Pumpkins!!!

Last Saturday we went to Jakes's Pumkin Patch in Springville and picked some pumpkins. We had a great time, and E and H loved being around all those pumpkins.

Daddy and the Kiddos

E wandering around the patch looking for the perfect pumpkin

Mommy and H

H exploring her first encounter with a pumpkin

Daddy and E cutting our pumpkin off the vine

E and H with our perfect pumpkins.

Picture Time

A few weeks ago I took the kids to get pictures done. I just needed H's year pictures, but I decided to get some of the two together. I wasn't looking forward to this trip because E hates getting his picture taken. I was pleasantly surprised when E really cheesed it up for the camera, and the only fuss he made was when we stopped taking pictures of him and just took some of H. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. I am so glad that E is over his fear of cameras. Enjoy the pictures!

The Conclusion!

Well, we left Columbus and started our journey home. Somewhere in the middle of Missouri, we decided to stop for lunch, and we saw this.
There was an air show going on, and this huge fighter jet (I think that is what it is) just zoomed by, so we got out to watch. This plane would fly straight up until it's engines died, and then would freefall for 5 seconds or so, and then when it looked like it was going to crash into the ground, it would start up it's engines and take off again. It was so cool to watch it. E thought it was too loud. I would have gotten some video of it but the video battery was dead.

We made it back to Colorado, where we stayed for a few days before heading back to Utah. We had great fun again with family there. We celebrated H's 1st birthday.

Here she is with her Belle cake that JoDee and I made, and her presents.
H really enjoyed the cake.
Relaxing after stuffing herself with cake.

The next day we went to the zoo with the cousins. E and H loved the giraffe exhibit. They were able to feed crackers to the giraffes. Those things have very long tongues.


Cousins at the Zoo

H is getting tired.

We had to get a picture with the deer.

Like I said, we had a great time in Colorado. We played a lot more Rock Band on the Wii, as well as other games. We were so sad to leave. We are excited, though, because they will becoming out to visit us in Utah for Thanksgiving. We can't wait to see you guys again.

Well, we didn't leave Colorado until about 1:00 in the afternoon, and with a 10 hour drive ahead of us, we didn't get in till very late. We arrived at Jared's parents house in Farmington at about 10:30 that night, because we had to give them back the Tahoe, and pick up our car. We left his parents house around 11:30 and drove down to Provo. We pulled up to our place, got the kids out of the car, who were sleeping by this time, and climbed the 3 flights of stairs to our place. Jared reached for the keys and realized that we left our house key on the Tahoe key ring. I couldn't believe it. Here we were after 4400 miles of driving, and two weeks of sleeping on air mattresses and hotel beds, we were so ready just to get home and sleep in our own bed. Now we were locked out! AAAGGHHHHH! Luckily, my parents live in Provo, and they graciously let us come crash there for the night. The next day I was able to meet Jared's mom in south Salt Lake and get our house key. Finally, our long journey was over. We had a great time, but it is good to get back into normal life again.

The Wedding

After Chicago we went to Columbus, OH for the wedding of Jared's brother, Mike.

The Happy Couple
H wasn't thrilled about the high heels. I don't blame her.
E hanging out with Great Grandma Dayton.
H dancing with Daddy
E having a good time.
Mommy and E.
E stealing the cake.
E dancing with Aunt Becca.
E decorating the car.

We had a great time at the wedding. It was fun to see family there, especially Jared's sister who lives in Columbus. We don't get to see her often, and it was fun to see where she lives.

My Excuse

So, I'm sure all of you are just sitting on the edge of your seats, waiting for the conclusion to our trip, since I've only blogged about the first half so far. I promise, it is comming, it's just not this one. Maybe tomorrow. I do think that I have a pretty good excuse for my being such a slacker, and those of you who have been pregnant will know exactly what I'm talking about. Have you guessed it yet? Yup, I'm pregnant again! Number three will be here in May. Needless to say, I have been completely exhausted lately. Also, our neighbors moved, and they were our internet service provider, so I only have the internet when I go to my parents house (which is where I am right now). Hopefully we will get our internet up and running again soon. Jared is going crazy not being able to check ESPN.com every evening. (On second thought, maybe I'll take a little longer to get the internet going again :)
I do have plans to update the blog tomorrow, though, and finish the trip, and also tell you about the photography experience I just had with the kids. Thanks for being patient.

Road Trip! cont.

So after Nauvoo we went to Carthage jail. There was such a special spirit around the place. As soon as we stepped out of the car, this feeling came over us that we were on sacred ground. It is hard to explain the feelings as we walked around the place were the Prophet Joseph and his brother, Hyrum, were martyred.

After Carthage we went to visit our friends Steve and Kerri Madura and family in Chicago. We had such a great time. We had dinner with them and our friends Daniel and Heidi Harmon who also live in the area. Then we stayed up late talking about the good ol' days of secruity sales and cruise ship karaoke. We also watched some olympic events. The kids had a good time playing together. They started their own rockband. H even joined the fun. The oldest Madura took the cymbals while E played drums and H rocked the tambourine. I'll let you know when we release their first hit single.

Thanks Steve and Kerri for the good times and letting us crash with you!

Road Trip!

In August, we took a family trip to Ohio for Jared's brothers wedding. We decided to drive and take two weeks to do it. We drove Jared's parents Tahoe so that we could bring out some things that the bride, wasn't able to take home from college. The kids did great in the car, thanks mostly to the portable DVD player that a friend lent us for the trip.


Our first stop was Colorado Springs where we spent a few days with my sister, two brothers, and their families. We played tons of games, including Rock Band on the Wii. Jared and I discovered we are naturals on the drums. The kids enjoyed playing with cousins and toys and the giant bean bag.

We left Colorado Springs and drove to Independence, MO. There we visited the Independence Temple visitors center (the only temple visitor center that doesn't have it's temple yet), Liberty Jail, and Far West.

From there we went to Nauvoo and spent three days there. We had a great time seeing the sites there and going on the wagon and carriage rides. The Nauvoo Temple was beautiful, and we only wish that we'd had a babysitter so that we could have gone inside to do a session. We got prarie diamonds and a tiny horseshoe at the blacksmith shop, and a brick at the brick makers. It turns out that one of the senior missionaries that we met at the brick makers was a gentleman that used to live in Jared's home ward, Bro. Black. It was fun to see him again.

We stayed in a nice hotel in Nauvoo that had a swimming pool. The kids loved going swimming each evening after a long day of sightseeing. They loved the floaties we got for them, which made it nice for Jared and I, as it freed up our arms so that we could enjoy swimming as well.

One evening we went to the Cultural Hall (Which was also a Masonic Lodge) for the Nauvoo Rendezvous, a musical play put on by the senior missionaries about Nauvoo. Before it started, E got up on the stage there and would not come down. Everyone there thought he was so cute running around on the stage. We tried to get him to sing a song, but he wouldn't.







The Cultural Hall

E on the stage

I am going to have to do another post, cause I'm out of time and this isn't even the half of our trip. Check back later.