Fall!!!

I love fall! The weather starts to get a little cooler which makes me want to snuggle up inside and drink hot cocoa and eat everything pumpkin of course. We tried to get a little creative with our decorations this year. I saw this door decoration on Pinterest and since I don't have my own classroom door to decorate I thought our storage unit door across from our front door would be perfect! (Unfortunately Frankie didn't last long once the Rexburg winds started.)

Jer and I posing with Frankenstein 

We also added a scary light-up skeleton to our door until Josue sent us an early Christmas present...this super cute homemade wreath!!! We gladly moved the skeleton out of the way to make room.

I got so many compliments on this wreath and I absolutely love it! Thanks Jo for helping us decorate!

Of course we also had two consecutive Family Home Evenings of pumpkin festivities this month. The first was to go pick out the pumpkins and the next was carving and seed roasting.

Us with our pumpkins

Jeremy ready to go to work

Jeremy is the muscles in this operation so he had to cut out my pumpkin top and and his own...by the time he was half way through his I think he underestimated his own strength and snapped our knife. It probably wasn't the best idea to use one of our good knives. We were really sad but didn't let it dampen our spirits!

Cleaning out the guts

Jeremy making the details perfect

The finished products:

Jeremy's was an elephant...the ears are on the side.

Me with my winking pumpkin

Sitting on our porch and finishing our Halloween decorations...now if only we could get some trick-or-treaters!

Sunflower Story

I had to share this story because it just made my day. Jeremy and I usually make a trip to Winco in Idaho Falls at the beginning of each semester to stock up on groceries. After a long trip where we laid down some serious money (as most do when they go to Winco) we filled our car and drove out of the parking lot. At the corner of the intersection to pull out of the parking lot were two little girls selling sunflowers and jam. I had flashbacks to my lemonade and cookie stand I would put on each year at the Pulte yard sale when I was little. I didn’t have much money on me (just some change) but couldn’t help but buy something. So before we drove out of the lot, I bought a sunflower for 50 cents! So worth a smile whenever I see it!

Goodbye Summer, Hello Last Semester at BYU-I

With summer over, it was now time for our trek back to Idaho for the last time! We couldn't be more excited for our last semester at BYU-Idaho. 

Can't you just feel Jeremy's excitement for another semester of school?

I'm obviously a little more excited than Jeremy.

In true Jeremy fashion, we made a spontaneous stop at some random natural landmark in Idaho. It was actually pretty cool! 

Soon after our return to Rexburg, Jeremy had to face reality and go back to school for his last semester of classes at BYU-Idaho. We are both excited for what this semester has in store!

Summing up the Summer

With summer coming to an end, I thought I would leave it with a few things to remember. It was a summer filled with 

Good food...

Dessert crepes 

These are only a few of the yummies that we treated ourselves to this summer! I definitely gained a few pounds being home and I'm so happy about it! :)

Strawberry Shortcake

Good Friends...

We loved having Kelsey come visit for a couple weeks this summer and doing extra fun things with her like Jelly Belly Factory!

Out to dinner with Vicki, Michelle, Charlene, Heather, and Mom...fun girls night out!

And Good Times...

Ripping out the Evans' pool and helping start the re-landscape....I obviously had fun with the sand underneath the pool. :)

Hanging out with Tyler for our last summer together before his mission!

My big project for the summer was my T-shirt quilt...still not finished but I cut up and pieced together 50 t-shirts from middle school and high school. I'm way excited about having a way to keep all these memories together!

TAHOE

Labor Day weekend Jeremy and I headed to Lake Tahoe with Mom and Dad Rudd to stay at our good friend, Clark Williams, condo. it was such a fun trip and a perfect way to head our summer here in California. We were pretty packed in the car with Jeremy, Kody, and I in the back seat,

(me watching Tangled)

Mom driving and smiling all the way,

and Dad starting his vacation off with a nap on the way there. 

Dr. Williams' cabin was awesome! It was so nice to be right on the beach too! That is the cabin and the staircase that we would take down to the private beach where our spot on the beach was always reserved ...what more could you want? :)

(We did have some "trespassers" one day but the boat police came to remove them...total beach drama!)

The view of the beach from the dock. I love the beach covered in pine trees...so beautiful!

And our view from the beach with the mountains surrounding the lake. Such an amazing spot for a weekend getaway. We didn't waste anytime either soaking up the sun on the beach. 

Mom, Kody, and Dad

Mom...tanning as always! 

Jeremy found some sweet goggles that he put to use looking for cool rocks under the water.

Jer and I

Mom and I...matching suits!

Dad and Mom

and one with Kody

Of course we had to get a little family picture too!

After the sun went down, we spent time inside eating yummy food, watching movies, playing games, and attempting to finish a puzzle.

I love puzzles and thought that I could finish this one in a weekend but I underestimated how long it would take to put together a  a difficult 1000 piece puzzle. Bummer!

Kody of course had to bring his "buddy" and spent his time relaxing with the rest of us.

The view from our balcony was so beautiful each night. We took the opportunity for a little photo shoot. 

We also found some sweet tubes and a raft (that I guess I didn't get pictures of) that we thoroughly enjoyed floating on!

I got creative and used the raft pole to help navigate the tube.

Mom and Jer had a blast together! :)

Jer also got creative and used the tube to help him find treasures on the bottom of the lake...he's just a kid at heart!

Some other cute pictures of our last day of vacation:

Mom and I

True vacationing...just relaxing on the beach!

Kody posing for the camera

Jer and I

Getting creative!

Of course I left some art work on the beach. Instead of seashells this beach had super cool rocks to be artsy with...

TAHOE 2012

Can't wait to go back!