Beth and Casey are Engaged!!

Yeah!! I'll be posting more later but the title says it all :)  Congrats to the both of you!

BSU Football & Pumkin Carving~ A Perfect Combo!

I just love Fall~  I love the colors, the brisk mornings, sweaters, a good bowl of soup on a cold day, hot chocolate, and college football!  It has been such a treat watching our little local team work its way up the polls.  I can still remember when we were discussing them breaking the top 25~ now we are number TWO!!  So exciting :)  This past Saturday, we enjoyed the game and carved pumpkins too.... the kids had a blast!  A big thank you to Auntie Beth for sharing her creative side and helping the kids with their designs and a big thank you to Casey for helping with the "gutting". ;)   My sister in law, Melissa, deserves a huge thank you as well for organizing our yummy meal and cookie decorating! 

Carter was not impressed with the pumpkin carving process~ completely grossed out by all the insides ;)  He didn't stick around long enough for a picture even!

The sun has set and they are still hard at work on their creations!

Beth and Casey proudly display their pumpkin art!

He might not like the process, but he loves the result :)

Oh my goodness~ My Taterbug is 19 today!!

Wow~ I'm not sure why, but man having a nineteen year old makes me feel, well... old :)  We had a great time tonight celebrating Taylor.  We had dinner at Five Guys and Frys (oh my goodness- incredibly yummy greasy burgers & fries) and then cake and presents at his condo.  They have it fixed up so cute and it was I was impressed with how clean it was too ;)

Taylor is unique, funny, spirited, and super duper smart :) I love getting glimpses of the man he is becoming and can't help but to feel proud.  Happy Birthday Taterbug!!

Plant Smiles~ Grow Giggles~ Harvest Love~

I'm on year 2 now of scheduling and coordinating a family photo shoot :) Unfortunately, I was a little too organized and gave Taylor a months notice. His schedule between work, school, and a social life makes keeping it all straight rather difficult. He forgot to ask for the day off and by the time he remembered it was too late :( It felt so strange not having him there. If I was talented with photoshop, I would place him in there somewhere :) Despite missing one of our ducklings (I'm sure he loves being called that, NOT lol), we did get some fabulous pictures~ we smiled until our teeth stuck to our lips, we giggled at the crazy maneuvering we had to do in this rustic place (aka completely abandoned buildings :) )and we loved every second of it!

Thank you Nikki for your patience and creative eye! I can honestly say I loved all of them!

Carter~ sweet, silly, and alll boy :)

Carter has changed so much this past year!

~He absoulutely adores preschool~ wow never thought I would say that! :)

~We can take him out to dinner and he will sit still for longer than 5 minutes!

~His imagination runs wild and his creativity is really blossoming.

~"Reasoning" is now a successful parenting option :)

~He has an incredible memory

~Counting to 100 (over and over and over lol) is one of his most favorite activities

~He loves talking his siblings into various games- cards, army men, or grocery store

One thing that will never change (to my eyes and heart anyways ;) )~ his pure sweetness when he finally slows down....

Grandma Hank

We have been soo soo lucky to have Grandma Hank here! From teaching Kate and Kelsey the secrets to making banana bread to enduring our crazy BSU football parties~ she is simply amazing!



Thank you Grandma for all the giving that you do- filling our tummies with fabulous food, sharing memories, and loving on the rambunctious great grand kiddos :) just to name a few. Life is all that more sweet with you here <3 xoxo Colleen

Dad~ Older and of course, wiser too ;)

My dad turned the big 6 0 on Wednesday~ leaving us with another great reason to celebrate! We've become quite efficient at throwing parties and this was no exception~ much thanks to my mom and grandmother. How blessed we are to have all of our family so close! There are many qualities that make my Dad the amazing person that he is~ here are my top ten :)
10- Story Telling~ I still remember the stories he would read to us complete
with character voices and expressions.
9- Jokester~ He is also wonderful at telling jokes for the same reasons :) and his laughter is contagious!
8- Fixer Upper~ He wears his "Tim the Tool man" belt proudly. He is always willing to help us
out on any project.
7- Patience~ whether it was trying to teach me golf or how to drive a stick shift, he never lost his cool.
6- Cooking~ He is just fabulous and never afraid to experiment :)
5- Thoughtful and Creative~ He puts thought and creativity into most everything. With my mom's help, the two of them come up with the best ideas!
4- Honest and Fair~ My dad has always taught me to listen to both sides of every story and to be truthful. He practices his own advice.
3- Genuine~ My dad is who he is~ he makes no apologies for this.
2- Wise~ He has the best advice- usually given by a story or a quirky little saying.
1- Unconditional Love~ No matter what, my dad always offers a soft place to land. What a comforting feeling it is to be held in his arms.
Love you Dad~ Thanks for everything!



The BEST chocolate cake on the planet courtesy of Grandma Hank! Carter entertained himself all evening with the miniature golf decoration :)



No Birthday would be complete without presents... I love how excited my dad gets :)


Melissa, Ben, & the girls had this sign made for my Dad's new shed.



Mom found this mug- it was hysterical when my dad opened it and realized his photo was on the side. I wish we had a video~ we just couldn't stop giggling :)

To the "Greatest Grandpa"~ Happy Happy Birthday!