A Little Pumpkin Carvin'!

Yep, it's ANOTHER Halloween Blog! Gotta post the pictures of the pumpkin carving at the Madsen's!

Carsyn was so proud of her pumpkin while she was working on it - and then the switch flipped! She decided she no longer liked what she had done, threw a royal fit and stabbed her poor pumpkin half to death! This is the final masterpiece!



Camryn got creative all on her own this year too! No patterns for the Madsen girls! This is her final masterpiece!






Tyleigh was bound and determined to do it all on her own - and for the most part, she did! She didn't love cleaning her pumpkin out though, so mom and dad had to help just a little! This is Tyleigh's masterpiece!





The Mom and Dad pumpkin masterpieces!
(Yes, we cheated! No carving!)

Our one-eyed beauty!

Rod and his princesses (Don't ask why Carsyn has those on her head 'cause I don't have a clue!)

Picture of Rod and I - courtesy of our girls!

Pre-Halloween!!!

"The Chick Magnet!"
(Tyleigh actually picked this costume out for Rod to wear - very fitting isn't it!!!)

It's not even Halloween yet and the girls have almost worn out their costumes! What a fun time of year to be a kid! You get to pretend you're someone completely different, you party like it's no one's business, and you get (my favorite) loads of candy! What more could any of us ask for in life?!? I am taking so many "pre-halloween" pictures that I thought I better blog some of them! Otherwise, I may be competing for the world record for length of blog by the time Halloween is actually over! The girls (and my husband!) just look too cute to not share!

Camryn and our cute little neighbor girl at our

ward Halloween party - I've decided that Camryn is like a magnet for babies! They love her and she loves them!

Camryn as the Countess of Darkness -

Doesn't she look beautiful and soooo

grown-up?! I can only imagine what

I'm going to be dealing with in just a few

years!

Carsyn as the "Classical Witch!" She is

so much fun this time of year because

she is not afraid to let her imagination

take right over when it comes to a

costume!

And then there's Ty - she actually has an Ariel

costume under her coat, but she was so worried

that someone would laugh at her that she wouldn't

even unbutton it all night! Self-conscious at only

four?! I am so in trouble! This is her cute friend

Rhylan!

Rhylan having a screaming war with Rod! You

win Rhy!

Getting ready to go Trunk or Treating

at Gram's and Papa's Ward

Cute girls!!!

Tyleigh with her favorite Papa!

We got half of an old costume on her

to go Trunk or Treating with my

mom and dad! Woo-hoo!!!

More Fall Fun!

We just can't seem to get enough of this beautiful Fall weather! Sorry to those of you who are sick and tired of looking at all of my Autumn blogs, but we are having a blast! Every year my mom and dad's trees dump enough leaves to make huge piles, and since all we have are "twigs" for trees at our house still, we have to go to their house to play! It's something the girls look forward to every year! Thanks to Papa for saving the leaves and making an extra big pile just for the girls!

Body Worlds

Rod and I got the opportunity to go to the Body Worlds Exhibit this last Saturday as part of his birthday (thank you Mom for watching the girls!). It was . . . really something to see! Gross isn't a word I would use to describe it, but very, very interesting! The human body is amazing! Once you got past the fact that the bodies used to be somebody, it was really incredible to gain a better understanding of muscles, veins, and all of the networks in our bodies! There was a section devoted completely to the developing fetus - it was breathtaking! What miracles our little babies are when you think about all of the things that have to come together to make them whole! It was a once in a lifetime thing to see! (Neither Rod or I recommend taking kids though!)
We weren't allowed to take any pictures, so here is one off of the web to give you an idea of what we got to see!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROD!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!

WE LOVE YOU!!!

We are so lucky to have such an amazing guy in our lives! Here are the top
ten reasons we love you so much:

1. Nobody could ever care about and love us as much as you do!

2. You are an extremely hard worker!

3. You make every one of us laugh every day!

4. You are the most patient daddy/husband alive!

5. You make us all feel like princesses!

6. You give the best hugs!

7. You are willing to sacrifice everything on our behalf!

8. You are a good example to those around you, including us!

9. You always have time for us - even when you are really tired, or really want to just watch football!

10. You are more handsome now than ever!

Have the best day ever Daddy!

CORNBELLY'S!

What an awesome Fall Break we had! We found something fun - and different to do everyday (thank goodness!)! On Monday, we joined my dear friend, Erionda, her five kids, and all the rest of her extended family at Cornbelly's! We had a blast! Hardly anyone was there for a good part of the day, so we had free reign for several hours! The girls loved everything from the princess pumpkin land, pig races, corn mazes, giant slides, haunted creatures and play lands to blasting pumpkins out of a cannon and "pumpkin cow tipping!"

The Pumpkin Princess's carriage

Carsyn couldn't resist trying somenew hair on! It's a good look Cars!

Playing in the corn box!

This was one of the girls' favorites - the mini farmer's market!

Tyleigh and good friend Ethan on the giant pillow trampoline!

Tyleigh and Ethan having duck races

Allona and Camryn in the mouth of the haunted beast!

Erionda's cute twins and nephew (in the middle)

Carsyn and Camryn had as much fun holding the twins as they did doing anything else!

Sara burying Carsyn in corn!

Witches Galore at Gardner Village

This is our favorite witch - and mymom's dear friend's daughter! 

She is worth the whole trip even if you do nothing else! 

Her witch name is Lucinda! She is a hoot!

For UEA Fall Break, I had this brilliant idea to drag the girls and my dear friend Jayna and her kids to Gardner Village to see the witches. Apparently everyone else in the state had the exact same idea at the exact same time as I did! Holy cow! It was packed! For the record, the witches there are darling and so fun to see - on a day when the rest of the nation isn't there! It's worth taking the family to boost the Halloween spirit . . . just don't pick a holiday! Thanks for sticking it out with us anyway, Jayna! You are a trooper and we had a blast in spite of it all!

Posing with Matilda the Witch

Rhylan and Tyleigh posing as pumpkin princesses!

Carsyn and Camryn in the pumpkin carriage

One of the many witches in the village

This is our second favorite witch - our first is "Witchy Poo" - the witch in the outhouse!

Carsyn, Camryn, Tyleigh, and Rhylan creating their own version of witch hats! 

They turned out beautiful, girls! Watch out for magical spells

coming your way - unless they know any to make me rich and famous!