Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Gratitude for Electricity



Last night for family night we turned of the electricity to our house to help us have gratitude towards some of the many blessing the Lord gives us such as electricity. This is a long time family tradition in the Stevenson family and I think it is one that we will continue in ours.
I was planning on just not using the lights but when we got home Rob had turned off the power. It was actually a better experience because it kind of got a little colder and it made me even more grateful to have electricity and have a warm home. As a kid I remember having this night and thinking it was really fun, and at the beginning I was thinking this is not quite as fun as a parent. It was rather inconvenient while trying to cook dinner.
But Eliza thought it was the coolest thing ever. She was so excited to have her own flashlight and you could just see the glow of happiness on her face. Liberty wasn't so sure whenever we enetered a darker room she would start to cry. I think she thought she was going to bed. It was a little bit funny.
We had a family home evening lesson on the brother Jared when he goes and has the stones touched by the lord to light up the boats. Then played Uno and had fruit snacks for desert. It really ended up being such a fun night. It was nice to kind of slow down. It felt like camping. I swear too that Eliza has had a better attitude since it. She has kind of been going through a difficult phase of testing out her independence and she was so pleasant last night and this morning. It was a great time and I felt like it brought our family closer. Thanks mom and dad for the great idea.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Family Photos




So I've been talking about these great photos we got taken a while ago by JTS Photography. I keep wanting to show the fam but keep forgetting to bring them with me, so here you go!
We had a really great time getting them taken. It was so great because his wife came so she totally got the kids to smile while he took great photos. I was so happy because I've been wanting good family photos but feel like everytime we get them taken they don't look good and we can never get one where everybody is looking. I loved that we also got some great candids as well. I hope to blow up the one of Rob and Eliza kissing Liberty and I, really big and hang it in the living room. I'd love to hear what ones are your favorite. There are like 150 so I narrrowed it down to a few of my favorites.




















Happy Halloween


We started out the day by going to Corn Belly's with our good friends the Teemants. Although none of the pictures really show it, Eliza and Maya had the time of their life and we stayed there a little longer than expected. They just played and played and played! Eliza was a little worn out for trick or treating.




Twinners!

The Pumpkin Princess.















Does it get cuter than this?
Eliza was a little sad that she couldn't go trick or treating yet. We were waiting for dad.
But she did take an excellent photo of me while waiting.







The big bad wolf is eating the little pig!







Finally some candy!




The big bad wolf and the three little pigs, at last united!


After Trunk-or-Treating at the church (we by the way are in charge of the activities for the ward right now and think it is a great calling!) we went to one other house, went and grabbed some Wendy's, and then went to Rob's flag football game where he got to play "underneath the lights"!


It was a great Halloween!






























































Stevenson Halloween Party




Striped pumpkin and crazy camera guy? Nope just Ted and Sarah without there costumes yet.


Annual Pumpkin Carving. We never revealed the winner, but I'm sure Hannah won.





Lots of Bacon? We're missing the Big Bad Wolf.





Stevenson Star Wars












McCain, Joe the Plumber , and Davey Crocket?



Bacon and Eggs.













Chelsea, you look hot!



P.S. Does anyone know how to fix my pictures? They are looking really grainy and I can't see a way to change the resolution on the pictures.

Frightmares Lagoon! It's what fun is.


Waiting in line was the name of the game.


Treats from Trick-or-treat alley! Scary!


Rob decided that it was ridiculous to have the kids all ride seperately because it took to long so he had Eliza meet a new friend.






Eliza in the Trick -or-treat alley.






So Eliza was really excited to go on the Tidel Wave. When the boat started she put her arms up. Then it got a little higher and the hands went down. Next she got a super frightened face and said she wanted to get off. I was feeling sick myself so I was hoping she wasn't going to throw up. I swear the ride went extra long. Needless to say it wasn't her favorite ride.

So when waiting for the umbrella ride I kept asking are you sure you want to go. I said it might go fast and you'll be brave. She said yes. So as the ride started going she yelled, "yeah! I like this ride!!! I like this ride!!!" She yelled this out loud the entire time. But it was funny because as it got faster she was still yelling it but with a face of panic. At the end she got off and said, "I'm brave!"






















Puff is a classic! Rob had to go on this ride so that he could talk to some guy who was talking business. He's always got it on the mind.





































When we asked Eliza what was her favorite thing. She said the choo choo.















Daddy helped Eliza in and out all day. What a great dad!



Eliza is loving it! This was her first ride and she was sold.














Mom and Liberty on the Carousel.














Ladybug blastoff! Even Rob liked it.













We took Liberty on the Sea Odyssey. I thought I totally knew how to keep her from getting sprayed, but instead she got sprayed right in the face. Oops! It ended up not being her favorite ride.


At about dinner time, we ate dinner with G&G Pigeons, then they so kindly watched the kids at Sarah's while we went for a little date night at Lagoon. Our first spot was Wicked! The line was so long but I had been waiting a whole year to go on it (I was pregnant last year and was so disappointed that I couldn't go.) With that much anticipation the ride was clearly a let down. But then we went on the Colossas. This is a classic! The best bang for your time. Then we ran down to do Blast Off and Re-Entry. We found out that a person's leg had gotten severed by a cable that broke on this ride (not at Lagoon). Yikes! Then we tried one lame haunted house. I'm kind of a wimp for haunted houses to Rob's disapointment. The whole day in all was a hit though. I love being with my family!