Halloween 2011

Halloween always seeks up on us. We always have big plans for our costumes throughout the year, but suddenly October is half over and we haven't done anything. But at least we went to pick out a pumpkin this year instead of picking one up at Wal-Mart. 

Anna wanted the big one, but there was no way we were carving that!

Our ward did a trunk or treat. A friend of mine had a maternity pumpkin shirt that actually fit over my huge belly.

Minnie Mouse and Princess Belle

Anna just wanted to get started and had no interest in pictures.

Her best buddy Lilly was Minnie Mouse too!

2 trips to Dallas

Since Paul spent the month of October in Dallas doing a rotation at Baylor Hospital, we went out to see him a few times. We would have stayed the whole time, but after being in the West for 10 weeks, we were ready to be home.

This is how the girls spent General Conference...watching Netflix with headphones. 

Grandpa Iverson makes the best root beer...Anna drank nothing else.

Hattie zonked out on the carpet, a rare occasion for my high-energy 4 year old.

The girls loved "playing" with Uncle Daniel. He didn't seem to mind having pillows and blankets piled up on him. I am glad that they love him and play with him.

Anna, my girl who loves to line up her toys in perfect rows, made sure that she and all her toys were cozy on the chair.

Sadly, this peace and quiet only lasted about 40 minutes of the drive :(

On the second trip I took the girls to the Dallas World Aquarium...a totally awesome place if you are ever in the DFW area.

Hattie with the flamingos

Watching the penguins being fed

Hattie was so happy to be so close to a bird

 Hattie was terrified to go into the shark tank when I told her that we could watch them feed the sharks. She kept saying she wouldn't go in, and I wasn't going to force her. But once she got down there, she walked right on in to the tunnel...I don't think she realized they were sharks at first - just though they were big fish. Eventually I told her they were sharks and she just wanted to watch them swim and eat.

It was a fun outing with just me and the kids...makes me anxious for when we live somewhere with lots of stuff like this to do!

September birthdays

We missed Paul a lot in September. He would go to El Paso during the week and drive home for the weekends. Anna, being a total Daddy's girl, missed him plenty.

We celebrated Paul's 31st birthday when he was home one weekend. Of course the girls were more excited than anyone.

Hattie gave him a new cycling jersey, which she picked out all by herself. Paul was shocked at the color...not his typical style. But Hattie loves it and at least the cars will see him.

Books and games always make my husband happy.

And just 6 days later is Hattie's birthday. I can't believe she's four.

These little animals from Grandma were an instant favorite.

And, oddly enough, Hattie had been asking for a magnifying glass for months.

And what 4 year old girl will complain about a Strawberry Shortcake remote controlled car?

We had a party with friends to celebrate...Her buddy Juliet has a birthday just a few days later so the party was for both of them.

It was a rainbow/unicorn party.

Giving each kid their own helium balloon was the best idea ever...they loved them.

We made unicorn bags to take their treats home in.

 

Anna needed a little extra help pinning the horn on the unicorn.

And the pinata was certainly a highlight. Not surprisingly, the only 5 year old invited was the one to bust it open.

Anna could only lift the bat by holding it backwards.

And what party is complete without cake!

I love my little Hattie who is growing up so fast. She loves to play with friends. Every day she asks who is coming over to play. And she could spend hours every day at her desk coloring, coloring, gluing, and taping. She is always making books for family and friends. She has also decided that she will be doing her hair from now on, much to my dismay, especially since she does nothing to it and refuses to let me touch it. She is a very good sister to Anna, and is always telling me how she is going to help me with baby brother...changing diapers, giving bottles, and playing with him. She always is singing and making up songs. I think she will have a very beautiful voice as she grows up. She really is growing into a wonderful little girl. Love you Hattie!

3 weeks in Utah

Paul was signed up to do a radiology rotation at the University of Utah in August. I planned on sticking around Ontario with my mom while he was there, but once he got there he discovered how laid back the schedule was...8-5 Monday through Friday, no nights, no weekends. I figured we might as well join him. My mom drove us down to meet him. While he worked, we stayed busy trying to see and do as many fun things as we could. No trip to Utah is complete without visiting Temple Square.

We loved living in Utah before, and one of our favorite things to do was going up American Fork Canyon for a picnic. We are trying to keep that tradition alive.

We invited our friends the Peterson's along for one such picnic. They used to live in Lubbock...Callie was one of Hattie's best friends. Of course, I didn't take any pictures of adults. We miss the Petersons! It was great to have some game nights with them again.
Another highlight was the Gateway Discovery Museum...and they could have stayed all day.

Anna didn't quite get how the construction center worked, hence the tears.
We visited our favorite game store, where Anna lined up all the babies. She is obsessed I tell you!
We also went to Heritage Park at the "This is the place" monument. I had never been there before. I only intended to go for a couple of hours, but we spent almost the whole day there. The girls loved it and we could have stayed longer. They loved the pony rides, petting zoo, miniature village, Brooklyn replica, panning for gold, eating ice cream, making arrowhead necklaces, and riding the train.



While in Utah, we stayed at my uncle Len's house. He is always so wonderful and generous for letting us stay there. He doesn't have any toys, so on the days we stayed home, the girls tried to stay busy doing other things...like unpacking all our clothes and making a bed of them, for example.
We also went to the Hogle Zoo with Jenni Pratt, another Lubbock friend who has moved to Utah. Somehow we didn't take many pictures there...

And we also went to Thanksgiving Point with the Petersons. The girls were anxious for their pony ride...

And it was worth it!

This is my favorite picture...Anna's complete tantrum when her pony ride was over :)

We treated the girls to ice cream after a long, hot day in the sun.

And Callie has lots of fun dress up clothes

I was also able to see a lot of old friends from my BYU days, but somehow forgot to take pictures. Why do I only think to take pictures of my kids and not my friends? Anyway, we were sad to leave the west and head back to Texas...but it was so nice to be back in my own house with my own things and to not live out of a suitcase.