Halloween

In our family, there are a few things to count on come the end of October.  The first, Papa's birthday.  While he's not a monster [usually :-) ], we are glad for this part of Halloween!

The second, Grandma Gasser coming through with some stellar costumes.  This year, we have a beautiful Belle, a Rosetta fairy (Tinkerbell's friend) and a fierce Batman (the physique a little more Adam West than Christian Bale).

The Robin costume came together at the last minute.  Mostly, Ty just wanted an excuse to break out his old wrestling tights (to accentuate his shapely legs)!
Trick-or-treating is always fun.  Especially the selective candy harvesting after the kids are in bed :-)

heavenly reminder

We decided to take a quick drive to Hanging Rock State Park to do some hiking and see some water falls. 

 Unfortunately, the pictures never do justice to the beauty of the surroundings...

Lots of fun rocks to climb on and around.  We had some excited explorers.

Here's Coleson enjoying some hide and seek.  Now if he could just stop giggling...

We're so lucky to live in such a beautiful area!! The quiet and natural beauty of the Lord's wonderful creations not only help us feel peace, but remind us that our Mr. B is always so very close to us, even though unseen.

pouting and picking pumpkins

Papa was kind enough to ride the merry-go-round with Coleson not one, but two times!

When you don't listen to your mom and dad, sadly, you have to get down off of the very cool wagons...and that results in two very upset kids whom will no longer smile for the camera.  Stinks when parents ruin all of your fun!...Maybe they'll remember how it felt and next time they will listen when mom and dad are trying to keep them safe??  OR maybe not??

 We ended up with a white tiger, rapunzel, a black cat, a funny monster, a spider, the wicked witch, and a frankenstien jack-o-lantern.

a very special birthday

Makinzie finally turns 8.  Only one year after most of the other kids in 3rd grade.

(have to love pictures from the missing teeth stage of life :))

Luckily, Nana and Papa were able to be here for her very special day.  We were so grateful and happy that she made the decision to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  She has a very strong connection with the Spirit and is a very intuitive and sweet little girl.

bikes and bouncing

Love how happy she is with herself for learning how to ride.  In true Addellyn fashion, once she decided she wanted to ride a 2 wheeler, she DID it, and that was that.

The best way to entertain AND make them tired...let them bounce their little hearts out!

he's finally 4

and he's still thrilled about every "little" thing!

super hero bandaids

potato head parts

brownies with ice cream spread on the top and a few cheap super hero toys strategically placed

he thought it was "the best birthday EVER!"

I could not be more grateful for this BIG man.  He has definitely been a super hero in my life.  He is my little bit of sunshine every day.  Thank goodness he is still home with me each day.  I know that he is the main reason I would push myself everyday to stay out of a dark corner and try to actually DO something.  He is a very happy and imaginative boy.  He's also very loving and always aware.

It amazes me that he is never afraid to say what he's thinking, and a lot of the time it is very similar to our own thoughts.  He is by far the most vocal about how he feels about Beckett dying.  He is quick to express his immediate impressions and thoughts. 

At the store, if we see someone with a baby, he will say "it's not fair that they have their baby and we don't have ours."  "Why did Heavenly Father need Beckett but he left everyone else's babies here?"  "I miss Beckett and his happy face."

He comments often about not having a brother that will live in his room and play with him, and how that makes him sad.  He asks when the resurrection will finally happen.  When he hears sirens he immediately asks questions about that horrible day when the firemen came to get Beckett.  He doesn't like to go to church because it is a constant reminder of what he no longer has, but everyone else DOES still have.

It brakes my heart to know how sad, frustrated and confused he often feels.  But, even though it is so hard to hear, and some days I really wish I didn't have to hear his sad thoughts because it just makes me feel more horrible, I am SO very grateful that he is so open and willing to share his thoughts all of the time.  I think it has helped all of us to be better at thinking through our own feelings and facing them, rather than trying to suppress them and hide them from eachother.

He really is our family's 4-year-old super hero!

heading back to reality

We stayed in these apartments with this incredible pirate pool for the entire week we were in Florida.  The kids loved to "stay in" almost as much as they loved the parks and beaches...it was wonderful!

But, apparently we couldn't stay there forever...some thing about work and expenses, or other random ridiculous things like that.

So, we made our way back up the coast and back to our unwanted reality.
We spent another Sunday lunch and stroll on the beach.

Found some beautiful butterflies.

Then a few of us were able to pass out for a while during our very long ride home.  Vacations are hard work for the little ones...