Halloween Party

Last Tuesday, Casey took the boys to his Aunt Lynnette's annual family Halloween party. They had a great time. I had a Relief Society presidency meeting and I was sorry I missed out. Here are a few pictures:

Sweet little Owen ...

causing trouble in Lynnette's cupboards.

Frankenstein and Evan. I mean, Casey. :)

Evan told me about the piano that "played music all by herself! It was so crazy!" And anytime there's music, there's Owen dancing.

Here he is getting his groove on with Snow White (Aunt Lynnette).

Hogle Zoo

We went to the zoo last week. Casey took off on a last minute golf trip, but we decided to go anyway to make the most out of a couple long-distance errands. So after a quick stop in Ogden to get art panels, we (me, the kids and my sister Kate) headed to the zoo. Here are a few highlights.

Our first animal encounter was a standoff with the peacock. He just wandered around the grounds all day, it was great.

The elephant doing tricks.

Eating lunch while watching the carousel.

Evan being a scarecrow with the scarecrows.

This giraffe was hilarious. He had to spread his legs out so he could reach the branch on the ground. Too funny.

While the rest of us were checking out the camels, Evan was across the road inspecting all the Halloween decorations at the education office. Spooky stuff beats out animals anytime.

Owen enjoyed the camels.

Evan vs. gorilla.

Fun on the carousel.

Evan loved riding on the praying mantis.

Owen didn't think it was so fun after a minute.

Treats! (Owen loved the Dippin' Dots!)

Evan vs. orangutan.

Evan showing us how the gorilla walks.

Kate & Evan measuring up.

These 2 were funny. They were just sitting there posing. So I took their picture.

Train ride.

Evan's favorite part of the train ride.

After the zoo we took Auntie Kake to the airport. It was a fun day.

Anyone There?

Did we fall off the face of the earth? Some days, I wish I had. But no, we are here, busy as ever. I think about updating the blog almost daily, but actually getting around to it is a different story. One reason is our crazy little 15-month-old.

Owen is a doll. Just a really active doll. He is a little daredevil who still gets into everything and leaves a disaster trail wherever he goes. He is dang cute, though, and that is what saves his life.

His vocabulary is growing. He says "mama" and "dada" (although I'm not sure he connects the words to us), "a-ga" (all gone), and others I can't think of at this late hour. But by far his favorite new sound is growling. He loves to growl and he's pretty good at it.

He blows kisses (adorable!) and he loves to walk backwards and plop down on anyone's lap, no matter how accessible it is (or is not). He especially loves to sit on Evan's lap whenever Evan is sitting on the floor. And laps are the best place for reading books, one of his new favorite activities. He will try to do anything and everything anyone else is doing (he loves copying sounds/words).

His lack of fear is a bit alarming. He just decided he would try out the slide in the backyard the other day (the very same slide Evan was hesitant to go down only a few months ago). He loves it ... even the part where he falls back and hits his head at the bottom almost every time. He also tries dunking his head in the bath water. Yeah. He's a maniac.


Here is some of what we've been up to:

School carnival at Deerfield Elementary (where T'Em teaches)

(Evan chewing gum for the first time and trying to blow a bubble.)

One last hoorah with the sprinkler (this was the end of September, by the way)
and cherry tomatoes from the garden

Evan helping daddy paint in the studio



The praying mantis on our screen door handle that I almost grabbed in the dark one night (gives me the willies just thinking about it)



Visiting our cousins the Hullingers (and Aunt Carol, who was visiting from CA) in Payson



Casey's birthday (thanks for participating in the poll, everybody ... I owe him an expensive art book) :)

(I love how Owen is trying to copy Evan's silly pose here)

Halloween PJs (don't be fooled by Owen's ... he's not a monster in training; he's a full blown monster)


And today we went to the zoo. I'll try to post pictures of that sooner than later.