Gift from Grandma

Grandma sent Matthew a package in the mail with these stars and planets to play with in the bathtub. He was pretty upset when he had to get out :(

In this picture I told Matthew to give me a big smile and this was what he did-

Boo at the Zoo

We went to an event called Boo at the Zoo today. It was crazy busy, but lots of fun. We had to park quite a ways away and take the shuttle which Matthew loved! There were different booths set up where the kids could walk around to trick or treat. We even found some Storm Troopers posing for pictures which made the trip worthwhile for Brian!I had promised Matthew that the next time we went too the zoo he could ride the train, so here he is with daddy-

Yay 5k!

I ran my first 5k yesterday. The weather was beautiful! It was a pretty low key event, but I enjoyed it. I was proud of myself because I ran the entire length. At the end the only thing that kept me going was the cheeseburger I promised myself for after :) I was looking for Brian and Matthew at the end so I didn't check my time, but I think it was around 34 or 35 minutes. Not too bad for my first try!

Before the race

Anna (my faithful running friend) and I after. Poor thing had a cold and she still came.

Playing in the leaves

Fall is my favorite season. I love the beautiful colors, comfortable weather and crunching in the leaves. Here is Matthew playing in leaves that blew into our yard.

Halloween at the office

I thought it would be fun to have the kids in Brian's office get dressed up in their costumes and trick or treat in all the offices. Then the company agreed to buy a pizza lunch for everyone too. I think everyone liked it and we'll do it again next year.

My new favorite author . . . .

Elizabeth Gaskell. I know some of you already know about her, but I'm posting it anyway. I finished reading Wives and Daughters and really loved it. I also watched North and South last week and now I'll have to add that book to my list too. I like Jane Austen, but I found Gaskell's characters and plots to be a little different and refreshing.

Utah vs Wyoming

So we got to go to the game in Laramie. Brian's brother and his wife went with us and Nana and Papa took care of Matthew. We were prepared for rain and snow since that is what was forecasted all week. It rained all the way there and back, but it was sunny for the game. Towards the end we were in the shade and the wind started to get really cold. It was so much fun! I miss being able to go to every game. I just have to say that all things considered, this trip to Laramie was much better than the last one. Most of the Wyoming fans left at half time. The worst thing was all of the garbage that was blown onto the field. I just love college football, don't you!?!

Look how happy we are! :)

Morning and afternoon activities

I don't know why this is underlining!! I'm sorry about that.

I was inspired by President Uchtdorf's talk at the Relief Society meeting. I came home and made a list of all the things I wanted to create. One of the more pressing items was a home of learning, happiness and memories. I decided to try providing some more structured activities. Here are some pictures of a few of our activities.

I got a few pumpkins and a few simple craft supplies.

I found a book at the library about a cookie baker. We read the book and made sugar cookies (thank you to Melissa who let us borrow the cookie cutters).

We made colored ice cubes then put them in plastic bags to see the colors change. They are laying on our bed in the sun. Matthew really enjoyed this one.

Other activities that we have done this week are going to story time and going on a walk to collect leaves which we glued on paper. We cut pictures out of a magazine to make a collage. We made pizza for dinner one evening. I found a website that shows the letters of the alphabet that Matthew loves to look at. If anyone has any ideas they would like to pass on I'll put them to good use! I try to do two activities each day-one in the morning and one in the evening. I also make sure that we read together, have music time, go outside (while the weather is still nice), and go over scripture stories. I hope to keep this going as long as I can. I think Matthew and I get along better, that more gets done and that the television isn't even turned on some days. Maybe someday I'll feel like I have this motherhood thing down, right?

Boys and Guitars

Matthew likes to play guitar when we play Guitar Hero. Aren't these boys cute!