8 is GREAT!

I'm a lover of holidays. They add some excitement to the droll of every day life and it gives a great excuse to spend time together and create family traditions. Halloween was on a Sunday this year and I'm glad because we actually spread out our festivities over the entire weekend. It was nice, because sometimes it's a lot to pack into one day. Usually I'm lazy and just make sliced apples and caramel dip, but this year we made real caramel apples with nuts, drizzled chocolate and sprinkles. As you can tell by this picture-- it was very yummy. Carving pumpkins. This year I got one for each kid (the younger ones got the small pie pumpkins). That worked out great because they could all be creative and there was no fighting! :) I'll be doing that every year. Here is Lauren's hair. She was Cinderella this year and so we made her hair so "pretty". She loved it! From the back. Here she is in her costume. And another back shot. Kohler wanted to be a skele...

We had Fall Break this week and the kids begged us to go camping. So Jason took a couple of days off and we headed north to the Mogollon Rim near Payson, AZ. It was so beautiful. Even though I live in the desert and long to be in greener pastures, I am glad that Arizona has places that I can visit and get respite from the sagebrush and saguaro cactus (unlike other states I could mention but won't). Here are some pics of our fun camping trip! We found a great campsite at the Christopher Creek campground. Yo dude! This place rocks! Alyssa is making a bed for her barbie. Setting up the tent. Alas, it fell apart after this trip, but it has served us well and has given us many wonderful camping memories. This is how my husband starts a fire. How about yours? Saying "Good Morning" to the pooch. Just waking up. The mornings were pretty cold, but we had hot cocoa and a morning fire to warm us up. Hanging by the fire. Getting hugs from Daddy. What a dirty face! Here is a shot of...