Chaos and Candy!

Happy Halloween! Today was a crazy but fun day. We were on the move all day long. Elizabeth and I were so happy that Matt had the day off of work...so we could all be together.

We started off the day by visiting Karla (Matt's mom) at work. She works at the new Intermountain Health Care building so we were able to take a tour while we were there. We had a great time visiting with all of Karla's co-workers and friends. They were all so sweet and gave Elizabeth a lot of candy. She knew just what to do. She would put the candy in her treat bag and sign "thank you". I am so proud of her. She is an amazing little girl. Elizabeth loved that everyone was paying attention to her. She was such a character...waving and smiling at everyone that we passed.

Next, we were off to my mom's work. There was trick-or-treating at each of the desks in all of the different departments. Elizabeth had so much fun running around to each desk to get candy. She was so good. She would go up to the desk, reach into the bowl of candy, take only one, put it in her bag, and then sign "thank you". By the end of the route, her treat bag was so heavy that she was dragging it instead of carrying it. I offered to carry it for her, but she would not let go of it. It was so funny.

After my mom's work we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Thayne's house. We had such a nice time talking with Grandma Great, Grandpa Great, and Aunt Betty. It had been quite a while since we had seen them. They were all amazed by how much hair Elizabeth has. It is getting long...and starting to curl! Grandma Great, Grandpa Great, and Aunt Betty were so sweet with Elizabeth. Elizabeth un-decorated their entire house and they were so patient with her. At one point, poor Grandma Great was holding every stuffed animal and statue from the entire house. Elizabeth is so blessed to have so many "grandmas and grandpas" that love her so much!

Later, we headed to my parent's house so that my dad could see Elizabeth in her costume. Elizabeth sure loves her Papa. She smiles so big whenever she sees him. While at my mom and dad's, Elizabeth even got to help hand out some candy.

When we arrived at Karla and Kelly's house, we were so excited to find that Samanth, Matt, and Jayden were visiting too! Jayden was a little dog...and was adorable. He is so chubby...I just want to bite his little cheeks. I was so happy to hold him for the few minutes that I did. He is such a sweet little guy and his smile melts my heart. What an absolute cutie!

It was so great to visit with Karla and Kelly too. Kelly was "flying" Elizabeth around and she absolutely loved it. She had a huge grin on her face and kept giggling. It was great to see her so happy.

I am humbled to know that Elizabeth is surrounded by so many people that adore her. Thanks everyone for making this a wonderful Halloween. We love you all so much!

Our Little Cowgirl...

Today, Matt and I took Elizabeth to the Petting Zoo at Gardner Village. Elizabeth loves animals so we knew that it would be a perfect family activity. I am so grateful for days that we get to spend together as a family!


I thought Elizabeth's favorite part would be riding the ponies, but I was wrong. She LOVED the Petting Zoo. I thought that she would be afraid of all of the animal...but no...she just walked right up to them.


She adored this little goat. She climbed right up and sat next to him. She kept petting him and thought it was funny to grab his ears. As you can see, she even decided to give the goat a hug. Now that is not something you see everyday...a baby hugging a goat!


Elizabeth spent the whole time running from animal to animal. She would stop for two seconds to look around and then she'd be off again. Poor animals...they didn't know what was coming.


Funny story...Matt was setting Elizabeth and me up so that he could take our picture. All of a sudden I feel Elizabeth holding me really tight and kinda snuggling in to my chest. I think nothing of it and keep talking to Matt about where I needed to stand, when I feel a nudge. I look over to see this giant donkey. I don't know what is more silly...the fact that we were attacked by a donkey...or that my poor daughter is scared, clinging to me in pure terror, while I am totally oblivious to the situation.


Oh well, I never said that I was going to win the Mom of the Year award!

I Never Win Anything!

I am so excited. I just checked the A Page 4 All Seasons website to learn that I won a $50.00 merchandise credit. I cannot wait to go shopping!

If you are interested in checking out their products...click here!

Pumpkin Patch Party

Elizabeth and I attend classes at Gymboree each week. Well, today was a special treat because they hosted a Pumpkin Patch Party. All of the children were encouraged to wear their costumes and the day's activities were based on Halloween.

Elizabeth was so excited. When we arrived, she just ran around and checked out all of the kids in their costumes.


She kept pulling on all of her little friend's costumes. It was as though she was trying to figure out why they were dressed so funny. There were so many cute costumes. Here are two of my favorites...a butterfly and a golfer.






Can you guess who this is?










If you said Michael Phelps...you are right!



Gymboree did such a great job with the party. They had some really fun activities. They had finger-painting, bobbing for apples, a costume parade, and lots of games.









Here Elizabeth is participating in the Gymboree Band. All the little kids were given instruments and paraded around following the teacher.









I love these shots of my cute little bumble bee...









We were so happy that MeMe could join us for the party. Elizabeth had such a great time playing on the slide with MeMe.
















By the end of the party, Elizabeth was one tired little bee.











Elizabeth always has so much fun at Gymboree. As we leave each week, we do the "Hip Hip Hooray!" Each parent holds their child and lifts them into the air as we say "Hip Hip Hooray!" This is one of Elizabeth's favorites. Well, today she did not want to go join the group, so she stayed in the play area and just raised her arms each time they said "hooray!".

Have I mentioned lately that I LOVE this little girl?

Barnyard Boo at Thanksgiving Point

This week we went to the Barnyard Boo at Thanksgiving Point. We have never been, so we weren't sure what to expect...it was lots of fun. I was so excited because Karla, Adam, Tifani, Kena, Kate, and Jack were all able to join us.

Here is Karla and Elizabeth looking at the goats. Elizabeth thought they were so funny!


Elizabeth has the greatest cousins. They are always so nice to her and include her in all that they are doing. I am so glad that we were all able to attend this event together!







Here is Elizabeth kissing her cousin Kena.

















Kate did not want Kena to get all of the love, so she had to come and give Elizabeth a hug. Kate is such a sweet, caring girl.











Elizabeth loved seeing all of the animals. She just laughed the whole time. She would chase after Kena and Kate and would try to see whatever they were looking at. I love this photo of the three girls. They are absolutely adorable. They were so excited to be together. We will definitely have to get together to do activities more often!


Here is Elizabeth on her first pony ride. I wasn't sure if she was going to like it (and at first she didn't) but in the end she had so much fun. She was smiling and clapping. It was adorable!

They had some really fun activities available for the kids. We got to walk through and see all of the barn animals, ride on a pony, frost cookies, get tattoos and balloon swords, and go for a wagon ride. There were a whole bunch of games available too, but our girls were a little too young to play. We'll have to come back next year.








Here is Kena with her Witch Hat tattoo. Elizabeth got a Spider tattoo but did not want to pose for me.









Here is most of the group on a wagon ride (Adam and Jack waited with all of our stuff). It was a cute little ride. They shared facts about Halloween and told a scary story. We even got chased by the Headless Horseman. I thought Elizabeth would be scared...but no she just stared at him and waved.

In this photo (from left to right) is Kena, my Sister-in-Law Tifani, Kate, my Mother-in-Law Karla, Elizabeth, and Me.

Thanks guys...for a really fun day! I cannot wait to do it again next year!

Wee Witches Weekend

The Witches are out at Gardner Village and this weekend was "Wee Witches Weekend". All of the stores offered craft items for the children. There were wagon rides, pony rides, and even a costume parade.









Best of all, Gardner Village was decorated so beautifully and there were witches everywhere!










I wasn't sure how Elizabeth was going to handle the witches. They are quite large and somewhat scary looking but she did great! She went right up to them...and even gave them hugs.


Although Elizabeth could not participate in all of the activities, she loved just running around and being outside. There were lots of other kids there, so she had fun socializing with everyone. She would run in every direction...it was hard to keep up!


Elizabeth is such a funny girl. When she gets excited she sticks out her arms, opens her hands so that her fingers are extended, and screams. I guess, she gets so excited that she just cannot stand it!









I love this little outfit. She wore it on Good Things Utah to help advertise Kamille's Be-Witched Halloween Bootique.
















I had so much fun with Matt and Elizabeth. I love to spend time with my family. I am blessed to have a supportive, loving husband and an adorable little girl.








I hope Elizabeth enjoyed her first Wee Witches Weekend. I know that I sure did! I plan on making this a family tradition each year.