More catching up

This is the way you will find Natalie every time she is wanting something or playing or walking or just talking to you. I LOVE those lips! It is the best thing in the world to see those lips come out. It has had me and Tyler laughing uncontrollably at times!

We decorated for Halloween! My kids were really excited that we had decorations up so they told all their friends to come look! So funny what brings excitement to little people! Tyler made the pumpkins for me out of old books.
He is such a crafter at heart (but don't tell him that I said that)

I love how the bats are 3 dimensional! Makes it look awesome in here :)

I found this bookshelf in our basement and painted it black. My first paint job so don't judge me. I have lots to learn but it was fun being thrifty like that.

See I told you she was walking! Isn't that the cutest face ever?

She walks all over the house now and it surprises me every time I see her!
She always has such a big smile every time too.

One Sunday I came outside and found them playing together like this!
I love these precious moments of sibling love!

My bragging...

I think everyone should have something to brag about. I ran my half marathon almost 3 weeks ago but I still wanted to update about it because I loved the race and want to remember how "awesome" I did! How is that for bragging? Most who know me know that I will almost never brag about myself. But I have learned that with running, I love it and it is something that I am good at. So bring on the bragging.

It was a perfect day for the race. The temp a the finish line was 51 and sunny! I felt good the whole race and kept thinking I was going to hit a wall but I never did. I just ran and ran and ran. And it felt wonderful! I finished in 1:48 which is a good time for me, shaving 10 mins off my last half. I honestly think I could shave a couple more minutes off and be at 1:45, which is what I am shooting for in my next half in May of 2012! (the weekend before Tyler graduates!)(I stole this picture from the race website so it is blurry but it still shows that I was running! I also think I may be a very serious runner, what do you think?)

Has it really been that long?

Times slips by so quick and blogging just hasn't been happening! We have had a wonderful summer and now heading into an amazing fall. We got to go home to St. George, Utah for 2 months and boy was it a much needed time. We played, we worked, we hiked, we swam, we had sleepovers, we played some more, and, of course, we ate a ton!
I love being with family and miss them dearly. Being back home reminded me how wonderful it is to have the support of so many loved ones around you. But my favorite part was watching my kids play with all their cousins. I really hope that we end up living by all our family when we are done with all this schooling!

Natalie turned 1 last month! Wow, let me tell you what a different baby she is compared to my other 3. She is into EVERYTHING and grins the whole time doing it! She is so much fun to have in our family and we are so in love with her and her awesome personality. She started crawling the week before we left for Utah and is now walking! She eats everything you put in front of her, climbs everything around her, and smiles at everyone who comes by her. Plus, she is by far our best cuddler. Especially to her Dad. She will choose dad over mom any day and loves to lay on his shoulder and his face!

She loved her cake and dug right into it!
See the pure contentment in her face
Barry loved the cupcakes too!
awesome cupcakes that Aunt Jessica made her herlove this picture of her while we were hiking on the red hill

this is so Natalie...crawling as fast as she can to get away but always
will stop and smile at you
Barry hiking on the red hill too!

He was a pro at jumping off the rocks and climbing up them

Girls dressing up and, of course, had to include Natalie
Hallie and Annie on the 2nd day of school. Hallie started 2nd grade and Annie started kindergarten. They love riding the bus together and love school lunch!!!
We loved hiking together this summer. The kids in front of the narrows on the red hill
Annie stopping to pose
love this pic of all 3 of them
We couldn't keep up with Hallie, she was a hiking maniac
Tat chose to hike this way and dad didn't seem to mind the company