Church Halloween Party and Anna the Artist

We went to our ward Halloween party on Tuesday night. The kids will be wearing different costumes on Halloween, but I still wanted to document these costumes. Madeleine has been super excited about this leotard hand-me-down that I think is from Paul and Jenny's kids, so we decided to have it be part of her costume. I should add that her hand-me-downs from Abbey, Claire, and Emma are very much loved by her because she loves those girls. I threw together a little skirt for her with scraps of fabric and things I had around the house. She was a ballerina, Anna wore Mad's old witch costume, and Henry was Captain Adorable. He had a yellow blanket as a cape, but this was after the party, so the kids had ditched a couple of their costume pieces by the time I got their picture. Madeleine is really into Halloween this year and being spooky. I love that she's getting to be a kid. I also love that Anna absolutely adores Henry. So, this morning the girls were happily coloring on the ottoman in their jammies and I ran upstairs for something and when I came back down Anna was undressed and coloring on her tummy with markers. I got the camera and took a picture because she's just my cute little artist.

An introduction

I decided that it's finally time to start a blog about our little branch of the Reynolds family. Here is a little introduction to us and what we're up to.

I stay pretty busy taking care of these kids, cooking, and cleaning. I've decided that I'd like to go back to school and finish a degree, I just don't know for sure what that degree should be. Any suggestions are welcome. This week I've been thinking that an awesome job would be a high school librarian. I've recently realized how much I like to read (I've gotten more of a chance while nursing Henry), I think it would be fun to learn more about research, and teenagers crack me up. I've always thought that I would have some sort of business, and I have new ideas all the time, but never enough of the green stuff to get them in the works. Maybe some day...


Michael is the music teacher for Wayne High School and Middle School. We just got back from taking 3 of his students "up north" to participate in the All-State Choir. Michael collaborates with the drama teacher in the production of a musical each year. This year, they are performing "Schoolhouse Rock". The musical is in the beginning of November, so hopefully I'll be able to see it without the kids so that I can blog a full review. :) He is also working on his master's degree in education through Utah State University. We are very proud of Mike and the progress he is making to create a music program here.


Madeleine is three and has a very strong personality. I've noticed recently that she has an extremely vivid imagination. She loves coloring, painting, and playing with playdough. She also loves to dance and can't wait until she's old enough to go to the local dance studio next year. Madeleine is very social and loves making new friends everywhere we go. She loves to be outside, go for long walks, and play at the park.

Annaleise is one and a half and super sweet. She loves her "ba-baol" (bottle) and her "me" (binky). We really need to get rid of the bottle but she's just so sweet when she asks for it that it's hard for us. She learns new words every day and loves to repeat people when they talk. My favorite thing is when she sings the Strawberry Shortcake song. She absolutely LOVES Henry and smothers him with affection all day. Anna also loves her daddy, animals, baby dolls, and anything that is soft.

Henry is a month old and so far pretty serious and sweet. He just started giving us little grins. He is constantly hungry and is already about to outgrow his bassinet. I don't know what else to say about him other than we're just so happy to have him in our lives and are excited to see his little personality develop.

That's us in a nutshell. Hopefully I'll have something fun to blog about soon.