Halloween Celebrations

We were all so happy Eleanor was finally over her sickness! Monday morning we cleaned and our neighbor Deb came over with pumpkin muffins and a craft. She's the best neighbor and substitute grandma. :) 

Eleanor loves getting into anything and everything. haha

We made a quick trip to the library. I have pictures of all of my babies loves books!

The weather was cold so we busted out the puzzles! I'm amazed at how Eli and Austin can put these together so well.

We decided to bundle up and play in the leaves. It was a happy memory for us all!

Aaron and I are following the prophet - President Nelson asked us to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. Eleanor wanted to join in reading with dad on this particular night!

I went to the temple on Thursday evening and met Alex and Bryan there. I love the temple! Aaron is leaving for training in January and I felt this impression to attend the temple once a week until he leaves. So I've set a goal to attend the temple each week until the end of the year.

On Friday, the weather was WARM and we decided to take advantage of the sunshine and enjoy the morning at the park! One of Eli's classmates was there so it was fun to enjoy the morning with a school friend.

After our warm park day, we picked up frosties and french fries! 

Friday night was our ward trunk-or-treat! We had two neighbors and another friend join us for the evening! It was a simple missionaries opportunity and our friends had a great time with their little ones. The boys helped me decorate cupcakes for the cake walk.

And the boys decided to change their costumes last minute to ones Alex's gave us. Little Eleanor was adorable as a ladybug. 

Eleanor can't wait to eat candy some day. She loved the wrappers. 

Aaron worked on Saturday at the football game and I went to an adult Halloween party some of our friends organized. It was fun to dress like a witch. Eleanor was my date. :) I told the boys that their mother turned into a witch. Hahahahaha.

Family Pictures 2018

Mary Beth is seriously the best photographer! It's funny because my friends will talk about all the preparation they put into getting family pictures taken (picking out outfits, selecting a photographer, researching a location, etc. etc. etc.) I LOVE having family pictures but all the preparation stresses me out. Last Sunday before we headed off to church, I asked Mary Beth if we could take some quick pictures of us. She grabbed her phone, we ran to the porch and Mary Beth worked her magic. I love these pictures so much! Simple and easy. My kind of pictures. :) Thanks tons, Mary Beth!

Eleanor was sick

Our poor baby was sick last week. We didn't do much but cuddle and let her rest. I did take her to the dr and she didn't have an ear infection or anything, just a virus. She did receive a blessing and I was grateful she slowly started turning back into her happy self. She was sick for a solid week - Monday to Saturday. I hate when my babies are sick. 

Before I tossed these pictures, I decided to take a picture of them for our memory book of when we went to Chuck E. Cheese together.

On Monday morning, Eleanor work up with a high fever. :(

Our family home evening lesson was about putting on the whole armor of God. We found these costumes at the dollar store and the boys wanted to be knights for Halloween. I put together our FHE lesson and it was a hit. Aaron shot marshmallows at the boys once they had on all their armor. 

The boys made jello for dessert and we felt fancy with whipped cream and sprinkles on top.

While Eli was at school, Austin made these robots out of legos. He made one for Eli too. He's a thoughtful brother and still misses Eli when he's at school!

I held Eleanor all week. She was so, so sick.

One day we needed to get some fresh air so we went on a little walk. I laughed seeing Austin with two different shoes - at least he had them on the right foot!

Alex and her kids were still on fall break so they came over for the day. When I ran Eli to school, Alex stayed with Austin and Eleanor and I was able to see the firefighters visit Eli's kindergarten class that day. I love being able to be at the school whenever possible!

Friday night I ran to get some groceries and picked up some ice cream for Aaron and me. Our date night!

I felt extra exhausted last week and this quote made me smile. It was from General Conference and I made it the backdrop on my phone.

Saturday morning I was able to go to Denver and go to Time Out for Women with Alex. We loved our sister time together! We enjoyed the day listening to the speakers and going out for lunch. We need to plan more sister time! I felt guilty for leaving because Eleanor had been so sick, but Aaron (and Mary Beth!) took great care of her until I got home.

Spencer and Mary Beth and their kids drove to Maryland and on the drive back, they stopped at our house! I got home early Saturday evening and was happy to see the Volks! It was a quick time together, but it's always a treat seeing family!