Happy Halloween!

We knew Charlie was going to be a little dragon and last minute we decided to be Arwen and Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings (yes, welcome to 9 years ago). A special thanks to Steve and Kerry because all 3 costumes were hand-me-downs. :)

We went trick-or-treating for the first time with Charlie and Sam and Lily on Grandma Sue's street. Kristen, Kerry, Steve and Grandma Barbara joined in, too. We also met up with Breea and McKenzie and Emily for some houses. We were the first trick-or-treaters of the night for a lot of people- it was a little light on the kids because the weather was cold and rainy. At the first door he picked out a sucker, wanted it unwrapped, and he was good for the rest of the night. He went up to a few more doors but was still so interested in his sucker that we went and got the stroller and he stayed in it for the rest of the street. So great.

The two superheroes- Spider-Woman and Catwoman

(Steve would like you to know that they are from rival comic franchises).

Steve's cute family- Kerry the witch, Steve the Jazz team doctor,

Sam the "army guy" and Lily the Spider-Woman

The trick-or-treaters

Captain Jack Sparrow (aka Dave) and his apprentice pirate (Emily) and the '80's girl they kidnapped for ransom (McKenzie)

Wendy, Peter Pan and John

Charlie at his Kindermusik class- all the kids dressed up for class for Halloween

The Four Progeny

We've had so much fun with Catherine, Richard and especially Baby Elizabeth while they've been in town visiting. Unfortunately, Richard had to leave to return to work in the UAE and we already miss him a lot. My dad will be here soon for a short visit. So this picture (the first of all the grandkids together!) is the shout out to Daddy/Uncle Richard and Grandpa Mark who are surely missing their babies. Believe it or not, this was the best picture we got. My favorite part is that Lily was in charge trying to "hold" Charlie- which is quite the feat, considering she only weighs 10 lbs more than he does.

Andrea's wedding!

We spent a lovely day with Andrea and Ken as they got married- we were lucky enough to be included in the ceremony in the morning, the wedding luncheon at Tucanos (delicious), and then the dreamy reception at Cactus and Tropicals.

It was so special to be in the temple with my friends. It was especially fun to spend time with Amy who lives so far away (currently in Maine). She brought her absolutely decadent baby, Kate, and I just had to love on her as much as possible.

John spent some time with Kate, too.

Amy and her little sweetie- what a cute pair they are!

Andrea's girlfriends at the temple- photo by Joanna Hudson.

Charlie was an honorary ring bearer and looked dapper in his little dress shoes, suit pants, white shirt and tiny tie.

My two handsome guys at the reception. John spent most of his time chasing Charlie around and keeping him from taking headers into the water features at Cactus and Tropicals.

Our little family- love those two

Alyce and Brent- Alyce and her big sister Evelyn were the little flower girls

The gorgeous cake

The bridesmaids- photo by Joanna Hudson

Our traditional high school friends wedding picture (photo by Joanna Hudson). I made everyone hang around so we could get this shot and now I have a complete set!

New Inspiration Blog

I've started a Tumblr blog to keep track of all the lovely, inspiring, funny or helpful things I see on the internet. I'm still learning the new platform (oh, trusty Blogger, I know ye well) so bear with my growing pains. I'd love it if you wanted to check it out!

http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/getupandplay

Portraits by Jeanette Soffe

I have so much to catch up on this little blog, but I just had to post these previews that my friend, Jeanette Soffe, posted on her blog of our family photo session. We're so lucky to have her take our portraits and doubly so, considering she is is 9 months pregnant and we were her last shoot before she went on maternity leave!! Thanks, Jeanette, we love them and are excited to see the rest!

Wellies

Every fall and spring I wish for a pair of wellies but then those short Utah seasons fade away too quickly into our long summer and winter. I'm still dreaming about buying some this year, even I only get to wear them for two weeks. Which ones do you like the best?

Target



Nordstrom



Land's End

Fun Carnival Fundraiser this Saturday!

I hope you'll come support this great cause- a Carnival to benefit the Coleman family. My friend, Lindsey Coleman, has two children with SMA (spinal muscular atrophy). SMA Type I is a terminal genetic disease that results in loss of nerves in the spinal cord and weakness of the muscles connected with those nerves. Needless to say, it's a very debilitating and expensive disease.

THIS SATURDAY at OLYMPUS HIGH SCHOOL

Here's the flier for more information!

Charlie- 17 months

A little behind, again, (by a month) but oh well!

Charlie has gotten so interested in new things and it is so fun to watch him figure stuff out. He's been coloring with crayons, turning the water on and off in the tub and opening and closing the DVD player. He is particularly fascinated with wheels- anything with wheels is guaranteed to hold his attention for a long time. He loves cars, trucks, the garbage cans, wheelbarrows, the stroller, and when I'm unloading the dishwasher he loves to pull out the bottom rack to push along the floor like a car- hey, it has wheels!





He loves to put things on and off- especially my sunglasses.

We've been spending a lot of time with this cute guy- Charlie is getting really good at saying his name, although instead of "Sam" it comes out more like, "Dam". Oh well!

Sporting his new Converse kicks. He loves shoes- he will find mine on the floor and bring them to me one by one and try to put them on my feet.

I had this exersaucer out on it's way to the storage room (finally) and Charlie really wanted to get in it. It's so funny to see how much he's grown- check out his long legs in there!

"Helping" unload the dishwasher- what a good little helper.

Silver Lake on a Sunday afternoon

We found ourselves without plans on a Sunday afternoon and evening so we headed up to the gorgeous Silver Lake in Big Cottonwood canyon. It was so peaceful to be there in the lovely mountains with just my little family. It's time like these that I'm grateful for the camera on my phone, so I can capture these little moments.



Charlie checking out the ducks- he was quacking at them and loved when they quacked back.






Charlie checking out the lake

Got Milk? Baby Peter needs it!

Dear Blog Friends,

I have a friend, Jane, whose little boy cannot tolerate regular milk or formula or "real" food. She's been pumping for two years and her milk supply is diminishing. She is seeking breastmilk for her little guy until he can have a surgery that will help him tolerate formula and eventually, food. She is willing to pay for this gift of love!

Jane and Peter (photo from Jane's blog)

I wish I was still nursing so that I had some milk to donate! Any of you breastfeeding moms out there have frozen milk that needs to be consumed? Or are willing to pump extra milk to help little Peter? Purchasing the needed milk (he needs 40 oz. a day) from a milk bank would cost $350 a day! Spread the word- let's see if we can help find some milk!

Visit Jane's blog for more information or email me at getupandplayblog@gmail.com

Where was Charlie?

In response to my brother's comment on the last post asking where Charlie was during the house concert- he was in the other room with a babysitter and these two cuties, Emily and McKenzie, my almost nieces. Pretty darling, right?

I'm a Groupie

John and I hosted a house concert to showcase some incredibly talented local artists. It was so much fun to hear such great music in a small, intimate setting with our friends and family. Having Paul Jacobsen, Sarah Sample (who has a new album coming out in October!) and Ryan Tanner singing and playing in our living room was seriously dreamy.

Andrea's bridal shower

I love a good excuse to throw a party and Andrea's upcoming wedding is a great one! I co-hosted a shower for her at my house a few weeks ago and it was so fun to get together and catch up and celebrate with her.



The show-stopping gift came from Andrea's mom- a set of family heirloom china! It was so gorgeous and such a wonderfully sweet gesture.



Charlie was happy that there were other little people there- this is Heidi's little cutie, Hazel.



The whole group- pretty girls!