Blog Book

My friend Jill Anderson ( theothersideofthemoon2009.blogspot.com ) was given a gift of making her blog into a book a little while back. It got me thinking, that it would be fun to have that for the kids with my blog. Keeping our memories written for others to see but really it is for us to enjoy as a family. I want to print my blog out every year and have the book for the kids to enjoy and look through for years to come. :)

Fall Festival

Last night Dylan, Cadence and I went to the fall festival at Dylan's old preschool (Camelback Christian). They do a big thing for the neighborhood as a outreach. We went last year but Cadence was still a bit too young to really enjoy it...this year she had a lot more fun.

One of the few things that Cadence did want to do is get her face painted and she knew right away that she wanted a butterfly. :)

They had little games for the kids to play and get some candy.


There was a hay maze, huge bouncy house and a horse & carriage ride. Cadence was scared to do all these things and was terrified of the carriage ride. But we managed to get on and she realized that the horse couldn't reach her and she was ok...but she wouldn't let me move my arms from holding her tight. :)

The kids had lots of goodies and had a great time!

Cabin with the ThorntonFamily!

We had such a great weekend at Mark's parents cabin with Chad, Kristy Jo & the kids! The weather was chilly and it was fun to have to bundle up to be warm. The kids had such a great time together exploring & playing.

All the kids.

Noah & Dylan had fun playing in the dirt near the cabin. They would slide down on the behinds...needless to say they were very dirty!

Found a tire swing nearby.

It was so beautiful with the leaves changing colors.

We rode the ATV's a lot. All the kids loved riding, including Isabelle. Mark's dad had given us the idea to hook up the trailer and load all the kids in. It was the perfect idea. The kids (and KJ :)) had such a blast riding in back and checking everything out as we drove around...we even saw a doe & fawn not too far off the road we were on. So beautiful.

Beautiful Weather & Bike Rides

Since it was such a beautiful day out yesterday we decided to load up the bikes for a ride around Tempe Town Lake when Mark got home from work. We started going a few years ago and try to go as often as we can. It is so relaxing and the kids love it. :)

This picture is in front of the fountain at the Tempe Fine Arts building.

It was Cadence's first time to be able to ride her own bike and let me tell you, she was so excited about it. She did great!

Isabelle wasn't so happy being stuck in the trailer. She rubbed her cheek so hard on the mesh netting that she gave herself a little rug burn. Needless to say, she did finally settle herself in and became content.

We brought a picnic dinner along. It was a great evening of enjoying the outdoors now that the weather has finally cooled off.

Of course the evening needed a icecream ending. :)

Family Trip to Payson

This weekend we had our annual family trip (my side of family) to a cabin in Payson. We had a great time, the weather was beautiful and the kids had so much fun exploring around. Get ready for a bunch of pictures. :)

Mom and Isabelle are missing from the above picture but otherwise that is everyone, the picture was taken going on a walk near the cabin.

There was a stream in the backyard of the cabin, so the kids had so much fun playing around the shore and checking things out.

We went to town and had a picnic at a park and on our way there we noticed that the fire department was having a open house so on our way back home we stopped in and had a tour. The kids loved it, they were able to climb in the vehicles and had some other stuff for the kids.

I love this picture!

We went to a area near the cabin to do some crawdad catching. Jon did most of the catching but Dylan had fun putting them in the little container and holding them until there were enough to go put in the ice chest.

We went to Woods Canyon lake. Jon brought his fishing boat. It was Cadence's first time on a boat and first time fishing...but she didn't catch anything.

Dylan on the other hand caught 4 fish...one was really big. I wasn't on the boat but I guess he was reeling it in for awhile, got tired and asked Jolene to do it but then took the pole back and finished bringing it in. Jon said it was the biggest one that he has caught on the lake! He was so excited that he caught the "fat daddy". :)

While they were on the boat, the rest of us took a walk on the side of the lake. It was really cold (windy) but beautiful.

Mom brought marshmellows to roast and had the kids singing songs. They didn't eat many but loved roasting them.

All the kids.

Thanks mom and dad for another great trip & memories!

Week of appointments

Dylan had a few appointments this week. It was his first trip to the eye doctor and he did so great with it. It was really funny the giggles he had for the anticipation of the little puff of air they do in the eye. He could hardly stand it each time (3 x's in each eye) :)

Here's a picture of his eye!

All is good with his eyes, no need for glasses. Good news!

He also went to the dentist today for a cleaning and check up. Sat perfectly still, he has never been afraid of going which is so great.

He has a filling that fell out so we'll be back soon to get that filled again. But other than that all is well in his mouth. :)

New Boundries

Isabelle new favorite place is standing on the stool in the bathroom and getting into the toothbrush & hairbrush drawers. She will stay in there forever playing and surprisingly always keeps her balance.

I was making dinner and turned around to see her just hanging out in the drawer. :)

Any time the dishwasher is open and she is around she wants to help. She hands me the dishes to put them away. She really enjoys it...somehow she already knows how to clean up. She puts toys away even!


And she finally is starting to walk more. She is about half and half now walking and doing her booty scoot. Now if I can just get her to walk all the time. I was able to capture her first long walk on video. :)

Let the Battle Begin...

Dylan is SUPER into Star Wars right now. I went to yard sales this last weekend with my mom and found a light saber in the color purple...Cadence was so excited to be able to have her own. And of course Dylan was excited that they could battle.

Having a big brother changes the things you enjoy. It's fun to see Cadence be excited about things only because she knows that Dylan likes it. :)