Trick-or-Treating with Calvin

This year was the FIRST TIME Calvin went trick-or-treating!!! Last year, he was going to go with us dressed up as a tiger...but then he got Hand Foot and Mouth Disease and he was prohibited from interacting with others for at least 10 days. We were so bummed for him...but we certainly made up for it this year! 

We dressed up as The Batman Family! Calvin wore Jake's original batman costume that Lisa made for him when he was 2. How cool is that?! The only thing that didn't survive over the years was Jake's cape. Apparently he wore that cape ALL THE TIME and it was ripped to shreds. So, it was up to me to make a cape for Calvin. Feeling a little inadequate for the job, I did the best I could! I think it turned out just fine. Once Jake heard I was making Calvin's cape, he REALLY wanted a cape made for him, too. But not just any old cape...A HUGE, LIFE-SIZE replica of Batman's actual cape. Yikes! Talk about feeling inadequate. But I did the best I could! So, since Jake and Calvin had capes, I had to make one for myself, too! Those will be fun to have for years to come. 

We tried to explain to Calvin how Halloween and trick-or-treating works: everyone dresses up in costumes, knock on doors, says "trick-or-treat," the person who answers the door gives you candy in your bag, and then you say, "Thank you!" Calvin didn't quite get it, but he caught on quickly!

There he goes! Jake's trying to push him along. Calvin was pretty hesitant at first.

But after he trick-or-treated at the first house...

...He was excited for more!

The Justesen kids helped show Calvin what to do.

Uncle Chris and his girlfriend Brittany joined us for the fun.

Calvin was having SO MUCH FUN going from house to house collecting candy.

...Until Jake and Uncle Chris introduced Calvin to the SCARY side of Halloween. Calvin didn't like the scary looking costumes at all.

From then on, Calvin only wanted to be near his Mom and Dad.

After all that trick-or-treating, we thought Calvin would want to eat his candy...NOPE! He just wanted to play with Drayten's toy cars. We weren't surprised.

Calvin had A BLAST trick-or-treating for the first time. He'll definitely remember how it goes next year.

Calvin's 2nd Birthday!

I can't believe I have a two-year-old. I feel like it was just yesterday that we brought him home from the hospital. He's growing up so fast!!

Since Calvin's birthday is so close to Halloween, we had a Halloween-Birthday party at Aunt Janet's house! She is notorious for throwing big Halloween parties, so why not make it a birthday party, too?! There was adorable Halloween decor everywhere and Halloween-themed food. So fun!

And here's Calvin's Batman Birthday cake I made! 

Before dinner, we had a fun art activity of putting together skeletons made out of vegetables. The Justesen cousins had fun creating their skeletons, Calvin, however, was not interested. So I made one for him.

Calvin is also not interested in posing for a picture. It's so hard to get a decent photo of him these days. I guess that's sign that he's entering the "terrible-twos!"

Calvin was a bit confused when we all started singing Happy Birthday to him. But he was mesmerized by the lit candles, so he was perfectly content.

Our gift to Calvin was a strider bike. It's a bike for toddlers without any pedals so he gets used to the feeling of gliding. Calvin loved it! 

I love this two-year-old.

Happy Birthday my sweet boy!!

"Leaves are falling all around, on the rooftops on the ground"

The season of Fall in Provo is absolutely beautiful. As days grow shorter, and nights grow longer and cooler, I ponder about the biochemical processes in the leaves that paint the landscape with Nature's autumn palette. And for reasons like this...this is why I am studying science! I love learning about molecular functions of Christ's marvelous creations. I am loving it :)

Life at BYU is quite busy! Jake and I are doing well in school, we're working hard, and enjoying our first semester as a married couple :) So here's a recap of our journey through Fall in captured moments...



About 2 months ago, Jake broke his LEG (right fibula) while longboarding. This time period has definitely has been a test of patience! Jake loves to be on the go doing any physical activity...but since he fractured his leg...he has been resting and taking care of it the best he knows how. Since day one, Jake has been high spirited and always thinking positively about his situation and I know that we are both growing from this experience. In this photo, here are the remnants of Jake's injury...the torn up shoe worn from the incident, the boot he wore during the healing process, and now the ankle brace to help secure the bone. Slowly but surely, he should be back to playing sports by January :)



In honor of Jake's recent injury, we attended our ward's Halloween party as LONGBOARDERS!! That was so fun!! However, throughout the night, people kept asking us if we longboarded to the party and wondered if we dressed like that normally . Uhhhhh...well...we thought the crutches would give it away, but I guess we needed a sign that said "Jake broke his leg longboarding." We'll conjure up a poster for next time ;)



Jake's work (Best Buy) threw a Halloween party!! Our last minute costume we put together was MISSIONARY COMPANIONS! Aren't we the cutest companionship?? ;) Throughout the night, I definitely grew fond of wearing a tie, I think ties should come in fashion for women...maybe I'll start a new trend ;)



Yayy! Becca's Birthday :) Becca sure is excited to be 18!! We were glad to be with her to celebrate!!! Thanks to Lisa's birthday package, we had lots of fun decorating Becca's room with balloons, streamers and confetti!



Before the Thanksgiving break, we hosted a potluck dinner at our home with Becca, her roommate (Hannah), Kayla and her roommate (Keelia), and Blake! We love visiting with all of them:) Since our table is too small to fit everyone around it, we decided to have a picnic on the floor! Yeah, it was a bit crowded...but we were cozy and we had a good time :)









Thanksgiving, we went to Uncle Kurt and Aunt Wendy's place up in Ogden. Uncle Mike, Aunt Connie and Tyler came from Sacramento and Davis and Derek came from BYU-Idaho :) It was so fun having some of Jake's family together!! We played in the snow, made some pumpkin pies, ate Uncle Mike's deep fried turkey (yum!!), and relaxed together :) It was a wonderful break from the craziness of school and work.

Now, what am I grateful for?!?
I am so grateful for having family on both sides living so close to us!! :) I am grateful for our dear, loving family in California. We wish they were closer :/ I am grateful for our good health. I am grateful for our opportunity to attend and gain knowledge from Brigham Young University. I am grateful for various scholarships we have received to help assist our educational journey. I am grateful for our trials that we have encountered thus far as a newly married couple--through them we have overcome and grown together.

Happy Holidays!! We love you all :)