Check out the CUTEST skirt ever!

My super-duper extra talented sister (Cindy) made Lauren's Halloween skirt. If you want a special little gal to look this cute in one, Cindy is selling them and has quite an array (including Christmas skirts). Email me and I'll get you the details: pkvance2@hotmail.com

Happy Halloween!

Here are our little munchkins trick-or-treating at our house. Kennan stayed home to hand out the candy to the hords of kids that found their way to our door step. Our kids thought they were really funny to be trick-or-treating at their own house.



I also included a picture of Carter since he wasn't included in the "Halloween Preview" picture. He was the cutest little knight around...although not a very brave one. The scary costumes freaked him out. Take note: the first picture isn't a full body shot. Check out the other picture...when I was trying to get a photo of his whole costume, he went and stood in the corner while saying, no yelling, "No!" Getting him to smile with the kung-fu grip on the candy wasn't a problem. Actually, now that I am typing this, I remember it was a problem. I have about 10 pictures of him at the counter. 8 of them have him saying "cheese" while holding the Laffy Taffy right over his eyes...and giggling because I couldn't take a picture of his face.

Halloween Preview

Here is our Halloween Preview. Our ward (church congregation) party was on Saturday night. Kennan went as "Scuba Steve", Preston was a ninja and Lauren, was of course, a princess. Carter and I were sick so we stayed home and watched tv all night long. Carter is going to be a prince. I love coordinating costumes and since he is the only one I can still have a say in what he wears, I thought he would be a cuter prince then a mini-ninja.

Preston's news

Yes, it has finally happened. The Tooth Fairy got to visit our house! Preston was so excited. He even wrote a little note to the Tooth Fairy...it was really cute.

The Balloon Festival

This last weekend was the Taos Balloon Rally. I was told it was awesome.
Carter and I were sick so we couldn't go see the "lift off". We did get a little
treat of our own when a balloon drifted right past our house!

Grand Junction

Last month we drove to Grand Junction for a job interview. About 3 hours into our drive, we realized that our garment bag was still hanging in the front closet back in Taos. The garment bag contained Kennan's suits (kind of important for a job interview) and a formal dress for me. We were going to be attending a black-tie, hospital Gala. We hit the mall an hour before Kennan's interview and found him some pants, a couple ties, and a shirt. While I was paying for everything, the salesperson was in the back frantically ironing his clothes and Kennan was waiting to get dressed in his new threads in the dressing rooms. It was a bit hectic.



We were staying with some great friends from Philadelphia who happened to be about our same sizes. My dress was a little short - I am a bit taller then Jeena (imagine that - me taller then a friend...) and Kennan's suit was a bit too big but we didn't complain. We were grateful we could raid their closets!

Despite the fact that Kennan had a terrible cold and he didn't have the right clothes, the interview went great. We are going to Utah next month to check out the possibilities there and then it is decision time - YIKES!

Grand Junction

We went to Grand Junction to check out a possible job. As part of the "recruting" package, we went to a ranch owned by one of the doctors in the group. It was beautiful. We went on a great 4-wheeler ride and spent some time with the horses which everyone loved - especially Carter.

Dog-sitting

This is Galliger - the dog we got to "dog-sit" while Kennan and the other fellow were in Tucson for a course. (The dog belongs to the other fellow.) We all loved Galliger-especially Carter. He would chase that poor dog around the house for hours. Lauren played "school" with him and Preston played fetch. Even I loved having him around. I didn't like the shedding aspect...but oh well. We (read: everyone but Kennan) decided that we need a dog. I am on the hunt for a dog that doesn't shed a lot...any suggestions?

Bandalier National Monument

On Labor Day, we went and saw some really cool Indian ruins. These Indians built their homes in cliffs - so it was apartment style living (think Mesa Verde on a much smaller scale). Preston didn't smile in any of the pictures because he was pretending to be an Indian boy the entire time we were discovering the ruins (hence, no pictures inside the houses). The kids (and their mom) loved trying to imagine what each room was used for and what they did in their houses. We couldn't get Dad to play the "what was it like" game...

Switch-a-roo

Unbeknownst to me and Kennan, Preston & Lauren decided to do a little switch-a-roo. The kids raided our closets and made the transformation. Preston is now the Dad (wearing Kennan's clothes) and Lauren is the Mom (wearing Mom's clothes).

Body Art on Dad

Sunday afternoon, Preston and Lauren were watercoloring pictures for mom. They were supposed to be cleaning out their brushes but got a little sidetracked when Dad was standing in front of the sink. Here is what happened - as told by Preston & Lauren: "We had so fun. Lauren colored "light-ming" (aka lightening) and a necklace on Dad. Preston colored on his leg, "I love Preston". He drew a mustash on Dad. Preston also drew an indian crown on his forehead. Mom helped out by drawing an "I love Mom" tatoo and a bird tatoo (see forearm).

Our backyard adventures

Our backyard isn't like the ones we are used to. Instead of grass and trees we have dirt, weeds, prairie dogs and grasshoppers. It isn't what we are used to but the kids still love it. We built a sand box and we have a big patio for bikes and push cars. The most entertaining part about our backyard are the grasshoppers. Carter and Lauren chase them throughout our backyard and Preston encourages them from a distance :)

The Spud-man Triathlon

For the past 10 years, I have been "training for a triathlon". Thanks to my overly ambitious sisters, I finally did one! And believe it or not - it really wasn't that bad! My goal was to finish and finish I did! Kennan and the kids made this cute sign for me and my sisters (Brenchley is my maiden name).

Hike at Taos Ski Valley

Last week we took the kids hiking up to Taos ski valley and went on a really fun hike. The kids did great as long as I told them “Alice the Mouse” stories (an ongoing story about a little mouse and her adventures that include other characters usually named Preston and Lauren). We hiked up a fairly steep, very beautiful trail for about 45 minutes and stopped at a stream. Carter was ready to get out of the Kelty back-pack. He happily threw rocks in the stream for about 30 minutes. Preston, Lauren and I played hide-and-go-seek. Not to hard to seek Lauren when she is wearing a bright red sweater…Preston was a bit harder to find since he was in a navy blue sweatshirt. Lauren decided she was just “too tiwed” to hike back down the mountain so her nice dad put her in the back pack…but not for too long. She is a lot heavier then Carter. It was so fun.

Taos Sunsets

We are here in Taos and loving our lives here. Just check out this sunset (that wasn't edited at all in Photoshop).

My first blog

I was feeling a bit left out and quite left behind because so many of my friends have blog spots and I didn't. So in an attempt to keep up with the Jones's, here we are. Actually, I thought it would be a great way to show people just what a fun (come visit) and exciting (come visit) place Taos is (come visit) to live. So now I am going to try and figure out how to get pictures on this thing...