Pumpkin Patch and Golfing!

Halloween is such a favorite Holiday for our family.

We love finding pumpkin patches where you can actually pick your pumpkin off the vine.  Now a days most patches haul their pumpkins in and just throw them in a field.  We were spoiled in California and Germany (surprisingly) to find patches where we could actually harvest our pumpkin. We thought we had found one here in Colorado...but it wasn't.  That's ok, we still had fun!

 We got a fun hay ride to the "field" to "pick" our pumpkins.

 Dad and Hunter looking for the perfect pumpkin.  I think Hunter walked all over the field like 10 times before he finally decided on a pumpkin.

 Jack found his right off.  Haha, not really.

 Jack thinks maybe this one?

 Nope, Jack decides to keep looking...

 Look mom!  I found the perfect.....stick!

He never did decide on a pumpkin, I think Hannah picked his out.

 We found some really good choices!

 For the boys birthday the received real golf clubs from dad.

I have never before seen two more excited boys. 

They practically slept with them that night.

Boy were they excited to go try them out at the "big guy" golf course.

They love golfing with dad!

The boys turn 5

In October the boys turned 5!  

I still can't believe my babies are 5 years old and in preschool.  It seems like just yesterday we got the surprise of our lives that we were having twins, and now they are big boys.

 This year they wanted "tall" ninja cakes.  They were very specific that they did not want a "flat" cake, but they wanted it to be big and "tall".  This ruined my whole cake plan, and I was left to struggle how to make a tall ninja cake.  I found a picture online, and tried to copy it, I was pleased with how the ended up turning out.

 so were the boys!

 The boys got new Halloween costumes this year, so I let them try them on early.

 They make two pretty cute ninjas, but I still miss my little thing 1 and thing 2!

 I don't really like throwing kids parties...I know, I am a mean mom!  This year we invited some friends to meet us at Chuck E Cheese.  The boys have never been, we just haven't lived by one for a long time.  The girls thought of the idea, and talked it up so much that nothing else would do for the boys.  They had so much fun they want to go again next year for their birthday.

Thanks girls ;)

 Jack

 Hunter

They had a great birthday!

We really didn't do a formal summer vacation, because our whole summer felt like a vacation.  We were without a house for a month and half, from June 6-July 14 we were "homeless".  Most of our summer was spent in a hotel or in Utah with family.  We were able to spend lots of time with family, which helped make up for living so far away from them for awhile.

My brother and his family came to Utah for a visit.  It was a mini Overton reunion, with all of us kids in the same state at the same time.

 We took the kids up to Provo canyon and to Bridal veil falls for a picnic with my Brother.

The highlight seems to have been feeding the huge fish.

 I can't believe how close Anya is to passing me up...

We were going to hike up to the lower falls, but we had a hard time finding the trail head...it had been moved due to mud slides from when I was a kid.  By the time we found it, it was time to go.  So we just walked around in the water.

 Quinn giving Hannah a hard time...

Quinn went to the University of Utah and we are BYU fans, so it opens up a lot of fun dialogue.

 Our only cousin on the Overton side.

I can't believe how big my little nephew is getting.

 The girls loved to hold and spoil him.

 Right before Quinn left we got to go to the zoo all together.

 Grandma got to come.

 And Aunt Trudy got to come as well.

It was a fun day at the zoo.

 Because of our moving schedule, the girls got to go to Girls Camp with their cousins.

They had a great time, and are begging to go with them again next year.

 They were all braided and set to go.

 Bye girls, be your best.

They had a wonderful expereince.  I am grateful to girls who are willing to take in new girls and treat them as friends.  It makes the experience so much better.

 Horsing around with Uncles

 My Grandma Gale with all her "Overton" great-grand children.

The best part about summer is the watermelon!

It was a fun, but busy summer with our move, and 3 separate trips to Utah, unpacking a new house and getting to know a new area.  We are grateful for the time we got to spend together as a family!

Pit stop at Rushmore!

Our journey west had begun.

We had the lovely opportunity to experience Chicago's rush hour.  It was fabulous.  I don't think I have experienced a rush hour quite like it before.

We stopped in Wisconsin and bought some fabulous cheese.  We were lucky enough to pass this swiss cheese chalet right off the free way.  I thought it would be a tourist trap, but it was pretty legit and the cheese was fabulous!

The plains of the mid-west...not much to see.

Cora chose to ride with Dad the whole way.  She pretty much got to do what ever she wanted, no sharing movie picks or loud screaming boys.  She was pretty spoiled.

 We detoured up I-90 so we could stop and see this magnificence.

Mount Rushmore

 We are so excited!

 We watched the film, but we were sad because the sculptors studio was closed when we went.  However, the film did a great job describing what went into this monument.  It is a feat of vision that I can not even comprehend.

 My kids were a little tired of posing for photos...they have a bit of a crazy streak in them.

 The boys had these little mini rifles that they got in a Cracker Barrel.  Here they are taking aim.

Here is Jack's gun pose.

He had been doing it all day in other photo ops...I decided I needed one of just him.

 We stayed for the evening's lighting ceremony.  They do a brief program, show a historical film and then do a Soldier/veteran salute.  They lower the flag and then they light up the monuments.  It was a  pretty neat experience, very patriotic.  It was getting us ready for the 4th of July!