Kennedy's new hair

I guess it was time for a change. After years and years of long hair, Kennedy decided to go short for a while. My friend Amy cut her hair while she was here visiting. We all think Kennedy looks very "sassy". She loves her new hair and is enjoying how easy it is. I guess my little girl is growing up.

A little Swing Dancing with Kinsey (video)

The youth in our ward have recently been learning to dance. A young couple taught them how to swing dance at an activity, and so these kids get together and dance quite often. Kinsey and her friend Clay really got into the "swing" of things, and they ended up being good partners. What a fun thing for all these kids to be learning.

Amy and Amy

Just over a week ago, one of my very best friends came to visit me all the way from Utah. Amy Stevens and I have been friends since our junior year in high school and have stayed close ever since. I get to see her and her family each summer for a month, and so even our kids our close friends. Our oldest daughters, Kinsey and Mia are very best friends and e-mail constantly and spend endless time together in the summer. Amy was able to come and visit me for six days...and she even got to come ALL ALONE. Her five kids and husband sent her off to have a fun week with me. WE HAD such a great time. John pretty much took over everything with the kids and sent us off to play. What a great husband. Amy and I spent a day at Universal (how fun to go to an amusement park without kids...we felt young again), we went shopping, and out to lunch, went to the pool, had a movie night out, had a movie night in...and even got to spend a whole day at the beach alone. As much as I love going to the beach with my kids, I have to say that it was fun to be there without hauling 100 pounds of chairs, towels and beach toys with us. Two beach chairs, two diet cokes, two salads...and that was plenty to keep us occupied all day on the beach. We had absolutely perfect weather and it was so fun to talk and talk and enjoy one of my favorite places ever. I loved having Amy in Florida and showing her around, introducing her to my friends, and letting her be a part of my life. We talked non-stop for most of the time she was visiting. We laughed and laughed about our past escapades together, and about the crazy things our kids do, and just about life in general. I feel rejuvenated as a mom. Every woman can use a good dose of BFF time.

Halloween Hoopla!

What a great Halloween we had this year. We had a Halloween party at church on the 30th, and that was fun for the kids to get to see their church friends and parade around a bit. Halloween night is always amazing in our neighborhood. Here in Florida, or at least in our area, the Halloween decorations are so elaborate. You would think it was Christmas with a spooky twist. I guess it is because we have such great weather right now, so it is easy to get out and make your yard look great. All the houses in our neighborhood have these great covered front porches, so most people sit out and pass out candy. Spooky music can be heard, and even some sound effects from certain houses. It feels like a giant Halloween party in our neighborhood. Very fun for the kids. This year I stayed home with Cooper (he went around for a few houses) and the kids went with John (and Kinsey went to a fun "teen" party with some friends from church). I think the kids got enough candy to feed a small country. Fun was had by all. Kinsey decided to be Minnie mouse this year. It is actually the very same costume that she wore when she was 18 months old. Just fits a little differently.
Kennedy was a "Flapper" from the 20's

The cutest blond vampire I have ever seen. When we got to the Halloween party, everyone kept walking by Carver and saying, "Hey Dracula", or "What a cool Vampire". Carver looked up at me with total surprise and said, " Hey mom, how does everyone know that I'm a Vampire"?

The Vampire tried to bite the Flapper a couple of times. We had to keep an eye on them.

Cooper was a tiger this year. I figured he needed a "tiger mommy", so I dressed up too.

Cooper was all about the lollipops. As he was eating one, he had a look on his face like, "You have been holding out on me mom...all this time you have just been giving me a tasteless binki".