Fall Craft with Maddie

One of Carson and Brooklyn's favorite things to do is make crafts. They love it, and so do I. I think I'm going to be one of those moms that has boxes and boxes of art projects because everything is just too precious for me to throw away. Brooklyn really, really, really likes painting. Anything involving paint is fun and extremely messy with her around.

We went over to Maddie's house to do a fall craft with her. The kids make hand print trees and then used their fingerprints to make leaves. Carson's was really cute and he worked hard to make it look like a tree with falling leaves. Brooklyn, on the other hand, had lots of fun with the paint. :)

We displayed them in our home for the fall season and then put them away with our fall decorations. I am going to pull them out each year and hang them up during Autumn (they are on canvases). Pretty soon their hand prints won't be so small.

Playing in the leaves

We had a few weeks in October of AMAZING weather. It was warm, sunny, and perfect. I love fall even though it only seems to last a few weeks in Idaho. We met up with some friends at the park to play on one of the really nice days. The kids had so much fun playing outside in the sun. Pretty soon they found the leaves and had a blast. I think it was the first time Brooklyn has played in the leaves and she loved throwing them up in the air. It was hard to get a good picture because they had so much fun jumping and dancing in the leaves.

I really enjoy days like this with the kids. It's so fun to watch them play and just let them be kids. I think I'm going to be really sad when Carson goes to school and isn't by my side to play with all day. I guess we just need to work really hard at making more memories like this one. :)

Snake River Youth Jam

I love our town! They always have activities going on, especially during the summer. Last Friday was the Snake River Youth Jam hosted by the Idaho Falls Arts Council. It was a huge event down at the river promoting arts and music for kids. The entire thing was free and they had so much stuff for the kids to do! I got lots of great ideas for fun, easy crafts I can do with the kids during the long winter months too. We went with Carson's friend, Halle, and had a great time. The Church always sends lots of volunteers, so a lot of youth from our ward and missionaries from our area were there helping out at the booths. Way to represent! This is something we will look forward to every year!

Our beautiful view down on the river

 

Beating on the barrels and playing the guitars!

Making maracas and wrapping pine cones with yarn

 Hula hoops, bubbles, and playing with streamer sticks we made

Spin art and hand print birds

Block Party

Last week our neighborhood had a block party and it was a ton of fun. Everyone brought their own meat to grill and side dish and we met in the middle of the street. We had a bounce house for the kids to jump in, fire pits for marshmallows and hot dogs, homemade root beer, and a cotton candy machine for the kiddos. It was a blast! It was fun to chat with our neighbors and just hang out for the night. Carson's friend, Halle, was over for the day so the two of them played and ate enough cotton candy to have a sugar rush.

We love our ward and our neighborhood. We have the best people surrounding us and it is going to be so hard when we have to leave them. We just try not to think about it. :) Thanks for the great night, everyone! It was lots of fun.

New Mexico Trip

The beginning of July was a lot of fun for us. My parents came up to spend a few weeks with us and then I went home with them for a little over a week to visit family and friends in New Mexico. It had been a month shy of a year since I had been home, so it was nice to catch up with people. :)

Papa and Brooklyn playing Legos

While I was at home we had a family reunion for my Dad's side of the family. My grandma was 1 of 13 children, and every 2 years we have a Farnsworth Family Reunion. It has been a while since I have been able to attend one - before I left for college, in fact. It was the perfect chance to see my Grandma and Aunt Diana since they came up from Arizona for the reunion. Carson had a lot of fun hanging out my my dad. At the reunion they played a game where you throw sticks at blocks of wood and try and knock them over. Carson was actually pretty good at it!

Carson and Papa

Carson and Papa looking at the clouds. :) Nana was also able to get Brooklyn to sleep - for a whole 5 mintues.

My grandma and her sister, Geraldine. I just love my grandma.

The kids had fun playing with sponges in the water and running around outside. Brooklyn also LOVES otterpops! She ate a ton all by herself.

Picture with Grandma Bloomfield! Both kids were ready for bed at this point - as you can tell.

In my parent's backyard there is a tire swing that we would swing on when we were little. My grandpa used to push us so high that we could grab leaves from the tree. The swing broke last year so my dad made a new one. Carson had so much fun swinging in it while Papa would push him. It reminded me of my grandpa pushing us.

Unfortunately the new swing has a few issues. It kept wanting to twist and one of the ropes caught a branch while Carson was pretty high in the swing. It tipped the swing sideways and dumped Carson out through the hole on the side. He did a flip in the air (I can still see it all in slow motion) and landed with a thud. I thought for sure he broke his wrist or at least sprained it because of the way he landed. Luckily, he did not. He had a little bit of rope burn on his neck - poor kid. It knocked the wind out of him and scared me half to death. He snuggled with Papa and watched a movie after that.

Carson had his first taste of dippin dots while we were at the mall one day. He thought they were pretty cool!

While I was at home my mom and I did a 4th of July craft. I know- a little late. We went to the Wood Creations in Idaho Falls before we left and picked out a few things to do. I did a set with a hat, a star, and a firecracker. We both also did Uncle Sam. If you've never done something from the Wood Connection, you basically buy pieces of wood in shapes ready to sand and decorate. We sanded, painted, decorated, etc. I thought they turned out pretty cute!! It's hard to tell from the picture how cute they are. They all have a little glitter on them and they sparkle in the sun.

Carson thought I did a really good job with Uncle Sam. He kept telling me that. :)

One of the days we were there I took the kids and we went to Pagosa Springs, CO to a cabin with some of my good friends. Carson took an instant liking to Jordan and asked to take a picture with him. Jordan hates pictures and wouldn't look at the camera - so Carson tried to make him. The second picture is the result. haha! It was a lot of fun to see the Mannings and catch up with them all. I really miss them a bunch and wish I could see them more often. We are crossing our fingers that Jordan gets to come up in September to visit us.

On our way out of Pagosa Springs the next morning there was a hot air balloon right over the road. Carson thought it was amazing!! I snapped a picture at a stop sign for him.

It's always so hard to say goodbye to my parents. My dad doesn't get to visit us as often as my mom because of work, so he doesn't get to see the kids as much. They sure do love him though! Brooklyn fell asleep in his lap while I was loading the car to head out.

I decided to break the trip home into 2 days since it takes about 14 hours with kids. We headed to Sandy to stay with Jason's grandparents and then we went the rest of the way the next day. I just mentally prepared to make lots of stops since I was by myself. We ended up stopping about every 2 hours or so to let the kids get their wiggles out, eat, change diapers, go potty, etc. It was a long trip, but the kids did great (all things considering). My car was a disaster by the time we got home from all of the snacks I would throw in the back to keep them entertained.

It was great to see Grandma and Grandpa Hileman - even though it was a short stay. We love them so much and they love the kids. Carson knows where the blocks are and he likes to play with Grandpa. This time he made Grandpa fly an imaginary airplane with him.

Brooklyn was being a stinker and wouldn't sit for a picture. We got a good one with Carson though!

Before we headed back we stopped at Kneaders and met my friends from College - Callie and Kiersten. It was so much fun to catch up with them and see their cute kiddos! I took a picture with Kiersten too, but she forbade me to publish it since she was 9 months pregnant (and beautiful). Next time we head to Utah we will have to go out to dinner with them.

All in all the trip was great! We got to see lots of people we love and we all survived the ride home. :)