11.22.15

Twice in a three day period we had to sit at Jiffy Lube getting oil changes taken care of on both cars. The second day was the worst...like over an hour and a half to get out of there. This kid was a trooper and totally happy the whole time :)

We had friends over a few times this week. Both of them wanted to use the rocker at the same time. I love the compromise they came up with. It worked reverse ways too with S on the back holding on too. They are really fun together!

My sister had her anniversary this week. We kept her kids while they went to the temple and dinner. The giggles that came from swinging this way was fantastic!

We had to document all of the crazies at the park :) Yes, it was chilly, but they all wore themselves out! These kids are usually up late, but their mom told me they crashed that night. Apparently going to the park when its a little chilly does the trick!

Brett was out of town two days this week so I had to go walking a bit later with my friend. We took all the kids with us. She has 3 not in school yet (and 3 in school). I insisted part way through that she take S in the stroller and I would push her double stroller. She had her infant in a baby carrier. She was definitely working way harder than I was. S told me she was "so cold" when we got home that I bundled her up to help with the warm up process :)

Sometimes it helps to just change the mood if you make crazy faces and take selfies :)

I hate how rare it is that Hollywood produces a rated "G" movie. We were so happy to see that this one was :) She was SO excited to go, and did really well. Toward the end she was just kind of done sitting, but all in all...a good one. I loved the giggles she had every time Snoopy did something so funny! 

11.15.15

S had insisted that we take balloons to daddy's office for his birthday. She was pretty cute to watch picking things out, and insisting on carrying them out to the car. What a cute kiddo! She got up Monday morning and said, "It's daddy's happy birthday! I see it coming...over the mountain!"

We try to do things that people love most for birthdays around here. Brett's favorite are cookies. S insisted we have cupcakes since it was a birthday. So, we made cupcakes for S's benefit and cookies for Brett. It was a pretty fun time celebrating together!

We have seriously been working with apples and making applesauce. I have a friend who needed a hand. She has 5 kids, two of which are newborn twins. We did applesauce together last year and I offered to help her do it again this year. She came over for about 2 hours (as much as the babies would permit) and it took me about 8 to finish things up with her. We got 21 quarts for their family. Brett and I worked on ours on Saturday. We ended up with a total of about 45 quarts for our family, plus were able to do some for his parents as well. 

My sister had Veteran's Day off and wanted to get together. We hit up the dinosaur museum, went to lunch together, and then went up to the outlets. She had some things she wanted to pick up for her kids for Christmas. We looked, but didn't get anything. These two had a lot of fun together. I love that she has cousins to play with :)

water table play

the giant shark

My sister's kids had Friday off of school so she took the day off to spend with them. We went to the farm at Thanksgiving Point together. Since we have a pass S can have unlimited horse rides while there. The giggles, and joy that little horse ride emitted was priceless. She kept petting his mane while she was riding him. Such a cutie!

For Brett's birthday I gave him a night away. My sister took S after we finished up at the Farm. I took advantage of my time to clean the house, and get things packed up for us. We spent the night in downtown Salt Lake at the Hilton. I had bought a groupon that included one night plus $50 food credit to the hotel restaurant. This was one time that Brett's traveling last year paid off.  Because he had diamond status with them we got access to the executive sweet on the 18th floor (which had a great view), free drinks and appetizers with dinner, breakfast for only $10 (normally $40), and free parking. I'm so grateful for my sister and willingly taking S. We had such a great time, enjoyed downtown...Brett's still mentioning how great it was and how much he enjoyed it. Sometimes I am at at loss as to what to do for birthdays...but this was obviously a good choice!

Saturday night while we were getting S ready for bed she could see the temple out the window. She asked, "I go to the temple, please?" I told her it was too late since it was bedtime, but we could go the next day. It somewhat sufficed for the moment.

At breakfast Sunday morning S requested hot chocolate (pretty common these days...I think a mug might be making its way onto her Christmas list)...I had to take a picture of that mustache :) Notice that nice goose egg on her forehead, she was playing at grandma's school on the playground. According to her she was standing on the slide when it happened. Poor girl!

Sunday was a bit rough at our house. S was had a small fever so Brett came home from church early to put her down for a nap. He gave her ibuprofen and she slept about 1 1/2 hr. She woke up from her nap with a swollen eye. We are starting to wonder if she is allergic to ibuprofen since that seems to be the only possible link we could find. Add that to the goose egg and she looked like quite the site. Since we promised her we would go to the temple we headed out. She was SO excited and kept talking about Moroni, going there someday, "We got sealed there", and "Our family is forever". I love that sweet girl! It is amazing how much she soaks in! 

Mount Timpanogos temple

11.8.15

We went in with 2 friends and bought 1/2 ton of apple seconds. Most of them are very minimal as far as spots or things. They haven't been to bad. So far I have done about 2 bushels and gotten 28 quarts. We went through 30 quarts last year so, we wanted to have more than that this time around :) S was very helpful putting the cut up apples in the bowl as I sliced them. She was also my quality control. She would take a bite here or there and let me know if they were any good ;)

my little helper

our last quart

I bought a box of fruit loops solely for the purpose of S making a necklace...which she thought was pretty great, especially when I showed her how she could eat them while wearing it.

making her necklace

We were supposed to meet with an expectant mother (someone considering placing their baby for adoption) Friday night for dinner, but she bailed. Since that was our plan for dinner and I had nothing else ready we ended up going out together to Se Llama Peru in Provo. This really cool guitar shop was right next door, and was fun to look at before we grabbed dinner. We love trying out different ethnic restaurants, and S is always a trooper trying new things. I love how happy she is to try new things. 

We have weekend tickets to BYU basketball. We had our first exhibition game on Saturday night. We were supposed to meet up with my brother and his wife, but he had major car troubles. Sadly, it'll have to wait until another day. We didn't stay for the whole game, but the part that we did S really enjoyed and cheered for. 

Brett's family had a tradition growing up that they got to pick what they wanted for breakfast, and they always had purple cows. Brett chose biscuits, eggs, and sausage. I forgot to buy grape juice for purple cows, but we had OJ...so we decided to try that route. They actually were pretty good. Brett told S last week that his birthday was coming. She got up Sunday morning, looked out the window and said, "Dad! I see your birthday! It's coming!"

birthday breakfast

opening presents

S took throw pillows, laid them on the floor and told Brett, "Dad, I made a bed for you. Come lay down!"

11.1.15

A few things I want to remember about this time in our lives:

-This kid is fantastic. She loves anything we do together as a family whether it be work, travel, or play.

-We have been pretty solid with potty training for about the past month. There have been a few accidents here or there, but overall she's doing really well!

-Meltdowns have been less and less. We have had so much fun just learning and playing together.

-Often at bedtime Scarlett will insist on hugging us both together, accompanied with "I love you boths!" and insisting on kisses on both cheeks at the same time.

-I had a moment recently when I thought "what if she's the only one we're blessed with?" I instantly started crying tears of gratitude for such an amazing daughter and vowed to be a better mom living more in the moment with her. We are so blessed, and really feel like there are more children coming to our family, but are SO grateful for this one right now!

We started the week carving pumpkins together Monday night. S wasn't a huge fan of pulling the goo out, but was happy to get in the action of carving.

final product

We had a very spur of the moment Halloween party with friends. She had a few activities ready and I took a few with us...the result was a pretty perfect bit of time for 3 littles.

Halloween books

wrap a mummy

Halloween twister

pumpkin collage

S put her backpack on one morning and asked to go to school. She went down the front steps, then came and knocked on the door. We got out a chair by the fire to read stories, and sing songs. 

letter game :)

our letter practice

S has really been loving practicing her name. She does remarkably well with S's, but the times that she doesn't she very quickly become frustrated with herself.

My sister called on Friday and was having a rough day. Sometimes that just calls for a spontaneous lunch date. Thanks for a fun hour, Jess!

Nana and Papa did a Halloween party for everyone the night before Halloween. There were about 6 different Halloween games. S was up WAY past her bedtime, but she totally loved it! Nana always does super special things and makes fun Halloween treats. 

spider throw

mummy wrap

costume contest (must wear at least 10 items)

playing air hockey...for kicks :)

 We had one last outing to Cornbelly's this week before they closed. It was pretty chilly...and I should've had much warmer clothes for both of us! Oops! Needless to say we didn't stay long.

 The only picture I got of her on Halloween. She was to excited for much more than that. I love how much fun she had!