Trick or Treating

Greeting Daddy's homecoming from work!

Little Bo Peep and her Sheep.

As you can see Taft learned quickly that once the candy was placed in the pumpkin it was all his!

Here are a few of the pictures from our Halloween Trick or Treating. We went to the Leave it to Beaver neighborhood and the church. We call it the Leave it to Beaver street because all the homes have big front porches and huge trees line the street. It is a great Trick or Treating spot and each kid got about four full size candy bars! They traded their candy for toys but still had fun!

Happy Halloween!!

So, we are not really that into Halloween but we do let the kids go Trick or Treating in one neighborhood and participate in school activities. This year for Halloween Alissa wanted to be Little Bo Peep and Taft is her sheep. Kenzie decided on a robot. I wanted to share with you a few of the videos from MacKenzie's first preschool performance yesterday! If you notice he starts out a little shy and then defiently is a litttle more comfortable by the end! I had no idea Kenzie was such a comedian but everyone was cracking up at him! If you listen carefully he is the really loud high pitch one.

Alissas Family Birthday Party

We decided to have a little family party the night of Alissa's birthday. Mema made two yummy soups and then we had more homemade cupcakes! Everyone had fun singing to Alissa. For her birthday Alissa only asked for one thing which was a Barbie bike. We managed to keep it outside so she had no clue. After opening her other great presents she went outside to find Daddy on her Barbie Bike. She was soo excited!! We are so glad to have so much family near by to share this special day with Alissa!

Aunt Shayna and cousin Braxton.

Grammy and Taft

Celebrating at School

So, I definetly need a new camera! Here are some of the pictures from Alissa's party at school. There are ten kids in her Kindergarten class and these are all of them. Kenzie was so excited to get to come wih me to take cupcakes to school. It was really fun to get to see what it is like to have a birthday party at school! Alissa was so excited to pass out her invitations to her Luau Party next week and to pass out her homeade healthy cupcakes. Yes, they are healthy and no one even noticed.

Left to Right: Kenzie, Kylie, Dani, Gage, Brighton's hair, Melissa, Jenna, Sky and Alissa!

Left to Right: Dani, Gage Richie Vaunch

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALISSA!

I hope I can right this with out getting to teary eyed. Today is such a special day! My baby girl is five years old! We still call her baby girl and I am going to until she absolutely protests. I can not believe what an amazing little girl she has become. I watch her maturing and see the gratification from others for all she has become and all she wants to be. Alissa'a teacher is always impressed with her and how smart and kind she is. As she is turning five I see all the changes in our little family and how we are growing up! Ryan and I just celebrated the day we met six years ago on October 25 and I just can not believe how fast it flies by. As Alissa turns five all I want to do is hold on to every moment she is growing up in. I am already beginning to realize how quickly she will grow up and be gone and for that I want to try and take advantage of the time I have. I feel so blessed to have Alissa in my life and to have her teaching me new things everyday. I appreciate her patience with me and even the days she puts me in place! Thank you Alissa for being such an amazing little girl and such a great example honesty and perseverance. Happy 5th Birthday to Alissa! Pictures coming soon!

Primary Program

I wanted to put an experience on here for remembrance!

Today was our Ward Primary Program and I was a bit nervous because Alissa did not want anything to do with it last year, so I didn't push her. This year though, she was so excited to go up on the stage! I was very impressed because she had the longest part in her class and she did great! We couldn't' see her very well but she definitely made effort to show us she knows all the songs. She was so excited that Mema came too! Her class talked about ways they feel Christs love. As she was talking about the love we feel from Jesus Christ I could not help but shed tears of joy. It was so wonderful to feel her spirit so strong as she was telling us about the love of Christ. I feel so incredibly blessed to have the privilege to have an eternal family and have the opportunity to raise my children to know how much their Savior loves them. I am so thankful to get to be their mom and to know how much my Savior loves me, especially through the gifts he has given me, my greatest gifts, my husband and my children. Thanks Alissa for such a wonderful reminder!

Butterflies

Alissa LOVES butterflies and it just so happens that her Aunt Katrina and Uncle Bill even bought her a butterfly book last year. She loves the idea of catching them but had never caught one before. Alissa came running in soo excited to tell me that she had actually caught one with her net. She even had to call Mema to come see it. Sweet Mema actually came and they had so much fun going through her book to find exactly which kind of butterfly it was. Alissa decided that she need to keep the butterfly but we chose to let it go because it was best for the butterfly. I love the picture which shows the way she is telling how she caught the butterfly to Mema!

Taft!!!!

A few weeks ago I was outside cleaning out the car and came inside to Taft like this! He obviously had a blast rearranging all the paper and coloring with the markers and side walk chalk for extra beautification!

Up Date

Sorry everyone for not keeping up with the last few weeks. We have been so busy and having so much fun!

Alissa is rocking at school and just keeps getting so many awards that I would have to post several a week! She is loving school and started dance this weeks which is now "her favorite" She will have a performance in December too! She has become the most amazing little girl and an amazing sister.

Kenzie loves gymnastics and preschool. He is also enjoying all the time with mommy and love to play at Mema's house. His favorite thing to do is play games!

Taft is growing up so fast and has a huge vocabulary! He loves to sing songs and dance too! Hi is so fun to have around!

Ryan is doing great and work and enjoying working with the youth. He has an awesome staff and has made many good friends! He is awaiting the twenty seven boxes of books coming this week to start shipping! He is not going to run the marathon this year because he has to work and did not get in proper training this year because of all the time he has been spending on his business. He is such a wonderful dad and husband and I am so glad to get to be his wife.

I have been having a blast! I am probably the happiest I have ever been! I love being a wife and a mom and I love getting a full nights sleep! Ryan always told me that was that I had not changed I was just tired. Now I believe he was right! I am so lucky to get to spend time during the day with my kid or my mom and I love getting the kids to bed early enough to spend a few hours of quality time with my husband. I had the opportunity to go to Las Vegas wit my mom and enjoy Time Out For Women. This is Women's Conference for LDS Women and it was amazing. I feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life and to enjoy this experience. Also, I have always LOVED dancing. I wanted to dance but my weight held me back. I can happily say I am dancing again and still feels as good as it used to. Ryan and I go on Tuesday nights for three hours and have a blast. We hope to continue this weekly! I am looking forward to the holidays and also the family and friends that will be coming to visit in the next few months!

We truly are blessed and are so glad to have the life we live. We love you all!