8 is GREAT!

For Veterans Day we decided to go to the Zoo-- us and everyone else in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area! It was very crowded and we had to park about a mile away but we still had a great time. Brynlie & Kohler outside the new Koala exhibit. They were really cute, they looked like stuffed animals. Looking at the Wallabies. Climbing trees. I love this picture! Sweet Lauren. Resting in the stroller. The Zoo has a carousel and every time we go, the kids want to ride it. So this time I FINALLY let them. Kohler Brynlie. She wasn't sure about the ride. As soon as it started, she said, "Down." Alyssa. Lauren was so happy! She's so cute. It was a tiring but fun day out with the kids.

This month starts our crazy holiday season where we celebrate three birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years all within two months! This past week was Brynlie's birthday! She's the baby of the family and I can't believe she's already 2! When she was born I thought, "When she's 2, Hanna will be 12, Kamary will be 10 and Alyssa will be getting ready to be baptized, Kohler will be in school and Lauren will be 4!" I couldn't imagine it...and now here we are. It's crazy how fast time flies and how quickly they grow up. We love Brynlie and enjoy her fun personality every day! She finally has the present unwrapping thing down. She didn't need any help from siblings this year and she let them know it! Grandma & Grandpa Wheeler gave her a stuffed monkey. She really loved it. She calls every mammal a monkey. She has started calling the dog "pooch-monkey". It's really cute. Cuddling with the monkey. Opening more presents. Si...

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...