The Smith's October

Fall is my most favorite time of the year. I absolutely love it. The weather becomes cooler, the leaves change, and there are a lot of excuses for cuddling. :) So, maybe that is why I chose to get married in October... Anyway, this year Bryce and I decided to ditch the cooler temps, and spent our 7th anniversary in Phoenix, AZ. We had a great time. Here are some highlights.

Bryce standing below a cactus. These babies were HUGE! Our 4- wheeler guide stated that they kill a number of people in Arizona each year.

This is me 4- wheeling. We don't spend our anniversary doing sappy things... we are after adventure.

Bryce and I posing for a pic. I have to admit I was surprised at how beautiful the desert really is. I was really hoping to see a rattlesnake or a tarantula. However, despite the 100 degree weather, it was too cold for the snakes, and not quite mating season for the spiders. I was a little bummed.

Going out for the night. To be honest, we did not do much the 4 days we were gone. BUT, that was what so nice. We were able to do whatever we wanted. So, we ate a lot of good food, saw a lot of movies, and slept in... to about oh 8am. ( Some habits are harder to break) :)

Once home, our Halloween Celebration began. I love Halloween. It is my most favorite holiday. Therefore anything "halloweeny" there is to do, I want to do it. However, my one Halloween tradition I will not compromise on is Thriller. Thiller is a dance theatre show that I was introduced to even before I married Bryce. I have not missed yet. Once I see Thriller, it finally feels like Halloween. :)

And with my obsession, I have converted other fans. My bro, Jeff and his wife Lesha.

Thriller can be a little intense for young ones, so to get my kiddos in the mood for the season, we went on a Halloween Cruise on the Provo River. My kids loved it!

Waiting patiently for our turn to board the boat.

Our fearless captain... no tip though, because we were attacked by pirates!

Enjoying the cruise... or should I shall river row.

Despite the Pirates, we made it back all alive... I guess our captain was not that bad after all.

Everyone posing outside the cruise.

And that night I finally let me kids start wearing their halloween jammies. I think they are adorable.

The weekend before Halloween we ran non stop. It seemed it was one party after another. We all had a wonderful time though.

Going Trunk- or -Treating with friends. Brylee was Rapunzel this year. Her cute friend, Paislee was Raggedy Ann.

Parker, or should I say Luke Skywalker, crosses light sabers with his friend, Obi-Wan Kenobi, or on a regular day, Jaxon.

Easton, our little squirt turtle, tried to eat the candy as fast as he received it.

Our little Rapunzel is in awe at how easy this whole trick-or-treating thing is. A few little words and BAM... Candy!

The next day we headed into my Grandpa's house. We had a nice lunch, and had a chance to play with cousins. However, the highlight of the day was playing in the leaves.

Bry showing off her Halloween outfit.

All my kiddos decked out for the day.

My kids and my cute niece and nephew. My sister themed her family as "Alice in Wonderland."

Parker enjoying the leaves.

Easton and his cousin, Leah, enjoying the leaves. Leah is my cousin, Celeste's daughter. They are about a month apart in age. however, this is the first they really played together.

Everyone seemed to get in on the leave action though...

After a yummy lunch and good times at Grandpa's house, we headed to Lagoon for Frightmares!

Parker trick-or-treating in the hay maze.

Catching a few rides. This ride is so old, I rode it as a child. I don't know if that makes it nostalgic, or a life hazard.

Posing with Cleopatra in the kid friendly haunted house.

And fianlly the day I was counting down to arrived. Halloween was here!

Parker in his school costume parade.

Brylee wanted to be part of the parade too, so Grandma Marsha walked her around. She was happy and proud to be so big.

All ready to go Trick-Or-Treating. The weather here in Utah was beautiful this year. My kids lasted almost 2 hours.

Easton started saying "Trick-or-Treat" It was my most favorite memory from this year. It took me 10 minutes or so of wasted video to finally get him to say it on cue, but now I get to have that cute little trick-or-treat forever.

Parker taking some time to humor Mom, and allow her to take a picture.

Our neighbors, the Mundens, transform their basement into a haunted house. It is incredible. There are no people to jump out and grab you, just decorations, so the kids loved it. I think Parker went back 3 times.

The night came to an end, and here are their spoils. Parker made out with the most. Mostly because he could to 3 houses to the 1 Bry and Easton could do.

Bry is so excited.

And sweet Easton, once again is trying to eat it faster then he accumliated it. Happy Halloween everyone. We hope it was great for you!