Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011 has come and gone and it was the best one yet.

Of course this has something to do with our little ladies and we embraced every second.
It goes without question that we touched every base as far as Halloween clothing attire goes.
I had way too much fun dressing these girls up basically the whole week leading up to the the big day.


They had Halloween tutus...


Halloween hats...

Halloween bibs...


Halloween pjs...


and finally, their Halloween costumes...
A little much? Nah!!
You only get your first baby once, and not everyone gets their first and second baby at the same time.
So much fun and we soaked all the adorableness up!






As far as the festivities go, we started out on Saturday night with a pumpkin carving/scary movie marathon party at my parents house.






The whole collection of finished pumpkins. I think it is safe to say, we don't take our pumpkin carving too serious(as reflected by the creativity) but we have a ton of fun.



Our little family of pumpkins.
Betcha can't tell which one is Clara's? Good job Rick!
I carved Bree's pumpkin. I was trying to carve the pretty shape of Bree's eyes, and that is
when things went terribly wrong. It ended up looking more like an alien. Oh well.

From left: Clara, Rick, Bree, Melissa


We got to experience Clara's first little Halloween scare when Ashley and I put her in front of this skeleton that made noises. Just look at her face. A few seconds after this picture we heard a terrified scream and the tears started to flow. It was so sad and we made sure to stay far away from this decoration for the rest of the night.










On Halloween day, the girls and I woke up and went to Kaden and Abby's costume parade at their school. Abby was a Zombie and Kaden was a Jabberwocky from America's Best Dance Crew. They looked so great!


Later, we went and picked Rick up from work and went to visit both sets of Rick's Grandparents.
We are so lucky they live close so we can spend time with them and the girls
get to know their Great Grandparents.


Great Grandma and Grandpa Thorn

Great Grandma and Grandpa Hansen
(Grandma Hansen isn't too fond of pictures, so I snuck and got this one in of everyone while no one was paying attention. Hopefully she doesn't mind!)



We then headed over to party number 2 at my parents on Halloween night for a costume contest and food.
I have always loved Halloween.
It is the first of the end-of-year holidays and I think
people in general are ready for some fun. Myself included.
Of course children steal the show, but what I love almost as much is seeing adults get dressed up and goofy.
One day a year to be a kid again, I say embrace it!











Matthew was missing from the crowd this time. He is now a teenager and much more interested in hanging out with girls on Halloween:) We missed him and it wasn't the same without him there.


This gorgeous hippie won the $50 grand prize in the costume contest!


And of course the yummy food my mom always so graciously prepares for all of us. Traditionally we had soup, breadsticks, pigs in a blanket, donuts and apple cider . Delicious!



Towards the end of the night, the girls were exhausted and getting a little ornery so we decided to take off their costumes.
As soon as we took them off, they were as happy as can be again.
I guess they had had enough of being ducks!



We finished off the night with Abby entertaining Bree and Clara with a pot of apple cider and dry ice.
The girls were so intrigued by Abby and the mysterious steaming pot.
It was priceless to see their faces and reactions.
If you are thinking this looks as if we are asking for trouble, we were.
Clara ended up tipping the pot over and it spilled everywhere.
It was worth it for the fun they had!





It was a great Halloween.
We look forward to the many years ahead!

Duckies

We will be hanging out with these cute little duckies all weekend
celebrating their first Halloween.
We have lots of fun things planned:
Carving pumpkins, Halloween parties, visiting family and watching very tame scary movies.
Rick and I are not the bravest scary movie watchers.
We watched one last night with some friends and Rick started out very comfortable all by his lonesome in the recliner.
By the end he was cuddled in a ball with me on the small love seat! So funny.
Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Halloween!

Picking Pumpkins

We spent our night at Hee Haw Farms picking out pumpkins.
It was a little bit of a rushed visit because it was colder than we had anticipated and
the girls little noses were getting redder by the second.
Mission accomplished though and I think we picked some beauties.




They had this pit that was full of miniature baby pumpkins.
Perfect for our two little munchkins.



Bree and Clara's first pumpkins!

6 Month Picture Time

6 month pictures did not go exactly as I imagined.

I was told when the girls were 3 months that when I went in to get their 6 month pictures
that they would smile smile smile.
Not so.
They were so freaked out by the photographer, the lights,
the camera and all the squeaky little toys we were shoving in their faces that it was not the smile fest I was planning on.
I was so stressed out by the end I felt like I had ran a few miles.
My mom made it all better by buying me a Diet Coke and some Chick-Fil-A after.
Moms just know what to do.
Regardless, we got some great shots and I'm so happy with them. Even a few little grins!





This one makes me smile. Clara had her little hand on Bree and wouldn't take it off. It is so reflective of their personalities. Clara is definitely the dominate personality in this twosome and I can see her being protective of little sister (even though she's only about 3o minutes older).

The Leaves are Changing

It is definitely that time of year.
The leaves are starting to change and we are feeling that fall chill.
We decided to make our way up to American Fork Canyon today
to check out the beautiful scenery of the changing seasons.
It was a relaxing Sunday drive and we got out
and walked around a bit up at Tibble Fork Reservoir.

I love fall and all of the beautiful colors it brings.
We are lucky to live so close to the most beautiful mountains
and be able to go up on a moments notice whenever we like.

Good Day

The girls and I went up to the Mount Timpanogas Temple and just relaxed in the beautiful weather. It has been really chilly, but today was just perfect.
I'm soaking up every second of these semi-warm days before winter sets in.
Oh how we do not want winter to come.












I was enjoying myself so much, that I think we stayed a little too long. Their faces in this picture are like, "okay mom, this is beautiful but we are hungry. Let's go home!"
Oops..
Regardless of the picture below, we had such a good time and the girls loved being outside.

We Love Cal Bears

I think I can safely say one of the first things I knew about Rick when we started to date was that he loved Cal Football.This is his team from back home and he is a die hard fan. Because we are in Utah, not many Cal games are available for Rick to see. This year only one game was going to be televised on Utah stations so of course we had to make an event out of it!Oh yes we did. We got dressed up for the game. Hello cute Cal baby onesies. Rick's mom sent him these adorable Cal onesies when we found out we were having two girls. They finally fit into them and I had to take advantage and dress the girls up.

I know when Rick imagined watching Cal Football with his kids one day, he did not imagine two twin girls in his arms. I know he wouldn't change a thing.




We made pumpkin cookies and just watched the game. Cal got killed. Boo.
It was still fun!




Rick focused in on the game while Bree and Clara are more interested in fighting over toy keys.

GO CAL!