Fun, Naturally

Micah did some research and found a little hike to some waterfalls close by. It's rad because the hike is next to a stream the whole time. There's something soothing about the sound and sight of water that I crave. Taj is a great little hiker, and Eden was dying to try. Soon enough Eden. Soon enough.

Let the Halloween Fun Begin!

Taj is sooooo into Halloween. He loves the decorations and is constantly saying he wants to see some and asking why some houses don't have ghosts and spider webs. It's bordering obsession. I guess he fits right in here because Utah is stupid with Halloween decorations and activities. (I mean that in the best way possible). He actually really likes some of the creepy stuff too. I kind of hate it so he knows that some Halloween stuff is just for him and Daddy cuz it makes Mommy a little nervous.

Amy, a friend of mine, started a blog with fun activities for kids http://amy-fun4kids.blogspot.com/ where I got the Q-tip skeleton idea from. He did a great job and loved making it.

We also went to "Barnyard Boo" where he got to go "Boo Bowling" and see all kinds of decorations-Yippy! He won a spider ring, Frankenstein eraser, and Eden got to ride on a horse for the first time. With two weeks until actual Halloween this is only the beginning of Halloween fun for us.

If Only We Had A Time Machine....

You've got to try this. Thanks Nicole.

Four Letter Word

Politics. Politics is a four letter word to me. I have never liked them or understood them much. I feel helpless and saddened by them, oh, and extremely uninformed. I usually just stay out of them (unless you count "The Colbert Report" or "Saturday Night Live"), but because of the current state of our nation and the upcoming election I find myself getting sucked in. I've even listened to parts of a couple debates and watched interviews.
Liz Rago, who I am proud to know, is doing a blog series called "30 Days. 30 Issues." It's been very informative and only slightly opinionated:). Here's the link: http://foreverkaili.blogspot.com/
All I know is that I think anyone that would want to be President right now is nuts. I'm grateful they are willing. It will be a long process to get America back to good, but I really feel like Obama is aware and willing to acknowledge that there are no easy answers. I like most of his plans and feel comfort from his firm stance. Again, there is so so much I don't know and understand. Can't we just elect Thomas S. Monson?

Pacifier Heaven

The boy love(s/ed) his pacifier. We never planned to give him one, but he came back to us from the dreaded baby boy surgery with one happy as a clam. It worked to calm him down over and over again.... who would turn that down?



We have slowly weened him off of it, and for over the last year he's only used it for naps and bedtime. We worried over getting rid of it because we didn't want to lose naps or have him wake up crying at night without it, and we thought we'd have a big fight over him giving it up. We started telling Taj that he was almost too old for a paci (way too old). Then we presented this idea to him. He was really excited about it and a day or two later we did it. It went off flying and he was happy as a clam. Luckily he still naps and sleeps great through the night. Every once in a while he will kind of giggle and tell us his paci is in the clouds. I'll consider myself to have dodged a bullet with that one. A situation where procrastinating worked out.

ROCKtober

October is off to a rocking start. On October the forth (and then the next night) we celebrated Eden's First birthday! Can I just gush about her for a minute? She is the cutest girl in the world after all. I love how she points and grunts at everything, gives kisses to every animal she sees... even snapping ducks and creepy black cats (for Halloween), enunciates "Uh-Puh" and whispers "Pop Pop", found her nostrils and can be found slowly sliding her finger in and out of them, knows how to fake burp and knows it's funny, has crazy hair, loves tomatoes and will eat them off the tomato plant until we stop her, she almost always reaches for me :), waves her arms and pretty much leaps out of my arms to her Daddy for their after work hug/hangout, can walk but chooses to hold my hand, loves to wear the Mr. Potato Head glasses, copies the sounds we make when we tickle her, dances whenever music is on.....
I could go on all day. She's our little sweetheart. We are so grateful to know her and are blessed to have her in our family.
We had a little Luau for her, and let's not forget the cake. She LOVED it, or at least the frosting.

As I mentioned before, it's ROCKtober.... Last night Micah and I went to a Weezer concert! Funnest concert I've ever been to, and I've been to some winners. It all started with Richard Marx. Any who, the seats we bought didn't exist or something so we got to sit in the 3rd row. After tolerating "Angels and Airwaves" Weezer came on stage. I think Rivers lost a bet or something because everything he said in the first two songs was in Spanish: "Como est as?" "Me llamo Jonas", and so forth. It was the kind of concert where everyone sang along and was super stoked the whole time. Unlike the lead singer of A and A they didn't swear and even mentioned their families. They had about thirty fans that knew how to play instruments call in a radio station in advance then got to go on stage to play "Island in the Sun" and "Beverly Hills". The penny whistler was especially talented. I love the Weezer! I challenge anyone having a bad day turn on some Weezer and not feel better. We were a little worried we'd feel like old farts there but then we saw the people that took their two year olds with them and realized we're just fine.

With a start like this I think I can get through the freezing temperatures expected this month. Lookout everyone- the winter Jill is just around the corner. Yikes.

To Market, To Market...

Every Friday there's a Farmer's Market that we (probably mostly just I) look forward to.
Tamale's, Italian Ice, Gardens, Fresh Produce... what's not to look forward to?

Lavender Lemonade

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When you make a lot of lemonade, jazz it up with some lavender!

Lavender Lemonade

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup (a generous handful) fresh or

1 TBSP dried lavender blooms stripped from stems

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained

Combine sugar with 2 1/2 cups water in a medium pan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the lavender blooms to the sugar water, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand at least 20 minutes (and up to several hours). Strain mixture and discard lavender. Pour infusion into a pitcher. Add lemon juice and another 2 1/2 cups water. Stir well and watch lemonade change color. Refrigerate until ready to use.

*My across the street neighbor is a Master Gardener. That's really what her title is. She teaches classes all over and occasionally teaches the Relief Society some garden stuff. She had a class with some taste tests over the summer, and oh my goodness-you all must try this. Savor it. Smell it. Love it. If you want some lavender I have a lot in my yard. Come by or I can even send some. Enjoy!

Big Wednesday

I know every kid does it. Every kid gets old enough to be dropped off at preschool, left to make choices all on their own, to learn, play, and experience stuff their Mommy will only hear vague descriptives about. It was a very exciting morning in our house because it was Taj's first day at Sunshine Preschool. He was so pumped for it and when it was time to go ran down the sidewalk to his seat and told me "Love you. Bye." before I had a chance to get myself emotionally seated and ready for "bye". I am proud he was so into it all. I am told he was a great listener and did everything he was told.

Wednesday was also Bennett's birthday. We had a blast at an alpaca farm. Carlotta here was a great sport.
I think I know where to go next time I need a sitter. They could have sat and cuddled this sweet animal all day.

Look at these two studs. They are both three this week and were totally showing it at the party. After eating and talking about how much they love chips they chased and tackled each other all around the pasture. Lindsay had to pull out the Texas sheet cake (so amazing) to get them to come over. It's so boy and a event I've been looking forward to as a mom of a boy. What a great day.

Pirate Taj

Three years ago yesterday our little swash-buckler (what does that really mean?) was born. Wow! We still can't believe it. We knew we wanted to make it special so Micah and I threw together a pirate themed party. About half way through the prep (a lot of prep) I worried the kids wouldn't get into it. They were REALLY into it.

First there was a treasure map from an old chest.

To find a pirates treasure we had to dress like pirates.
After a lot of excitement and "Arrgh" ing, we followed the instructions on the map. At the gate they all yelled, "Yo ho, yo ho, a pirates life for me."
There was another boat trying to get to the treasure first, so they all threw water balloons at it, and knocked a parrot down.
They pulled out their telescopes and finally spotted the treasure! This is actually the birthday cake and the reason we went with the pirate theme.
The kids seemed to love it, which made putting it together all so worth it. Having kids has been so much fun, and I feel so blessed to have such a sweet, smart, and fun little pirate.

I always wondered...

...what kind of people would pay to go three miles out to sea on a little boat and then after watching a skipper named Chip throw chum out to get sharks to come to the surface, get into a cage and immerse themselves in the same water where ten foot sharks were visibly swimming and eating. Who would do that? Honestly.

I was hoping to use my hair as a way to discourage snacking. Hairball.

She Did It!!!

This has been a big month for Eden. She's really crossed over from baby to little person. She gives kisses, has six and a half teeth, started carrying little towels or buckets around ( with my finger in the other hand so she could walk), pretends to talk on the phone, fake laughs and even says a few new words. Tonight she officially became a toddler. She was holding onto my finger after dinner as usual, then decided to let go. She walked herself to some toys with the couch helping her, then I moved away and asked her to come to me and SHE DID IT!!! At eleven months and without crawling. I'm so proud.

Captain Mark Rocks!

Saturday was family day at the beach. Mark Lee, I mean Captain Mark (according to Taj) took us out on his catamaran along with the Moffats. We had such a great time. The ocean was crystal clear.

Taj loved it almost as much as Micah did. Mark's a great sailor, Dad, and photographer. Stay tuned for some pictures he took of our family, or check out his blog at: http://holladayphoto.blogspot.com/ He's very talented, and we're glad to have him and Ruby and Atticus as friends. Thanks again Mark!

If I Said It Once...

I said it a thousand times. Having kids is a great way to do some really fun stuff you might not do otherwise. For example:

We have gone to visit a helicopter by Turtle Bay Hilton everyday since we've been here on Taj's request. Nana stepped in and decided enough was enough and gave us the coolest gift ever. We got to go on a helicopter! I'm telling you Nana, totally worth every penny.

We had an amazing time. I had no idea I would love it this much, I mean, Taj loved it. I love this pic cuz you can see Ziggy, the adventure dog that got to come with us. I never even considered doing it before, but as you can see it was a half hour of incredible fun. It felt like we were on a magic carpet ride.

Don't be shocked if Micah changes his career to some type of tall man aviation. It was amazing and we'll be going again as soon as we can save enough pennies.