Happy Halloween

Yesterday we celebrated Halloween a little early.  First we went to the daycare at Gold's Gym to play some games and go trick-or-treating.  Asher mainly watched the other kids, but he eventually figured things out.

Asher not sure what he suppose to do.  Can you find him?

I love my kids!

Now he's got it figured out.

After the party at the gym, we went to our ward Halloween party.  We signed up to bring some Halloween desserts so I was able to try a few new recipes:)

My first attempt at cake pops, plus some pumpkin spice cookies and chocolate candy corn rice krispies.

 I had a lot of fun putting together our costumes.  It's a lot of fun having kids to dress up.

Granny, Red Riding Hood, Big Bad Wolf, Woodsman

Cute Vaden and her dad!

Everyone enjoying dinner and conversation.

Vaden and I handed out candy, while Asher and Ryan went trunk-or-treating.

Trunk-or-Treat!  We decorated a little bit.

I made Vaden's outfit for her.  It is also reversible so she can continue to wear it all year.  And it's big enough that she can wear it for years to come.  I love it when things work out and are useful for a good long time:)

Conference Weekend

 During General Conference weekend, we took a trip to Williamsburg to visit Richard and Emily.

Having two little kids makes the drive a lot longer since we usually have to stop along the way to keep everyone happy.  We usually try to drive during nap time and hope that they sleep for a long time:)

 We stopped to get some lunch and we got an ice-cream cone to share, though Asher ended up eating most of it.  He's usually really good to share, unless it's something he really wants and then he doesn't think it's fair if we try to have some.

Mmm-Mmm Good!

 When we got there we went to Busch Gardens.  It was a lot of fun and Ryan and Richard were so excited they wanted to go again and again on all the rides.

Vaden and Asher watching as Ryan, Rich and Emily strap in for a ride!

 

We went on the new ride, the Verbolten.  It was pretty fun, though I think the favorite was the Griffon.

 On Saturday, we all went mini-golfing.

Asher's a pro:)

 It was a lot of fun, but also hard work to keep Asher from running off and from totally destroying our game.  He just loved picking the balls up and putting them in the hole.  He was really good about getting them out of the hole and making sure each of us had our ball.

Mom and Vaden made a team!

Asher and Emily after our game- Losers get locked up! ha ha ha:)

HELP!

 And of course we listened to General Conference.  It was a great weekend and we really enjoyed spending time with Rich and Emily!

You can babysit anytime.

Nap time (for dad anyway).

A & V Update

I have been meaning to update our blog with some great pictures of my kids.  We have been busy and I try to take pictures because the things they do are so cute.

 Asher decided he was big enough to get into his seat on his own.  He was always climbing on the table and getting in, then of course I'd have to help him out since he was stuck.  It got old real fast, so we have moved Asher up to a booster chair and put the high-chair away until Vaden is big enough for it.

 We love to have playdates with our friends in the area.  We are blessed to have made a lot of friends which means lots of playdates:)  Here is Asher with Amelia, one of his many girl friends.

Before Asher's most recent haircut. Static!

Though we love playing with friends, Asher and Vaden are also best of friends and entertain one another.

 

 Here is Asher trying to 'feed' Vaden.  He's very observant and very interested in taking care of his baby sister.

I love her facials.  She is a happy girl and loves to smile when we talk to her.

 Asher and Vaden just hanging out together with their pink blankets!

Time with Daddy!

 Asher insists on being held a lot now because we are always holding Vaden.  It's cute, but gets rather frustrating when I'm trying to feed Vaden and Asher keeps trying to make room for himself on my lap.

Another thing that Asher insists upon is getting wrapped up in his blanket like Vaden does.

 Two little burritos!

 Alert baby girl!

Everything is always more fun when Daddy joins in!

Parent's Visit

 My parents came to visit us last week and to meet Vaden for the first time.  We went on a trip with them to Philedelphia to go to a trade show for my mom's business.

 Here's Vaden with her Grandma Haddock in Philidelphia.

 Asher and Vaden with Grandpa Haddock.

 Me and kids in Philly.

We also blessed Vaden while they were here (see previous post).  We were able to go to the park, the library and on several walks with them. 

 Asher loves the swings, and even more so with his grandparents keeping him company.

 Asher found a new best friend in his grandpa.  He would go on several walks with him, play ball with him, and he loved helping him.  Having my parents visit was great, especially because my dad is such a handyman and he helped fix things in our house:)

 Here is Asher helping his grandpa change the fridge light bulb.  Asher just loves tools and helping out.  I have high hopes that he'll be a handyman like his grandpa:)  Asher loved having his grandparents here.  They left early in the morning before Asher was awake, but as soon as Asher woke up the first thing he did was go to their door and knock.  I think he was disappointed when I showed him they were gone.

My parents also helped me do a project I have been wanting to do for a while.  We refinished my table!

 Doesn't it look great?

 Just so you know, the bench was completely black, the table legs where white, and the chairs were a much darker green.  So nothing matched.

 We stripped the paint and varnish off the bench and tabletop, sanded them down, re-varnished the surfaces and re-painted all the legs and chair backs.

It was quite a project.  My parents are hard workers and know how to do stuff like that.  I enjoyed learning (or re-learning) how to do projects like that.  And now we're enjoying our 'new' table!

Thanks for visiting Mom and Dad!