Happy Halloween!

Our Halloween celebrations started last weekend in Idaho Falls. Holli suggested a pumpkin patch in town and we went with Darcy, Max and Eliza. We were going to a trunk or treat afterwards, so the all wore their costumes to the pumpkin patch! So cute. There was a train. Blake liked sitting on it ... as long as it wasn't moving.

So the big kids went on a train ride.

And Blake started looking for a pumpkin.

He's a pretty cute Tigger, if I must say.

As soon as Mylie got off the train, she was ready to find a pumpkin for herself!

My best attempt at getting all 5 of them looking at the camera.

Ritchie grandkids are pretty darn cute!

And here is the newest grandbaby, Lila, in her costume.

Of course while we were in Idaho Falls we had to decorate and eat Grandma's famous sugar cookies. Love the look on Blake's face is this one.

Grandma helping out Mylie and Max.

Yesterday was a busy pre-Halloween day with trick or treating to Daddy's office, the courthouse, and to Grandma and Grandpa Breach. And then tonight they were off again. Princess Mylie posing with Bosco, our new puppy.

The kids had such a fun Halloween week.

Happy Halloween!

This boy ...

really truly cracks me up. He's walking around the house this morning having a deep conversation on his Elmo phone. Mylie and I are giggling at him and it is reminding me to write down the funny things he does.

• He jabbers non-stop but only have a handful of words (that we understand). This doesn't stop his communication in the least. For instance, yesterday we had to stop in Coscto quickly to pick up a few things. We are across the store, but Blake spots the samples, points and starts grunting. It was so funny! Better yet, they were cream puffs!
• This morning I found Blake in the kitchen on the floor. He had pulled one of the place mats off the table and was laying on it doing push ups. Not exaggerating at all. It was so stinkin' funny. He is a totally mini-me of Jeff.
• He loves to dance (total white boy style). He has serious moves to the Dora Explorer theme song.
• He loves to take out the garbage. Whenever there are boxes or containers (bigger things) he takes them and puts them by the garage door for Daddy to take them out. He is a good helper.

We sure love this little man, also known as Blakey, Blakester, Colonel, Bubba, Buddy and Turd.

WARNING: Insanely cute baby & momma pictures ahead!

I am not really a spontaneous person. I like to plan things, things are planned at our house months in advance. But last week I was talking to Bailey and she was talking about all the new baby animals at Hogle Zoo, including the baby elephant. When we were last at Hogle Zoo in July, the momma elephant was getting close to having her baby. I got off the phone with her and Jeff and I spontaneously decided we would go to Salt Lake this weekend to see the baby animals.

Oh my goodness, I am so glad we did! We had such a fun (albeit quick) trip. We left Friday afternoon and got to our hotel around 9 that night. Bailey came to the hotel to visit the kids. They were slightly excited about the whole trip in general and probably didn't fall asleep until 11:30 or 12 ... and up at 7, ack. Regardless, they were such good kiddos and it was a fun trip. We saw the baby animals, went on the carousel and the train. We got back home around 10 on Saturday night.

This baby elephant (Zurri) is one of the cutest things I have ever seen. She looks so little, but she was born in August and was 251 pounds. I guess that isn't too little!

She was totally performing for the {large} crowd. Too cute!

Then onto the baby giraffe, born in July. We guessed she was about 7-8 feet tall.

They were hiding, but there were 3 tiger cubs. I wished we could have seen them play, goodness, I bet it would have been precious.

There were also baby snow leopards (but they were really hiding), a baby monkey and a young orangutan. She was the cutest thing and was playing with her dad. There was a blanket in with them and she would put it over his face and then pull it off, totally playing peek a boo!

We had such a great time. It was nice to just get away as a family and spend some quality time together. You know how sometimes you have those moments when you realize how lucky you are? I had one sitting on the little train at the zoo, with Blake on my lap and Mylie sitting next to me. Jeff and I had a great chance to talk uninterrupted on the ride home while the kids were asleep. It was a spectacular weekend!

Meet Bosco.

Bosco is our new boxer puppy. He is too little to come to our house yet, just 4 and a half weeks old. The kids (Jeff and Mylie, haha) are so excited. Blake will be too when he figures out what is going on. I'm excited to bring this cute little dude home and to watch my kids have their own puppy. We have his bed, bowls, toys, leash and collar all ready to go. We just need to pick up a kennel and some dog food. Only a few more weeks ....