Halloween Sunset

Thursday night we went on a pumpkin walk in the park.  While Ammon and India ran through, Maya told me what kind face each pumpkin had: scary, happy, silly, witch, cat . . .

I didn't take any pictures of the pumpkins because we were only there for six minutes.

But don't worry.  Ammon made up for it big time Halloween weekend.

Halloween Week

Cinderella & Aerial

Monster Mash at the library with Katie.

These sisters are so bossy to each other!  I asked India to take four more bites of yucky Cheerios this morning. Maya chimed in,  "Baby, bite. One, Two . . . bite.  Eat!"  Or I laugh when Maya grabs India's shirt collar and demands, "Baby, play with me!"

I grabbed my camera as fast I could to snap a picture of these girls playing the piano together.  

I really hope they will play piano duets together as they grow up!

Glittering herself for her party at preschool today.

Ammon and I ask her nicely to please stop growing up everyday.  

No Napper

photo from Zazzle.com

It's official.  India does not take naps any more.  Not because she won't.  Because she will.  She's so obedient.  She naps a minimum of 2-3 hours.  But then she stays up laaaaaaaaaaate.  Trying to wake her in a middle a nap is as deadly as roasting a jumbo marshmallow over an erupting volcano.  And so not worth it.

So, she doesn't take naps anymore.

Fresh Food

My favorite thing to do with lots and lots of garden tomatoes is make salsa!

This stuff is good enough to drink.

And we go through homemade salsa like gang busters.

(That's the phrase my mom always uses).

Chop tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, garlic, and your choice of hot peppers.

Drain or save excess tomato juice.

Add a bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, vinegar, lemon juice, and tomato paste to thicken it up.

I also added our favorite sauce "Jamaican Me Crazy" for extra spice!

Josie and I made bread together.

I'll let you guess which loaf was mine.

Unsupervised

An entire roll of toilet paper.

Dogfood in the mopping solution.

Nakedness.

Came home from store and found Maya changing her very own poopy diaper.

Face painting with eyeshadow.

I thought whatever I was doing was more important.

How wrong was I?

More Parks

Parks really are the best. We can't ever get enough play time in. Maya screams and throws a fit every time we leave. I take it as a token of gratitude. But it really hurts when she uses her head as a battering ram against my chest.

Preschool

First day back in September.

Why does she look so old?

She's only four.

One month later.

Every Thursday we walk India across the street to preschool.

And Maya screams every week when "Baby" (her name for India) leaves her.

But then we have Mommy and Maya time for two and half hours.

Or Maya plays with all of India's toys without India yelling at her.

It's awesome.

Last Days of Summer

It Should Be A Law

That soccer fields ALWAYS have playground equipment nearby.

Congrats Rachel on your soccer season!

We Rode the Gondola to the Top of the World

And this is what we found:

Clouds descending.

Appalachian Trail

Grandma Elizabeth

More of the Appalachian Trail

Cold, but still cute, girls.

Grandma Elizabeth & Nanna JoAnne

A point where you can see the Atlantic Ocean 97 miles away on a clear day.

Grandpa Jim

And more waterfalls back at the bottom of the world.

Log Cabin and Chicken Palace

My family lives in a quaint log cabin home in New Hampshire. And they also adopted eight chickens and a hen palace from Peter and Florence. I swear these chickens are not normal. They let the kids hold them. They look forward to seeing you. They are very sweet and soft and just run around the yard eating grass and bugs. And India had so much fun collecting their eggs throughout the day!

Sharon, Vermont

Mom took the girls and me to spend her birthday in Sharon, Vermont - the birthplace of Joseph Smith. I loved the recording of the Mormon Tabernacle choir coming from the surrounding woods. And it was fascinating to find out that the farm did not produce for Joseph Smith Sr. (the father) the three years he lived there thus prompting him to relocate his family to New York. However, every year since then, the farm has flourished. It is a small reminder to me that Heavenly Father's hand does guide our lives even through trials and failures.

India was unimpressed.

Memorial to Joseph Smith.

Maya enjoying the freedom to run around again.

Happy Birthday Mom!

We made homemade carrot cake from their own home-grown carrots. Mmmmmmm.

Hike

New Hampshire is gorgeous. Completely gorgeous. It has layers of rolling mountains that are intensely Garden-of-Eve-green that get bluer and bluer into the horizon. The hiking is incredible. We met so many people that had been backpacking through the mountains for 5 days, 10 days, 13 days, even 62 days!

David

My favorite. A waterfall of course.

What is the point of hiking if you don't come to the top of the world or at least some body of water?

India, David, & Nathanael

Jared

Maya

Lancaster Fair

I have NEVER been to a fair before. Ammon thinks the fair is for hicks and hillbillies. But I don't care. I indulged my hick and hillbilly side and thoroughly enjoyed everything about the Lancaster fair.

Grandpa & Grandma bought tickets for the kids to have fun on the carnival rides. India went on her first roller coaster ride and loved it.

But I thought the free things were way better.

India and Maya waving to all the animals we pass on our tractor train ride.

Nathanael & India

Jared's twin llama. He was for sale too.

Fighting for water.

It was hot.

David

Aren't these miniature horses adorable? I wanted my dad to buy me one to take back to Utah.  We bought feed to let the animals eat out of our hands. Maya was the most fearless. She did not flinch at all (unlike India and me who dropped our food for the animals). Afterwards, I got my wipes and sanitizer for everyone to clean up with. Then Maya got into the wipes while I was not looking and wiped the mouths of all the animals she fed. Can you believe the animals let her do that?

My favorite part of the fair was the tunnel of bulls we walked through.

They're SO big.

Moo.