Time to Party!

Since Jason's parents were coming for a visit in mid-October, we decided to wait until that weekend to have Maylie's official birthday party. The Ladners as well as the Maynes (our neighbors down the street) were also able to come so it was quite the little fiesta in our house that night.

I loved this cute little decoration filled with Maylie pictures from each month of her first year of life!!

She was a little more hesitant about the cupcake this time. I think partly because she had just finished dinner so she wasn't very hungry and there was quite a gathering of people watching her every move!

Getting a little taste...

And in goes the cupcake!!

And now we officially have a one-year-old on our hands. It is both exciting and kind of sad for me, but she is still my little baby no matter how old she grows!

Family Pictures 2015

I really wanted to get some new family pictures taken before the weather got too cold. I also had the "brilliant" idea that maybe if we used a tripod, we could take our own family pictures without having to hire a photographer which can be pretty pricey. Fortunately all of the stars aligned, and we were able to head out on Monday, October 12th to Pangborn Park with our coordinating outfits and perfect weather.

We had A LOT of pictures that didn't turn out, but I was thrilled that we got some amazing pictures of our family for 2015. Not too bad for a tripod and a fairly cooperative family!!

I sure do love this little family of mine!!

I had to include this one outtake because it just makes me laugh. Maylie wanted no part of this one (can you see Jason holding her up in the back?) and Nolan looks pretty pained about the whole thing too! Still love it though!

First Birthday!

As much as I tried to deny it, my little baby had her first birthday on Saturday, October 3rd. It was supposed to be a pretty busy day with a soccer game, a baseball game and then General Conference but with the rainy weather, almost everything got cancelled so we were able to enjoy spending time at home watching General Conference and celebrating Maylie's first year of life.

Here she is on her birthday morning...all ready to go!!

This girl brings so much light and laughter into our home. I don't think we could possibly love and enjoy her any more than we already do!

She is full of personality and she loves making us laugh...

She pulls herself up on everything and cruises around the furniture too. She especially loves anything soft and when she sees a baby doll or stuffed animal, she makes the cutest little cooing sound!

She had lots of helpers available to help her open her birthday presents...

She quite enjoyed ripping up that wrapping paper. She loves to rip apart anything she can get her hands on so to be able to do it and not get in trouble was a real treat!

I guess she enjoyed what was inside the wrapping paper too!

She got her first little purse...

And a new baby doll too!!

Then we stripped her down and presented her with her very first cupcake!!

To say she loved it would be a huge understatement!!

She dived in headfirst, probably anxious to eat as much as she could before someone took it away!

That is some good stuff!!

Happy First Birthday Miss Maylie!!

Orange Pumpkins!

Nolan has been playing his first season of soccer with HAYSL this fall. He seems to enjoy it although their field is so small that they spend most of their games kicking it out of bounds and doing throw-ins. Here is his little team, the Orange Pumpkins!!

 

That name will certainly strike fear into all of their opponents!!

Between soccer for Nolan and baseball for Landon, our Fall has stayed pretty busy with sporting events!!

FHE at Misty Meadows

While Jason was out of town, we headed over to Misty Meadows for our Family Home Evening activity. They had all of their fall decor up and Maylie loved crawling around the pumpkin patch!

The sunflowers were also in full bloom which made for a beautiful sight!

Landon wanted a picture with that huge Turkey in the background. It looks like it will make someone a nice feast come Thanksgiving!

Abby is like the animal whisperer to all living creatures. She especially loved this little calf in the petting zoo and that calf had a little fit when Abby walked away. I guess that calf was pretty fond of Abby too!

Nolan driving the tractor...

We ended the evening with some yummy ice cream straight from their dairy cows. Pure yumminess!!

Cross Country Race

The weekend after we got back from Disney World, Abby participated in the Elementary Cross Country Race. She was a bit nervous before the race began, but seeing all her 4th grade friends from Paramount Elementary helped to calm her nerves...

Here she is at the starting line...

And she's off!!

Looking good Abby!

She finished the mile course in 8:17 and we were so proud of her!!

There were over 130 4th grade girls who participated and Abby ended up coming in 25th place.

She received her ribbon...

And was excited to be right next to her good friends Sydney and Avery.

The top 30!

Way to go Abby!!