McArthur Halloween Party

Lisa threw another great Halloween party for the kiddos. They look forward to it every year!

Our two Jack Sparrows. Peyt saw the hat in the Disney store a few months ago and HAD to have it.

Little neighborhood buddies. Mark, Bradley, Porter and Peyt


Chayce is going to be Mickey for Halloween but I didn't want him playing around outside in the little tuxedo. So he wore the cowboy costume Peyt wore a few years ago. He is Khloe's little prince :)


Pinata fun. Always the highlight of the party.

Thanks Lis! The kids had a great time! Bring on trick or treating now!

Pumpkin patch with Grandma

We had a fun afternoon at the Vineyard Nursery pumpkin patch with Grandma last week. What a fun time of year!

Chayce is fascinated by animals. Peyton preferred to jump on the bounce toys and run around the play area while Chayce was fine to sit and stare at the animals.

I was proud of Peyt here. He conquered his fear of heights and climbed a pretty steep side wall to get to the top of this slide. The reward was worth it!

Thanks Mom for yet another fun afternoon together!

A great birthday

I had the most wonderful birthday week and only have this bad picture of me (but cute of the boys!) to show for it!
I had delicious meals with friends and family throughout the week...nothing better than eating out :) Thanks to all who treated me to such fun morning and afternoons out!

On the actual day McKay "surprised" me with an overnight stay in Park City. My Mom came over and we took off for an evening alone...so needed and so nice! We stayed at Newpark Hotel which was a very nice place...just across from the outlets and connected to the new Cafe Rio.

After spending a few hours at the outlets (and mainly purchases for our two, soon to be three, children) we headed to Baja Cantina for dinner...highly recommended by friends and it was great! We picked up an apple pie caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory and headed back to the hotel to relax for the evening.

Before McKay headed out to help his Dad at their property in Coalville the next morning we stopped at Starbucks for some breakfast. McKay swore Jennifer Aniston was there with us much to my arguing that it wasn't her. After some fact checking he indeed was right and we were amongst a celebrity. Way to go my celebrity spotter husband! Although I'm not really into doting on other human beings who probably think they are above the rest of us...who cares!

The week ended with a delicious dinner on Sunday at my parents. Thanks Mom and Dad for a fun night! We have one party left to go with the Ercanbracks next weekend...I love birthdays!

Again thank you to my amazing husband for making it a great day...

Still a girl!

Our 20 week ultrasound was yesterday and it was reconfirmed its a girl! I was pretty sure anyway but it's nice to have a double check! She looks perfectly healthy and beautiful! January can't come soon enough!



Her little hand was up by her face most of the time.

The tech was having fun with the fact that you could see some muscle definition in her little arms :) Watch out brothers!

She has quite the little collection of clothes going already thanks to Grandmas, aunts and wonderful friends (and maybe Mommy has bought a few things too!) Can't wait to decorate the nursery totally girl!

Her memorial

My Dad conducted a short and very sweet service for my Grandma. She wanted it that way. My brother, sister and I had the chance to share a few memories of her. This was list of 10 things I loved, learned and will miss about her...

1. Pistachios and coke at night and chocolate covered peanutes and 100 Grand's in the refrigerator.

2. Judge Judy

3. Aggravation

4. Her cooking

5. Sitting on their front porch in the evenings playing washers and enjoying the cooler weather.

6. A birthday card in the mail each year with a $25 check to "spend how we wanted"

7. Trips to Disneyland courtesy of Grandma

8. Her organized, clean house

9. Her love for my boys

10. Her love for us

I love the poem my Dad shared which was also shared by Maria Shriver at Tim Russert's funeral awhile back.

The Little Ship

I stood watching as the little ship sailed out to sea. The setting sun tinted his white sails

with a golden light, and as he disappeared from sight a voice at my side whispered, "He is gone".

But the sea was a narrow one. On the farther shore a little band of friends had

gathered to watch and wait in happy expectation. Suddenly they caught sight

of the tiny sail and, at the very moment when my companion had whispered, "He is gone"

a glad shout went up in joyous welcome, "Here he comes!"

I know my Grandpa was waiting with open arms to see her again. It gives me so much comfort to know they are with each other watching down on our family.

A house that built me...

For the past 29 years I've been visiting this house in Chino, California...

Last weekend it was time to say goodbye. It's hard when both grandparents pass on and the reality hits that everything that was theirs on this earth gets divided, sold or given away. I took a few pictures to help my memory over the years.

Grandma's decor stayed pretty much the same my whole life. She enjoyed a simple life without too many "extras" and was perfectly content with her life that way. I was given the picture in the right corner for the baby's room.

This was my grandparents room. We eventually stayed here when we'd go visit. When my Grandpa passed my Grandma started sleeping in another bedroom in the house.

This game was the one my Grandpa "invented". Typically these two green boxes are about four feet apart from each other and the point is the stand on the end of one and throw washers into the three holes on the other. The front hole is 1 point, middle hole is 3 points, back hole is 5 points. The first to 21 wins!

This was my favorite room in their house...my Grandma lived here. She was such a wonderful cook and everything she made was delicious. Favorites included homemade macaroni and cheese, orange whipped salad, ground turkey sandwiches, angel food cake with sauce and chocolate cupcakes with pinoche frosting.

This picture will always remind me of them. My Dad said he remembers this picture in their home for as long as he can remember.

And the empty chair. My grandparents spent much of their time relaxing in the family room watching their favorite shows. Every night you could find my Grandma sitting here eating pistachios and drinking a coke.

I will cherish all my memories of this home and will miss it. I'm so grateful for the knowledge I have that this empty house isn't the end of my grandparents. I will see them again in a perfect and beautiful place.

Preschool Time!

Peyt was so excited to start another year of preschool! We have a few great ones to choose from right around our neighborhood and he's going just up the street which is nice for me!

He decided to be a goof ball the morning of his first day...

All ready to walk in!

He walked out front of the line his first day!

Peyt has about 30 cute neighbor kids his age that will all go to school together. Brooke, Sam, Peyt and Chase are all little preschool buddies!

Here's to another great year of learning Peyt! I hope its a great year for you and we get all ready to start kindergarten next year!

Will miss her...

My Grandma Neiger passed away this morning in her home in California. I'm glad my Dad and Mom were able to be with her. We found out earlier this summer that her lung cancer had come back and it was terminal. I'm so grateful for the knowledge that I will see her again and I know she is in the arms of my Grandpa once again. I'm sad I won't be over to visit for her delicious cooking and great conversation but know we'll meet again someday.

She absolutely adored the boys and looked so forward to new posts on this blog. She and my Grandparents in Washington are one of the main reasons I started this blog in the first place. I know she will now be able to have a perfect view of what happens in our home everyday as I have a strong belief that those who we love watch over us and serve as our angels on earth. I know she will be and will help send on our beautiful little girl coming soon. What a comfort...

We love you so much Grandma and appreciate everything you did for the family during your life. May you now enjoy your beautiful reunions with the others who love you so much.

It's A...

McKay was very kind and allowed me to give into my inpatience and find out what this little baby is a few weeks early. I've always been hesitant to go to the mall to find out for whatever reason...but when I heard an ultrasound tech in a doctor's office does checks I was very excited to try it this time. So yesterday we took the family for the surprise...and guess what...Peyton and Chayce are going to be big brothers and protectors of their new baby

SISTER!

We are thrilled to invite a little girl into our home and I know she will be loved to pieces. We are so excited!

Tri-Cities Trip

We spent a great week in Richland, Washington with my Grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins for the Johnson family reunion. I grew up going to visit there and it's fun to take my kids back and share the same memories with them.

Messy eater!

Chayce LOVES the swings and will take a ride whenever he can get it! They have the coolest parks right near their home.

The Columbia River is right down the street so we took a few trips to throw rocks in and get a little wet :)

Grandma and Chayce

A few years ago my family took us to Casa Mia for the first time and I fell in love. They have delicious italian food. Grandma treated everyone to lunch and it didn't disappoint!

One of the main reasons the reunion was this weekend was for the hydroplane races/art festival they do every year. Peyton had the chance to sit in the cockpit for just a minute and see the boats up close...

The boys with Kristen and Brandon. My cousins were such a big help throughout the week and I really appreciate all they did to entertain the boys!

Peyt is my little fish and Chayce would rather observe from the sidelines. He got to go swimming every day at my Grandparents pool and he was in heaven!

The grandkids with Grandpa and Grandma at their home. They were great hosts!

My aunt Melinda always has fun things for the kids when we visit. She bought my Grandparents house they lived in for many years (where I would visit as a little girl) and we stayed there during the week. Thanks for letting us crash your house Melinda!

They do an airshow coinciding with the hydroplane races. I love watching the jets and this was the best shot I could get of it...so awesome! It always makes me feel so patriotic and proud to be an American when I see these fly...

We didn't pay to watch the actual races, but here was one of the boats flying over the water. They cruise!

Here are the boys at the park after the art show. Grandpa and Grandma gave us all money to spend and they picked out sand art snakes.

When Mommy wasn't looking Aunt Melinda let Chayce plop himself in the muddy water and he enjoyed every second of it!

There's never a trip to my grandparents without music involved. Both of them are very musical and have lots of instruments around the house. You can imagine the fun my kids had with them!

Here is their family...four girls! Grandpa, Grandma, Aunt Melinda, my Mom, Aunt Laurie and Aunt Julie.

The weather was so great while we were there. We enjoyed a few evenings on their back patio just relaxing and talking.

Peyton found a new best friend in my cousin Sarah. He wanted her to come home with us so bad! She's getting ready to start college at the University of Washington. I'm excited for her!

Aunt Melinda with her buddies

Grandma and I

A big thank you to all my wonderful family in Washington who made this a great trip. It's always good to see you! Glad we were able to come!