Extreme Table Makeover

We have been in need of new chairs for our table for quiet some time. I found 4 on Craigslist that I really liked but knew we needed more than that so I was really excited when I found 3 more at Goodwill that matched. The only problem, they were all different shades of brown so, let the sanding begin!

I didn't think about how fun, and how long it was going to be to sand all of the little parts. Luckily, my good friend Lisa was nice enough to come help me sand them all.

I decided to paint them white and then antique them with a dark stain over the top. I, of course, had the time to start painting them the same day we got hit with 12 inches of snow. A little too cold to be out in the garage so the kitchen became my workshop! We got all the chairs done and placed them around the table but I wasn't really loving it. I did love the new chairs but thought the table was too light which got us started on project #2. We decided to sand the table down and stain it darker and here is how it turned out...

...TA-DA!! It was a lot of work but I think it turned out great. Just in time for our Thanksgiving visitors!

Family Night Fun

The other night it was time to get ready for bed so we told the boys to go get their pajamas on. They had a different idea. Running out of their room with ammo in hand, the pillow fight begins!!

Lucky for Avrey & me it was attack dad night!

Kaden's call of the wild before he attacks!

Avrey could only sit by and watch for so long. These kids held nothing back and fought hard till the very end...

...and earned their victory!

Halloween Weekend

This year Halloween turned into a weekend's worth of activities. We started out by carving pumpkins. Thank you to Grandpa Gillespie's garden!

Little Miss so excited about her pumpkin!

Trey felt pretty cool when we said he could carve the pumpkin all by himself!

The finished products proudly placed on the porch for viewing.

The three cutest kids I have ever seen ready for trick-or-treating!

Mobster Police

Batman

A Dragon...with a girly touch.

Our first stop was at the fire station. They always hand out fun halloween bags and treats. The kids were especially excited when a call came in and they got to see the fire truck in action.

We had such a great time trick-or-treating. So many houses go all-out even building full-on haunted houses in their front yards.

We also went to the ward trunk-or-treat. The kids scored a bunch of candy there since they went through the line about 9 times. Kaden loved the car dressed up like Lightning McQueen!

Our Home Depot also had a fun Monster Inc. night. The kids got to come and meet Mike & Sulley and have another round of trick-or-treating. Trey was really excited that he got a "dirty rat"!! We had such a great weekend and have enough candy to get us through 'till Easter!

Ready, Set, Jump!

When we got home from our little trip Fall had set in. Our massive tree in the front yard had dropped half of it's leaves and the kids could not wait to jump in!

The boys showing off some of their killer moves!

The kids had a such a great time even though we only had a short time to play in them before the snow came in.

Fall Break Part 3: Las Vegas

After 10 years of marriage we finally made the leap and left our kids while Jeff and I got away for a few days. Jeff had a conference for work that was held at the Venetian Hotel so even though we are not the "Las Vegas" type we wouldn't pass up the chance to stay at this beautiful hotel.

The amazing lobby!! No matter which direction you looked there was so much detail and artwork!

Each night we enjoyed amazing food and a short walk.

During the day while Jeff was enjoying his conference I made a few new friends...the pool and my pina colada!!

Jeff would join me during his lunch break!

Because we are not "Vegas" people this trip really did turn out to be a little bit of work with a lot of relaxation. We had a great time and are forever in debt to our wonderful family for watching our kids.

Fall Break Part 2: Provo

After our weekend in Moab we headed up to Provo to spend some time with family. We only had two days but we were very grateful we got a chance to see everyone and get out and do a few fun things. We had a great dinner with the Gillespie family and then had the kids decorate Halloween cookies.

We spent one afternoon with my mom and sister Kelly and drove up Provo canyon to see the fall leaves. We made a chilly stop at Bridal Veil falls and walked around Sundance.

Jeff and Trey also spent an afternoon hiking to the "Y".

Even though they were hiking the "Y" Jeff made sure Trey showed some respect to his Utes!

Fall Break Part 1: Moab

This year for fall break we made 3 stops so I thought I would make them 3 different posts as well. Stop #1, Moab, UT. Several months ago Jeff signed up to run a half marathon and we had a great weekend spending time with family in a beautiful setting.

A little family picture with Landscape Arch behind us.

Kaden sporting his rock star pose for everyone.

Miss Avrey showing off her smile with a little dirt mixed in.

Jeff's grandparents from Idaho made the trip as well. They had never been to Arches before, and we were fortunate enough to have them in our car for the day. Needless to say we talked and laughed a lot as we drove through the park.

Jeff and Kaden sitting under Window arch. Kaden was pouting because Jeff wouldn't let him get too close to edge up there. Just love that stage where kids think they know it all!

Jeff finished the course in just under 2 hours. He said it was hard to keep an eye on the road with all of the scenery around. It was a perfect day for a race with no wind and a blue sky. A few hundred yards from the finish line, Jeff's brothers Nic and Derek were waiting with Trey who ran across the finish line with him. Trey was pretty excited to run part of the race with his dad.

Originally, Jeff thought he'd be running the race by himself, but was thrilled when his aunt Sharon decided to run it too.

The finish line was at a ranch about 15 miles up the Colorado River from Moab. What an amazing accomplishment and a wonderful weekend!