Halloween 2011

So of course we had to carve Carter's perfect pumpkin that he picked from the patch. ( We are bad parents and actually didnt get around to carving it until Nov. 1st! Carter helped us remember!) But Chad wont touch the "guts" of the pumpkin to I always have to do the dirty work.
But Chad is more than happy to create the masterpeice. Its a good trade off.

This year we went trick-or-treating with our good friends the Sorensons. I dont know what we will do when they move and leave us! They have been such good friends to us and our kids love eachother! Isn't this the cutest bunch of trick-or-treaters EVER?!

I think the dads were just as excited as the boys were! Here are Carter & Jace knocking on their first door.

The boys...a golfer & Thomas the train

Our girls! A flower and a bee...they go so perfectly together!

I wish i had a movie of Carter trick or treating. He was a little timid at the first 2 houses, and once he figured it out he RAN the whole time! For an hour or so straight! He loved it and woke up every day after Halloween asking for trick or treating! Here he is with his loot! This was one happy boy!

Tubb's Berry Farm

We found the cutest little pumpkin patch in Twin Falls. They had a straw maze, pumpkin patch, petting zoo, and you could pick and eat all the raspberries you wanted for free!! Carter (and Chad) were in heaven! This will definantly be a family ritual every fall!

Carter and Mollie loved the pumpkin patch! He was amazed at the BIG one!

It was so cute watching Carter think so hard about trying to get out of the maze! He's got the Hymas "thinker" gene!

Joy School Halloween Party

Carter has been in Joy School since August and has loved it so much. He has made a lot of new friends and is always asking to go to one of their houses. We had the halloween party at our house and they got to dress in costumes and sing to their moms. Then we had a halloween finger food lunch! I love these little kiddos and their moms!
Here they are singing their songs. Carter loved to sing the songs, but he wasnt very great at holding still for it or keeping his costume on.

I'm so glad we have this wonderful opportunity for joy school. I LOVE JOY SCHOOL!!

Party Time for Miss Mollie!!

Has 1 year really past?! This little gal turned one on Oct. 5th! We didn't do much on her actual birthday since we were having a party on the weekend, but we got a small cake to celebrate. She was actually really grouchy and didn't want any cake since she was teething...

I did get one happy shot of her on her birthday and this happened to be it all decked out in her halloween outfit!
Then Saturday rolled around and it was time to party!! Both my parents and Chad's came and my brother & sister in law and Chad's cousin and her girls were able to come.

We ate a yummy dinner then dove into the present opening. She caught on to tearing the paper really quick.

We got her a giggling baby and she loves it....

and carries it everywhere. I would buy her a million babies if i could get a picture of this sweet look every time!

Of course we had cupcakes....

That she didnt want to eat because her mouth was so sore from teething...she got her first tooth the next morning!

A few days later she was all smiles so we tried again with the cupcake, and she LOVED it.

Mollie, please stay my baby forever. 1 year has come and gone so fast it scares me to think how fast the next 17 years will go. I love you so much. You are my pride and joy. You light up the room wherever you go and make me smile every day. I hope we stay close forever. <3 MOM

100 Years

For the past year, my cousins and I have been planning a very special surprise birthday party to celebrate 100 years....that is 50 years of my dear mother's life and also her sweet twin sister. Get it? 50+50=100...We did an "old Italian" theme instead of the usual "over the hill" theme since our family is Italian.
Lots of preparations were made and everyone pitched in.

We waited and waited for them to get done shopping, and they were about 40 minutes late to their own party, but that's how it goes when you get the twins together. They finally arrived and I think they were surprised for the most part. Then the party began!

Right away they were whisked away to their seats and dubbed with chef hats and mustaches!

He He He!

The the food festivities began!

Homemade spaghetti by the pound....my family sure knows how to do it when it comes to food!

Next we had a program where we presented a movie that they had answered questions about each other that was a hoot. We all pitched in to buy matching "2 peas in a pod" necklaces for both of them, a scrapbook for everyone to sign with pictures of them growing up and a wonderful poem written by Ericka (Serena's daughter).

And my dear sweet grandpa took a few minutes to express his love to his daughters and talk about raising them, a very special moment.

And our parties are never over with out DESSERT!! We did an Italian dessert table with TWO chocolate cakes, tiramisu, pizzels, biscotti, and cheese cake. Oh so delicious!

Merena & Serena

Of course we had to light candles for them to blow out...Yep that is 100 lit candles on one cake!

Notice the glare from the flame off of their faces! It was a pretty big flame!

Enjoying their scrapbooks.

And you can't turn 50 without at least one gag gift, right? Here they are sharing their over the hill cane complete with spare teeth, fix anything pills, a horn, and magnifying glass.

I've always felt so blessed to feel like I have 2 moms. My aunt Serena has been just as involved in molding my life almost as much as my mom. I never doubted either of their love for me. It is because of these two that our families are so close. I have so many memories with my cousins and still to this day am very close with them. I never had sisters, so i got to adopt all 6 of my cousins as my own sisters. They may be 100 years old together, but in those 100 years I can't help but think of how many people have been served, and loved, and lives influenced because of their generosity and amazing ability to love anyone. These women are amazing, unstoppable, and charitable. I hope some day to be like them. I love you both so much mom and aunt joe!!

Happy 3rd IRFDAY Carter!

For weeks Carter has been running around telling everyone Happy Irfday Mommy (or Daddy, or Mollie) knowing that his birthday was coming up soon. We sent him out the morning of his party to see his wrapped presents while I layed in bed and listened for his reaction. I heard his whisper "WOW" then he ran in our room, trhew his arms in the air and screamed "Best Birthday EVER!" (I think he gets it off of Tangled...). Then we kicked off the morning with doughnuts for breakfast!

For lunch we got pizza and both sets of grandparents came, Justin & Carrie and their 2 kids, Adam, and Steffan our nephew all got to come! I'm so happy that Carter gets to have and know 2 grandmas and 2 grandpas. I think it is so special.
Getting ready to open gifts

Orange popcorn from G&G Hymas (which he begged for)

A new BSU hat (From G&G Reed) and a hoppity ball thing

His big gift from us was a bike. We let him open his helmet last and then went to the garage for the last suprise.

He ran right to it and took off! Now we really need to have a few bike lessons and learn about using the breaks!

And finally we came inside for Lightning McQueen cake (that I made...although I'm not super proud to admit it!). He blew his candles out on the first try!

Happy Birthday my sweet boy. Thank you for teaching me about patience, unconditional love, selflessness and so many other lessons. You have truly blessed our home with your happy nature and sense of adventure. You mean the world to me and always will. Love you SO much.