One of my most favorite traditions...

...is our annual girl's day to Park City. We've been doing this for so long that I honestly can't remember when we started. Traditionally, we went when Dad and Bryce went deer hunting and we'd stay overnight. We thought this was great because we got to swim in the hotel pool when it was cold outside! In the good old days (like elementary and junior high) the highlight of my trip would be to pick out a new Nancy Drew book. I'd probably read it the whole way home and almost have it finished by the time we got home!

It's no longer deer hunt weekend-we just try to find a day that works for all of the girls, as well as the guys, because they have to/get to stay home with the kids. It's much more relaxed with no children!

Last Saturday, I laid Molly down for her nap, had a baby-sitter come over until Justin got home from work, and headed up to Park City. It was a beautiful day and we hit the outlets on a good day. We shopped for hours, until we were all pooped out and ready for some food. Then we ate dinner and parted ways-me to Lindon, the others to Plain City.It was so much fun! I love this tradition but I do have to say...we missed you, Ali!

A couple of Halloween Parties

Party #1
Rachelle and Camille went to a lot of work to plan the Goodrich Halloween party. Unfortunately, it was the night that Molly was sick, so Justin went by himself. He looked pretty good, didn't he?I gave Justin strict instructions to take lots of pictures so I could see what everyone looked like all dressed up (and every single person did, in fact, dress up). I wish we could have been there, it looks like we missed out on all the fun!

The kids looked so cute!Matt and Camille5 Little MummiesWhat's this doughnut game called? Justin did have close-ups of all three girls but I'll use them for blackmail instead (haha)!I thought this video was so great; watch Andrew...

April and Gene
Party #2
My mom always has a Halloween Party on the Sunday before Halloween and this year was no different! Justin and I usually don't dress up, but since he had come up with such a great costume for the first party, we decided to dress up again for the Moyes party.All the kiddos (minus Gavin). Chloe was definitely not going to be caught dead in her cute lady-bug outfit!Molly, a cute little cowI was in charge of one game and stole one of Rachelle and Camille's, the mummy game. Each pair was given one roll of toilet paper and whoever got through with the roll first was the winner. Molly hated this game-I think it scared her! She was really concerned, first for me and then for Grandma. Chloe was a little worried when we first started too; then when she saw Molly crying (crying really hard), she started crying as well.It was funny to see the different strategies. Justin and Christopher just went as fast as they could, where Dad and Erin M. went slowly and ended up with very neat mummies.We also played "Witch, witch, ghost." Here is Chloe chasing Bryce. Molly was still crying and telling me she didn't want Grandma to wear paper towels anymore, so we sat this one out.

Then on to carving pumpkinsand eating Grandma's pumpkin brownie and pumpkin cake!Gotta love Halloween!

Nature walk, Flu shots, and Molly's new "crush"

I love the fall weather and it has been so nice lately. Last week I was itching to get out so as soon as Molly woke up from her nap we headed outside for a walk. Molly didn't seem interested in her stroller, so instead I pushed her 4 ponies in the stroller and she walked. We kept an eye out for rocks, leaves, pinecones, etc. and made sure we put them in Molly's bag to show to Daddy later. It was a beautiful, clear day. This is the view from the front of the culdesac (I have know idea how to spell that word) that we live in:We really do have a pretty view, with lots of trees and Utah Lake in the background. This picture doesn't show it off very well.

Of course, the Goldfish had to tag along. Molly dropped them just after we started down the hill. She then thought she had to pick up every single one.I soon distracted her by telling her to go look for rocks or something similar.

Stopping to smell the flowers.I did not pose this picture. She just automatically picked up the flower, put it to her nose, and said, "Mmm, smells good!"

Here are all the things that she collected.Being outside made both of us happy the rest of the day! (Not that either of us were grumpy earlier, there's just something about being outside on a nice day that makes everyone happy!)
*****
Last week, being the diligent mother that I am (haha), I took Molly in for her flu shot. She handled it like any other kid handles shots-she cried but then forgot about it. (Well she didn't really forget about it, but she got over it pretty quick.) I think her flu shot had the opposite effect it should have...poor girl, she was so sick the next day! She couldn't even keep water down! She has never, ever been that sick. I felt so bad for her. My dad says it was just a fluke and that next time she gets a flu shot (if I dare!) most likely it will have no effect on her. Has anyone else had this happen?
*****
Lastly, Molly has a new crush. His name is Brian and he is her nursery leader. The bishopbric in our ward was inspired (literally) to call a newly-wed couple to be nursery workers just a couple of weeks ago. Before them, Molly's track record for staying in nursery the entire time was very bad-she almost never stayed the entire time and since I'm in primary Justin had to take care of her. This meant at least an hour every week sitting in the nursery with all the other nursery leaders (all of whom were women) or dragging Molly to Sunday School and Elder's Quorum where she wasn't very quiet. A couple of times I took her with me to Primary but she ended up being too much of a distraction for my 5-and 6-year-olds, who already have a hard time concentrating!

So a couple of weeks ago was one of those days that Justin and I met in the hall after church and neither of us had Molly. We did the whole "You don't have Molly?" "Nope. You don't have her?" "Nope." And then we run to nursery to see her happily playing. We were pretty surprised, considering this had not happened in months. We thought that maybe it was the new couple they called to nursery. Last week she was horrible and didn't last an hour. The new couple wasn't there.

Here is how it played out yesterday: as soon as sacrament was over, Molly started clinging to Justin. (Anytime she doesn't want to do anything like go to nursery or go to bed, she says "I just wanna give you a hug." Who can resist that?) When Justin took her into the nursery, she immediately started crying and telling Justin to stay and play with her. Then she saw him, Brian, the new nursery leader, and she was as happy as a lark. She played the whole two hours and when Justin peeked in on her she was just following him around. On the way home from church she said, "I love Brian." Well, we do too just for the fact that Molly will stay in nursery if he's there!

Scarecrow Festival

For family night on Monday we headed to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. The weather was great, we thought we'd enjoy it why it lasts! Molly had a blast and Justin and I enjoyed watching her get excited over everything. She loved all of it and kept saying "Meggio, I'm so excited!" (By the way, she now calls me either Mommy-o or Meggie-o and Justin is Daddy-o.) We'd do one activity and she'd say, "Let's go find something else to do!"We paid one flat fee to get in (Molly was free) and then we could do any of the activities. This was nice-I hate when you pay to get in, then if you want to do anything you have to fork over more money! They had quite a few things to do. Here are some of the things that we hit:

The Spider SpeedwayI'm pretty sure Justin was the only parent to put their child on their shoulders! Typical of Justin.

Molly showing off her monkey balloon. Yes, I realize I cut most of the balloon off, but she shoved it right into my face, what else was I supposed to do?She was so cute and acted like such a big girl when we went to get the balloon. She told the man exactly what she wanted and said "Thank You" when he gave it to her. Standing there all by herself; where has my baby gone?

Molly and Mommy on the trainEven Justin got into it. He did the speed pitch and the rock wall. Go Daddy!Molly playing horseshoesThere was a tent set up with lots of little kid's games with only bales of hay to divide each game. Molly was just playing horseshoes (she had quite the round up) when BAM! she gets hit by a stray golf-ball-thingy. The little boy definitely doesn't know how to aim. This picture was taken right before she got conked in the forehead...oops! It didn't hurt her and she only cried when the boy's dad made him apologize!

Molly had fun picking out her pumpkin to take home. She tried to carry it, but it was a little to heavy for her.We also played on lots of bouncy things: slides, trampolines, etc. Molly had tons of fun with these!

We finished up the night with a scone and a caramel apple. Molly preferrred the caramel only and just dipped her finger in and then licked it off-I'm not surprised, she is our Messy Molly.

Just like old times...

Justin and I first met Steve and Jen Allen in 2004. We were new in our ward in Logan and they were just about our same age (Justin, Jen, and I are all the same age; Steve is much older). We invited them over for cake and ice cream when Justin turned 23 and have been best friends since. In the beginning, they only had Lindee and we had no kids. So we were at their house almost every night. Seriously. They didn't seem to get sick of us though! :) As more kids came (Jaiden, Molly, Taylor) we weren't able to get together as often (4 girls means naptimes, bedtimes, and we didn't fit in one car anymore!) but when we did get together we had the funnest of times! We played Settler's way more times than I can count, watched movies, made runs to Casper's ice cream, went cross-country skiing, picnics in the canyon, ate dinner at each other's houses at least once a week, and on and on. We got to be really close friends. Steve and Justin were both working their way through school and ended up having a lot of the same hobbies (biking, golfing, etc.) and Jen and I just liked to hang out or go walking.

Now we live in Lindon and they live in Murray. We finally had them come to our house on Sunday for dinner and some fun. We had Shredded Pork Burritos, a favorite of both families and then let the kids play while we caught up. Lindee, Jaiden, and Molly spent a long time on the tramp and eventually Justin and Steve joined them.They got bounced pretty high and Jaiden got a big scratch on her face (although this happened when the adults were inside, so we're not sure how she got it).

Lindee (who's only 4) has always been so brave and willing to try everything. So when her dad told her to do a flip, she just did it with no fear! After a couple of tries landing on her head, she mastered it. She was pretty good, sign that girl up for gymnastics!We thought that the 3 older girls would have fun decorating sugar cookies. Lindee was the only one who really enjoyed it, I think. She did a really good job; she got all her artistic abilities from her mom, who is very artistic (something I'm definitely not!).Jaiden decorated a few cookies and then escaped to go play with Molly's toys, which she loved.

And Molly ate most of her decorations. She would put decorations on the cookies and then take them right back off and put them in her mouth! Here she is showing off her cookie (which is half-eaten).We loved this picture because it shows how messy the table was, as well as how messy Molly was. Can you see the cookie actually stuck to her jacket?All the girls--Molly, Taylor, Jaiden, LindeeMolly had so much fun with her "friends." She told me on the way to the store this morning, "Mommy, I want to play with my friends again." I don't think she remembers their names, just that she had lots of fun and that she wants to do it again!

Today

Church was a little rough. Molly whined, cried, and wouldn't stay in nursery.

Justin, on the other hand, was well entertained. I think he did a great job staying in the lines.I think this is worthy of the fridge...

Monthly Update!

Molly is so much fun! She learns something new everyday and does silly things all the time. I like to give an update every month or so just so that I can remember the things that we laugh about in bed at night. (Yes, every night just before falling asleep, I fill Justin in on all the funny things our daughter has done that day.)

-Since Molly loves to help me make dinner (and breakfast and lunch), I thought it would be fun for her to have an apron. So I made one for her and gave it to her for her birthday. It turned out pretty cute, although a little bit too big. I was so excited to give it to her but she really didn't like it. The first time I tried to get her to wear it, this was her reaction:So I hid it in the dark recesses of her closet. I knew if she saw it she would say, "Mommy I don't want to wear that apron" and start crying just at the very thought! But last week when we were cooking dinner and Molly was "helping" she suddenly decided she wanted to wear the apron. So I got it out and really made sure she wanted it (I didn't want any tantrums). She really did want it and actually liked it!She ended up wearing it the rest of the night and would only take it off when it was time to put on her jammies.

-Mom bought us the cute Halloween gingerbread house kit for us to put together at the cabin. We thought it was something Molly would enjoy. Since I didn't want to carry it on my lap all the way home from Bear Lake (3 hours), we decided to save it and do it at home. I was excited and so was Molly. Sorry Mom but it didn't work out so well. This was our finished project:Molly was a little too overzealous in her desire to help and I used a little too much frosting on the bottom making it so there wasn't enough for the rest of it-oops! Molly enjoyed eating all the candy though. In fact, the next night when I was trying to get dinner ready, I gave Molly a bowl of the orange and black sprinkles to eat. She thought they were great-little did we know that they would stain her mouth, teeth, and fingers black!-Molly loves when Daddy gets home. Instead of waiting outside for him to drive up, she stands on a chair and watches out her window-it's pretty cute. One night last week she gave him a foot massage( I don't think Justin objects)

and then they played in her crib.Daddies are great, aren't they? I've never gotten in her crib to play with her and make up silly stories. Come to think of it, she's never asked me to...I guess it's just a daddy/daughter activity!

-One last random picture, only because I finally succeeded in getting her to actually look at the camera and smile, all at the same time! This is Molly wearing Daddy's bike helmet and showing Mommy her "happy face."Doesn't get much cuter than this!

-Since we got back from our trip to Yellowstone, Molly only calls me "Megan/Meggie/Meg" and Justin is always "Justin." When she first started this, we always corrected her and reminded her to call us "Mommy" and "Daddy." I've given up correcting her and answer to whatever. (It's actually pretty funny.)

-Molly is so independent that when I change her diaper she won't even let me lift her legs to slide the fresh diaper underneath. So for a few weeks now we have to say "Bum up!" and she kicks her legs up as high as she can, allowing us to get a diaper underneath her bum. She likes to play with a stuffed scarecrow that I have out for Halloween; last week I caught her laying it on the ground and then she said, "BUM UP!" like she was changing it's diaper. I laughed so hard and so did Justin when I told him later that night. Now each time she sees the scarecrow she says, "I told that scarecrow 'bum up.' That's pretty silly, huh?" Yup, pretty silly indeed!

P.S. If anyone is reading this can you tell me how much to pay a baby-sitter? After living here for 10 months, I finally got one of the Young Women to baby-sit Molly on Saturday. She hasn't had a baby-sitter since July 07 (besides family) so I'm not really sure how much to pay!

"Goin' places with smilin' faces"

Mom and Dad were nice enough to let Erin, Chloe, Molly and me tag along with them on their trip to Yellowstone. Thanks Mom and Dad-we had so much fun! Molly and I were gone for 8 days; it was great! We saw beautiful sights and, to borrow a phrase we saw on the back of many motorhomes, we were "goin' places with smilin' faces!" Yeah, kind of cheesy, that's what we thought!

Traveling
Mom and Dad have a nice, big Tahoe so we were all able to fit, along with our luggage. One carseat had to be in the very last seat all by itself but neither of the girls seemed to mind being stuck in the back. Molly rode in the back on the first day and we switched the second day. We had planned on switching back and forth but Chloe liked it so much that she kept asking to sit in the back! The girls were so good in the car; we tried to plan naps so that they would sleep in the car, and they did great!We also had snacks, toys, and movies that kept them entertained.

West Yellowstone
Mom and Dad have a membership to some condos all along the west coast. They just built a brand new resort in West Yellowstone so we were able to stay there. It was gorgeous! It had 2 bedrooms and a murphy bed (bed that folds up into the wall) in the living room area. Mom and Dad were nice enough to take the murphy bed and Erin and I each had a bedroom with our girls. (Thanks again, Mom and Dad!) The resort also had a really fun pool. I don't know who enjoyed it more-Mom and Dad in the hot tub or Chloe and Molly in the kiddie pool. I've never seen a hotel that has a kiddie pool-the girls loved it because it was shallow enough for them to play without having to have a parent hold them!

Chloe especially loved this game: they would climb out of the pool, stand on the little square that says how deep it is, raise their arms in the air and shout "Hooray!We spent a couple of nights walking around the little town of West Yellowstone. They had these painted buffaloes on almost every block that Molly loved. Some of them were amazing pieces of art.The girls were easy to please. After being in the car most of the day we let them run around the park in West Yellowstone. They were so happy to get out and stretch their legs!
Yellowstone National ParkWe spent a couple of days exploring Yellowstone. We didn't get out of the car as much as normal (all of you with 2-year-olds know what a pain it is to always unload and then load the kids up). We did get to see a lot of elk at Mammoth. Molly didn't want anything to do with them and Chloe was only interested with the elk potty on the ground.

The road to go to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone was closed so we'll have to go some other time. But we did get to see Old Faithful which is always pretty cool.It's amazing to drive around Yellowstone and watch for animals and see all the pretty sights. Our family was there 20 years ago when acres of Yellowstone was burned in a massive forest fire. It still bears the scars.

Jackson Hole
We couldn't be that close to Jackson and not stop there for some shopping. So after seeing Old Faithful, we left Yellowstone and headed to Jackson Hole, Wyoming.We spent a couple of hours just walking around and looking in the various shops. Before we put the girls back in the car (they'd been in strollers or car seats all afternoon) we bought them an ice cream cone and let them run around in the park. They were in heaven! It was so fun to watch Chloe and Molly play. They played so well together the whole trip and hardly ever fought. This is such a relief to me because a few months ago Molly was so intimidated by Chloe (Chloe's so sweet, sometimes just a little overwhelming for Molly who is shy and timid). Anyway, we had so much fun watching them make up silly games and laughing at each other the whole week!

Driggs, Idaho
We left Jackson and made the short trip to Driggs, Idaho to visit my aunt and uncle, Ray and Cherie. They have a beautiful home there with a gorgeous view of the Tetons. They also had some fun dinosaurs, blocks, and stuffed animals that Chloe and Molly enjoyed playing with!

We stayed only one night in Driggs and in the morning the girls had fun jumping on the tramp and running around the backyard. Ray played the toilet game with the girls...he seemed to have a few tricks up his sleeve for entertaining the girls! Probably from his times trying to entertain his 3 small kids on the flight from Holland and back (actually, I think Cherie did all the work on those flights, no offense Ray!).It was great to see Ray and Cherie, especially since they'll be taking off to Alaska in a few weeks!

Bear Lake
The cabin was our last stop and here we stayed for a few days. It was so nice to get to the cabin and just RELAX! Molly was happy to finally be in a place she was familiar with...I think we all were! The first night we got there we had a campfire. We had fun, although the girls preferred to play in the horseshoe pit/sandbox while the rest of us warmed up by the fire.Justin finally got to meet up with us at the cabin after his work week was through. Boy, we were sure glad to see him! After Chloe left, Molly was missing her playmate so it was a good thing Daddy got there when he did! We spent the weekend inside by the fire watching Conference. Between the Sunday sessions, Mom and Dad took Molly outside for a walk on the golf course but it was cold!Justin has Monday's off and he took Tuesday off too, so our little family had the cabin to ourselves for a few days. It was a nice vacation. We just relaxed, played pool,relaxed some more, and were able to fit in a game of golf. Justin golfed while Molly and I rode in the cart and watched. It was cold but after the whole weekend of virtually doing nothing, it was nice to get out.We had so much fun together at the cabin. After our golfing adventure, we got a little silly. We turned on music and danced around the room...and took this silly family picture!It was a great week, I am so glad that we decided to go! Here are some more of the pictures that I took: