Halloween

Halloween is so fun with little kids. They are so cute in there costumes and there is always so much to do. This halloween was really fun. My parents, Luke, and Livi came down for the big day and we met up with my sister April and brother Jason and his family. We went to the irvine park and hung out there for a while. Then we came back and went downtown and went on the one bounce house slide (usually they have a ton of things to do, not this year. sad.) After Saxon, luke, and Livi went down the slide about 150 times they were over it so we went home and got ready for trick or treating. We went around our neighborhood. They lasted about 10 houses and then they were ready to be done for the day. It was such a fun day.

Feeling Hot hot hot!!

The month of October was really a hot one!! And for most people they get bummed because they love the change of season..... for me it is a different story. I live in Southern California because we don't have a change of seasons. I love it. I love the warmth all year. Here are some of the benefits of having such a hot October..

1. Banana's!!! Every year our banana tree starts producing banana's but then the weather gets too cold and it kills the bananas. Not this year. Yeah we got tons of little apple bananas they were so good and so fun to eat! We all loved them.










2. The beach trips didn't end. I was able to squeeze in a couple more beach days which is always fun.

Curren went with us to the beach one day and I loved that he is running around with a bucket on his head. I had to take a picture!






3. Playing in the water at Disneyland. My boys loved playing and getting soaked in the water it is just pure entertainment. Then of course just being at disneyland and doing all the other fun stuff is a blast, as well.




I love that saxon is so happy to take a picture with me! Haha








4. Going on the hot air balloon in Irvine. We have tried to go before on the air balloon but it was too windy but since it was so hot and no wind we were able to do it. Honestly I don't know what is wrong with me... I love thrill rides and not usually afraid of heights but that day I was totally scared. It might have to do with being so top heavy with two kids in my arms??






5. Going to tanaka farms and sweating like crazy...ok well maybe that is not a benefit of the heat. However, going to tanaka farms was really fun and i think i lost 5 pounds of sweat that day!

A Trip to Utah

In the Beginning of October our family took our official first flight as a family of five to Utah. We survived the flight.. and I think will stick to driving for a little while. Once we got there it was a great trip. We hung out in Provo for the first day.

We explored the dinosaur museum on the BYU campus..

We hung out at the park, ate yummy lunch, and played with the cousins..






We took pictures as a family (goooooo Cougars)...


We went to the legacy tent and ate some amazing food and got pumped for the big game..




We took no pictures at the game because we were wrestling kids the whole time but the game was still really fun.

The next day we headed up to SLC. We went to thanksgiving point and had such a blast. We went with my whole family and we met up with Tad's parents and our good friends the Dixons. It was such a fun day.

We jumped on these huge pillow pads which were so much fun...





We shot pumpkins at cars...



We drove little cars around a track...


We rode a train around the corn maze...



We looked at all the pumpkins.... ( i love how they are trying to look like tough guys for their girlfriend Sienna!)





We went down the slides...


We sat on a huge rocking chair...


And we even attempted to take another family picture which for sure did not turn out!!



After such a fun day the guys went to priesthood session and we went back to the hotel. Tad and I were able to sneak over to Brooke's house and see her for about an hour. It was really fun to catch up with them even though it was so short.



On Sunday we were able to go to the second session of conference which was so amazing. This was such a fun trip! Loved every minute of Utah... could pass on the flights there and back!!!

Things that make me happy!

Summer is over and that makes me sad because I love summer. But I have to look at the bright side of things so I have come up with somethings that make me happy even though it is going to be another 8 months until summer. So here it goes...

Saxon started his playgroup!! Yeah for a couple different reasons. 1) he gets to play with friends 2) he learns a lot 3) it is a break for me and 4) when it is my turn I have fun with all the little kids.






Saxon is getting older and is talking so much more and doing such cute things. Here is is thinking he is a "funny guy" wearing Tad's shoes.


Micah started walking!!! He took is first steps August 24th but then really starting walking the beginning of October. It has made such a difference in my life. Saxon and Micah can really play together now and Micah loves being part of the older group now.
He has also started talking a little. When we take pictures he says Cheeeeesssseee. It is so cute.







Dane is in the perfect stage (my favorite stage) where he just sits and smiles all day long. He is such a perfect little baby for our perfectly crazy family!

Never give up!

I will never give up. No matter how far behind I am in blogging I will try my best to catch up. So here it goes... This last summer was so much fun with so many things going on. Besides holidays, vacations, and birthdays we had a lot of fun doing the normal everyday stuff. Here are the top 10 things I loved doing in the summer

1. Of course one of my favorite things is swimming and especially swimming with my little fishies. Here is my favorite pictures of the them swimming and hopefully I will be able to upload a little video of them soon.







2. Since I still run my swim school I have to be out of the house pretty much all day until naps so Beach days, they are the best. I love that my kids are getting older and are really loving the beach instead of just loving eating the sand... Plus my Mom bought me the best best gift ever "The Bob" and now going to the beach is so easy.











3. The wiped out kids after the beach aka incredibly long naps and a huge break for me!








4. Going to fun new places












5. The weather being so hot that I don't have to dress my kids!




6. Celebrating Our 10 year anniversary!




7. Late night swimming with the fam.



8. In the middle of August being able to go back to Disneyland!





9. Getting those great end of the summer sales were I feel justified in buying all my boys the same pj's. (yes, secretly I love when my boys match... I think they are so cute)





10. Hanging 24/7 with the cutest beach boys alive!

Happy Birthday Micah!!

August 5th Micah turned 1!! Can you believe it, seriously where does the time go?? We started the big celebration at the end of the family reunion in San Jose. We made some cupcakes and sang the famous gustavson birthday song. Micah wasn't sure about the cupcake but he enjoyed picking at it.



Then on the real birthday we started off the celebration with giving him is very own buggy. He loves Saxons and they always fight over it so now he has his very own.



That night we invited friends and family over to celebrate the big day by doing what Micah loves the most, swimming. He then got a second shot at eating the cupcakes but he still wasn't that into it. He did however love sharing it with his friend Corban.








It was a great day. Micah is such a busy little boy with such a sweet heart. We love him so much and are so grateful that he is in our family.

WE ARE FAMILY

Every year my Dad's family gets together for a fun family reunion. This year we had it at my parents house in San Jose. I was getting so sick of the heat in Huntington Beach and the fact that my pool was being used for my swim school I decided to be brave and drive up to San Jose with the boys alone. The drive actually went pretty smoothly. When we got up there we got to enjoy San Jose for a couple of days before the family reunion started.

We went to different parks around town. One of their favorites was a park that had this fun water feature. They had a blast hanging with their cousins at the park.





A couple of days later the family reunion started and it was so fun. Everyone came except my Uncle Johns family and my brother and family (which was sad, we missed all of them).

Even though the family reunion was only at my parents house I loved it.

My aunt and mom put together a fun carnival where our family was divided and we competed in various activities (there is nothing better then a little family competition)

We started off with a little cheer competition (now you know where I get my craziness from)


then to shoot the ball off the bottle


blow potatoes at the target


Fishing for toys


Water balloon toss



We had cotton candy machine, were you could make your own cotton candy.





There was a bounce house which is always a hit.





Swimming







Relaxing


riding bikes


And most importantly hanging with the fam..