Enjoying Fall

Halloween has come and gone and Thanksgiving is next week... where has this year gone?  It has been such a good year for our little family!  Now that we have snow on the ground it has made me realize that Christmas is right around the corner.  I am looking forward to the holidays this year- especially Christmas. My kids are at such a fun age- it will be magical for them! 

 

Before the snow fell we have been enjoying the beautiful fall weather- up until this past Thursday it was 70 degrees and we have loved it.  Here is a little of what we have been up to the past couple of weeks...

 

Halloween:  The kids got to go trick or treating in the morning at school and so they came home with a big bag of candy before the night even started.  Nate wasn't sure what to think at first, but after the 5th or 6th house he started saying "Trick or Treat" and then trying to eat all of the candy he was given. Olivia was a pro, but got tired after about 45 minutes and was ready to go home.  I was okay with that.  She probably had more fun handing out candy at our house than the actual trick or treating.

 

 

We got our family (just kids this year) pictures done.   Angie Harwood took them and she did a great job catching their personalities.  I was worried how they were going to turn out since neither child wanted to cooperate that day, but I think she got some good ones.  Here is a sneak peak:   More to come on our Christmas card. 

Here are some random happenings... the last couple of weeks I have tried to take more pictures since I went for a spell without taking any

Teaching Liv how to wash dishes....

Scott's cousin Sarah took Olivia to the Living Aquarium on Saturday afternoon.  Olivia loved it... she got to pet a baby shark and  touch a sting ray.  When we picked her up she was so excited.. she kept telling me we need to go back with our whole family... we may have to do just that.
 

We got a ton of snow on Friday and Saturday... about a foot of heavy snow that broke several branches.  Nate thought it was so fun to eat and to throw... he kept saying "more snow".  Olivia made snow angels and helped us shovel the driveway.  It was a fun way to spend Saturday morning.

BYU Basketball has officially started.  It is going to be interesting with these two kids.  We have only had three games so far and they do pretty good for the first half, but by the second half it is Nate's bedtime and he gets to be a bit of a bear when he is tired.  He is busy and wants to climb up and down the chairs- thankfully everyone around us has been really nice.  Olivia wants to play on daddy's phone instead of watching the game... sigh.  Oh well... someday they are going to look back and this and remember how much fun it was- at least I hope they will.

So tired...

 

We had enough leaves in the back yard this year to make a pile for the kids to jump in to- they loved it.  Nate would climb up on the trampoline (it is only about a foot off the ground) and would dive in.  Liv thought it was great to be buried in the leaves and keep asking us to do it again and again. 

Busy...

Life is busy right now... it always is, but since we have gotten back from New York I have felt like I have been running non stop between family, home responsibilities, work, relief society, and everything else and I am not finding the time to get it all done ... as I look at the calendar this week it is just as crazy... oh and BYU Basketball officially started this last week, which means we have basketball games at least one night each week until February... and the holiday are coming and I have lots of projects to complete... if only I didn't need lots of sleep.  Despite its craziness... I love my life!!! 

Here are a couple of things we have been up to...

We spent the weekend with my family in St. George for my mom's birthday.  We had a great time... the kids (even the big ones) played in the pool, we drove to the temple and walked around, did some shopping and the big girls went to Hairspray at Tuachan.   These were the only pictures I took... I think I am slipping.

 

We went and fed the ducks....

 

Played in the park trying to enjoy these last few days of warm weather...

 

New York Trip (Part 2)

 

I should have finished the post about our New York trip yesterday... as there wasn't too much left... 

 

Thursday October 4, 2012

 

Olivia and I went to Chase Farms and picked raspberries.  Nate and Daddy stayed home so that Nate could get a nap.   She thought it was pretty neat to eat the raspberries right from the bushes. 

 

Also on Thursday Olivia got her hair braided - it is so so cute.  A friend of our friend took me to a salon in Rochester and she got the full treatment- the nice thing is that is supposed last for a couple of weeks so that we don't have to fight with hair everyday.  If anyone knows someone in my area who braids, please give me a call. 

Friday October 5, 2012

We drove from Rochester to Kirtland.  We had originally hoped to run into my sister Chelsey who is serving a mission in the area, but she was transferred out the visitors center last week.  It was pouring rain and the kids had had enough so we made it through a quick tour of the Kirtland Temple and then a short visit at the visitors center... here are two of the sister missionaries that served with Chelsey until last week.

 

 I could not convince Nate to eat anything but cookies and chocolate (his new favorite word) all day, but I figured when he got hungry he would eat.  When we got to the hotel in Akron, Ohio he saw some leftover pizza sitting on the coffee table so he climbed up and starting eating away... silly boy.

 

We flew home on Saturday... poor Liv was not feeling well and slept most of the way home.  We had a 30 minute connection in Denver for our Provo flight and I was sure we were going to miss it.  Thankfully the plane taking us to Provo was also delayed and we made it home on Saturday night by 9.  It was such a fun trip... but it is good to be home.  I was off today due to Columbus day and it was nice to get laundry done, grocery bought, and get back to somewhat of a normal schedule before heading back to reality tomorrow.  The kids must have had fun because they pulled out the suitcases and played "going to New York" (Liv learned this from Lillian who taught her how to play "going to Utah"). 

Here are some pictures of the kiddos in the airport/on the airplane-  These were taken on Scott's phone and I am not sure how to flip the last two.

Nate charmed the flight attendant and she let him go into the back and play... those dimples do it every time.

New York (Part 1)

I am so glad that today is general conference- not only do we get to hear from our prophet, but we just got back from a fun filled busy week in upstate New York, Canada, and Ohio and I really need a day in my PJ's.  One of Scott's best friends and his family live in Rochester, New York and they were gracious enough to let us come and stay for a few days.  They have a little girl (Lillian) just older than Olivia and the two became fast friends- Olivia cried and cried when we left for Ohio on Friday morning.  Here is the highlight of our adventures:

 

Saturday: Sept 29, 2012

 

We went to the grape festival in Naples.  While there we got to experience Cindy's grape tarts (my favorite), grape pie, and grape ice cream. 

 

 

Sunday:  October 1, 2012.  Sunday was a rainy day.  After church the kids played and the adults caught up.  That night we got to visit our friends, Jack and Melanie Christiansen.  Jack is serving as the mission president in the Rochester, New York mission.

Monday:  October 2, 2012

On Monday we visited Power's Farmers Market.  While there Olivia got to ride a spooky (not too spooky says Olivia) tractor ride, the kiddos feed the llamas, we looked at pumpkins, and had some pumpkin donuts.

That afternoon we drove to Canada so that we could see the African Safari in Guelph.  The normally three hour drive took us a little over four hours thanks to potty breaks, dinner, and gas stops.  The last hour Olivia and Lillian who had been playing so well all afternoon decided they had enough of each other.  Also Nate had had it with his car seat.   Let's just say mommy was as ready to be out of the car as the kiddos.

Tuesday:  October 3, 2012
The drive to the safari was breathtaking- most of the leaves had turned and the colors were amazing.  The fall colors were one of the main reason I wanted to come East this fall and I was so happy we didn't miss them.   The African Safari was so much fun... we saw Elephants, Lions, Baboons, Giraffes and lots of other animals in their "natural" habitat.  At one point we had an ostrich pecking our window and a baboon on the roof- awesome.

 

 Wednesday: October 4:

On Thursday we drove to Mt. Morris in search of antiques for me along some more fall leaves... while there Olivia and I did a small hike to an amazing waterfall (Dad stayed with Nate who was sleeping in the car).  It was so pretty- the leaves were changing and falling from the trees.  Olivia keep saying to me "the leaves are falling??" as if she had never seen that happen before - she probably doesn't remember last year.  She kept stopping and picking up her "favorite" leaves.  I found a fun old breadbox that cost me a small fortune to send home, but will be perfect in my kitchen.  As we were leaving Mt. Morris on our way to Dinosaur BBQ we got into a small fender bender- thankfully everyone was okay and our insurance covers damages to the rental car.  Our rental car was a 2013 Ford Explorer and I have decided I want one- someday.  Stay tuned for more adventures.

Cute Kids...

I have two cute kids that make me laugh at least once everyday.  Here are some things about the kids right now...

Nate is getting to be quite the talker... most of it I still don't understand, but he is starting to put  words together.   My favorite phrase right now is "Mommy where are you?"  I have heard this from his crib several mornings this week.  He is really into cookies right now... this is what he wants to eat for breakfast lunch and dinner.  He is a very determined little guy and convincing him that he is not eating cookies for breakfast is sometimes challenging.  When either Olivia or I kiss him at night he says "Eww Gross" - thanks daddy.

Olivia knows all of her alphabets by sight and sound and is now learning how to write them.   She loves to write and is constantly asking me how to spell words so that she can write them... some of her letters are looking pretty good.  Her teacher told Scott that she is one of the smartest kids in her class.   She is really into "running shoes" right now.  I bought her a pair of sneakers for fall and she wants to wear her "running shoes" everyday so that she can run fast.  In the last couple of months she has started playing with her babies a lot.  She keeps telling me I need to be quiet because her baby is sleeping.  Daniel Tiger's neighborhood is her new favorite show- it is a new PBS based on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood.

We sure love these two little people!

Birthday Time

Scott's birthday was on Sunday.  We planned to celebrate over dinner with some neighbors, but Mr. Nate came down with a nasty flu bug and only Scott and Olivia made it to dinner.  Audrey at Aud Cakes made an amazing minion cake that was not only adorable on the outside, but tasty as well.  Happy Birthday Scott- we love you.