Our Empire Family Halloween

May the force be with you this Halloween! Here is our Master Yoda ready for some Trick or Treating-light saber and all!



The Empire is not complete with out Darth Vader! Who, true to character, hopes people would scream when they saw him! Funny kid! When they did, he would take off his mask and say, "It's just me".
New to the Empire family is the deadly, cute that is, Pumpkin Spice!


Before we went Trick or Treating we decorated cookies at Grandma's house. Addy, always posing!
Dawson being silly.
Ky decorating everything and anything! Cutie!The kids had a great Halloween. It was a beautiful day for Trick or Treating despite the snow fall earlier in the week. The weather was perfect for just about any Fall activity, including football! Bryan and Dawson hit up the SUU football game before heading out Trick or Treating.
I'm not sure which they enjoy more, Trick or Treating or passing out the candy to the Trick or Treaters that come to our house! Seriously, they would run and scream to the door every time. So if ya come Trick or Treating at my house you not only get candy but a mini show! That's just how we roll! Happy Halloween!!!

Brooklynn's Halloween Baptism!

Today was a special day for Addy and not just because it's Halloween. Addy's best friend, Brooklynn, got baptized today!!! How cool to be baptized on Halloween. She has been so excited. Brooklynn and Addy are such good friends! I adore Brooklynn and as a Mom am so grateful for the good friends my kids have. Congrats Brooklynn! Thanx for your great example!!

Pumpkins and Parties

This week continues to be jam packed with Halloween events! I love it!! Thursday night was the night we had planned on carving our pumpkins. I made spaghetti with oozing eyes for dinner. The kids actually helped me make the eyes, which they thought was great and so did I!

Here is Addy's
Here is Dawson's cyclops!The kids and I decided caramel apples sounded like a great treat. So then we made these beauties. Addy and Dawson wanted to roll theirs in some crushed oreo's. Yummy!

The plan was to let the apples set and carve our pumpkins. However by the time we got done with all of this it was nearly bed time. Too much to cram in, so we decided to postpone our pumpkin carving until tonight-Friday! The kids were OK with that, whew!

Friday was not exempt from the parties either. Addy had her class Halloween party this year. Fiddlers normally does a Halloween carnival every year, but were unable to this year. Bryan and I volunteered to help out in the class. It was really fun. The kids had some really cute costumes. Plus they were very entertaining!

Addy's class getting a scary story told to them! The witch-a.k.a Kristen Warden did a really cute job! After the story and root beer, they rotated to another 2nd grade classroom and did carnival games, cookie decorating, and bingo! So fun!
They encouraged all the Mom helpers to dress up. Here we are!
Addy and her Dad.
Me and Bry- He He HeAs soon as we got home we went straight to carving the pumpkins! Oh and eating our yummy caramel apples! The kids love it just as much as I do. OK maybe I love it a tiny bit more! It is one of my favorite family events! Seriously! This year they were great little helpers in the beginning.OK so maybe not even in the beginning. They did help clean them out a little and by the look on their faces that was enough. Don't let Dawson fool ya, he was laughing and enjoying every minute of it. Then they picked out a pattern they wanted and well.......that's about all they did! Bryan and I found ourselves carving their pumpkins this year. The patterns they chose were a little bit complicated for them to do by themselves, or at all for that matter! Not that I am complaining, I actually told Bry that I forgot how much fun it really is to sit and carve a pumpkin.

Ky however had a great time just watching us and playing with the innards of the pumpkin!
At the kids request, they had coffin sandwiches for dinner.
Our finished pumpkins!!! They turned out so good!!!
This was the one Addy chose it's the Deadly Diva. Suitable don't ya think!!! Ky's is the sticker faced one below Addy's.Dawson chose the Pirate Skull. Looks really cool lit up! Bry's is the bottom one which is just a Skull head!

The kiddos with their pumpkins!!! Just look at those happy faces!!! Love it!!

Darth Vader attends school!

Dawson had his Halloween Parade at school on Thursday. They all got to wear their costumes, which in and of itself was "awesome", but then they walked over to East Elementary and had a parade with the Kindergartners. He kept saying to me, "Mom do you think they will be scared of me? Do you think they will scream when they see Darth Vader?" He had a blast!

Here is a picture of the kids all dressed up!

Primary Halloween Party!

Tonight was our wards Primary Halloween party. The kids look forward to this every year since we have been in the ward. It is always a lot of fun and this year was no different! This year we, as the YW, planned it. The YW were excited to be involved.

The kids- so hard to get one of them all looking. Oh well this was the best we could do!
Ahhhh, our little Yoda! May the force be with you!
Dawson showing off his Halloween Bling!

Boys showing off their ghoulish teeth! Above Dawson and Braden, Below Dawson's buddy Bubba.


Heather and her Nephi's! Too cute!
It's not that I didn't take a picture of Addy, she didn't go to the party. She went to her BFF Brooklynn's Birthday party. I don't think in her mind she missed out one little bit! I however can't wait until next year!!!

Helping Hands

Yesterday was a really fun day! Bryan and Dawson went to help our neighbor Cody with his Eagle scout project at the Three Peaks campgrounds. Dawson loved it! I love that he and Bry can go and do things together and work side by side! The fact that he enjoyed helping others, willingly, is a seed that I hope grows! Which for a Mom is priceless.
That afternoon I had a YW service project. Addy asked if she could go, I said OK. She was thrilled to be involved and off we went.
We, along with the YW and another leader from our ward, headed out to New Harmony. In August an awful fire broke out in New Harmony. It was devastating. People lost their homes, and many were displaced. It burned over 10,000 acres. We went out there to help plant trees, rebuild fences and clean up. It was amazing to see all the YW and YM with there yellow "Helping Hands" shirt on. The stake estimated for about 500 kids! WOW! We worked form 2-6. Not one person complained, not even my little Addy, who worked so hard. All the kids did! It was truly heart warming!


Here is a before pic- notice how clean we look!
The fire burnt so much, clear up the entire mountain!
We planted trees where all those little flags are. Then we spread grass seeds on the ground and raked over them. After which we covered them with shredded bark.
The ground didn't look like ash after we were done! Although there is still a lot to be done, it did look better!
The girls "spreading" the love, grass seed or shredded bark!

This is right before some of the gals had to leave a little early. Even though we are dirty, notice everyone still has a smile! It was hard work and we were all tired, but it was so FUN! When it was time to go, the girls were actually sad and didn't want to go! What great examples to me and Addy! I love that we had this opportunity to serve others and our Heavenly Father! I am grateful that both my older kids had the opportunity and the willingness to serve. I am so grateful that they had fun while serving! Which is definitely a value I want to instill in them! Service can be hard work and yet fun as well, and I am glad they are learning that. As a mother that means so much! Fingers crossed we can keep up the "Helping Hands!"

MAN PURSE!!!

Today Dawson was getting out of the shower and as he was doing so he yelled to Bryan. I was walking out of the bedroom and heard the following conversation....
Dawson- Hey dad can you get me a man purse?
Bryan- A what? At this point Bry looks my direction and I am busting up!
Dawson - A man purse!
Bryan- Whats a man purse?
Dawson- Ya know a thing to hold my cars collection.
Bryan- Oh. Where did you hear that?
Dawson- On Alvin and the Chipmunks, Dave has a man purse.
Bryan Oh well we'll see what we can do, maybe we can get a sack or something!
I was busting a gut! That kid is hilarious!!!

Grandma Ellens welcome home party

To end our Fall break we got to go to Grandma Ellens Welcome Home party on Sunday! It was a blast! Sorry no pics I guess I was having to much fun! We had dinner and played some fun games and I think we just wore Grandma right out! It was great to all be together and to have Grandma home. I just love her to pieces and am so grateful that my kids get to spend time with her. Ky was so cute with her. He kept leaning in and giving her muchies. He would smile real big after, which made Grandma giggle, so he would lean in and do it again! He had everyone in stitches!! I love that they adore her as much as I do.
Monday we headed home but not after hitting up the mall! It was a great Fall break!

Beckys Temple Day

One of my best friends, Becky, has been working towards the Temple for a while now. Well on Saturday evening she went through the Logan Temple!!! I would not have missed that for the world! I am so happy and so proud of her! It has been a long hard road for Becky and I am so blessed to have her in my life and to have been a part of that day with her. I love her! Words can't express how awesome it was to be with my friends in the Celestial Room. It was full of emotions and I don't think there was a dry eye amongst us! I am so grateful for the gospel and the testimony I have. I am eternally grateful for the amazing group of friends I have! My friends from California, Logan( who are spread all over now) and my Cedar friends, I am so blessed!Mandy, Becky, Anjie, Me and Heidi

Hee Haws!

Saturday was a great day! The weather was perfect Fall weather, so we decided on some perfect Fall fun. My sisters and I took our kids to Hee Haws. Hee Haws is a farm in Lindon. There was so much stuff to do! It was so much fun! They had pony rides, a trick or treat hay ride, animal petting area, corn box, Halloween jumpy thing, corn cannon, slides, tractor animal train, duck races, corn maze and hay jumping and the list goes on and on! Most important it had pumpkins!!!


Ky and me on the hay jump
The trick or treat hay ride was really cute. They had people dressed in Halloween costumes throughout the corn fields and they threw candy into the carriage! The kids thought that was great. They got to see Darth Vader, Spider Man, Winnie the Pooh, Tiger, Malificent, and Shrek.
The boys Dawson, Benson, Mason and Braiden, hard to get a shot were they were all looking. This was the best I could do!

Hailey, Addy and Hannah

My sisters and I being silly, however I say we make a darn cute sheep, horse and cow!
The animal petting area
The animal train ride and swings
Pony rides
The corn box, basically a sandbox of corn and a big hit!
The other big hit amongst the boys was the corn cannons. You basically put corn in this cannon gun thingy and shoot it! They had a blast and it was fun to watch!
We ended our day at Hee Haws by picking out the perfect pumpkins! I love Fall and had such a fun time with my family!