Daddy Daughter Halloween Party



Abby and Layne all dressed up for the party!

Abby and the other girls from our ward in their cute costumes

Abby looks forward all year to her date with Layne for her Daddy Daughter activity day costume party.  This year she wanted a poodle skirt so Layne dressed to match.  He is such a good sport!  They had a great time carving pumpkins and playing games.  The dad's even painted their daughters fingernails.  I know Abby will always cherish experiences like this, and I'm so thankful she has a dad who is always there for her.

Go Cougars!

Layne, Lexie, and me sitting in enemy territory at the Utah State vs. BYU game

Lexie was an angel for the whole game

It's no secret that we love to watch BYU football.  This year we actually decided to go to a game.  Unfortunately, BYU had a rough beginning of the season and it wasn't a terribly great game to watch.  But it was fun to get away with Layne for a few hours.  We met up with Mike and Emily at the game in Logan, which was also fun.  Lexie was awesome until about the last five minutes of the game and then I just stood and bounced until the game ended.  Hopefully we can make another game next year and see BYU when they're at their best instead of worst!

Running, Running, and More Running

Once again, Layne spent a great deal of time running this summer in order to be ready for his second marathon.  He claimed he'd never run another one after the Mesa Falls last year, but all it took was the opportunity to run with his brother and he changed his mind.  He and Matt ran The Gap in Pocatello and did really well.  Layne finished right at 2 hours 30 min. which beat his time from last year.  The kids and I were able to go down and watch them finish the race.  Afterward we headed down for a fun Labor Day weekend with the Bedkes.  It was a gorgeous morning and, as always, so inspiring to watch those men and women giving it their all to finish the race.  Thanks for inspiring us, Layne and Matt!

Finishing with a smile!

Layne and big brother Matt

The kids love their dad so much...

But not as much as I do!

Layne's parents came down to see their boys run. 

Matt and wife Liz with their kids Cole and Sam

Lexie hanging out in the stroller, just enjoying the sunshine!

Once the marathon was over, Layne started thinking about the Temple to Temple relay that's put on by the students on campus at BYUI.  This year they started running from the Rexburg Temple and finished at the Idaho Falls Temple.  We were able to meet up with them in Idaho Falls and watch them finish together.  Their team won for their age division.  Way to go guys!

Derek, Justin, D.J. and Layne at the end of the race

Layne has the best group of cheerleaders around!

Pretty cool picture in Rexburg before the race

and in Idaho Falls after the race

They split up the course between the four guys but all joined up together at the end to finish it off.  They've talked the wives into participating next year.  I guess we'll see how that goes!

School is in the Air

I love the smell of fall and the excitement of going back to school.  It seemed to come so much faster this year, though.  I had a hard time letting them go.  They looked so cute.  Here are they are on the first day!



Karlee is in Mrs. Jorgensen's 1st  grade class.  Her best friend is her cousin, Andylin.  Her favorite thing to do at recess is chase the boys, ahh!

Abby is in Mrs. Parkes 4th grade class.  Her best friends are Brylei Harris and Kenya Miller.  They love to play like they are characters from books they have read.  They have quite they imaginations!

The girls love having each other to go to school with.  I hope they always stay close to each other.

Outside waiting for the bus.

Kayci finally got to start preschool this year.  I thought the excitement was going  to kill her.  Jake had a hard time letting her go.

Her teacher is Onda K. who was my Kindergarten teacher.  Crazy!

Her best friends are Brooke and Allie.  They are all so cute together!

Lexie Growing Up

While we were busy playing this summer, Lexie really started growing.  She is still very tiny, a lot like when Kayci was little.  She is an amazingly good baby, so content.  We love her so much!  Here are a few pics at around five months.



This is what happens when I let the kids play with her (she is in the doll stroller).

She is always smiling.

 

Starting to get tired of pictures.

Playing with grandma at the bowling alley.

She looks so much like Layne.

She konked out sitting on the garbage can.

Reed Family Reunion at Bear Lake

This year we had our first ever Reed Family Reunion with just my mom and Don and their children.  We don't all get together too often so we decided to plan a reunion so we could all be together, have some fun, and not work (which is why we usually get together).  Corey planned the reunion and did a great job.  We had fun playing at the beach and spent hours riding on the molecule behind grandma's boat.  The only downside was the cool weather which we thought we could avoid with it being the second week in August, but that didn't stop us from really enjoying being together.  I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family.   Here are some pictures of our weekend together.  Oh, ya!  Layne and I got to celebrate our 12th anniversary while at the reunion.  We have had twelve wonderful years together.  I don't know what I would do without him.  I hope and pray for many, many more to come!



Our crowed and busy camp.  The men are busy cooking up a great breakfast.

Abby and cousin McKenna enjoying their breakfast.

Andy, Karlee, Trey, and Jake chowin' down.

Jake playing in the sand and water.

Karlee and Chloe building their sand castle.

Jake joined in on the sand castle making.  He enjoyed destroying more than building.

Kayci on her sand seat.

Layne, Karlee, Trey, and McKenna riding on the molecule.

Jake riding in grandma's boat.

Kayci and Taryn playing on their tubes.

Abby and Morgan creating their jelly bean butterflies on Sunday morning.

Annabelle and Karlee working on their butterflies.

I am so blessed to have these guys!

My sweetheart on our anniversary! Love you more than you'll ever know, hon!

(My face is so sunburned and swollen, I couldn't touch it for a week)

Trip to Beauty and the Beast and Grandpa's Cabin

Abby, Karlee, Kayci, and Andy with Belle.

The girls waiting in the foyer of the Playmill for the show to begin.

Kayci about couldn't contain her excitement.

Abby would love to play Belle herself someday.

Karlee chose a yellow crown so she could match Belle's dress.

The girls enjoying their cake and punch at the tea party with Belle.

Me and my cute girls outside the Playmill after the show.  It was GREAT!

Our hike up to school house rock.  We had to stop every now and then for a water and M & M break.

Layne took the kids down to the lake to fish.  No luck catching anything this time.

We waited all summer for our trip to Grandpa's cabin, especially since this time we also planned a trip to the Playmill to see Beauty and the Beast.  Layne stayed at the cabin with Lexie and Jake while I took Abby, Karlee, and Kayci to West for the show.  Holly and Andy came too and the girls had a ball.  We went early and got to go to a special tea party with Belle.  She played a game to get to know their names and then called them up one at a time to give them a crown and take their picture with her.  Then they served cake and punch.  I couldn't believe how excited Kayci was.  She had a perma grin for days after meeting Belle.  After the tea party was the show and as always, it was fantastic.  I am always amazed at what you can do with such a small space and the cast was excellent.  The girl who played Belle is from Rigby so that was fun for the girls as well.  We went back and stayed a couple of days at the cabin which we always enjoy.  Layne took us on a hike up to School House Rock.  We didn't quite make it to the top but a had a good time trying (it will be easier without a child in a pack and two who thought they needed to ride on someone's back).  Later in the day the kids went fishing with Layne.  They love to go down to the lake and throw rocks and maybe some day they'll actually catch a fish there.  It was hard to come home, and we definitely look forward to going back this winter!