The Jack 'O Lantern---Vegas Style!

I love Halloween....the decorations, the costumes, the food the treats (ok maybe not the scary stuff so much), but there is one thing I can't get used to since we have lived in Vegas...the early demise of the jack 'o lantern. Every year the kids just can't wait to carve those pumkpins, and every year we wake up the next morning to find "Jack" soggy, moldy and caved in. Ok, so it may have something to do with the fact that our temperatures are still hovering in the upper seventies and lower eighties but I can't handle the tears caused by Jack's rapid demise. Therefore I have come up with a solution...pumpkin pots! We created our pumpkins last night for family night. I fully expect these Jacks to survive until Halloween (barring any teenage shenanigans). See if you can guess who created which pumpkin....they kinda look like us!

Colton's Birthday

Colton opens his presents

Cake and ice cream...yum!!

Colton blowing out the candle on his aquarium cake..

complete with fruit roll-up sea weed, nerds rocks and

schools of swedish fish

Family visit to the shark reef

My baby is now two years old! For Colton's birthday we decided to visit the shark reef as a family and see the "fishies." Colton had a lot of fun as did the other kids. The highlight was touching a manta ray and seeing the giant turtle. Later that night we had a party with a few friends. I made Colton an aquarium cake, complete with schools of swedish fish and gummy sharks. He had a lot of fun eating his cake and opening presents. Happy birtday my sweet boy!

First Day of School!

The two oldest kids started school this week. Parker is now in 3rd grade and Megan started kindergarten. She got full-day and has been excited to start for about a month. It has been an adjustment for Colton and myself to have them gone all day but they are loving it! The house is VERY quiet during nap time. I guess I could get used to this!

Parker's Baptism

Everone who came...my brothers and their families and my mom

The Levanger Family

Brian and Parker ready to go

Handsome boy...we couldn't get him to smile

Parker was baptised on August first. It was a really neat experience. My brothers Jon and Andy and their families as well as my mom drove down from Utah to be with us. We really appreciated them taking the time to come. Parker was very excited and picked out a "missionary suit" to wear to the baptism. He enjoyed the baptismal program, although he said "Mom, those talks were waaaaaay too long." He said it was neat to get baptised and the water was even warm. I am so proud of my son and the choice he made. It was also awesome to see Brian use his priesthood to bless our family. I can't believe my baby is old enough to be baptised!

Summer Fun at Lake Powell

Brian and Parker riding the tube

Megan Swimming in the Lake

Colton's favorite part of the trip...riding in the boat

What Parker did most of the time...build sand castles!

Sorry I haven't posted for so long. It's been a busy summer! One of the fun things we did was visit Lake Powell with my brothers and their families. We had a lot of fun riding in the boat, water toys, swimming, playing on the beach, having a weinie roast and even surviving a sudden downpour of rain...thanks Jon, Andy and Brian for holding the tent down! Colton loved riding in the boat, Megan loved swimming and Parker built many a sand castle.

Megan's Dance Recital

Happy working song...that is Megan smack in the middle...she wouldn't have it any other way!

What a cute girl!

Megan all ready to dance!

We switched Megan to a new dance studio this year and I am so glad we did! The recital this past Saturday was amazing. The girls in Megan's 4-5 year old tap/ballet class got to perform a routine to "Happy Working Song" from the movie Enchanted, and let me tell you, it was enchanting! I was so proud of Megan and she looked so cute up there dancing. We weren't allowed to take pictures of the performance, so we don't have any action shots...but there is a video if anyone is interested!

The mole, the honored and the graduate!!!

Megan and her teacher Ms. Heather

Megan with her class at graduation

Parker recieving his awards

The Mole

The Mole onstage delivering his lines

Sounds like some kind of newfangled Clint Eastwood movie, doesn't it? We are winding down the school year with a bunch of fun activities. First, Megan graduated from preschool...sigh...my little girl is going to kindergarten next year. Her class sang us some cute songs and then they got their diplomas. Short and sweet. Parker received 4 awards this year for honor roll, and excelling in science, P.E. and attendance. Wait to go Parker! We were also able to attend the school play in which Parker played the part of the mole. He did a very good job, although I couldn't figure out why a mole would have a big hump on his back...humpbacked mole??? Oh well!