Partyfest 2008

This past week has been one huge Partyfest. First, on Tuesday, some of the girls in our ward threw a "non-candy" Halloween party for all the kids. Brooklyn and Aubrey had so much fun eating all the great food and playing with their friends. They went as Tinkerbell and a Jester, but we changed costumes later on (as you will see...)

On Wed, Mary (in the pic.) and I were in charge of our Pack Meeting for Boy Scouts and it turned out awesome. It was a ton of work and the boys totally wore me out, but we had such a good time. Some of the festivities included: "Harry Potter" broomstick races, "How to Eat Fried Worms" gummy worm eating contest, "Spiderwick Chrnoicles" capture the prisoner, and a "Nick of Time" treasure hunt. At one point during the evening, I was out in the hall when a group of boys ran by (during their treasure hunt) and one yelled out, "This is the best pack meeting EVERRRRRR!!" That made it all worth it.


On Thursday, we had "Beggar's Night" which is Iowa's version of Halloween (wierd - I know). An awesome family from our ward invited us over for a wonderful dinner and then we all took our kids door-to-door together. We had a great time until the stroller hit a small bumb (called a curb! :) and Brooklyn smacked her face into Aubrey's seat in the double stroller. Her mouth started pooring blood but once we got her all cleaned up and gave her a sucker she was happy as can be!



On Friday we had our ward Halloween party and Trunk-or-Treating. Unfortunately, my lame camera wasn't working so you are just going to have to use your imagination for this part.

And finally.... on Saturday was Brooklyn's birthday party! She had a princess themed party and it was awesome! We had princess hats for the girls and crowns for the boys to decorate with jewels, crayons, and stickers; a castle with a slide; a princess pinata; and of course a castle cake with icecream. She got some awesome presents and has enjoyed playing with them all weekend. One in particular (from her Grandma and Grandpa Campbell - thanks!) she has refused to let go of since she opened it. It's a doll with a stroller, bassinet, diaper bag (with tons of accessories), car seat, blanket, and tons more. Brooklyn has slept with it every night and we have loved watching her turn into a little mommy. Thanks everyone for your love and support of our little 2 year old! She loves you and so do we!!

California Dreamin' Part 2

Disneyland was definitely a highlight of our California trip. I took advantage of my amazing grandparents who babysat Aubrey, and Brooklyn and I had the time of our lives. She loved every ride we went on including: Pirates of the Caribbean, Haunted Mansion, Winnie the Pooh, the Jungle Cruise, the Rockets, and Buzz Lightyear. I think (judging by her school-girl non-stop giggling) that the rockets were her favorite, but she loved the drops in Pirates too - and kept saying, "more, more, more..." I think the only part of the day that she wasn't a fan of was meeting all the dressed up characters - except Captain Jack Sparrow, of course.

One happy camper - and this is at the very end of the day!
Oh, the wonder of it all. This was on the Jungle Cruise - she couldn't take her eyes off of everything!
Captain Jack.
She was a little unsure about this one at first, but everything was okay once she saw Pooh.

"Where's Daddy?"

This morning, Brooklyn and I were eating breakfast together and she looked at me and asked, "Where's Daddy? Daddy sleepin'?" And our conversation went as follows:
Me: "No, Daddy's at school."
Brooklyn: "At school?"
Me: "Yea, Daddy's going to school so he can be a doctor."
Brooklyn: "Daddy's at school to be a tiger? What Daddy say? RRRRROOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!"

Apparently Brooklyn thinks that Luke is slowly turning into a jungle animal. Yikes.

California Dreamin'

Part one of the Cali trip: Brad's Homecoming




He came home in one piece, a little taller, the exact same weight, and the same ol' Brad. We started cheering when we saw him and gave him about 20 hugs each. (Oh, and we saw Collin Ferrell at the airport being chased by the paparazzi and hardly even noticed him!)

Part two tomorrow...

I've been...

Tagged! The premise is that you must answer all the questions with only one word. So here it is:
1.Where is your cell phone? charging
2.Where is your significant other? school
3.Your hair color? dark
4.Your mother? perfection
5.Your father? honorable
6.Your favorite thing? playtime!
7.Your dream last night? weird!
8.Your dream/goal? live!
9.The room you're in? dining
10.Your hobby? scrapbooking
11.Your fear? failing
12.Where do you want to be in 6 years? home
13.Where were you last night? traveling
14.What you're not? fighter
15.One of your wish list items? coffee table
16.Where you grew up? trampoline
17.The last thing you did? unpack
18.What are you wearing? jeans
19.Your t.v.? Einsteins
20.Your pet? please!
21.Your computer? enjoyable
22.Your mood? content
23.Missing someone? notanymore :)
24.Your car? messy
25.Something you're not wearing? jewelry
26.Favorite store? Forever21
27.Your summer? amazing
28.Love someone? everyone
29.Favorite color? plum
30.Last time you laughed? 1 minute
31.Last time you cried? pregnant

I'm supposed to tag 5 more people to do this post on their blog, and I'm picking: Brittany Wheeler, Kellie Winn, Rindee Sudweeks, Michelle Hinkson, and Shelli Chambers

P.S. My computer is having technical difficulties at the moment, but I promise to post all about California soon - so stay tuned!

PLEASE READ

Hi guys! This is Luke writing. I'm not really one for blogging much, but I came across something that I feel very strongly about and wanted to share with as many people as possible. As I'm sure many of you have, I too have become extremely anxious about the current situation of our country and what is going on with our government and Wall Street. I have been monitoring various news sources and researching to find real answers and try to get a better grasp on how we got into this mess and what we can expect in the future. Today I read an article from my favorite talk show host, Glenn Beck, that does an OUTSTANDING job of describing what we're dealing with. Now, I understand if you don't share the same sentiment for Glenn as I do, I've had plenty of people tell me they don't care for him or think conservative talk radio is just out to instill anger against the other side. That's fine, you're entitled to your own opinion. But if it's any constellation, Ashley is about the least interested person I know when it comes to politics, and she really likes listening to him too.

Anyway, the point is, this article has absolutely nothing to do with left or right or any other politics. It's about us as Americans, and needing to stand up for what we believe in and being leaders in hard times. I strongly feel that if there ever was a time for us to educate ourselves on what is going on, it's now. The Lord has told us, "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear," and that is what this is all about. I believe there are some really tough times for us ahead, and this is about us being prepared, and doing all that we can to weather the storm. PLEASE take time out of your busy schedule to read these articles and pass the links along to anyone who you think would be interested in it, or if you want, post it on your own blog to help spread the word. Those of you who know me know that I am the first to disregard mass forwards and treat them as junk, so the fact that I am doing this is a witness of my strong belief in it. Feel free to post any comments or questions, or just to tell me how crazy you think I am :) You are all in my prayers as well as this country in this time of extreme trial.

Love,
Luke

What Happened?

What's Coming?

What can I do to Prepare?

WELCOME HOME BRAD!!

My little brother Brad and I never got along all that great when we were growing up. I guess that's why I'm surprised at how much I missed him while he has been gone. For the past 2 years he has been serving a mission in Mexico City, Mexico and we have all missed him so much! I am leaving today to fly home for his homecoming and I don't think I have ever been more excited for a trip back home. I'm so proud of Brad and so grateful to have such an amazing brother. Even though he's younger, I truly look up to him. Welcome home Brad!

Where's Aubrey?

Aubrey playing peek-a-boo. Just watch the video.

The "Booed" Poem

For those of you who requested it, here it is...
(if you have no idea what this is about, scroll down to the Halloween post.)

You've Been Boo'd!!
This treat is for you, we hope you enjoy
The idea is simple, one we hope you employ
You pass "Boo" along to two other neighbors
Along with any kind of Halloween favors
If we all do our part, and spread the good cheer
By Halloween night it will be very clear
We're a welcoming bunch, we like to share fun
So please do your part to keep "Boo" on the run!

A Visit From the Runyans

The gang at Chuck E Cheese's (minus Aubrey - thanks to the random girl taking the picture.)

This weekend, our best friends Rick and Jenny came out to Des Moines for Rick's med school interview. We tried to pack in all the action we could and let's just say we packed it in pretty tight. The highlights include: The zoo, lunch at DMU with Luke, the mall, the Science Center, movie night, dinner at TGI Friday's, Super Target shopping trip, Chuck E Cheese's, and Rummy Cube! We had a blast and we miss them already!!
Brooklyn and McKyla discussing their philosophies on life (and I swear, we didn't pose them like this... we were having a picnic and we looked over and they were sitting like this just laughing and talking!)
Just one of the many "hug" pictures.
I just posted this picture so you can all see my new haircut, even though this isn't the best picture of it....
Train ride through the zoo.
Brooklyn thinks this is about to fall on her!
Brooklyn's (left) and McKyla's (right) bodies at the Science Center. I love how you can even see Brooklyn's belly button!! (And Aubrey's head is in the very bottom left corner)