The best thing to do in October

What do you think is Morgan & Jackson's favorite thing to do in October?
is it...
A. Going to the pumpkin patch to find the perfect pumpkin?
B. Going on a drive up the canyon to look at the beautiful fall
leaves & enjoy nature?
C. Eating yummy warm soup & homemade bread on a crisp fall day?
or
D. Going swimming because it feels warmer than the day before?

Yesterday I was downstairs and came upstairs to check on the kids. (they had been
outside playing) It was kind of quiet as I walked into the kitchen & I wondered if they were up to
trouble. I then walked outside, just in time to see Morgan trying to turn the hose on.
Thankfully Brian had turned it tight so they couldn't get it on. As she was using all
her strength to turn the water on, I noticed that both she and Jackson were wearing their
swimming suits. Yes! Swimming suits on October 24th!!!!!!
I asked them what they were doing & to put their clothes on because it was cold & they would
get sick. (I started to sound like my mother & grandmother) :) They
then informed me that, "Mom, but we want to swim!" I asked them if they were cold, to which
Jackson said yes and Morgan said no. I told them that it was way too cold and that they
COULD NOT turn the water on (they were trying to put the hose down the slide so they
could have water on the slide--Can you imagine how cold that would have been!!!)
So, since Mom said no water and no hose, they decided to be creative.
They then both went to the drinking fountain, filled each of their mouths with
water, carefully walked over to the slide (trying to keep the water in their mouths
without spitting it out or swallowing it) & then Morgan spit out the water from
her mouth on the slide, and slid down in a little drop of her watered down spit. Jackson then
followed step by step, spit out his water on the slide and slid down.
It was DEFINATLY entertaining. :)

I had to take a picture of the cute baby sleeping. She is so much fun, but only likes
to cuddle with her bear. She has to sleep with this bear every night and loves to
say, "Bear, are you?" if it's lost. What a sweet baby!

A blanket for the Baby

Morgan had a great idea that we should make a blanket for the baby so he will be warm when he comes. She then told me that she wanted a rainbow blanket. :) I thought that it would be fun for our family to tie a fleece blanket for the baby. Jackson helped me pick out the fabric at Joanns. Morgan & Jackson both wanted him to have a blanket with lots of balls all over it, but the only ball fabric I could find had ugly basketballs on them, so we decided on this cute polka dot fabric. For family home evening we had a lesson on families, and the importance of this baby coming, and then we all tied the blanket. The kids loved it & did really well at tying the strips together. Hallie just loved wrapping herself in the blanket. Now the kids are trying to decide if they want to give this blanket to the baby when he is born, or for Christmas.

I love my Girls

After we got back from the little witch village (see next post) Hallie scraped her back on Jackson's bed. I came in the room to find her and Morgan like this. Morgan had grabbed a cloth & was cleaning Hallie's back so it wouldn't hurt anymore. It was so sweet!
I love how Hallie is just laying there & Morgan is being the nurse. They are such sweet little girls. They get along so well and Morgan loves having a little sister. On the way home from Salt Lake they were sitting next to each other in the car. At one point Morgan was teasing Hallie and I looked back to see Hallie pulling Morgan's hair. Morgan then started to pull Hallie's hair. I thought they would start screaming, but instead they started laughing. They are too funny.
Morgan saw that I was taking pictures of her and Hallie, so she wanted to take some of me and Hallie, and the 3 of us acting silly. Lovely pictures... don't you think. :)

Gardener's Village... Witch Time

My Mom found out that at Gardener's village they were having their annual Witch Fest. They have all sorts of witches around the village & lots of fun & expensive shops to go and look around in. The kids didn't have school so we decided to take them up. My Dad came along to and I think he loved being the only man out of hundreds of women and children. :) ha ha ha He said that everywhere he looked there was a woman with a baby. (We didn't know this would be the case) :) Grandpa & Grandma were very sweet to take us to lunch first at Wendy's where the kids each got their own frosty. Jackson sucked his down as fast as he could, and Hallie now eats her own box of chicken nuggets... is that a good or bad thing? :) The kids were really excited to find all the witches & Aunt Kaylie helped write down where they all were so we could get cookies at the end. We (I mean Mom, Brittany, Kaylie, & I) had such a fun time looking at pumpkins, crafts, witches, & little shops. It was such a beautiful fall day & the kids had so much fun.
Jackson tried on the cute witch hat or is it a warlock hat?
Morgan tried on this cute witch hat, but we decided not to get it since it was $15.00!!!! Maybe you can pull a bunny out of it or something to make up for the cost. :)
The kids didn't want to come near this witch who was waiting to have her picture taken with us. (no, she isn't real) I squeezed in beside her & told the kids they would be safe. Then I realized that I could feel her fingers in my side & started to wonder if maybe she was real. We quickly moved so others could have a picture taken with her. Thank goodness!

Pony Rides

Morgan & Jackson keep talking about how when they are bigger they will ride on a horse. I knew that there would be ponies there and decided to let the kids each have a turn. They had so much fun! I could tell that they both thought this was the coolest thing ever!
They each chose which pony they would ride while the other kids were on them. Morgan chose the big brown one and Jackson chose the big white one. They had smiles on their faces the whole time.
After the ride they were so happy & excited that they finally got to ride a horse.
I decided Hallie was too young & wouldn't remember it anyway, so she didn't get to ride. Plus, I would have had to walk around with her so she wouldn't fall off and walking in horse poop is not my idea of fun. :) This is her while she watched her brother and sister riding the ponies.

Gardener's Village Continued

The stores were so small and packed with fun things that they wouldn't let strollers come in. My dad was so nice to stay with Hallie while we walked in the stores. At this particular store Jackson came inside and foun this really cool giraffe and said, "Mom! Take a picture of me with the giraffe!" Oh, isn't that cute! Too bad the giraffe was $115.00!!!! Yikes. :)
Morgan saw Jackson get a picture taken with the giraffe and then wanted a picture taken with her sitting on the blue chair. They had so many cute things in the shop. Too bad they were WAAAAYYY out of our price range. We stopped at the little bakery and got some cookies. You could also buy a slice of bread for 80 cents. Thankfully we ate before. :)
We went on a little scavenger hunt to find the witches all over the garden. Morgan & Kaylie posed by the first one and then we found little Witchy Poo going potty while reading the paper. The kids thought that was pretty funny. Grandpa helped Jackson ring the bell but none of the witches came- Darn it!
Morgan and Jackson kept asking if the witches were real. I had to stand next to the witch and convince them that this witch was not real and that she wouldn't touch them. They loved looking at all the different witches, and I think they're favorite ones were these:
the witch talking on her cell phone.
the witch doing the hula-hoop.
the witch fishing in the little pond.
the witch riding her bicycle in the air, and
the witch that was flying to fast and slammed into the barn door :)

Silly Kids

The kids have loved laying on the stairs like this lately. They all yell, "Mom, come see us!" They are so funny!
By the way, this is Morgan's absolute favorite shirt! She would wear it every day if she could, and if I tell her she can't wear it because it's dirty, she asks if I will "hurry" and wash it so she can wear it... nope I'm not that nice. :) The little chick that Hallie is holding is something she and Jackson found in the storage room and decided to fight over it for about an hour. Sadly, I don't know where the chick ended up. :) And of course Jackson is wearing his favorite shirt. He has decided that we can now name the baby Lightning McQueen if we don't choose Spiderman. (We still don't have a name for the baby boy)
Here is Miss Hallie Belle on the stairs... a daily habit of hers. She has started saying "potty" lately so I have her sit on the potty really fast and then put her diaper on. I am not in any hurry to potty train her because I don't want it to reverse once the baby has come. Tonight after we put her in bed she laid by her door and said, "Potty!" Brian went and got her and asked her if she needed to go potty and she said yes. So, he took her to the bathroom, where she calmly sat on the toliet and then I put her back in bed. Brian then told me that he didn't know if she was serious or if it was just an excuse to get out of bed. Well, 2 minutes later, we hear a soft little voice and the bottom of the door saying, "Potty?" Nice try little chick! :)
Cute girls, as you can see Hallie is wearing different clothes in each picture. Like I said, this is a daily routine for her. :)

Caramel Apples

We LOVE caramel apples! Whenever we go to St. George we always stop and get some. This year I thought it would be fun to start a new fall tradition. So, during the Saturday Conference session we dipped our apples in caramel, then chocolate, and then we each had our choice of Oreos, butterfingers, & heath bits. They were sooooo yummy! The kids loved making their own apple and decorating it. Morgan carefully placed each little heath bit on hers, while Jackson just ate them. :)
I love this picture! This is what this picture says to me...
Brian is thinking, "Okay Meliss, I like the activity, especially the chocolate, but do you really want me to smile for a picture, let alone, do you have to take a picture of me?" :)
Jackson is thinking, "Dad, this is so awesome! I totally look up to you & think you're the best dad ever. When I grow up I want to be strong like you!"
and Morgan is just enjoying the moment. :)

The apples were a little messy, but definatly worth it!

Conference Weekend

I loved conference this year. I always look forward to listening to the messages from Pres. Monson and the apostles, but this year I felt as though I had gained something from everyones talk. I loved Elder Bednars talk about our homes, because that was something I had been praying about... What can I do to strengthen my home & my family? I felt that I got many answers there, especially consistency. I feel that this year with the challenges that Brian & I have faced, that we have been humbled, and because we have been humbled, we were ready to hear each of these messages. I feel that in the past I have heard all the messages and thought they were nice, but this year, both Brian and I felt the spirit bearing witness to our hearts that each of these messages was true, and that the Lord was aware of us. I love how the apostles & Prophet can each speak truthfully & open & that they don't beat around the bush, but they tell it how it is. I love that they speak with so much love for the gospel and Jesus Christ. I LOVED Elder Jeffrey R. Hollands talk--- what power and strength. I felt the spirit so strongly as he spoke. I felt as though he was as a powerful lion declaring the truth. What a great & powerful talk! I am so grateful for the oppourtunity to watch conference. It has been such a blessing to me. If you would like to watch it, go here www.lds.org
Morgan was really excited about playing bingo while watching conference. They started playing with M & M's ( a tradition I have had since growing up) and soon Hallie & Jackson lost interest and went to play. I heard them kind of quiet in the computer room and went to check on them. I found Morgan watching conference on the internet with her bingo all set up--- what a sweet picture.
We always bring the t.v. into the kitchen for the Sunday morning session and watch it while we eat a big yummy breakfast. The was the kids before breakfast was ready.
I love this picture, especially how close they're sitting.
Can you tell Hallie is full of it? :)

Morgan's Scrapbook ;)

Last night Morgan found a stack of old parenting magazines & started to look through them and cut things that she liked out of the magazines. I walked into the room and noticed her looking intently at this picture. I asked her what she was doing, and she told me she was cutting out pictures for her scrapbook. I then looked at the picture & started wondering what was going on in her cute little mind. Here is our conversation.

Me: Oh, that's a nice picture (as I'm kind of smiling)
Morgan: Yeah, I cut it out for my scrapbook.
Me: I like that the little girl is hiding under the bed. :)
Morgan: Yeah & the mommy and daddy are going to kiss.
Me: So, why do you think they are going to kiss?
Morgan: Well, I think they just made the bed, and they said, "Good job!" so now they are going to give each other a kiss. But Mom, her dress isn't modest.
Me: No it isn't very modest is it. (Thinking at least she is dressed this modest) :)
So, what are you going to do with all these pictures? (As I notice pictures of Disney World, Winnie the Pooh, Shrek 2, & a ballerina all perfectly cut out)
Morgan: Oh. They're for my scrapbook

Today Morgan plans on taking each of these pictures and gluing them onto paper in her scrapbook. I am so thankful that she can only read small words right now and did not understand what the title or first sentence above this picture meant. ("Tonights the night, Maybe").... I'm sure that would have opened up a whole new subject and discussion instead of just cutting out pictures for her scrapbook. :) I LOVE the innocence of little kids, especially her.

Morgan's Grandparent Day

Yesterday was Morgan's grandparent day at school. They got to choose a Grandma or Grandpa that would come with them for an hour of school. My mom said that we never got to do this when we were growing up because we didn't live close to any grandparents. Morgan got some homework this week to interview grandma & write some things about her. One of the questions asked, "What is your Grandma's job?" Morgan wrote down, "The laundry" I'm not sure where she got this idea, because we have never been to grandma's house when she is doing the laundry. :)
Morgan was so excited to have Grandma come with her. She kept asking me how many more days until Grandma could come to her school. They had been reading a book that week about a girl named Coco and how she wants to go and visit her Grandma, but they keep missing each other. Morgan told me that since she was sitting quietly and folding her arms, that she was chosen to be Coco as they acted it out. I had no idea they were actually performing this little play for the Grandparents until my Mom went and said that Morgan had played the main girl Coco in the little story they did. She even got to say, "I can't wait any longer!" Morgan & Grandma had so much fun at school. I'm grateful that Morgan has all of her grandparents close to her so she can build wonderful relationships and have lasting memories with each of them. Thanks Grandma for coming to Morgan's school!
Morgan loved having a little snack with Grandma. She was so excited that Grandma had brought cherry tomatoes... Morgan's favorite!
Everyday Mrs. Hyer has a question for the kids to answer so she can tell who is absent. The question yesterday was "How old is your grandparent?" Morgan put her paper doll un the 80 yrs old. When Brian came home from work and we told him that Morgan thought Grandma Smith was 80, he asked her how old she thought Grandma Karen was. She replied, after much thought, "90?" Sorry Karen, I don't think the whole "29" thing is going to work anymore. :)
Here is Morgan (Coco) & her Grandma eating apples underneath the tree where they finally met. ;) What would we do without grandparents?