Spooky Babies

We had a fun Halloween season at our house.
Doesn't she look happy surrounded by her sister's loot?  Grandma came for a visit on Halloween night.  Here they are looking pretty cute before heading out to Trick-or-Treat.
Here are all our little monsters.



Some lovely teeth Mia got at her preschool  party.
Our pumpkin-carving night was a bit of a success I would say. No real tears or  injuries .

Claire even helped herself to some pumpkin slime. Mmmmmm.
This month we also celebrated "Little Princess's" (Nathan 's  sister Rachel) birthday. Here she is with her rather gross cake I attempted to make. Sorry again Rachel.

Spooky Babies

Fall Break Fun

For fall break, we took a quick trip to Park City. It is a relaxing time for us and a fun time for the girls. Here the girls are at a little scarecrow walk we found.

Despite how Libbie is appearing in this photo, we did have a good time together. Notice the mark on Mia's forehead...a couple days before we left, she let our kitten lick her forehead for who knows how long during her "quiet time". Yikes. And Ewwww.

Libbie by one of her Star Wars heroes as a scarecrow.

The girls checking out Albert Frankenstein.

The girls' favorite part of getting away is the hotel pool. Here they are getting warm in the hot tub.

Libbie's dream came true, and she lost two teeth during our trip. That's right, she had two visits from the Tooth Fairy at our hotel. We were so glad she knew where to find us. Although, Libbie informed us she was getting the shaft because kids in her class were getting 3 or 5 dollars per tooth and she only got one. Tee hee. Well, economic times are tough right now.

The Death March

Nathan had quite an adventure last weekend. He and his brother, along with some of his brother's friends, headed down to the Grand Canyon...for oh...24 hours. Yikes, not my idea of a good time. They drove down Friday, got up early Saturday, hiked 23 miles or so, and headed home that evening. The hike is rim to rim in one day. Hi-lights from Nathan's journey: eating dog food over pasta at the cafeteria upon his arrival; freezing the entire night before the hike due to giant gap above cabin door; forgetting a flashlight even though they were starting before daylight - luckily two of the guys had some sort of light for them to use; being heckled by Asian tourists near the end of the hike - he must have been looking really rough because they said things like, "Where are you coming from?" and later, "You are almost there!" Tee hee. There are a lot of funny visuals Nathan described that would take too long to share. But here are some photos from their journey across the Grand Canyon. Nathan and Caleb

A view of the Colorado River.

Self portrait with the beautiful scenery in the background.

A bridge to cross the Colorado.

We are all so happy Nathan's prayers were answered. He didn't die on the trail. Here is proof that they survived and were still smiling.

Mia had her fifth birthday on last Thursday. We can't believe she is that old! It seems it was just yesterday she was our chubby little baby with the funny hair in the middle of her head. This year she was all about the Hello Kitty thing. All she really asked for was a Hello Kitty coloring book and a Hello Kitty stuffed animal. Lucky for her we found both. Plus, her good buddy Alexis got her a Hello Kitty sleeping bag she is just loving. Anyway, we had a fun party with Grandma Jill, Grandpa, Rachel, Marci and the boys, Uncle Nathan, and Grandma and Grandpa Great. Nathan grilled some super yummy pizza too.

Her new Barbie from Grandma Cardon. We think her cousin Henry loved it just as much as her. He carried the thing around and made it sing for quite some time.

Cousins and sisters watching the gift opening.

Mia's gift from Mallory was a High School Musical costume - complete with a lovely brown wig. We all had to try it on. Here is Claire sporting a new do.

Grandma Jill is thinking maybe brunettes do have more fun.

Grandpa looks especially cute.

Our little chunker.

Mia got a new bike for her birthday. Here she and Dad are trying to go 'no training wheels'. We have only had one major spill and will hopefully soon master the art.

New kitty, twice over

We at the Cardon household have experienced quite the life lessons as of late. Gilbert, our naughty cat, disappeared one Sunday and hasn't been seen since. So, the girls were quite certain we needed a new kitty. We searched KSL.com for a week or so until we found the kitten to our liking. It was a cat being sold through the Humane Society at a PetSmart named Nala. We got in the car as quick as we could to snatch up this little cutie before someone else got to her. We adopted her and got her home. The girls were thrilled with our new family member. The Humane Society informed us the kitten was "a bit out of it" because she had just been spayed. She was also a stray before coming to us so her bones were protruding a little. Lets just say, she was a very, very, very calm cat - just laid there all night. So in the morning, I asked Libbie to take the kitty to the litter so we could continue our training, but as she put Nala in the box, she wouldn't get up. Well, Nathan searched online to see what her problem might be, and he deteremined it was probably dehydration. So I began feeding her with a syringe. She was perking up a bit, moving her head a titich now and then. Well, about 30 minutes later, during one of her water feedings, little Nala died...right there in my hands with my precious daughters looking on. Oh my goodness, the wailing and crying and questioning continued for the next couple days. It nearly broke our hearts. I guess she was "a little out of it" for another reason besides the spay - she was on her death bed! We thought we better correct this bad experience with a good one so we found another kitten the next day. Her name is Nilla (like nilla wafer) and she's alive and kicken'! Nilla

Winding Down

I can't believe it's nearly over! It seems it just began. Our summer is sadly winding down, and we are really trying to relish the final warmth of the season. Here are some pictures of our latest adventures (that's what we call them anyway). The girls at the Children's Garden at Thanksgiving Point. We had a good time in their splash park. And would you look at the picture below -- we've come a long way this summer when it comes to our buggy friends. Mia is holding a potato bug. She's also been seen holding worms, ladybugs, moths, and caterpillars. I am such a proud mama. Well, maybe I am just thrilled I don't have to hear her shrieking, blood-curdling scream at the sight of a fly.

Our summer wouldn't be complete without a trip to the Box Elder County Fair for a burger and the Golden Spike Arena for a rodeo. The girls got a big kick out of the mutton busting, and the cowboys had some great rides on the broncos. YEE HAWW! Here we all are at the oldest rodeo in Utah...Hey Mom, look at what Mrs. Crook is doing to you.

My little cutie pie.

Libbie started the second grade this year. Oh my goodness!

Another photo of our sweetie.

Now that Claire has a titch of hair, Libbie takes every opportunity to give her a new do.

He Just Felt Like Runnin'

Last Saturday, Nathan completed his second half-marathon. He didn't do as well as he would have liked, but I still thinks it's pretty awesome he can run that far. Yikes. Here he is with the girls after the race - and he's even smiling to boot.

We just returned from a great trip to Iowa to see Nathan's parents and sister. Our adventure started and ended with the leisurely and glorious 18-hour jaunt across the country with our four little ones. Barf. Needless to say, we did survive -- it was touch-and-go at times though. We stopped in Des Moines for the night on the way there, and on the following day we met up with Nathan's family at Adventure Land. Here is Nathan sitting quite comfortably on the diesel truck with Mallory.

The kids rode this ride over and over again.

Libbie with one of her best buds - her cousin Kelbie.

The weather was actually very tolerable for an Iowa summer. Here is Claire at the park.

Here are the cousins enjoying a chocolate shake made by Papa.

Here is Mia petting the large, but very gentle Duke.

The girls love to arm wrestle Grandma.

Libbie loved Grandma's dart guns. We found her shooting the darts at her ceiling fan on many occasion - not a mother approved activity.

The grand kids with Grandma and Papa at the end of a small hike.

We had to break out the water balloon sling shot again.