Happy Halloween

Friday night we had a ward Halloween party/Trunk or Treat. Bill and I were both running around all night and didn't get many pictures. Bill did take this lovely one of a grumpy Sandy.


Bill dressed up as the Man in the Yellow Hat, Sandy was a monkey. This is the only picture we got of the two of them together.


We did our traditional hot dogs/hot chocolate in the driveway and the missionaries stopped by, too. When I lived in Kentucky, we had a neighbor that would cook hot dogs in the driveway for all the trick or treaters and their parents. I thought it was a very fun tradition and have really enjoyed carrying it out in our neighborhood. We handed out 64 hot dogs this Halloween, and ran out of buns about 8:15.

Poor Abby always seemed to be sleeping or something and we didn't get any pictures of her in her giraffe costume this weekend. Here are a couple of shots of her today.

The Royal Ball Part 2

BookItPhoto took pictures at the Ball and made them available online for free download.




Here are the kids from our ward that were there:

The Royal Ball

Sandy and Bill went on a daddy-daughter date to a Royal Ball, a fundraiser for a little girl in our stake with cerebral palsy.

Here is Abby watching them get ready:

Sandy is ready to go:

Bill and Sandy before they left:

Princess Amerah sang, read a book, and danced with the kids.

Sandy was always close by.

Sandy got a butterfly painted on her face:

Bill and Sandy had a fantastic time! And the ball raised $2500 to pay for treatments for Maggie!

BookItPhoto was there taking photos and said they'd make photos from the event downloadable for free. I'm excited to see the shots they got of Sandy - Bill said the photographers did an excellent job getting her to pose. I don't know when they'll be up, a week or two probably.

Bill took some pictures. The lighting was really bad, but the ones that turned out are here.

Regional Conference

We had Regional Conference today. It was for 71 stakes and our stake was one of the ones invited to attend at the Conference Center.

Elder Evans of the Seventy conducted. Sister Wixom (General Primary President), Elder Nelson (of the Quorum of the Twelve), and President Uchtdorf (of the First Presidency) also spoke. It was a good meeting. They talked a lot about preparing for full-time missionary service. President Uchtdorf gave a pep talk of sorts; he also suggested three things for everyone to do: (1) Hold a current temple recommend, (2) read the scriptures daily, and (3) talk to Heavenly Father daily.

We left our house at 8:30 so we'd have plenty of time to find parking, etc. Then we ate the breakfast we had brought with us and let Sandy run around for a few minutes. We were in our seats by 9:30 -- the ushers told us to sit anywhere we wanted so we scoped out 4 seats on the end of a row near the back-- and then Sandy and Bill went walking around and were back by 9:50 to listen to the prelude music by the choir. The conference started at 10.

Why did we need 4 seats you might ask?

Yes, that is Abby sleeping in one of the seats! We knew space was limited so we didn't bring her carseat, but a 2-hour meeting is a long time, especially when it is right across her morning naptime.

My favorite binkie clip broke last Sunday and I haven't taken the time to find another one. After we lost Abby's binkie under the seat in front of us -- luckily the girl in front of us found it during the rest hymn -- I improvised a binkie clip using the strap of my nursing cover.

I was annoyed by all of the latecomers to the conference. The fliers that were handed out asked everyone to be in their seats by 9:45, the conference started at 10. There were people coming in all the way until the end. In fact, a lady got seated in the middle of our row at 11.

I really wish they would close the doors at 10. Maybe close the doors at 10, but let the people that are physically there slip in and be seated during the opening hymn. I was annoyed by the constant interruptions from the ushers throughout the meeting trying to find seats for the latecomers. They kept coming up to us and trying to take the seats we had for Sandy and Abby. Sure, Sandy spent part of the time on mine and Bill's lap, but 2 hours is way too long to not let her have her own seat! So every time one or both girls was in one of our laps, they'd come and try to get us to scoot to the middle so they could sit people in the girls' seats.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

It's my Dad's birthday today! We just talked to him over Skype, but I wish we could be there to celebrate with him.

We took pictures this morning on our way out the door for church:




This last one is just Sandy loving Abby, but you can see her pigtails in it.

I used to think this would be the perfect way to get regular pictures of kids. Just line them up and take their picture before church; they are already dressed up! That was before I had kids and experienced getting two kids up and ready for church while Bill is at early morning meetings. We are doing good to get to church without adding anything else!

Princess Ball

Sandy is going on a daddy date to a Princess Ball!!

It is Tuesday, October 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. at a reception center in South Jordan.

There will be a real princess, stories, face painting, dancing, food, prizes, and more! Tickets are $13 and 100% of the ticket price goes toward treatments for a little girl with cerebral palsy.

If you or someone you know would like to go, you can buy tickets here.

Big Day!!

For the first time ever, I was able to put two little pigtails in Sandy's hair! Oh, how I have waited for this day!

Sandy was excited, too! She has a friend named Ava that always has two pigtails in her hair and I told her we'd do it "just like Ava."

By the time she had pulled them out about ten times and brought me new elastics saying, "just like Ava" to ask me to put them back in, she looked more like Cindy Lou Who.


We went to Farnsworth Farms to pick apples and Sandy is eating her apple in the photo above. We were too late in the season for apple picking, but we did find two tiny little apples.

They had a fun play area so we stayed and played. My friend Laurel and her daughter Elise came, and we were the only ones there.

They had tons of Snoopy props - a piano, Snoopy's doghouse, a mailbox, and of course, Lucy's psychiatric help stand:
There were several hay bales and pumpkins stacked to make a fun photo opportunity:
But Abby was the only one that would cooperate, the other two girls were busy playing on the playground.

There was a metal plane the girls had fun sitting in.

And swings! Abby's first time in a swing:

There was a small corn maze:

This week Farnsworth Farms has their Great Pumpkin Festival every night from 3 to 9 p.m. It's free admission and they show Charlie Brown's The Great Pumpkin at dusk. They also sell food and tickets to carnival games. I don't know if we'll make it back this year, but I definitely want to go next year!


After we played, we were hungry, so we stopped at the mall to grab a bite to eat. Abby caught a nap in the stroller:

We took a ride on the carousel. I don't believe I've ever been to South Towne Mall before, they have a carousel right in the food court!

And, we took a ride on the train.

After all of that, I thought Sandy would sleep well! She fell asleep in the car, transferred well, and then woke up 20 minutes later. I guess it was too much excitement!

Abby was 5 months old this past Saturday. Today we decided to see how she likes rice cereal.
She loved it almost as much as Sandy loved feeding her.

Getting Ready for Halloween

Sandy is excited for Halloween! She points out pumpkins everywhere we go. So for Family Home Evening last night, we painted pumpkins. Sandy is holding the two that she painted; she painted hers and Abby's.


Abby loves her vibrating chair and she pull the little umbrella that makes music over and over and over again...


Here they are in their Halloween costumes.

All dressed up...

Sandy got herself dressed this morning.

I'm trying to remember to get a picture of both girls when I pull out my camera. Abby doesn't like her picture taken, but luckily her dad walked into the room and got a big smile out of her.

Also, you are invited to girls night tomorrow (Saturday) from 6 to 8 p.m. (during priesthood session) at my house. For those that are in town, I'd love to see you. Kids are welcome. It will be very low key - just some light refreshments and visiting. If you need directions or have questions, post a comment on my blog and I'll get back to you.