My fabulously fashionable friend Kara created a stunning ensemble for Shabby Apple's online contest. Now she's been selected as a finalist and needs your vote! Her ensemble is named "Times Square Countdown." Post a comment in order to vote. But do it soon -- voting ends tomorrow at 10pm!
I'm finally getting around to posting a picture of the three of us dressed up for Halloween. We look a little haggard after trick-or-treating. I think Stetson looks particularly scary with chocolate drool. I borrowed my princess costume from my cousin and sewed Lafe's knight costume. Lafe designed and created the front emblem. A good time was had by all.
It may be some time before I post new pictures. My camera is missing! Cross your fingers that we find it soon.
(Yes, this is our jack o'lantern)
Then we carved a pumpkin for Family Night. Stetson loved the goopy insides, but was a little frightened by the end result.
And Wednesday we took Stetson trick-or-treating at the dorms of a local university. He didn't quite understand why he didn't get to eat all of the candy right then. You can see, however, that he did enjoy a few pieces of tasty chocolate.
Although he wasn't sure of it at first, Stetson now loves his dragon costume. He even wore it to the grocery store this week. I'm glad he's gotten so much use out of it! We're excited to dress up and go trick-or-treating again tonight. We hope your family has a safe and happy Halloween!
With company in town, we headed out to the historical sites in Kirtland -- only about 20 minutes away. Although the forecast said rain, we had perfect, sunny weather while we were there. Stetson loved running down the paths in between the houses. We're glad we enjoyed the weather while it lasted; now we've got rain, hail and snow!
For you, Kara -- a picture of my new haircut. I think Stetson looks so old in this picture -- he's growing up way too fast! He can climb out of his crib now, so we're looking into a "big boy" bed. He'll probably do fine with the transition, but I'm not ready for it (the story of our parent-child relationship). It's still amazing to me when I hear him talk, saying things like, "I want" or "yeehaw!" (his two favorite phrases) It seems like every day he learns how to do something new. His favorite thing to do is snuggle up on the couch next to Lafe and share a bowl of popcorn. He's the man of the house when Lafe's at school, and I couldn't ask for a more wonderful buddy. Most of the time, he has me laughing out loud with his antics. My new favorite: he does a pretty fierce pretend scowl. Sometimes Lafe and I will be eating dinner and look over to find him scowling at us in an attempt to crack us up. It always works.
My seven random things:
Just a few days later, we headed to Arizona to visit the fam. When we arrived, we heard people discussing the nice fall weather (it was 95 degrees). Now I know for sure that the Arizona sun warps your brain. But we reveled in the sun (wearing shorts, not long pants like some people I know) and enjoyed all Arizona has to offer -- endless family time, delicious Mexican food, and MVT football games. Go Toros! I was able to be there for homecoming weekend, where the team won easily and my brothers and their dates had to be the best looking couples at the dance.
Hurricane Ike was nice enough to leave a present for us on our doorstep -- way up here in Ohio! We were quite surprised when this huge branch came crashing down Sunday night. Fortunately, there were no injuries or serious damage, although the shingles on one corner of our house took a beating. We hope to have it cleaned up soon so that we can use our front door again!
Where can you feed zebra, camels, llamas, white elk, emus, ostriches, pigs, and more? Only in Ohio.
We were all amazed by the different types of animals we saw up close. I was nearly attacked by a hungry ostrich! Way better than a zoo.
when we left.
Every morning in June my sister and her four boys would pick us up and we'd head to the pool. Stetson was not a big fan of swimming at first (it didn't help that the water was freezing!), but as the summer went on - and the weather warmed up - he started to enjoy it. He loves to sit on the side of the pool and splash with his feet. He also loves throwing everything on the pool deck (shoes, toys, sunblock) into the pool. And an added bonus -- swimming every day helped replace our Ohio winter pallor with nice Arizona suntans.
This moisturizer is amazing! Not only does it provide protection with SPF 15, but it also gives you a subtle sun-kissed look. I've been wearing it every day (plus spending a couple of hours every day outside at the park), and my face is starting to feel - and look - ready for summer.
I love peanut butter! I first tried this natural peanut butter at my parents' house, and then again at my neighbors'. Now I'm addicted. Unlike other natural peanut butters, it doesn't separate so you won't have to stir it. I love the purely peanut-buttery taste.
While packing your yummy peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunch, throw in some Quaker Simple Harvest granola bars. They actually manage to capture the taste of homemade granola, especially the cinnamon brown sugar with apples and cranberries. I originally bought them for Stetson, but I hogged them all.
The Backyardigans! I love this show, too. It allows me to take a shower while Stetson eats breakfast, plus it features fun music and great choreography. I must say, I relate to Tasha, who loves to play the boss. How can you not love a character who sings, "Queens are never wrong"? Lafe and I find ourselves whistling or humming the songs all day, and Stetson loves to bust a move alongside the Backyardigans.
We had a wonderful time during our Spring Break. We started out the week in Palmyra, New York where we were able to visit historical sites of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Although the weather was a little cold and wet, we had such a great time. I would definitely recommend the bed and breakfast where we stayed -- Liberty House. It was perfect! We stayed in the downstairs bedroom, but there are two spacious rooms upstairs as well. The breakfasts were delicious and the hosts so gracious. You can see just how much Stetson enjoyed the room. There was an entire wall lined with all sorts of books to read. But my favorite part was when we put Stetson to bed and then stayed up playing Scrabble in the parlor and eating snacks.
We spent the morning at the Hill Cumorah and Smith Farm, then we had lunch downtown. We ate huge pieces of pizza at Mark's and sampled some excellent fudge at the Candy Corner. After the publication site of the Book of Mormon, we went to the Peter Whitmer farm. It was a very memorable trip for our family.
