Our Monster Mash

HALLOWEEN was an all week event this year and Dayton loved every minute. He's totally into witches, scarecrows, and MONSTERS, complete with the roar. Levi loved looking at everything and soaking it all in. Notice that he's strapped in the stroller, because if not, all he wants to do is scoot away on the dirty floor.

After multiple trips to the great pumpkin farm, our ward Halloween party, a spooky dinner, trick-or-treating at the mall for playgroup, and finally, the real deal trick-or-treating, I think we're ready for . . . a move! Yes folks, in 28 days we will be leaving our beloved Buffalo to move back across country to the wide open west. We will be finding a temporary home in Utah for December and maybe January, after which we'll be taking up our permanent residence in- da da da da- FARMINGTON, NM where the average temp in January is 45 degrees (just saying).

Say Cheese!!!

Lately Levi is really into looking and smiling at the camera.

Dayton, on the other hand, is not.
So, guess who's had his picture taken a lot lately?

*sorry, here comes a lot of baby pictures. Grandparents love pictures!

Happy Halloween Everyone!

An ode to my STUFF

We'll be moving in less than 2 months (although we haven't yet decided where) and tonight I am starting to think of things I need to sell. Things I couldn't possible justify taking with us. And while I've never thought I was the type to get attached, well, is it weird that I got a lump in my throat when I listed my treadmill on craigslist? We have probably spent days together, running hundreds of miles (or so it felt), but it is still just a treadmill.

And then there's the armoire that came with our used-newlywed bedroom set. It is beautiful, makes a great baby-closet . . . lets face it, it is huge and is not coming with us.

And the honda. How could we abandon the car that has driven us daily in addition to our little excursions to Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, and cross-country to Buffalo?

Don't get me started on the futon, the tree, my rocking chair (maybe I can squeeze that in) . .

But really, this is just STUFF, right? I can't imagine what it is going to feel like when I have to say good-bye to friends. Maybe we should stay . . . :)

The Job Hunt

So, I've decided that looking for a job is kind of like dating. There's the job you really think you want, but so does everybody else. There's the job that just keeps hanging around, offering you the world, and hoping you want it. Then there are the jobs somewhere in between that would make for a great life . . .
So, how did we ever decide to get married? I know, I know. Better get back to praying . . . uh, I mean blogging, then praying :)

This month has been eventful. On September 17th my sweetheart grew up and turned 30! We've been somewhat consumed lately with Ben's schooling and job-looking so "we" decided to not do much this year and just do something special for Ben's 31st birthday.
In the meantime, I planned him a surprise trip to Florida with his brother, Royce. They watched BYU lose, golfed, ate, and had a great time. Ben was so surprised when I woke him up at 4:45 am on Saturday and told him to get dressed- we had somewhere to go.

Here are the proud BYU fans posing with the Florida State Mascott before the game- I'm pretty sure this brought bad luck on the cougars.
Levi also had a birthday- kind of. He turned 6 months old (babies get lots of birthdays). These first months have flown by with this sweet guy, who we now think looks like his Grandpa King. He now has a tooth and can scoot himself to whatever toy Dayton doesn't want him to play with. He's calm and happy and we adore him.
Yes, those are pepper seeds all over Levi's face.
And I don't think we've had any golfing pictures for a while . . . Ben would be ashamed.
Goodbye summer- you will be missed! Halloween- here we come!

Firsts and Lasts

LEVI

First Solids

(if you can call that slimy stuff that DID actually make it in his mouth "solid")

DAYTON

First time climbing out of his crib

AND first time opening doors

Mom and Dad

LAST Bit of Control Surrended

Here's Mr. Independence Himself

And Finally, the LAST Buffalo Bisons baseball game of the year (and maybe our last ever).

BISONS you have made our little boys' dreams come true!

Crazy fun

Last week we decided to take advantage of Ben's time off and go check out the "rugged" side of New York (scenic is probably the better term, especially for you westerners), so we went camping. The night before we left, I started thinking "who goes camping with 2 babies?" and I subsequently asked Ben "are we CRAZY?". Conclusion: Yes, a little.

We started by spending 2 days at the finger lakes. We camped at Taughannock Falls on Cayuga Lake. Dayton now calls himself a "hiker" and had fun trying to catch frogs. It was beautful.

We spent an afternoon at Trenemen State park, which is a fun place to swim by the waterfall, climb rocks, AND they have a diving board (which Ben liked)

Another favorite: Watkins Glen. This place was beautiful with waterfalls carving out deep caverns.

We also spent a lot of time swimming. Dayton is so proud that he can now go "under water" and Levi doesn't even squirm when we put him in, just kicks and giggles (he's got some extra-insulation).

We left the finger lakes and headed to the Adirondacks for 3 days. Our camera battery died, so we only got a few pics, but it was beautiful. Our campsite was up in the trees away from everything (which was especially nice during the occasional sleep-deprived tantrum). We camped at Lake George and went to four or five different lakes. Here is Lake Luzerene.

The Happy Campers

We are so lucky to had have two new cousins join our family this month and although we haven't yet met them in person, we're pretty proud. So, here are some pics to show them off:

Mayla Beth King

July 9th

Bradley Jamon Jensen

July 24th

Cousins, cousins, cousins! Shari, you're next!

As usual, I'm a bit behind in the blogging, but I've come to terms with the fact that I am not an avid blogger. So, I hope you enjoy these LONG and infrequent posts, in which I do my best to show off my two adorable boys:)

Levi is now 4 months old and is an angel. Three things strangers say about Levi:

"He's a BIG boy for 4 months"

"Where'd you a blondie with blue eyes?"

"Does he EVER cry?"

Here we are at our pretty-much-annual rodeo to celebrate the day-before-the-4th! They (Ben included) make pretty cute cowboys!

4th of July!

Our friends let Dayton borrow this red sweatshirt. It happened to be a UTAH sweatshirt, so don't worry, Ben turned it inside out.

Dayton's new scooter. He's not real interested in bikes, but the scooter, well, who doesn't love a scooter.

Brothers- Dayton likes to play with Levi more and more everyday. And Levi just watches Dayton, waiting for a sideways glance so he can smile at his big brother.

My parents came out for a week. We loved having them here. We went to the Hill Cumorah Pageant, a Bison's baseball game, and of course, the Anchor bar for some wings. We were sad to see them go and hope to see them soon!

I think we wore grandpa out!

Farmington, NM

We spent this past weekend interviewing for a job in Farmington, NM. We were able to go out as a family. It seems like a great community and we really liked all Farmington and the surrounding areas had to offer. As always, we'll see what happens.

Durango, CO

While visiting Farmington, we took a 40 minute drive north to Durango, CO. We loved it. We hiked around, ate lunch at a little french bakery, and fed the fish at the fish hatchery. Check out these mountains! Being there reminded us how much we missed the mountains.

Time is going by fast, especially our time left in Buffalo. We hope to enjoy as much as it as we can before we move.