Waiting for the cold

I wake up in the morning and see the newly arrived brown-ness outside and immediately expect it to be cold.  "Bundle-up!", I think, as I get the kids clothes ready for the day.  We finally venture outside for some play and eventually peel the excess layers off because it is not cold, in fact, the sun is warm and the air has no hint of crispness in it.

Cold.  This one ingredient is missing from the winter soup.  When will it get here?

 

I made these countdown blocks at craft night last night.  Since the numbers only go to 31, Jon used a post-it to get us where we need to be. 

Bush Family Pictures

It's been 4 years and 4 babies since our last family picture with Jon's family.  So we gathered the screaming children and scrambled to get a few decent shots.  The shoot was full of classic, accidental funny faces and hand gestures from the children.  Luckily, we managed to take some keepers.

The family 4 years ago:

At present:

Happy Halloween, Mamma.

We've been talking about Halloween for weeks, mostly because I love it.  Jonah has been giving orders on how I need to finish painting his costume and he can't stop talking about the pumpkin patch and "carring" pumpkins (I'm not sure what he thinks this is, exactly).  So when Halloween morning arrived, I went to get Jonah out of bed and said, "Happy Halloween!"  I was greeted throughout the day (and following days) with Jonah saying, "Happy Halloween, Mamma!"  What a blessed boy.

Sophie tolerated the trick or treating just fine and even enjoyed her first Dum Dum sucker after her brother was so kind and asked for 2 treats--one for him and one for his Sophie Sue.

Jonah was too grossed out to put his hand in the pumpkin--you can see he's obviously troubled.

Bob the Builder

Our little leaf fairy

Jonah trick or treats like a pro

Happy Halloween!

All in the name of Fall

Fall is my most favorite time of year.  It invokes a need for all things cozy, colorful, and nostalgic.  I took the kids to a pumpkin patch this year and we had so much fun!  We'll definitely be making this a tradition.

Jonah with cousin Kenneth

Sophie waits patiently

All the cousins on the tractor train

St. George Marathon

I can't believe the marathon has come and gone.  To be honest, I've been dreading it all summer.  I didn't train the way I should have and I wasn't confident in my ability to have a good race.  But we saddled up last weekend and drove down to stay with Jake and Annie for the weekend.

I got about 3 hours (a generous estimate) of sleep the night before the race.  Thank goodness it doesn't really matter how much sleep you get the night before, but rather the few days leading up to the race.

I felt really good during the race and wasn't surprised with any weird pains or cramps even at mile 20.  Once I looked at my watch at mile 22, I knew I was going to get a PR.

I waited at the finish line for a while thinking Jon and the kids would be there momentarily to claim their runner.  I ended up using a nice man's cell phone to call Jon and he had no idea I had finished.  He was moving spectator positions just as I went by!  Oh well, the guy pushing a wheelchair in front of me produced wild cheering from the crowd, which I conveniently used to propel myself to the finish.

Anyway, I'm thrilled with how I did and contrary to what I was saying before the race, I'm looking for more marathons in the near future.

We had a great time with Jake and Annie and the girls.  We left exhausted and enjoyed the rest of the weekend listening to General Conference and snuggling in sweats and blankets.

Post-race snow cones

 

The Ball Pit: The source of much fun

 

Story Time

Shop 'til you drop

My dear friend, Bethany, got married over Labor Day weekend in the Newport Beach Temple.  I had been long awaiting this day (less than she had, I'm sure) and decided that I had to make the trip no matter what.  I'm still nursing Sophie so the only way I could make the trip was to have someone come with me to watch her during the wedding.  I sent a few emails and only a couple of days later, it was made into a girl's trip.  My mom, Linda, and Laura all came with me.

We stayed in Santa Ana and traveled all around LA and even down to Carlsbad for some serious shopping.  Let me tell you, a shopping trip with the Green girls is not for the faint-hearted.  Sophie was such a trooper and behaved extremely well for not having any formal naps.

I took my Baby Bjorn but didn't take a stroller.  As we walked around the Fashion District in LA in the 100 degree heat, I realized that was a big mistake.  Luckily, the vendors are experienced in what people will pay money for and we were able to find a little umbrella stroller which definitely paid for itself by the end of the trip.

Bethany in the middle: Bride's Night Out

Beautiful Newport Beach Temple

Happy Bride and Groom

Me and Bethany

 

Momma and Sophie on the beach in Carlsbad

Sophie's first time walking on the beach.  She was thrilled!

Jonah's Locks

Jonah has lovely hair.  I wish I had his hair.  I hate cutting it.  But a couple of weeks ago, I did.  I almost cried that night as I tried to fall asleep.  I'm used to it now and it is already starting to grow back out.  He has already had 5 or so haircuts but it never gets easier.

Bath time

 

Sophie Sue...deer in headlights?

 

Before haircut...that hair just makes my heart melt!

 

After haircut.  Still as handsome as ever.

This too shall pass

This morning began like every other:  Sophie woke up, followed by her brother Jonah.  Jonah went potty and got dressed and we all gathered in the kitchen for breakfast.  I put Sophie in her high chair, turned on Playhouse Disney, and started making breakfast.  Sophie squeaks and whines because if she has to sit in her high chair, she MUST be eating.  I endured her protests while I made Jonah's oatmeal and my croissant and hot chocolate.  I looked over several times to reassure her that I was coming.  I noticed she was chewing on something but didn't give her a second glance because I figured it was just an abandoned goldfish from a past meal.  I was just glad she was quiet for a few minutes.

After breakfast I got her ready for her nap and while changing her clothes, I noticed one of her earrings was missing.  I checked her bed, clothes, blankets, retraced my steps from this morning's routine, and couldn't find it anywhere.  I checked her high chair and the area around it and found the back to her earring.  I felt confident I'd also find the earring.  Then it hit me!  She probably swallowed it!  She must have been chewing on her earring when I was making breakfast!!

A few Google searches and a consultation with my mother-in-law put me at ease.  She wasn't in pain and had fallen right asleep.  My title, in addition to Mother, for the next few days will be baby poop dissector.  I hope I find that little, black, onyx earring.

Vivians in Santa Fe

A few weeks ago, Sophie and I took a trip to Santa Fe for our annual Indian Market gathering with the girls.  It was Sophie's first time going and she did wonderfully.  She slept in the closet in our hotel room (don't report me to DCFS...it was dark, quiet, and she loved it).

Indian Market is full of beautiful artwork, jewelry, and culture.  Other than walking around the plaza and seeing the artists and their work, we like to visit the Georgia O'Keefe museum, eat at Tomassitas (among other delicious New Mexican restaurants), make several trips to Trader Joe's, and relax in our hotel room.

Each year we like to have a "Vivian Project" where we use our creative juices to make something for one of the other ladies in our group.  If you're wondering about the meaning of "Vivian", well...that's a whole other post which probably wouldn't make much sense until you came on one of our trips.  This year we made tiaras for each other and I got to make one for my mom.  I opted not to go too cheesy with it.  I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

The Vivians

 

Audra, Me, Laura, Mom, and Sophie Sue

 

Tiara made by Joan

 

Mom's Tiara

Plane ride home

Thank you, to my dear Vivians, for a wonderful trip! Many more to come!

We're going private, Folks.

We've decided to go private. I know it's inconvenient for some but it's in our best interest. If you'd like to be included, please send me your email address. You don't have to leave it in the comments if you don't want to. Email me with it instead.

More posts to come!