all hallows eve

Halloween was especially fun this year because we got to celebrate it all day long. Provo is such a great city to live in and organizes so many fun family activities, especially around the holidays. I really appreciate everything they do to make our community such an enjoyable place to live.

Emmett started off first thing in the morning by dressing up and attending his preschool Halloween party.

We then spent the afternoon Trick or Treating along Center Street (one my favorite places here, hence our family picture locale- coming soon!) 

The Chinese restaurant even handed out fortune cookies :)

This cute picture was taken as part of a costume contest they did

That evening we headed over to the ward "Trunk or Treat", then headed up to my Moms for some MORE trick or treating!

From top left we've got Troy Polamalu 1 & 2, Cruella & Jasper, River Dancers 1 & 2, and Minnie Mouse (and of course my little golfer)

Until next year Halloween! We will miss you!

Adventures at Hogle Zoo

Or as my mom called it - the "HOG-le Zoo". Hahaha sorry mom, I couldn't help it!

A couple weeks ago Jared had a 5 day weekend (gotta love Pioneer Day in Utah!) and we finally went to the zoo! I've been wanting to take Emmett all summer. It was a lot of fun. It maybe wasn't the BEST day considering it was packed because of Pioneer weekend and about 90 degrees, but that didn't stop us from having a good time!


Checkin out the ostrich with Gamby

 I invited my parents to bring Caysen and come with us too. Emmett loves Gamby and Gampy!

Twinners in their bucket hats and cheeser faces

                                                                                                

                                Taking a rest in the shade

Shooting the breeze with Uncle Caysen

                  "You guys go on ahead without me, I'm just gonna kick it here in the shade for a little while"

Cute little pygmy kangaroo things?....



He insisted on getting dangerously close to this bird





  

                                                                                                    

It is so much fun to take Em places now that he's getting old enough to enjoy them! On a somewhat related note, Emmett has gotten good at making his animal noises! His favorite is dog (woof woof) hands down, but he also likes sheep, cow, duck, monkey, bird, tiger, horse, and owl. He can also do the signs for dog and bird. Animals have become a pretty big deal in our house lately! Now we just need a pet.... :-)

Ode to my Father

I always considered myself a "Daddy's girl"growing up, and loved to try and tag along with my Dad wherever he went. I thought he was the coolest, and always wanted to impress him. Dad's approval always meant the world to me. I mean there's a lot of things Mom's get upset about, but if I really dissappointed DAD, I'd be heartbroken. Daddy's are so important to little girls and I'm so grateful to have mine.

Here's some favorite memories I have growing up with my Dad:

• Going to his flag football games when I was little. I loved to bring a blanket, sit and watch my Dad play for like 5 mins (haha), and then go off to make friends and find pollywogs or whatever it is we would do.
• Playing Stratego. I don't even remember how to play it now, but it was an old board game he loved and I felt so grown up when I'd play it with him.
• When he coached my basketball team. We were called the "Blue Devils". My Dad came up with that name. haha.
• Having free throw shoot offs with him in the backyard. Or as he called it, "The Bread and Butter shot".
• Going to movies with him like Star Trek or Star Wars, not because I was particuarly into them but because Dad thought they were really cool (which made me excited). I also loved the running commentary I'd get throughout the movie as he'd love to fill me in on the history I was missing. "See, Spok is HALF human, HALF vulcan..." LOL
• Staying late at Disneyland when Mom had to retire early with the babies, and closing the park down while we ran from all the "big kid" rides like Space Mountain and Matterhorn.
•  Going to work with him once on "Take your kid to work Day". I remember just having paper and markers and sitting at a desk (I think I just stayed til lunch time) but I felt so grown up and cool in a real office. I loved seeing where my Dad went everyday.
• Going golfing with him, and getting to drive the golf cart. I became quite the experienced stunt driver on that golf cart.
• Saturday morning pancakes. My dad is the master of pancakes and I think that's where my love for them started. Weekends you could always count on Dad for a good stack of pancakes.
• Staying up late and watching Headlines on Jay Leno. Me and my Dad were both always the night owls of the family, and it would usually just be us two left up. Every Monday was our favorite, that's when Jay Leno held up the hilarious headlines and news storys found in the paper the past week.
• And of course, the best memory of all... watching him get baptized and getting sealed as a family. This is the one I will forever remember, and the one I am eternally grateful for :-)

I love you Dad. Happy Fathers Day!

I really wanted to put a picture of my Dad and I when I was a baby, but my scanner wouldn't work!! So these will just have to do.