All Hallow's Eve

Halloween is more than just a night of trick-or-treating.  Chase and I added up all the Halloween-related activities we could have attended, and the list ran into the double-digits.  Of course, we couldn't do them all, but here are some of the fun things we have been able to do in celebration of All Hallow's Eve.

 We attended the University of Utah's Fright Fest.  This is a fun carnival-themed party perfect for students with young families like ours.  There was lots of games, treats, and activities.  Pirate Mckay's favorite activity was the pony ride.  This little boy of ours loves animals.  We may even have to get him a dog someday. . .

 My cute little monkey spent most of the time in the stroller.  I feel bad that he winds up spending so much time here, but he doesn't seem to mind too much.

 We were also able to attend the parade/trick-or-treat that CR England holds every Halloween.  Dorothy met us at the beginning of the parade.  She wins best hat award!

 Pirate Mckay loves the idea of trick-or-treating.  The only trouble he had was how to stuff his face full of candy and trick-or-treat at the same time.

 The actual night of Halloween we decided to trick-or-treat in the neighborhoods just to the south of the Village.  It's an old, very upscale neighborhood that was perfect for our little family to go to.

We had an awesome time.  Now, let the sugar-detox begin!

Family Photos Fall 2012

This last week Chase and I pulled together a last-minute photo shoot for our little family.  I had ordered a beautifully clear, cool fall day for this shoot, but instead, I got a cloudy, FREEZING day where the light started failing before 6:00 p.m.  Add that to the challenge of taking a good picture of a cranky 2-year-old boy, and I think that this may have been the hardest family photo shoot I have ever had.  

But.  In spite of all of that, I think our photographer managed to take some really great pictures. And though our noses are a little bit red from the cold, the background for our photos really is beautiful.

 We never did get a straight on shot of Mckay actually looking at the camera, but we captured some priceless moments.

 By far the easiest person in the family to get a good picture.

 Fun fall action shot.

Jackson Hole

Many of you who know us know that Chase loooovvvveesss Jackson Hole.  We were so excited when we found out his family was going there the weekend of the U's fall break.  This meant that Chase was actually available and we could all go as a family!
The drive up was one of our favorite parts.  Going through Star Valley, WY is always beautiful, and the closer we got to Jackson, the more beautiful it was.

 Our first day there, we spent the morning biking along the paths that run from Teton Village into the Park.  Biking with this scenery to look at is my idea of heaven.

 Grandma and Grandpa England came with us and helped pull Mckay and Logan in their little bike trailer.

 Later that day, we went to a bike jump course.  I'm pretty sure this is my brother-in-law Cody, but they al looked that cool going off the jumps.  Mckay loved watching them.  I am thinking that in a few years he will join them!

 We spent a few days on our own in Jackson after the rest of our family had to back to their lives.  One of our favorite things we did was hike around Jenny Lake.  We spent a lot of time here on this rocky beach.  Mckay loved throwing rocks into the lake, and Logan just loved putting them in his mouth.

 Mckay didn't want to pose for the camera at all.  The rocks were way too fun, but I forced him to take just one picture with me.

Some other activities we did included going to the touristy downtown part of Jackson Hole, taking drives, and playing at the playground at Teton Village.  It is a slow-paced vacation when half your family is under 3, but we enjoyed spending time together.

Our October so far

This October has flown by, and honestly, I have not had a lot of time to stop and reflect on one of my favorite months of the year.  It has been filled with really fun times and a good portion of heartache.  I feel like I want to document this month really well . . . but if I did it all one post, it would be the longest one in history.  So this one's all about the fun I had in Payson over conference weekend.

 The first weekend in October Chase went to Florida for a career fair/conference.  Since he was gone Thursday-Sunday, I thought I would make the visit down to Payson to enjoy a few days on "Grandpa's Farm" with my two boys.  The first day there I took the boys to the Red Barn in Santaquin with Anne and one of her cute friends.  While there, we took a hayride out to a pumpkin patch.  Along with pumpkins, there was a cute maze and these ginormous slides.  Mckay loved these slides, and never did pick out a pumpkin!

 Even Anne got a thrill the first time she went down!

 Later that same weekend, we went to Julie's apartment to make yummy caramel apples.  I have to confess, my apples are the ugly ones.  Rachel and Julie did a much better job of making them pretty.  I feel like they could stand up to apples at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Shoppe.

 General Conference is always great.  There was a lot of excitement in the Sainsbury home when the new age limits for missionaries was announced, but eventually things quieted down enough to where my parents could "listen" with their eyes closed.

That night the girls did a craft while the boys went to priesthood.  Sorry for this horrible yellow lighting in this picture, but I wanted to show a good picture of the "Boo" blocks we made.

I thoroughly enjoyed a weekend at home, but did miss Chase a lot.  I was excited to be able to pick him up the next morning and from the airport drive straight to Jackson Hole to spend a fun couple of days with our England side of our family.  I am hoping to have that post out in the next couple of days.