Fall Festivities!

 Fall has been a blast in the Gundersen household. We've done nothing but play and have fun! Okay, maybe we occasionally work . . . not by choice! It has been so beautiful down here in the desert that we can't help but spend most of our time outside. Here are some highlights from the last month.

Braelyn had a little baby photo shoot thanks to Jen Ryan. Amazing photographer!!!

 The girls at work had a night out for Erin's birthday. Dinner and a movie is the best idea ever, especially when you have girlfriends to share it with.

We had open house at the high school. I got to meet all the parents of our wonderful students and convince them that I really do care about their kids. I do! I promise!

Ben, Braelyn, Jana, and I all went to Autumn Fest at our park. They put up this adorable carnival and I just had to ride the ferris wheel. Ben appeased me by going even though he is afraid of heights. In fact right before this photo he was freaking out because we were supposed to be on opposite sides of the cart to make the weight even. He thought we were going to topple over when I switched sides to take the photo. Needless to say, he was not amused.

Ben tried to win a prize for Braelyn and failed . . .

. . . so Jana came to the rescue and . . .

. . . wahoo! She won a cute little stuffed pig for Braelyn. Girls rule! Sorry dad.

After the carnival we had some fun at home and tried on Braelyn's Halloween costume. She makes the cutest darn flower ever, if I may say so myself. Thank you Jana!

Braelyn got to go trick or treating for the first time at her school party. She was so excited. Every time she passed my office in the hallway, I could hear her laughing. She was clapping and pointing and bouncing around the whole time. That girl has such a personality. We love her! She got to eat cupcakes and cheese puffs at her party too! I think she's been on a sugar high for the past week now.

 Then we got to go to Jojo's first birthday party. It was a jungle theme, so we dressed Braelyn up as an owl. Yes, I know what you are thinking, "where to owls live in the jungle?" I don't know! It was the only animal outfit we had on hand, so we made do.

Of course we couldn't miss the church trunk or treat party. Plus, Drew and Braelyn were scheduled for another date together. We just can't keep the lovebirds away for too long.

Grandma and grandpa came to visit and to spend Halloween with us. Braelyn just adores her grandpa. She cries when I take her away from him. If she weren't so cute, it would probably hurt my feelings.

And what is Halloween without gnawing on some candy. Look at these two ham bones. They are just two peas in a pod!

Now we just can't wait for the other holidays to come. Bring on Thanksgiving and Christmas! I just love the holiday season and spending time with family. Having a wonderful family of our own just makes the holidays that much better. Happy holidays!

We're Alive!

Okay, this is a long time coming. In my defense, I couldn't figure out this new blogger for the life of me! I am not one that does well with change. For about a month I couldn't figure out how to upload photos. And since I know that no one cares about blogs without photos, what was the point of blogging! Yeah, all I had to do was upgrade my formatting. Haha! I'm definitely not a techie.

Well here is our life, over the last few months, in a nutshell of photos. Everyone is happy and healthy. We couldn't ask for more. 




This was Braelyn's baby blessing. Jana was so amazing to come up for it. We had a blast! Braelyn didn't last very long in her white dress, hence the pictures in her normal church clothes. What can you do?! I wouldn't want to wear a poofy dress that long either! Ben did a beautiful job on the blessing. She's a lucky girl to have such a great daddy that loves her to pieces. 



Jana and her roomie Kim. They are probably the two funniest people you will ever meet!

 

She is such a ham. I can't get enough of this smile. I get this look each time I drop her off in her little daycare in the mornings. Geez, it makes it even harder to leave her when she's this cute!
 


More haminess!



I can't get enough of kissing those cheeks. How adorable.
 



After a long day of shopping with mom and DAD. Yes, I wasn't the only one torturing her. Although Ben felt this way afterward too!



Labor Day fun at Erin's! What a blast. I think it needs to be an annual event.



Waving "hi" like she always does.



Finally big enough for a high chair. Is she really growing up that fast?!



This picture makes me laugh so hard! Where did she even come up with that expression. The owl hat is thanks to grandpa Cal. He always brings the cutest gifts. Ben's parents visited last week and we had so much fun. They took us to dinner, bought us a carseat, gave Braelyn tons of books and toys, and BABYSAT!



Reading with daddy.



She loves her grandpa. Braelyn couldn't get enough of Cal. She was always crawling over to him. Yes, she is CRAWLING like a madwoman. Watch out! She is everywhere and in everything!




Mid squeal. She is always yelling. This one loves to hear her own voice. I'm telling you, she's the LOUDEST baby I know . . . and I'm her proud, yet sometimes embarrassed, mamma!




Ben calls this the baby jacuzzi. It is usually the follow up to dinner thanks to our messy eater.



Braelyn and I were chosen to be part of a Littly Gym photo shoot. Braelyn even got paid! Show me the money! She was the best little model. They were supposed to use her for an hour, but the photographer loved her so much that we stayed for FOUR hours! She is going to be in a magazine that is distributed to obgyn offices next month. Hmmm, maybe I need to schedule an appointment to pick up a copy. Haha!



Such a cheeseball!

Some other updates that we don't have photos for:

1. Ben is studying to take the GMAT so he can start an MBA program next fall. He hopes to get into the evening program at ASU.

2. I am starting tutoring sessions after school for junior high  and high school students. So, if there is anyone you know that needs some help, pass on the word.

3. We are selling our house, but not moving out of Anthem. Don't worry!

4. My mom is coming to visit over Halloween! This will be fun. Some definite shopping and eating out. =)

5. My school finally opened! Wait, did I already blog about that? I can't even remember. Anyway, it's finally open and we have about 250 crazed teenagers. Help me!

So all in all, life is just a bundle of fun. It's been way busy, but hopefully things will slow down in the next few months. Yeah right! Who am I kidding?! I don't think life ever slows down once you have kids. We are loving every moment, though. It's totally worth it.