Halloween Festivities

I think the best thing about Fall is Halloween. This year was as fun as ever with two boys who were so excited to participate in all of the festivities. I have to say my favorite to watch was Trick-or-Treating.

Every year, we get the Mauss cousins together for a costume picture. I forgot my camera, of course, so Teylor shared a few with me. Walker and Bowen are the cutest Bumblebee and Nemo I've ever seen for sure!

Annie and Jackson "carving" their own pumpkin.
They are getting so big and independent!
We hosted a Spooky Dinner at our house for the Bailey family. I spaced taking pictures of the fun, but did catch one of the menu that Jackson and Bowen made. They spent a lot of time coloring each Halloween picture, and then Jackson wrote out what each menu item was. We hung it up on the wall for our guests to see. The menu included: Witch's Brew (chicken tortilla soup), Mummies (hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls), Bloody Eyeballs (meatballs in red sauce), Pumpkin Face (7-layer dip made to look like a pumpkin), Bones and Blood (breadsticks shaped like bones and marinara sauce), and Blood Cookies (red velvet sandwich cookies). It was so much fun!



We attempted to make caramel apples. Jackson actually enjoyed the apple part. Bowen decided he was done when he had chewed the caramel off. Does that still count as a serving of fruit?

Our festive front porch!

Trick-or-Treating! Bowen was really talkative and friendly this year. We could hear him tell the people "Happy Halloween!" or "Thank you very much!" after they would give him his treat. Jackson was such a good big brother to help Bowen get to and from the door safely.

The Costumes. Check out Nemo's fin! Every time Bowen would walk, it was wag back and forth. Jackson looks exhausted. He ended up waking up that night with a sore throat, which was diagnosed at a clinic visit the next morning as Strep Throat. Poor guy!

Jackson was a blue Power Ranger this year (as opposed to the red Power Ranger that he was last year). I think he would be anything that had the muscles built in. I love this picture! I am so grateful my boys are such good friends. I hope it lasts!

BYU College Game Day

You would have thought we were heading to Maui if you would have seen how excited Justin was to attend ESPN's College Game Day at BYU. He wanted it to be a family affiair, so we woke up early Saturday morning, and headed to Cougartown.

The highlight of the morning for Bowen was seeing his best friend, Cosmo the Cougar!

The highlight for me was being in the vicinity of Kirk Herbstreit. Justin bribed me down there with a promise I would get to meet him. Needless to say, I still have yet to meet Herbie.

Even though we didn't get to meet Herbie, Justin did pull through with at least a picture with another famous person. LaVell Edwards happened to be walking through the parking lot where we were standing. So, Justin grabbed Jackson and Bowen and chased him down. He was really nice to stop and let us take a picture with him. What a proud daddy!

Can little girls wear blue BYU hoddies?

Jackson wowed the crowd with his catching skills. Justin kept the boys busy with BYU footballs during the downtimes.

Go Cougs!

Hello Fall!

When we welcome FALL at our house, that means we are welcoming a new season of FOOTBALL. This year seems more intense because now Bowen is old enough to be right in the thick of it. He loves Cosmo, but only from a distance. To hear him talk about Cosmo, though, you'd think they are best friends. Jackson got Cosmo's autograph, along with some BYU football players, at the Cougar Kickoff.

Jackson and Bowen scrimage in our living room every night--tackling and everything. Bowen yells, "Blue 19, Set, HIKE!" Then Jackson chases him and tackles him. Justin also has Jackson running some plays, the most famous being "Fake and Go." He's pretty good at catching passes on the run. What is a little girl going to do in our house? Is she going to survive?!

Fall just wouldn't be Fall without the St. George Marathon. We are so proud of Justin, Megan, and Jake. They did awesome! I love that Jackson and Bowen watch their Dad accomplish something as great as a marathon, let alone his 10th. Justin is now officially in the 10 Year Club!

Alison and Chris also ran in the Marathon this year, but because of a crazy morning, I didn't get to see much of them. They both qualified for Boston!

Visiting the witches at Gardner Village is always a lot of fun. (Just ask Teylor. She only went once or five times already this year.) Going with cousins makes it that much funner! They take a great picture, don't they?!

Posing with our pumkins from Ballard Pumpkin Patch. We love this place! We got all of these pumpkins for $11! The kids get to walk around and pick their pumpkins right off the vine.

This Fall, Jackson played Coach Pitch. He had to play with 1st and 2nd graders because they didn't offer Coach Pitch for kids his age. I was a little nervous to have him play with such bigger kids, but he did awesome! He is quite the hitter!

Bowen playing Football at Jackson's Coach Pitch games. This guy is a trooper for going to all of Jackson's sporting events each season. Pretty soon, he'll be playing in his own games!

Since Fall just began, I guess there is a lot more to come. But I think we are off to a good start!

Goodbye Summer...

I think our fun Summer needs a proper goodbye before we can fully welcome Fall. Just a few fun pictures..

My mom works hard every year to plan a family reunion for our whole family to be together at least once during the year. This year, we had a great time at the Homestead. We have such a great time catching up!

Thanks to Josh for these awesome pictures of our annual trip to Bear Lake with the Alders' as our hosts. We always have such a great time up there! This year, Jackson tried water skiing behind a wave runner for the first time. He did a great job! Bowen, of course, kept busy just playing in the sand and/or mud!

We always look forward to Alison and her boys coming for a visit in the summer. We always fit in so many fun activities and get to have a week full of sleep overs! One of the highlights this summer was our visits to Cowabunga Bay (Brrr...). The kids loved it!

Justy-Boy with all of the neighborhood kids in front of his favorite tree on the night of our Summer Neighborhood Party. Don't be surprised if you see this picture on a Christmas card.


Playing at the Gateway fountains with Walkie. Walker and Bowen tend to do whatever Jackson is doing. Not a bad guy to look up to!



Yummm.... One of the best things about summer.

I don't think summer would be complete without at least one trip to Lagoon.

Otter Pops, Cousins, and Swimsuits (everyday). More summer necessities!

We look forward to next summer (already)! We always look forward to (warm) time spent with family. And next summer will be extra special because it will be our little GIRL'S first taste of our favorite time of year!

Bowen's Tricks

What a terrible crash!, you might be thinking. But don't be fooled. Bowen loves to ride scooters, but he also loves to stage his crashes too. It is pretty entertaining to watch. However, it can be pretty alarming to see a 2 year-old laying on the ground next to a fallen scooter. Crazy kid.

This is Bowen's signature trick. If you tell him to do a trick, this is what he does. The one on the rock was the funniest because we were at Megan's for an Easter dinner. When we realized we hadn't seen Bowen for a minute, we looked outside only to see his pants off and his performance going on right on top of a rock. He didn't even know he had an audience!
I Love Boys!

Jackson (+) 5 equals KINDERGARTEN

We can still hardly believe it, but Jackson turned 5 at the beginning of the summer. Justin and I (especially Justin) had a bittersweet day on Jackson's birthday. How could he already be 5---and soon to start Kindergarten? We love this kid so much, and we are excited for all that comes with growing up.

One thing is for sure: Chuck E. Cheese throws a fun birthday party! There was pizza, drinks, games, endless tickets and tokens. And to top it off, Chuck E. comes to dance and sing with the kids. Jackson loved his birthday party and loved having his friends celebrate his birthday.

Jackson and his soccer birthday cake. Jackson LOVES sports and was particularly into soccer at the time of his birthday. He played soccer all winter and summer! Charlie, Will and Mickelle watch and wait anxiously for cake. Actually, cute Will blew out the candles for Jackson, so this is Round 2.

What happens after you turn 5, but before you head out the door to Kindergarten? Pre-school graduation! Jackson loved preschool and his "graduation ceremony" was so funny. Check out the cute caps!

FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!! Jackson wanted Bowen to share in the glory of his first day and insisted he be in his picture. Aren't they a handsome pair?! Jackson's teacher's name is Mrs. Dunn. After a 2-day adjustment, he is loving school. We are working on his reading at home, and he loves it. He sometimes has to remind me that we need to do it. He gets better and better everyday.

I am loving my time alone with Bowen. He is always making me laugh. But I can tell that he is ready to have Jackson back home after a couple of hours. Now, when we pull into the parking lot at Oak Hollow, Bowen says, "Let's get Jackson Mauss."

Here are a few fun facts for my 5 year-old:

Favorite Food: white noodle salad (he loves it best when my mom makes it), cheeseburgers, and vegetables. Seriously, he loves carrots and steamed broccoli.

Favorite Color: green

Favorite sports: right now he says golf and football. He starts coach pitch with the 1st and 2nd graders this week, so I'm assuming baseball will make the list soon.

Jackson and Bowen play together all day. Jackson makes sure Bowen is included with whatever friends he is playing with. They love to play outside with anyone in the neighborhood. Usually, there is a game of baseball, kickball or football going on. Or, recently, they've been into setting up stores and trying to sell "used items" to people.

We love having a big Kindergartener (is that a word?) around!

Our News!

That's our big news! We become a family of 5

at the end of February!