Halloween 2014

Remember the big dump-and-sort your candy after trick-or-treating? It was one of my favorite parts. I liked watching my girls do the same thing on Halloween this year. We celebrated Halloween many times this year. We went to our own ward's trunk or treat, and to Halloween parties for homeschool, and trick-or-treating around grandma Christensen's neighborhood, and to Uncle Micah's house for a Halloween party and trick-or-treating there too.

Lily was a mermaid at our trunk or treat, she was a black cat for our homeschool Halloween party, and for the actual Halloween day she decided to be a cowgirl. Amara was a black cat for the trunk or treat, Dracula vampire for homeschool Halloween party, and settled on being a cowgirl for the actual Halloween day.

The Halloween party at Micah's house was really fun!  Everyone dressed up.

Tommy was a football.

April was a genie.

Micah was a pirate. And he prepared these adorable hotdog mummys for the kids to eat. 

We set out for trick-or-treating in Micah and Mandy's neighborhood.

Jaxon was a Jedi, Rexton was Winnie the Pooh, and Maxwell was a vampire.

Devin was a ninja.

Then we picked up Joe's family. JJ was a really creepy vampire.

Jayden was a ninja.

These two cute cousins are the exact same age, only 14 days apart.

Maybe you can see Alex in the background leaning on the house. He was a Brazilian foreign exchange student that stayed with my dad's family five years ago. He came back for an internship in Utah and was able to join us for trick-or-treating. We love Alex. 

Joe had some pretty fun decorations for Halloween in his yard!

Miss Maizie was Elsa from frozen!

Joe was Batman.  Isn't Jayden his perfect little mini me?

The neighborhood we trick-or-treated in was very well decorated and festive. They even set up this fun face-cut-out-portrait place you could take pictures.

The weather was perfect. No one was cold, and the sunset was beautiful!

When we got back to Micah's house, there was plenty of delicious foods awaiting our arrival.

Homemade Halloween donuts!

We had a very happy Halloween!

Amara Junior-Jazzing

 GO AMARA!  We have so much fun going to watch Amara play Jr. Jazz basketball.  Her league is co-ed, made up of 1st and 2nd graders, and she's the only girl on her team.  This is Amara's second season playing Jr. Jazz, and she loved it.  In fact, she talked it up so much that I think she convinced her sister to try to play next year. 

 At this level, there are no refs and the coaches stay on the court with the players to help them out.  The kids are given wrist bands of various colors that they wear, and the other team has colored wrist bands also, this is so that they know who to guard.  Amara LOVES guarding, and she's good at it. 

 Amara even made 2 baskets for her team this season!  They don't keep points at this level of Jr. Jazz, and they don't call traveling or fouls.  No free throws, either.  It's just a really basic game of offense and defense and get the ball in the basket.  It is so much fun to watch because they are all still learning.

Here are several snapshots I took with my phone of her games. She is number 27, and she loves to guard!

In the next picture, Amara is sitting on the bench next to the assistant coach.

She's a good hustler! She can run up and down the court fast.

In this next picture, you see her coach giving her some pointers.

Just look at that girl guard!  Go amara!

Tommy's Blessing and Visits with Us

My precious nephew, Tommy, was blessed in October. He got his baby blessing at my dad's house.

There were many tasty delectables to be had afterward. Don't ask what happened to the top of the brownies. It has something to do with greedy college girls with swollen taste buds.

Friends and family from both April and Spencer's sides gathered. 

Tommy kept his eye on everyone.   Or maybe he just kept his eye on Lily, because she's his favorite cousin, according to Lily herself.

Tommy is a very loved nephew!

Tommy is blessed to have such a loving and caring mother,

And an adoring father.

Now it's time for a Tommy photo shoot!

This next picture is not of Tommy, but it is of his cute cousin Amara. 

And Tommy loves his Aunty Lani. 

I am a Tommy fan! What he does, I do.

And then I just have to give him big kisses on his tubby tubby teeks!

And then he's happy baby again!

Being a newborn is exhausting, and taking care of a newborn is exhausting!  True story.  Sleep well, baby Tommy. We love you.