had help loading and unloading the truck. It felt great to be moved and settled so I could focus on getting ready for the baby and not stressing about moving. My dad was able to come up and help us and we couldn't have done it without him. I didn't realize how much of a stress our living situation being in limbo was until the worry was gone.

Moving Day

So tired from moving

It's amazing how everything always works out when you need it to. We have been so blessed and Heavenly Father has really been looking after us. Having faith when everything seems dark is the key. Through it all my testimony has grown and I have learned once again to rely more on the Lord and trust in Him more completely. Once I turned it all over to Him was when it all started to fall together. Maybe someday it won't take me so long to turn it all over to Him.