Halloween Festivities

Besides the fact that Abbi was the cutest little Minnie Mouse ever, Halloween was a bit of a wash for us this year.  Since it fell on a Sunday, here in Utah, things were celebrated on Saturday.  Friday night, Josh's work had a Halloween party where kids could go trick-or-treating to all the cubicles.  We made it through 2 of the 3 floors and decided that Abbi had enough candy to last her a very long time!!  But she had a lot of fun going around and saying "trick or treat!"

Saturday rolled around, and in rolled a rainstorm.  We had been debating where to go to take Abbi trick-or-treating, but when the rain wasn't letting up, we decided to just let her dress up and hand out candy.  Well, we didn't even really get any trick or treaters at our house!  But we figured that Abbi didn't know any better, she already had enough candy, and besides - she got to dress up and that's what she really cared about!!

I did manage to take a few pictures of her in her costume before Josh's work party.  We were running behind, and as always, Abbi didn't really want to cooperate for pictures, but she is pretty darn cute!!

Sticker Girl

Poor Abbi - I was doing some pictures for Asher, and while Janell and I had our attention on Asher, Rylan and Abbi went off in a little field to play.  Abbi came back up, and she had these little sticker things all over her!!  I laughed, and then Janell and I set at getting them out.  They were the strangest little things - they were kind of like velcro.  They didn't poke you to touch them but they sure did stick - especially in her hair!  I'm sure it hasn't stopped her from playing in fields, though...

{Abbi-a-Day} Days 295-301

 Abbi is a total daddy's girl.  From the minute he gets home from work every night, she is glued to his side!

 Playin' in the rain!

 Fruit snacks are probably the number 1 requested thing in our house right now!

 Cute little cowgirl

 Someone is not happy (probably not getting her way!)

 Looking for pumpkins!

Playing with cousin Rylan

Pumpkin Fun

I love pumpkin time!!  We were so excited to go to the pumpkin patch this year.  We had a Saturday afternoon all planned out for the all of us to go together, but just our luck - it poured rain all day.  And since Josh works until it's dark at night, Abbi and I had to venture out on our own one day.

We went to a great pumpkin patch in Springville.  Not only did they have pumpkins for sale, but they also had a little petting zoo, a maze made from hay, and free hay rides to see lots more animals.

Let me just say, this was like Christmas for Abbi.  She loves animals!

She wasn't afraid to pet any of them.  They had some goats and a llama that the kids could pet.

Hello, cute llama!!

They had hay bales everywhere, but let's just say that Abbi wasn't cooperative to get her picture taken!

We had fun going through the little hay maze.  Although we ran into lots of dead ends, Abbi eventually led us out!

We went pretty late in the month, but the pumpkin patch was still pretty full - except for right around the front where you buy pumpkins.

On the hayride, we were able to see sheep, goats, cows and horses.

Then we went out to look at the pumpkins.  Like I said, it was pretty late in the month and there had already been some really cold nights, so some of the pumpkins were not at their prime.  But that didn't stop Abbi from trying to pick them all up!

We ended up just buying some of the already picked pumpkins, mostly because I didn't want to have to carry them in from the field!!  Abbi picked her own pumpkin and held it the whole way home!

When we got home, and when Josh got home from work, we set out to carve the pumpkins.

Josh got busy cutting the tops off while Abbi wanted to clean out her own pumpkin.  I was surprised how she just dug right in!

And she even thought that maybe they tasted good - but she learned quickly that raw pumpkin seeds and guts don't taste good!

Unfortunately, this is as far as we got.  Our pumpkins got cleaned out, but we didn't carve them.  I can't believe it!  But they are sitting on the doorstep, ready to go!  I guess it's a good thing that Abbi is young enough that she doesn't know any different!

You Capture - Autumn

I love autumn. And I love that I actually feel like we've been having an autumn here this year!! It usually feels like it goes straight from summer to snow, but it has been gorgeous this year. (Well, except we did have that snow storm yesterday, but it didn't last long...)  I am so grateful to live somewhere where I get to experience all 4 seasons!

First Snow

It's always crazy to wake up on that first morning when snow covers everything.  And there is something magical about it as well.

Today, we got our first snowfall of the year.  It was gone within a few hours, but it was pretty while it lasted!  And I can already tell that Abbi is going to love playing in the snow this year!

Pumpkin Party 2010

Every year, we all get together at Tami's house for a pumpkin carving party!!

This year was fun like every other.  We had scary themed food and lots of delicious soups.

And even homemade root beer.  These kids loved watching Garren make it - the smoke from the dry ice could have kept them occupied for hours!

And then there was pumpkin carving!!  Unfortunately, we didn't carve any pumpkins that night because Abbi was cranky.  I guess she didn't really know the difference anyway!!  But everyone else had fun.  I didn't take very many pictures - and I didn't get any of the finished pumpkins!

It was also Amy's birthday, so we celebrated with a spider-web Chocolate Lasagna.  Kirra and Asher also had birthdays close by, so they got sung to as well.

  A successful pumpkin carving party!!

20 Weeks

 

I can't believe I'm half way!!  This pregnancy is going by WAY faster than my first.  Maybe because my life is so super crazy right now.  Hopefully in  few weeks it will slow down and I'll be able to enjoy this pregnancy and actually notice what is going on.  Not much new to report this week except that I feel huge.  I'm not really having cravings for anything specific anymore, but I haven't really wanted to eat anything.  It's not that I'm not hungry, because I'm hungry all the time, but when it comes to actually eating, nothing really sounds good...

Book #65 - Shiver

Shiver
Maggie Stiefvater


Blurb:
the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future. (from Goodreads)

 

Length:  Medium - 392 pages

Notes: I don't know if I had just read too many teenage supernatural books at this point, or if there were just things in the book that bothered me.  I'll admit - I sometimes get caught up in the romance of these books, and then I take a step back and realize that these characters are teenagers - some just 15 and 16.  How realistic are these love stories, really?  This one was really a lot about the romance.  Mostly about the romance.  And this one especially bothered me because - BEWARE, SMALL SPOILER ALERT - there is teenage sex in it.  Not graphic by any means, but just the fact that it is there bothers me. I'm debating whether or not I want to continue the series.  I liked it, not loved it, and I liked the whole wolf thing instead of vampires or faeries, but I guess we'll see...

Random quote : "Some days seem to fit together like a stained glass window. A hundred little pieces of different color and mood that, when combined, create a complete picture."

Recommend: yes-ish

Have you read this book? Share your feelings!

Ultrasound!

What a crazy day!!

I had originally scheduled my ultrasound for Tuesday, but it was at 11am, and Josh wouldn't be able to make it because of work.  So I rescheduled for today during his lunch break.  Well, I get to work that morning, and they tell me that I had some deliveries to do.  Which would have been fine if I could have left right away.  But everything wasn't ready.  So I leave the office around 11am, hoping to get up to Salt Lake and several deliveries and still make it to my appt. at 1pm.  Well, the first delivery takes me to Woods Cross, where I can't find the place.  Come to find out, it's because they moved and we had their old address.  So I try to head back to my second place, but my mapquest directions are all wrong, and I end up lost.

Well, to make a long story short, I didn't make it to my ultrasound until 2pm.  Good thing was that there were several cancellations that day, so they were able to get me in ok.  Bad thing was that Josh still ended up missing it because he had to be back to work at 2.  :(

Everything went mostly well with the ultrasound.  He is definitely a boy, but I didn't doubt that anyway!  He wasn't being very cooperative for pictures, so the ultrasound tech never could get that perfect profile picture for me, but he is growing well and looks completely healthy, which is the most important part!  She said he was about 13 oz, so just a little bigger than the average at this age.

The only bad thing is that I once again have placenta previa, which basically means that the placenta is covering part of the cervix.  The same thing happened when I was at this stage with Abbi, but I guess most of the time the placenta will move before it's time for the baby to come.  It did with Abbi, so we are hoping for the same with this guy!  If it doesn't, then I will have to have a C-section, but since this happened before, I'm not too worried.  And it also means that I get another ultrasound in 8 weeks - so hopefully Josh will be able to come to this one!!

Here are the little guy's glamour shots.  Sorry for the x-rated ones - but he is all boy!  What a handsome little guy!

{Abbi-a-Day} Days 288-294

 Sleepy girl in the car seat

 This girl loves the backyard!

 Pretty Girl!

 Yes - coloring again.  This is a daily thing at our house!

 Chllin' in the car seat, eating a sucker and getting it all over her face...

I had to laugh when I looked over and saw her watching cartoons like this!

Blowing in the wind!