In case you didn't know already, we are having a BOY! The due date is January 25th, but I don't really believe my due dates since Gwen came 3 weeks early and Ebony came 4 weeks early.In August we had the Paulson Family Reunion. The highlights were swimming, tennis, horseshoes, water balloon launching, pinata for the kids 10 and under, and of course, family dinner.
Karl's diving show
One of the funniest parts for our family (besides Karl's diving antics) was when my girls attempted to hit the piñata. Ebony got to go first since she was the youngest. She had no idea how to swing a bat, or why we were asking her to swing it in the first place. Gwen remembered pinatas being enjoyable but didn't know how to swing a bat either, so she swung the bat over her head and straight down on top of the pinata, knocking it entirely off the string. Thankfully, they figured out how to tie it together so that wouldn't happen again and the girls enjoyed their candy all the way home.
The Utah County Fair was held in Spanish Fork. We had a great county fair experience...maybe because it wasn't so crowded. We also didn’t have to pay to get in, we got a free parking space near the event, and everyone kept giving us free stuff (popcorn, candy, toys). We did end up purchasing the tickets for the merry-go-round. :)
We finally decided to pluck out one of our zucchini plants. It was just going too crazy, and I’m not really all that crazy about zucchini in the first place. We had way too much so we just started letting them grow…and grow….and grow. If not we might have had 50 more or something!
My girls love their fairy wings!
Rhett has been working in the yard very diligently to put our sprinklers together. What a job! When we first got the parts we just looked at each other like, "Okay, now what?" So Rhett figured out how to do it, and then did it! We hired out most of the trenching. Then Rhett's brother, Dax, came to help for two days, digging the rest of the trenches (and under sidewalks) and putting pipes/valves together. My contribution was to put all of the sprinkler heads together and put teflon tape around the drains/heads before screwing them into the pipe connectors, etc. Now we have all of the heads in, they just need to be adjusted. With a little leveling I think we are ready to plant grass!!! Whoo hoo!
We are excited about our garden. I took a free gardening class and learned a lot about watering, fertilizer, etc. Here is a picture of our garden and drip line in the beginning.
Here is a partial shot of the garden about two months later. This year we planted corn, tomatoes, green peppers, zuchini, cantaloupe, carrots, onions, green beans, and pumpkin.
Somehow a pumpkin plant started growing in the park strip. We think it's because of the pumpkins someone left there after Halloween last year. So...what do you do with pumpkins in August?
The dirty water...a pretty far jump for a 4-year-old.
Unpacking. The "Smart Move" packaging tape really was a smart move in the end (thank you, Dalon). The tape was color-coded and descriptive of which room the box should be unpacked. 
It snowed this morning so the kids went out to play in it. We are all excited for the time when I can let them out into our backyard instead of our deck.
Our new neighbors
We had snow earlier this month, and then the sun came out later that same day and dried it all up. Gwen was really excited and kept asking to go outside, so we suited up and had a blast playing in the snow before the sun came out. Ebony was a little scared at first, but then she figured out she liked eating it and was fine until she got too cold. It was so windy! One of my favorite things about having children is learning to love and enjoy simple things again--like fresh snow and making snow angels.
Our house hunt has finally come to an end--this month we signed a contract to build and purchase a house! After 5 years of renting we will finally own something! We are really excited to have a yard, a garden, and an attached garage! So we will be moving to Springville in a few months when it is finished. Here is a picture of our home so far. More home updates to come.
We usually carve our pumpkins for Family Night on the Monday before Halloween. Notice "Dora and Boots" by request of both Gwen and Ebony. (Rhett never ceases to amaze us with his carving skills--he doesn't use templates!).
Gwen and Ebony colored on their pumpkins, and then Grandma Kathy helped carve Gwendolyn's.
A witch, a bumble bee, and a princess. When I asked Gwen what she wanted to be for Halloween, she chose a Sleeping Beauty outfit from our dress-up box, along with a few accessories that made people ask if she was a Hawaiian princess (lei, flower headband). She wore the shirt and pants underneath to keep her modest and warm.
On Halloween day we went to Trisha's for a little party, Grandma Lewis visit, and lunch. It was great to be with Trish, Karl and Buffy, Shauna and Brody, and their kids. And it's always fun for the kids to be with their cousins!
We met up with the Norton side at Omniture for trick-or-treating. Millie dressed up as Tinkerbell and now Gwen is asking to be Tinkerbell for Halloween. I told her she can ask me next year around Halloween, but she cried when we left Target earlier today because we didn't buy a Tinkerbell costume! She is very persistent and has a great memory--I won't be surprised if she remembers Tinkerbell all year long until next Halloween. Just like when her "Ariel" birthday was over she asked to have a "Belle Birthday" for her next one (she still asks about it and it's been over six months! The funny thing is, the only thing that made it an "Ariel" birthday was 
Ebony can't have chocolate because most candies like that are made in a facility that also processes peanuts. So we let her eat the fruity stuff and I get the chocolate! Yum, yum!
