Kickin' it Ranch Style

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at the Ranch this year and enjoyed being out in the sticks and becoming one with the land. Not really one with the land, but we did head out to feed the horses on Thanksgiving Day. The llamas were out and about as well, which was very exciting. Max and Bella "touched" the horses (okay, so we don't spend a lot of time with the horses while we're at the ranch, and the kids are, thankfully, very cautious).

Here's Auntie Kendall bringing Auntie Ali's old mare, Bonnie, in for some grain. Bonnie is about 200 years old in horse time. She is 27, I believe, and starting to struggle with her age. Because she gets kicked out when trying to eat hay, Ali (or Kendall when she is home) grains her to keep some weight on.

Here we are "touching" Benny. The kids rubbed his nose a bit until Benny started getting angry that we were graining Bonnie (he wanted some, too). Benny then kicked the metal gate, which gave us all a start.

Brighton enjoyed the horses as well. Here she is holding Bonnie's halter while Bonnie ate her grain contentedly. This took 45 minutes because Bonnie is so old and it is difficult for her to chew. Poor girl. As you can see, Brighton even donned her ranch jacket for the occasion (Bella isn't too crazy about the brown, she preferred her purple coat and dress - but check out the cowboy boots!).

Playing at the Park

Now that I've managed to slow down my calendar at work a bit, I'm back to taking Mondays off to stay home with the kiddos. We had a great time this Monday. After having a relaxing morning at home playing with Brighton's birthday loot (above she's pictured with her new dolly from Grandma and Grandpa Bradley) - we took off to the park for some fall fun.

My Maxer enjoyed the opportunity to exercise his climbing skills.

While Bella relaxed on the bars.

And Max and Brighton had a great time going down the slide together. It was a lot of fun. It feels good to finally have life back to normal after a very busy fall.

Brighton's Second Birthday (Continued)

Brighton enjoyed all her presents. Here she is reviewing a book about a baby gingerbread man that Grandma Barbi gave her, with Elmo at her side.

Cuddling with her new ladybug from Papa Jerry and Pam right before bed.

The next morning, Brighton donned her new "Melmo" shirt and reviewed her new "Melmo" book - thanks Aunti Ali, Uncle Joe, Connor and Carter.

And here she is in her new "Sweeter than Chocolate" outfit - she wore the matching hat practically all weekend, as you can see from the photos. What a weekend it was - can't believe our baby is 2!

Brighton's Second Birthday

Holy smokes, our baby girl is 2! Brighton had a wonderful birthday party on Saturday with Grandma and Grandpa Bradley coming over from Twin Bridges, Auntie Kendall coming in from Missoula, Aunti Ali and Uncle Joe and cousins Carter and Connor, Grandma Barbi, Papa Jerry and Pam, and adopted Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Chuck (Cindy and Chuck are Carter and Connor's grandparents on Uncle Joe's side) joining for the celebration! It was a wonderful celebration - with an Elmo inspired theme ("Melmo" if your Brighton). She had a great day and loved being the center of attention.

Here's the cake!

And the Birthday Girl enjoying the frosting off the bottom of "Melmo" on "my cake."

And here is the Birthday Girl's personal table with her brother Max, Cousin Connor (check out that grin) and sister Bella (Grandpa Beau's dog Bob is also in the picture).

Halloween at the Bergeson's and Papa Jerry's

Heather and Robb Bergeson threw an incredible Halloween party for the kiddos, complete with hayride, costume contest, games, and homemade sugar cookies. The kids had so much fun - thanks Robb and Heather for a great night!

Here are Max and his buddies, Riley and Keegan posing in their awesome costumes. Below is a pictures of the crew heading out for a hayride through the neighborhood - the yelled "Happy Halloween" to all the trick-or-treaters as they rode around the block Eric and Amy provided the hayride, and it was a big hit.

Below is Bella modeling her Princess Leah costume. She won the award for "best hair" and was thrilled with her medal.

Later on Halloween we took off for Papa Jerry's and enjoyed posing for the camera on Papa's lap. It was a wonderful Halloween!

HALLOWEEN 2008!

What a night it was! The Murphy Crew celebrated the Star Wars Series this Halloween - with Bella posing as Princess Leah, Max posing as Luke Skywalker, and Brighton as the fearless R2-D2. Dad made an imposing Darth Vader (not pictured) and Mom was C3PO. It was a great night, with a Halloween Party at the Bergesons and trick-or-treating adventures as well.

Here is our little R2-D2. She was a loyal droid to Luke Skywalker and Princess Leah.

Max was a masterful Luke Skywalker - the Force stayed with him all night.

And Bella was a beautiful Princess Leah. This is the pose Princess Leah is in on the movie cover - and Bella posed for pictures in this manner throughout the night.

Max's Last Soccer Game

Max is an incredible soccer player and had a blast this year. It was amazing to us how far he's come in just a year. His competitive nature was a bit problematic at times (Max kept score every game on his fingers, although there was not supposed to be a winner in these games). He became quite the dribbler and by the end of the season was even passing the ball to his teammates. We were very proud of his good sportsmanship (high fives when his friends scored).

Here is Max and his team. What a crew!

This picture just captures Max. He was so proud of his medal, and wanted Brighton to see it and understand how special it was. He was showing her his medal and telling her "you can get one someday, too, honey."