Family, Fun, Friends, and Food (and it's not even Thanksgiving!)

I'm back! After a wonderful, much needed (for Caleb) vacay in Utah with the Snell fam, life has returned to normal. The trip was much too short, but we crammed a bunch of fun into the week. Here are some highlights:

 Lainey had fun with Aunt Corrie!

Lots of girl time.

 Aidyn and Alaina in their matching dresses at Temple Square.

 Family Photos

 Matching pjs, compliments of Mom. She went to like 4 different Targets to find enough matching pants.

 We made a movie for my grandma, and all of us had costumes. Corrie was feeling left out, so she came 

downstairs wearing this. A pair of pants on her head. (?)

A personal favorite from the trip: A 5-generation photograph. Doesn't my great-grandma look fabulous for being 92?

 Cousins get together! Kasen is obviously loving it.

 Kenna went through the temple in preparation for her mission--Kyiv, Ukraine! She reports Aug. 29th. We were sad because that was the last time we'll see her until 2014.

 Alaina's 1st pool experience. I've been looking for an excuse to put her in her adorable swimsuit.

A family mountain biking excursion. It was Caleb and my 2 year anniversary. We've made it a tradition to go mountain biking on each anniversary, since we went on the day we got engaged and our first anniversary. So fun! My dad and grandpa came too but they didn't make it up. My dad said he didn't want to leave my grandpa behind, but we all teased him for being out of shape. :)

I love my family so much. It was so fun being together with them.

Other things that have happened lately:

 Lainey joined her dad in studying for his finals...again. Last time she was 3 days old. Time has flown.

 Our neighbors gave Alaina this hilarious hat. I think she looks like a character straight out of a Dr. Seuss book.

 Our good friends Justin, Brittany, and Jackson Hendricks came to visit on their way to St. Louis. We loved having them, and wish they could have stayed longer. Jackson adored his new pal "Baby Laina!"

 We planted a garden. I feel so grown up! We didn't have much space, so we just tore out all the plants in our planters. This summer we will have tomatoes, peppers (bell, banana, jalapeno), garlic, basil, lettuce, and a watermelon.

I'm hoping the rabbits won't get to it.

Forged in the affliction of battle...

I am Xena: Warrior Princess.

Our ward does a fund raiser to earn money for the youth camps in the summer. This is not your typical spaghetti dinner event either. A few members in the ward are asked to participate in a "Family Feud" game show, which serves as the entertainment while the audience eats dinner. The theme this year: Heroes vs. Villians. The Friday night show was a little rough... we were all pretty nervous, and there were some unexpected glitches. But Saturday night was so much fun, and I can't wait until Halloween to don this costume again.

I made the top out of a purse I found at Goodwill. The "armor" is a bunch of brass drawer handles. The skirt was made from a fake leather skirt I found (also at Goodwill). I cut it up into strips, sewed them together, and put gold studs in them.

The Heroes: Wonder Woman, Mr. Incredible, Xena, Superman, Batman.

The Villians: Cat Woman, the Riddler, Darth Vader, Dr. Evil, and Cruella DeVille

 The whole cast.

 Us with some friends in the ward.

I may or may not have cartwheeled into the gym for my grand entrance. I was considering flipping off the stage, but then I thought that cracking my head open might put a damper on the evening. Our bishop came up to Caleb after and said, "I don't know how you can keep a handle on that wife of yours." Apparently I was type-casted.