Arr! I'm a Pirate

McKinley has been running around the house for months pretending to be a monster. She hides and jumps out and yells chasing us with her arms waving around like crazy. She was even calling herself "monsta McKinley". So, I thought, perfect, she can be a monster for Halloween. I even borrowed the cutest monster costume you've ever seen from a friend of mine. Well, I brought home the costume and McKinley loved it, until she had to put it on, then she HATED it! I was so bummed. So, we decided to take her to a costume shop and let her pick her costume. She picked out a really cute pirate. Seriously, she's the cutest pirate ever! Afterward we went to The District and did some trick or treating with her cousins. She had a ball!

Before they started

She loved checking out the other trick-or-treaters

Had to put this one in for Robbie, getting candy from a Ute bucket...made his day

After the haul was over...three VERY happy girls!

Pumpkin Patch

We made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch a few weeks ago and picked out our pumpkins. You may notice McKinley in her shorts....it has been really warm here this October; nice for everybody else, but the lady whose VERY pregnant (me) wouldn't mind a little cool down! Nana and Papa came to the pumpkin patch with us this year and also gave McKinley a pumpkin from their garden. Thanks for coming Nana and Papa, it was fun!

McKinley loved the smallest pumpkins

Enjoying the tractor again this year. Although, this year she did NOT want Daddy on the tractor with her. For all of you tractor lovers out there...we did find out that she prefers John Deer tractors over the others. Not being a tractor enthusiast I'm not sure if this is a good thing or bad thing, but nobody can accuse her of not having an opinion.

Here she is IN the wheel barrow

And pushing it because she really wanted a turn!

The day wouldn't be complete without a picture of her "Crazy Eyes"! This is what she's decided to call it when she pulls this face. It used to be her "Scary Face", but I secretly love that she renamed it her "Crazy Eyes". At least a few times a week I hear "Mom, take a picture of my crazy eyes!"

Longest Break Ever

I haven't blogged in a really long time. There is no use trying to catch up, so I'll just say this, we've had a lot of fun the last couple of months and been super busy. We finished off our basement and painted McKinley's new room and moved her in, set up the baby's room and let the dishes pile up far too often! We also took a couple of fun trips, hung out, went on lots of bike rides, walks, drew on the sidewalk and had a lot of family fun. Here are a few pictures of some of the things we did in August and September. I can't believe October is already half over!

So That's Where She Got it From!

Over the last week I noticed the funnies little thing about McKinley. She has the cutest little girl voice and when she drops something or something doesn’t go together quite like she expected she says “Oh Man!” I couldn’t figure out where she got it from, but it sounds so cute that each time she says it I smile a little. It’s such a funny little thing to say that I kept wondering where she got it…and then I figured it out. Turns out I say it ALL THE TIME! I had no idea and now I totally laugh every time it comes out of my mouth. It’s funny how you don’t realize you do something until you child starts doing it too!

Stansbury Triathlon

Well, Robbie had his last triathlon for the summer (or at least the last one he's told me about :) ) and it was in Stansbury Park. He ran the Olympic length this time, that's a one mile swim, 25 mile bike ride and a 6 mile run...it's exhausting just to watch! McKinley and I went with my brothers Jon and Ty. We had a lot of fun.

We got to the race JUST before they started swimming so our timing was perfect.

Here is Robbie running up to get on his bike and taking off.

The biking part takes a while, so we took a break on the playground where McKinley LOVED hanging out with her super fun uncles, I think I'm going to be required (by McKinley) to take them with us everywhere we go now! We also stopped to check out some ducks on our way back over the race route.

We made it back just in time to see Robbie biking in to transition to the run, we almost missed him!

Here he is running after the first 3 miles. He looked happy and although hot was having a good time. During the run some nice people who lived on the running route had their hose at were spraying people down to keep them cool, Robbie said that was one of the best parts of the run!

Here he is at the finish...go ROBBIE!

Robbie works out almost every morning at 5:30 to be ready for these triathlons. He works really hard and sacrifices by getting up that early so it doesn't take time away from our family. He did a great time and we're proud of him. We LOVE you!

Vacation Time!

Oh, how I LOVE vacations! There is nothing like that sweet escape from work, chores, bills and the chaos of everyday life. We were off from July 1st -12th and it was awesome!

First, we spent some time at the cabin in Bear Lake with the Loomis clan. It was cooler than it usually is this time of year, but we enjoyed a hike to Bloomington Lake (where Carson was able to fish a little), some pool time (where Robbie and David did tricks and got sufficiently pruney) and digging in the sand (where the kids came home wet, tired and enjoyed some castle smashing). Of course there were fun games, golf and a lots of food too! The Loomis Cup involved a crazy game of Frisbee Golf. I'm sure there is not a Loomis that could disagree with me when I say I am, hands down, the worst frisbee thrower on the planet. Here are a few pics from the trip:

This is some ice cream we got on the way out of town...this was the SMALL cone, I don't even want to know how big the regular one is!

One last shot of McKinley chillin' on one of the tractors at the cabin:

The Loomis reunion was a lot of fun, the only things missing were Mike, Monica and Rennick, we sure hope you guys can come next time!

After Bear Lake, we went home for a day, un-pakced, washed, re-packed and headed up to McCall, Idaho to camp with my dad's side of the family for a few days. Can I just say that McCall is beatiful! McKinley loved her new sleeping bag and the air mattress and thoroughly enjoyed the tent. It was a lot of fun to visit with cousins, play at the lake and just hang out. It's been years since I've been to McCall and it was every bit as wonderful as I remember.

Matt and Leslie took Robbie, McKinley and I on a hike. My dad says calling it a hike is debatable because it was so short, but I say a kid in a hiking backpack makes it undeniably a hike! Plus, it had some amazing views!

McKinley got dirty and crazy and loved all of the squirels and chipmunks, not to mention hanging out with her uncles Jon and Ty.

I wish every day could be a vacation!