My Great Weekend!

Before I get to the fun pictures, I have to brag about the work I did this weekend. Matt and I got all of the sprinklers installed in the front yard. I think that I impressed Matt with all of my digging skills! Glad it is done...now we have to do the back yard and lay down sod..oh and landscaping....having a new house is a LOT of work...hopefully we will never have to do it again!
One day it will be pretty pretty! PS...Matt is amazing! He is soo good at everything he does! His perfectionism was only slightly time-consuming, but appreciated!

Okay, to the fun stuff...and I am warning you...I have lots of pics! Oh and another warning, I LOVE shots taken from behind...they seem so sweet!

Well, Matt's brother Greg and his wife Alex and us have a fun little deal. We take turns watching each other kids every other weekend so that the other couple can go out. It is win-win! Not only do I get to hang out with my cute nieces every other week, I also get to go on a date with my hubby every other week too! Here are some pics of our weekend babysitting!

Here is my niece Madeleine! She is such a good little baby! I think she is adorable!

She was a good little trooper as we took the older kids around Gardner Village to see the witches. I just love Halloween and we couldn't wait for our first trip of the year. The first of many, if I dare guess.

Here is Matt, Lauren, Jamie, and my niece Isabella checking out the lake and the witch in the boat.

The Three Muskateers! They get along so great and LOVE hanging out with each other every week. We are so lucky!

Lauren and Bella with their first witch. Jamie was a little too shy at first.

Jamie got brave enough for a pic. Cute kiddos if I do say so myself!

Like I said, I love pics from the back. My kids are great!

The red hat witch!

Kids on a swing.

Hard to get a pic with ALL the kids looking and smiling...2 outta 3 on this one!

I am looking forward to Fall!

Awww..cousins and friends.

The hula-hooping witch:

Matt offered to buy everyone a trest from "Sweet Aftons". The best candy store ever! The kids all chose Ring Pops. They were all thrilled, look at Jamie's big ol' grin!

Matt and ALL four kiddos. They all look like they have binkies!

Matt and Maddy. Matt is so good with kids, even babies. Man, I sure lucked out snagging him!

Me and my girl, Lauren.

Me and my boy Jamie:

Adventurous Jamie:

Adorable Bella!

Sweet Lauren:

Later that night, we went over to Matt's dad's house for some hot dogs cooked on the fire pit. Yum!! Jamie was more interested in playing with Maddy's carseat! He thought it was soo funny! What a silly boy!

Me and the three girls around the fire.

I don't know if you can see this or not, but Lauren and Bella are dragging around Jamie on a blanket. It was so funny. They get a kick out of the strangest things!

My cute hubby Matt, what a good sport!

Matt's dad Leo and his wife Tina enjoying the family and the fire:

The kids begged Matt to play Tag. Which he did. He used to do the same thing with my little sisters when they were little kids. He is so much fun.

Tina and Maddy.

Lauren and Bella...best little buddies!

And one final shot of the fire. I could sit around a campfire all night! It was a little bittersweet. Summer is over, and although I love the Fall..I am not a Winter fan! This weekend was full of a little bit of work, a little bit of fun and a lot of family. In other words, perfect.

PS. I love you Matt. Thanks for your example of working hard and playing hard. You are the best!

A Rabbit and a Monkey

Okay, I just had to share it! The other night after getting out of the tub, my two little kiddos were just too darn cute to not snap a pic. So here they are, in their natural, adorable glory!
Lauren is such a cheeser, and Jamie..up here buddy!

Lauren, still cheesing...wait Jamie...too far up!

Okay, Jamie cheeser...and now what are YOU doing Lauren?

Too serious!

Okay as close as I am going to get to perfect!

I love these two little animals so much, I can hardley stand it. They are the world to me and they make me so very happy. They are the reasons Matt and I do what we do, the crazy schedule and all. Worth everything! Isn't that what life is all about?

Family Part Two

Well, here I go with Part Two. So, I had some family come into town for my cousin Ryan's funeral. Although it was great to see them, I wish it were under happier circumstances. A couple of posts ago, I wrote about my cousin Amy. Well, her parents, Jim and Shirley from Minnesota, were two of the people that came to visit. They got to spend some time at my parent's house with my kids. Jamie warmed up my Uncle Jim and was soon dragging him around. I like to call this pic: James and James! Yup they have the same real name:
My brother John, and his wife Clara also came to visit for a week from New Mexico.

Shot number two:

My brother John and his daughter Alysia. Hard to believe I have a 19 year old niece!

Here is my dad's sister Shirley and her hubby Jim. Sure wish that I got to see more of 'em!

My dad's baby sister, Lorraine and her hubby Ben. They live in Clearfield. They are so great!

Here is my Grandma, my Grandpa. They have been married for over 50 years. They are so cute and so funny. I always love to see them. Also in the pic are my brother John and his wife Clara. Oh, also pictured are their dogs "Little Boy" and "Be Be":

Here is one of my dad's other sister Jeanette and her husband Ross with his daughter Aletha, Son-In-Law Dan, and their baby. Despite the recent loss in their family, they are being so strong, I really admire them for that. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and I hope they know how much we love them!

PS. These are only a few pics of my dad's family! Missing are his two brothers and one more sister, plus lots of cousins, and lots of cousin's kids. On my "Lovato" side I happen to have 15 cousins and they have a total of 13 kids themselves. I LOVE my huge family and wish we saw each other more often. The thing about family that I love is that you have a common past, and how time never seems to change the deep friendship no matter how long it's been since you've been together. Families are the best!

Family Part One

A couple of days before my cousin passed away, my aunt and uncle from my mom's side, in Louisiana came for a visit. We were very happy to see Aunt Anita and Uncle Howard! Before I get to those pics, I will let everyone know that we decided to keep Oreo. Our allergies are getting a little bit better, and she has had no accidents since we purchased a second litter box. Nobody could be happier with our decision to keep her, than Miss Lauren:
Oh and Pepper is happy as well...they snuggle in various poses like this every night! It cracks me up everytime!Okay, onto my post topic.....one of my favorite things we did when Anita and Howard were here, was heading up the mountains. Lauren blew bubbles up there:

Matt got a chance to relax for a second too:

Here is my sister Ashley playing with Jamie by the stream:

My sister Sarah, Lauren, and Ashley's boyfriend Victor, enjoying the serenity:

Ashley and the kiddos again:

Awww...I love pics taken from the back! Sarah with the kids:

Jamie and me at our picnic site:

Uncle Howard, Aunt Anita and the kids. Anita was determined to win shy Jamie over, and I think she succeeded!

Yup, she succeeded!

Jamie kept cracking me up with this, does he love cars or what? He puts his blanket over this remote controlled (same size as him) car..just like a car cover. Here is his proud display of the cars Anita gave him:

Here is me and Aunt Anita, my mom's youngest sister:

Sure do love and miss her!!!

Oh and I just LOVE this pic of my mom and dad with the kids...SOOO cute!

Stay tuned for Family Part Two.