Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy 30th Birthday Matt!!

Wow!  I can't believe my hubby turned 30 this year!!  I wanted to make it very special for him, but at the same time not go over board.  He doesn't like people making  big fuss over him, and definitely doesn't like being in the lime light.  So I knew that I couldn't throw him a party. Instead, I decided to take this opportunity and show him how much he has accomplished and how much the Lord has blessed him in these first 30 years.  Since I've only known him for the last 7 years of it, I focused on family.  We've been so lucky to have Rebekah Westover take pictures of our family this year.  And she was so accommodating and did everything she could to get me the pictures that we ordered before his birthday.  It worked out perfectly, he was out of town the day I got the pictures, so I was able to put the house in order (thanks Mom Jesperson!), decorate the kitchen with 30 balloons, and display the pictures, and gifts/cards he had gotten from family, so he could see them when he walked in the door.

It worked perfectly!  He was totally surprised (which I was glad for since I ruined the first surprise I had done for him for his birthday), and just stood there for like 15 minutes just looking at all the pictures.  He sure loves his family!



I loved that his favorite gifts were the cards the kids had made him.  He always admits he loves how the kids make him feel like a rock star.  He walks in the door and all you hear is the pitter patter of little feet running to the door to greet their dad.  But truly, he is these kids biggest fan.  I love that about him.

Happy birthday sweetie!  Here's to the next 30 years, and the next...=)

Happy Halloween!!

Tanner as "Franklin the Turtle," Kate as an adorable Ladybug.

I love these adorable little critters! We had such a fun day today. Busy, since Halloween is also Matt's birthday, but so fun! I have so many pictures to post of the last week. Lots of Halloween parties and festivities.  Mom and Dad, I will get them up before the end of the week, but until I do, enjoy this picture.  =)

Thursday, October 30, 2008

First School Party!

Tanner had his first school party this week when he had a Halloween Party at his preschool. The anticipation this little guy had for this party was so fun to watch. He was so excited. I think Halloween is his new favorite holiday!

Walking into his classroom. Isn't the back of his costume so cute! When he walked, the padding wiggled back and forth like he was swinging his bottom back and forth. It was so funny!

Tanner, Aiden, and Blake!

Tanner's class with his teacher Mrs. Stewart.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Artistic Pumpkins

I saw these cute little "Bat'o'laterns" in F*mi*y F*n Magazine and I thought they would be a lot of fun to try and make.

Tanner took his painting part very seriously,

and was a great little painter!

After a couple of hours, we finally had one!

Tanner is so proud!

This picture makes me laugh so hard.  Kate is wanting to hold the pumpkin, and Tanner is just giving her the look of death.  "Don't you even think about it Kate, this bat is MINE."

Too much fun.

I thought they turned out pretty cute, huh?

A few days later, we did the traditional carving of the pumpkins.

Cole, Matt's youngest brother, joined us for the occasion.

Showing Matt how scooping out the icky guts of the pumpkin is my favorite part. (NOT!)

Tanner helping me dig.

Yeah, I don't think he liked it either.

Our works of art...

...and some pumpkins from our garden.


What a pretty sight!  I sure love Halloween!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

The Most Anticipated Party of the Year...

Matt still keeps in touch with his buddies from High School, and luckily most of them still live nearby.  We try getting all the couples together as often as we can, and since no one ever wants to miss the Cooks famous Halloween Bash, it's a great time to catch up with everyone.  With all the friends and fun, we truly look forward to it every year.  The theme this year was "What I wanted to be when I grew up," and some of the outfits were hilarious.  Thanks JR & Andrea for another great party.

Matt and I dressed up as "Nacho Libre" and "Ramses" (those are true authentic masks from Mexico!)

Too much to handle!!  LOL!

Dave & Kendra were Donald and Ivana Trump

Marcus and Lisa came as John McCain and Sarah Pallin.

Andrea was a pregnant MOTAB singer (love the dress), and JR was that creepy guy from that scary movie that I can't remember the name of.  =)

Al was Indiana Jones and Ashley was Gwen Stephani

Ben and Melissa came as an overweight OBGYN and his ready-to-deliver-at-any-moment patient.

Ethan was Walker Texas Ranger and Rachel was Gem.

Jules was a Mac Counter make-up Artist and Justin was Superman (I love his pose in this picture)

Friday, October 24, 2008

Jamestown Halloween Party...

We went to the Courtyard at Jamestown Halloween Party last week.  The kids had such a fun time.  Courtyard at Jamestown is an Assisted Living Community here in Provo, and I think it was more fun to watch the seniors watch the kids.  It was so great to be able to bring them a little bit of happiness for this Halloween.  I think we're going to have to make this a tradition!

The "Haunted House."  (There is no way the kids would have gone in there without Matt).

Inside the haunted house they had a little box with the illusion of a talking head.  The kids sat there and watched it for like 5 minutes.  Kate came out saying, "It's so silly."  I think she was trying to convince herself.  (Isn't the back of her costume too cute, I LOVE it!)

Fishing for goodies.

Look Mommy, I caught one!

Playing ring toss.

Enjoying chocolate and trying to figure out what this "prize" was she just won.

On the cake walk...

...Kate won first.

But luckily Tanner won the turn right after.


Doing the "jitter-bug."  Love these two!

Monday, October 20, 2008

Barnyard Boo!

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to go to Thanksgiving Point's Barnyard Boo with some cousins in the area.  It was a lot of fun and the kids had such a great time.  I didn't bring my camera, but when we went to the pony rides, I had to pull out the trusty old camera phone.  I'm glad I had that at least.  It was funny to see the difference in my kid's personalities...

Kate saw the ponies from across the way and immediately wanted to go see them.  I put her on the horse and she was so excited, grinning from ear to ear (I tried to get a picture, but the delay on my cell phone camera is pretty lag).

Tanner also saw the ponies from across the way, and wanted to go see them, but when I put him on the horse, he immediately wanted to get down.  

Tanner is my very cautious boy,

While Kate is very adventurous, sometimes a little too much so.

She LOVED riding the pony, and was NOT very happy to get off.

Tanner kind of sorta enjoyed the ride towards the end,

but was VERY HAPPY to be finished.

Enjoying a hay ride, and yep, Kate wouldn't sit in my lap.  =)