The Best Halloween Ever!

Here is our little shark and doggie (or as Mia says, "goggie").




We had a full day of visiting grandparents, neighbors, friends, and heading to our annual ward trunk or treat. The kids got way too much candy (it was evident about 8:30 p.m. when they are running around screaming at the top of their lungs, that the sugar had hit the bloodstream!). Gotta love it.

Here is a picture of all the grandkids on the Bell side. This is as good as it gets with 5 young ones.





Mia, Bethany and Seth.









Here is Seth with his "best" friend, Macy, at the trunk or treat.

Pumpkin Carving

Just some pictures of us carving our HUGE pumpkins we plucked from Grandma Bell's garden. The kids loved it! Scott and I had to guard the knives carefully with 2 independent kids thinking they can do it all! (They can, by the way, just in a couple of years!)

Seth-isms

Yesterday, Seth was singing "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam". Then he suddenly stopped and said, "But Mom, we are not beans!" I was caught off guard, and started laughing.

He has been telling Mia, "I will put you in time-out, Mia. One....Two...Three. Okay, Mia you have to go to timeout!" This is where I jump in to explain who the parent is in this situation. He is so bossy...I wonder where he gets it:)!

A couple of weeks ago, we were leaving our little playgroup at the park and he said, "Mommy, Macy sure looked pretty today at playgroup." I was stunned...he is 3! Isn't this a little young for a first crush??? However, I must say that I am proud of him for finding one friend that he doesn't growl at (while pretending he is a T-Rex and they are his prey).

I am sure there are more...I will have to update this!

Pumpkin Picking

Okay, so nobody pass out....I have updated my blog for the 3rd time in less than a week! This is a remarkable accomplishment!

I just had to post these cute pictures of the kids picking their own pumpkin out of Grandma Bell's amazing garden. They loved it!


Seth and Jacie sitting on their pumpkins!




Mia watching Grandma Bell cut her pumpkin off the vine.





Seth and Mia enjoying the company of their cousins, Jacie and Maddox.

The Marathon

Here is Scott at mile 16...looking strong!

Here are the kids staying warm and waiting to cheer dad on.






Here is Natalie (in the red shirt), Scott's cousin, at mile 23.

Scott at mile 23....almost there.

I thought you said this was 2.62 miles!

We are just chilling in St. George after watching Scott run the MARATHON! For those of you that are not familiar with the marathon, it is 26.2 miles (I emphasize the .2, because after 26 miles that .2 is KILLER!). It is a grueling test of mental strength, physical endurance, and sheer will to finish. I am so impressed with him! He did awesome despite St. George record lows and pouring rain for 5 hours (we finally saw blue skies as he finished!).

The kids even endured the rain to watch "daddy" run! Scott's parents and my parents and sister were the rest of our cheering squad.

We also cheered on Scott's uncle, Brent, who qualified for the Boston Marathon by running a 3:31!!! Also, Scott's two cousins, Natalie and KristiAnn ran the marathon strong (even despite injuries for KristiAnn). We also cheered our fellow Crosspointe Ward members: Kevin, Ron, Maurice, Eric, and Ray! Good work all!

I am seriously so overcome with the determination of the runners I saw. They all set this goal, worked towards it, and attained it today. I am inspired by them and their examples!

Let me explain the title. My friend, Camille (her husband Kevin ran the marathon also) and I got together this week to make posters for our running husbands. Camille found this quote online that said, "I thought you said this was 2.62 miles!" I thought that was pretty funny, so I put that quote on one of my posters.

I have pictures I will post later. I just wanted to update you all.

Star Valley

We took our annual trip to Star Valley, WY. My cousin has some property up there, so we pack on up for a weekend getaway usually every September. It is beautiful up there this time of year.

We had a great time! The kids ran around all weekend. Seth and Mia loved playing with all the kids. My cousins' boys LOVED Mia, and lugged her around everywhere. They even spoon-fed her at meals. She was like a little princess that didn't have to do anything for herself! Seth LOVED having all these kids to growl at and chase around (hmmm...I hoped they liked being chased?!?).

Anyways, here are a few pictures...compliments of my dad (since we forgot our camera...okay, I forgot our camera!).

Seth and his first catch. He has been so excited to go fishing ever since he saw Caillou (a cartoon on PBS) go fishing. So Grandpa Trujillo bought him a SpongeBob fishing pole...and what do you know, he caught a fish! The poor little fish was only 10 inches long (if that), but he swallowed the hook....so we had to keep him. I am sure him swallowing the hook had nothing to do with Seth violently yanking the line while reeling him in! Here is Seth, Grandpa Trujillo, and Taylin.


Here is Seth on the paddle boat with Brody and Kaysea.


Here we are after a little family ride on the 4-wheeler.

First Day of Preschool!!!!

Today was Seth's first day of Preschool! I can't believe we are at this stage already. He LOVED it. He walked right in and was so excited to "stay by [him]self."



Here we are getting ready to leave. Mia had to be a part of it all too!














There he is...the scholar!



On the ABC rug.

The Farm

So, we visited the Farm at Thanksgiving Point last week. The kids had a great time seeing all the animals. Mia especially LOVED this calf. He stuck his head out of his fence and started licking her. She instantly lifted her shirt so he could lick her belly. I started laughing. Silly girl!



Seth was quick to follow.



Ticklish???

Mia Mia Bo Bia

This is Mia's new favorite place in the house. She is such a little climber. If I leave the bathroom door open, she climbs up the toilet seat to the back of the toilet, up into the sink...and then just hangs out. She could be there for hours....well, okay minutes...since I usually make her get out. I know I am a pretty boring mom, but I am just nervous that she is going to fall out on her head!

Anyways, Mia has kept our lives pretty entertaining lately. She squeals, screams, whines, and squawks her way through life! I don't remember Seth being quite so vocal. She squeals at glass shattering decibel levels when Seth walks in her direction (it usually means he is going to torment her by taking a toy from her or, heaven forbid, touching her!). Poor guy. As soon as I hear Mia scream, my instantaneous reaction is to yell, "Seth!" Often, he is not even near her!

Mia's latest saying is "I do." This is in response to anything from "Who wants some ice cream?" to "Let's go outside." "I do" is her quick reply. The other day we had to go pick up some cheesecake from my parents house (left over from the night before...when we were waiting at the Cheesecake Factory FOREVER...and the kids refused to wait anymore, so we left without our cheesecake and my parents took it home with them...LONG STORY - sorry!). Anyways, I said "Let's go to grandma and grandpa's to get our cheesecake." Mia practically bolted for the door (as quickly as 21 month old legs can bolt) and yelled "I do, cheesecake." I laughed pretty hard. The funny thing is you could use that phrase as a mantra for all the women in our family!





Here is Mia as we were getting ready for our Bell Family Camping Trip. I decided to try on her old pants to see if they fit. Well, they were a little short, but she refused to take them off. So, they went camping with us! And you gotta love the pink sunglasses. I still can't believe she will wear them!



This is Mia in her new life jacket that she refused to take off...we are seeing a pattern here. Once she sets her mind on something, there is no convincing her otherwise (and it usually has to do with clothes...she is not even a teenager yet!).

The Wasatch Back

So, Scott and I finished our second Wasatch Back! Let me explain. It is a 178 mile run from Logan to Park City, Utah through the mountains. We have a 12 member team and each person runs 3 legs varying in length of 3 to 8 miles. We started on Friday at 12:40 p.m. and finished on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. or so. It was brutal, awesome, fun, exhausting, excruciating, and exhilarating all at once. We ran through beautiful scenery, and fully enjoyed the company in our car! Thanks Alisa, Angie, Lance and Jen!


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This is the "pre" picture. Don't we look cute (and we still smell good!).



Scott at the starting line.



Me and my sister Angie trying to catch a little shut-eye at Snow Basin Ski Resort.



Scott passing off to his cousin Natalie who was in the second car.



Van #1 (we took this picture while Scott was out running).



A little water for Scott on his last leg.



Running my last leg.



The Trujillo sistas!



This was definitely our favorite landmark all weekend....one mile to go!!!



Here we are post race....still cute...but a little smelly!<>

Here is the entire team! Way to go Road Warriors!!!!

ALASKA!!!!

Okay, okay....I have been holding out on the Alaska pictures (according to Isaac). For those of you that don't know, we just returned from a cruise to Alaska and had the greatest time. It was an unforgettable experience. We saw some of the most beautiful views and met some great people. Here are some of our photos:


We went on a little run in Ketchikan and spotted this Kodak moment.


Shopping in Ketchikan.


We rode in a seaplane over the Misty Fjords. It was spectacular. Here are some views from the plane.















Scott taking some video on the cruise ship.


This was on our whale watching trip.


There is the tail of a humpback whale! Only after several dozen tries to catch it on camera.


Scott in Juneau. All of the cities were built up the hillside from the ocean.


Back on the cruise ship.


This is a lighthouse that Scott took about a dozen pictures of.


In Victoria, B.C. It is such a quaint, beautiful city.


Let me explain...this was a street performer who is, yes, juggling swords over two people (from the audience, mind you) and over the torch. Scott was astounded at the lighthearted way the street performer accepted liability. That was the lawyer in him (I guess he can't leave it at home even on vacation:)).


Pike's Place in Seattle.

So, we had a fabulous time, but were definitely ready to get home and hug our babies.