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Last weekend, we had fun with an overnight campout in the Lea’s backyard. It was complete with campfire, roasted hot dogs, and S’mores. Rob was nice enough to lend us the backyard and prepared a fire pit for the festivities. We put all four kids in the tent, me outside on the lawn, and Rob retreated to the safety and comfort of his wife and bed. :)

Everyone loved the chance to practice cutting fire wood, roasting Starbursts, and having a generally great time. Despite their greatest efforts, all phalanges remain attached. Rach was busy scrappin’ with her friends (I imagine we’ll see a post on that shortly), so stayed at home while we played.

We made yummy breakfast Saturday morning with the assistance of Jaime and Rob and then Uncle Rob assisted Papi with the ninos the rest of Saturday while Mami and Tia Jaime scrapped the day away. Thanks for an awesome weekend!

A couple of people have asked what Sundays are like at our house now. Adam and I both feel that our Sundays are even better. We get home from church around 12:30 and eat some lunch straight away. After lunch, the kids scurry off to their rooms for quiet time. We have each child in a separate room and they love their own personal time. The kids don’t have to sleep, but they have to stay in their rooms until we come and get them, which is usually around 3:00. (although two out of the four regularly fall asleep anyway) That give Adam and I two whole hours together. We nap, we talk, we read, we snuggle, we catch up on shows we haven’t seen during the week. Mostly we just enjoy the quiet.

Once the kids are up, we either go outside or watch a movie usually. This past Sunday Adam taught the children to play a new game. Danny caught on right away. Ezzy had no clue what she was doing. And the two younger ones followed their brother. I also broke out our Cocoamotion, and taught the kids how to make hot chocolate. Nikky and Juan P. stared at the maker the whole time–they could not believe their eyes. 

After a couple of hours of family time, we have dinner and then the kids get ready for bed. That usually lands us around 7:00 or so. And the kids go to bed at 8:00. I thought Sundays would possibly be extra “work” for me, but I have found the opposite to be true. It is mostly relaxing and low-key. As long as we get the kids an hour or so of activity they are pretty awesome the whole day. I love Sundays!!!

We have had a fun-filled October so far, and it just keeps going. The past two weekends were filled with excitement and laughter. On the weekend of the 11th, we hosted a Halloween party here at the house. Don’t ask me why I had the bright idea before we were fully moved into the house, but we pulled it off. In fact, the pressure helped us get more shelves put together and hung. Our family room truly looks like one. I had drapes made for our front room. Our loft finally has bookshelves for the plethora of kids’ books we possess. And there are only a few boxes scattered throughout the house left to unpack.

The party itself was a blast. We probably had about 40 people total. Some new friends, some old friends, some neighbors, and tons of kids. Adam inflated our little bounce house, which was a huge hit in our backyard. We decorated sugar cookies (thanks Val for taking charge) and let’s just say the McCracken kids were completely enthralled. When Valerie mixed the food coloring into the icing, Danny’s eyes got really big and he said his classic, “oh, wow!” They could not believe the icing was changing color. It really blew them away when she mixed yellow and blue together to make green. Each kid frosted a cookie for the daddy who was hard at work carving a pumpkin in the other room. I am not sure how many toppings they used, but Adam had enough sugar to last him through the holidays at least.

In addition, we had pumpkin carving, a coloring corner, and an all around good time. Oh yeah, we made my sister’s famous Chili in a Pumpkin, which was the hit of the party. Everyone loved it, Jaimee!!! All in all, the kids had a blast. They are figuring out what Halloween is all about from friends at school. So now they are totally excited to dress up and trick-or-treat next weekend. We will be spending that holiday in Logan, UT. We have many friends and family there who are anxious to meet the children. So off we go on Thursday. It will be fun for the kids to experience a real fall as well. Although Logan is more like winter temps right now. :) Regardless, we are excited to see everyone.

A few more pics can be found here!

The Leas were gracious enough to introduce our FHE group to their beloved and favorite friends, Chad and Megan. The Wallaces are in town visiting family and friends for the week, but they reside in Arizona. Jaime decided to hold a little dinner party so that we could all meet their best friends, finally! And Gina, another of Jaime’s great friends, also joined us last night. She and her daughter, Amelia, were the perfect addition to our party. I’m so glad she came over. It was a really great evening. Jena brought another fabulous dessert–chocolate and raspberry souffle. It was absolutely scrumptious. And Jaime outdid herself with her grilled chicken and couscous salad. We made use of the Wii, which is always a blast.

And we had some of the kids over as well. They had a blast trying the wii out and playing with Carter’s makeshift “parking garage.” Val, you are so patient to help him with his crafts. Uncle Rob and Uncle Adam will make superb daddies someday. Good food, good friends, and good times. Thanks for hanging out, Megan and Chad. We hope to get to know you better over the years.

This post must do without a picture for I am too sickly spent to find my camera. Adam spent two hours last night running around getting my prescriptions and other things on “my list.” He didn’t get home until 8:00 because of me. And after all that, he also brought me a bouquet of flowers. I was too out of it to thank him properly, but I want  him to know that it truly brightened my night and my morning.

Thank you, my love! 

As we head to Las Vegas to await our travel date to Colombia, we must say goodbye to the Hirschi Family in Logan. We are so grateful to Jaimee and Brian for their support, generosity, and kindness this past year. We never felt like strangers or guests in their home. They helped us feel like it was our home too. A few things we will miss the most:

*Brooklynn watching Spongebob in bed with Uncle Adam

*Spencer screeching and giggling at the top of his lungs when we throw him in the air

*Hand and Foot

*Leaving our bedroom window open and listening to the rain

*the many nearby hikes in and around Logan Canyon

…….and much more. We pray that your business prospers this summer and that you enjoy your time at the Lake. The next time you see us, we’ll be a family of SIX!

This is for you mom, dad, Jaimee, and Brian.

We stopped at Hunter and Austin’s graves on Monday in Orem to put some pinwheels and flags by their side. It was awesome to see that almost every grave had been visited. What a site! We were honored to visit the twins and remember their spirits. Has it really been FIVE years?

Rest well sweet nephews…

here are a few more pics: