Trunk or Treat

We went to the church Trunk or Treat a few days before Halloween and all I got were two pictures. But the kids scored some good candy and had a great time!

Fall haircuts

The girls had been begging for haircuts for a couple of months, and they were overdue for a trim. Maddie before, with her toddler mullet:

  

Maddie After:

 

Emma before:

Emma after:

Autumn at the Arboretum

Autumn is my favorite time of year at the Dallas Arboretum. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but something about the fall just makes me want to be outside. (Maybe because the summer is so hot here that fall is when you can go outside comfortably again??) The kids love it too.

Andrew looks a little worried that the pumpkins are bigger than he is!

Maddie and Emma pet a goat with their friend Bridger.

Maddie likes to show her love with a full body hug.

Pretty butterflies!

The State Fair of Texas!

It's kind of an unwritten law that to be a Texan, you either need a gun, a truck, or to go to the fair. Since we don't have the first two, we decided this year to go to the fair so they don't kick us out of the state. Emma had the day off from preschool, we had free tickets from our museum membership, and Dave was able to take the afternoon off. We had a fantastic time, and I can't wait to go next year!

Waiting for the dog show. PS. Maddie's weird look is due to a mouth full of funnel cake.

The girls wait for the Backyard Circus.

Emma as part of the butterfly ballet in the Backyard Circus.

The obligatory picture of Big Tex!

On the Ferris wheel

View of the midway and the Cotton Bowl from the ferris wheel

View of D-town

The pig races!

Emma and Maddie with the butter sculpture

Fun with Grandpoppy

Dave's dad came into town in September for meetings at the American Heart Association. Lucky for us, he took an early flight and had the whole afternoon to play with us before his meetings! We headed for the Dallas World Aquarium, one of our favorite spots in D-town.

Feeding blueberries to the birds.

I have been there at least 3 times and have never noticed this sloth!

 I love their reflections in this one!

In the shark tunnel

Andrew: 4 Months

Stats:
Height:  25.5 inches, 72%
Weight: 13.3 lbs., 18%
Head:  15.8 inches, 6%
Size 2 diapers
Size 0-3 month and 3-6 month clothes
Andrew is definitely one of our children: tall and skinny!

Loves:
--Blowing raspberries
--Cooing and "singing," especially in the car
--Rolling over
--Licking stuff
--Sucking his thumb and fingers

Hates:
--Getting stuck on his tummy

Firsts:
--Rolled over, back to front
--Halloween

Personality Notes:
--Andrew continues to be a super mellow baby. He cries only when really really hungry or if he gets stuck on his stomach.
--He keeps easily to a schedule, and it keeps him happy. He sleeps 6 pm-6 am.
--While awake, he eats approximately every 2 hours.
--He loves to look around and observe the world. Even if he is really tired or hungry, I can usually hold him off from eating or sleeping by holding him up so he can see around.

Utah: Friday, 8/26

On our last full day, we went up to Salt Lake. We started with a visit to Temple Square, where there is a temple and a vistitors' center for our church.

Maddie and Emma check out the Christus statue.

Checking out some of the videos in the visitor's center. 

Statues of Joseph and Hyrum Smith on the temple grounds. 

Madeline relaxing.

Contemplating how she can jump in???

Our family in front of the Salt Lake temple.

 We had lunch and then went up to This Is the Place Park. It has replica homes and activities from the days of the pioneers in the 1850s.

Maddie doing the laundry.

Emma hanging the laundry up.

On the train that takes you around the park.

Utah: Thursday, 8/25

Thursday was perhaps my favorite day of our vacation. We went up to Park City a second time, this time to Park City Mountain Resort. It was so much fun! In the summer they have a lot to do--alpine slide, zip line, and even a mountain roller coaster! And never fear, there were rides for the kids too.

Unfortunately I don't have pictures of the most fun things--I didn't even think about bringing my camera down the zip line. Even the ride up the lift terrified me (I've never been skiing), especially when I thought about bringing up my wiggly little girls to ride down the alpine slide with us. Luckily they did fine, and we all had a blast!

Uncle Peter ( my dad's twin) on the Alpine Slide.

Tyler

Chris and Jordan

Emma on the carousel.

Dave and Maddie

Jordan

Emma on the airplane ride. Check out that view behind her!

Maddie

Emma, Maddie, and Jordan on the train ride

After we played for most of them morning and early afternoon, we went out to Midway to hang out at my aunt Trixie's house. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures, because she has a gorgeous house and is always so generous to host everyone.  We hung out for a few hours, then went into Orem to have dinner with one of my best friends from high school and college, Rachel. I don't have any pictures from there either, but for that I blame my tired kids. :) It was a fun, busy day spent playing with people we love!