September

September has been a very busy month. Jared has been extremely busy at work, so we've been trying to keep busy ourselves to pass time. We've had appointments almost every day and have been going on lots of fun adventures. Now that we've taken care of all our appointments (and hopefully in a week or so things will slow down for Jared - keep your fingers crossed that that is true) we're looking forward to a quieter month of October.

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I was trying to clean my closet out the other day, so I opened up my box of dress up clothes to keep the kids occupied. Once they showed me their outfits I had to take a picture. By the time I got back with the camera Bradley had taken off his boa, hat and Jared's shoes, but they still looked very cute!

Jacob helping me with the laundry

Jared's Grandpa and Grandma Richins were in town and we were delighted to get to see them.
They came over for dinner along with the Nelson's and Jared's cousin Rustin. We love family gatherings!

A story from their great-grandmother

We had Family home evening with everyone that night and Mackayla had been planning for days to accompany us on the opening song. She doesn't know how to play the piano at all, but had "practiced" so she felt very confident about it. I'll probably add a video of the great job she did at the end of the post.

Then, of course, Bradley and Sophie wanted a turn too, so we had three opening songs. :)

We had our primary program on Sunday. Bradley and Mackayla both knew her part perfectly.

Reading the adds together Sunday morning

Jacob was eating some graham crackers one night when we noticed he was using his bottle to pour milk onto a piece of the cracker and then eating it. He figured out how to have graham crackers and milk like the other kids do.

I showed Jared my golfing skills the other night...
and he decided he would be the one to teach the kids to swing a golf club.

Finally!! The chairs are finished! Jared finished reupholstering the second chair last week and they look wonderful! Now on to a new chapter in his life.

The boys love to shave with Jared!

It's officially fall now, but we are still waiting for the fall weather to show up. It's still feeling like summer every day.

After having a few behavior problems, we made a chart for the kids. It's worked great so far. They get to put stickers on their own chart for good behavior and they both just earned enough stickers to choose one of the rewards. Mackayla picked a trip to Toys R Us. We spent almost two hours yesterday walking around the store and she loved every minute of it. Bradley chose an ice cream cone from McDonalds. He was SO excited about it!!


Since it was Bradley's reward, the other two kids got to tag along but had to share a cone.

At the ward Luau

Bradley didn't want to be in the group shot, but wanted one by himself

The ballerina walking with her dad

Jones Reunion

We spent Labor day weekend with Jared's family in Midway, Utah. We had such a fun time! The only bad part was that Jason wasn't able to be there.

Papa and Nini with their 5 grandkids!

Watching the parade.

Jacob stayed in his high chair much longer than he usually does when he had Lexie next to him to keep him company. They were always sharing food and drinks!

Ashley made some cake balls on sticks things (that's probably not their correct name) and my kids loved them!

As we were packing for the weekend the kids said, "we have to bring some books because Nini LOVES to read to us!"

Jacob loves to give hugs!

The kids all had a great time playing with the flags.

On the train...

Leaving Church...together!

Papa and Nini made a scavenger hunt for the kids. They filled their baskets with the snacks and treats they found.

Talent show!


Carrying his dad on his shoulders--very talented!

A little dance from Jacob

The talent show ended abruptly when Bradley flew into the fireplace hearth and ended up with a big cut on his gums. Once he calmed down and the bleeding stopped, Jared showed him the cut in the mirror and he thought it was funny because it looked like "my teeth have a red mustache." His mouth and cheek were swollen and bruised for days afterwards.

Another gift from Papa and Nini - personal puzzles!

Poor Bradley. This is right after he cut his mouth. This is the best smile he could make.

Hanging out with Cousins

First Day of School

Mackayla had her first day of preschool this week! She loved it and can't wait to go back on Monday, which is such a relief for me. She loves telling everyone she goes to Doodlebug Preschool. At the end of class she reported that the time went by way too fast and she was quiet the entire time. Our goal for preschool is that she'll overcome the shyness enough to actually be talking to people by the end of the year. :)

Bradley was equally excited for his first day of "Mommy school."

Waiting for class to begin


Waiting for his class to begin

The boys hard at work.

Grandma had sent us some fun lunch bags so sticking with the school theme, they enjoyed a nice sack lunch after their first day of school.

Jacob got his first hair cut. It needed to be done but didn't turn out as Jared and I had hoped. We wanted to leave a little of the length along the bottom but unfortunately the gentleman apparently didn't understand that. He looks so big with his big-boy haircut. I don't have an after picture but you can see above.

This was Mackayla after her haircut.

Handsome little man!

As summer slipped away we made sure to get a few more good afternoons with the slip and slide. Here are a bunch of pictures from a few different days over the last couple weeks.

It's definitely feeling more like fall now and the beginning of a new season is always so exciting!