PeeWee PowWow

Yesterday I got to take the girls to the Ogden Nature Center for a PeeWee PowWow. We learned a lot about Native Americans.
Halle got to try a bite of "Journey Cake" hot off the fire.
"Coyote" (a puppet made from an actual coyote hide) told us a story inside a TeePee.
And we made a mini rainstick. (Check out Halle's necklace she made out of an elastic headband and a slap bracelet. Pretty creative)
Afterward, we got to explore the grounds where we met some enormous turkeys.
We also checked out the "Birds of Prey" exhibit, which was very cool. We discovered first hand that a Raven can have its back turned to you and then tilt its head back far enough to stare at you (kinda creepy). They had falcons, hawks, eagles, pelicans, and owls. I think it was the first time I'd ever actually heard a Great Horned Owl hoot. Halle summed it up best when she said, "I heard him 'Who'! I heard him 'Who'!" Later she informed me that Annie's favorite bird had been the Bald Eagle. Annie responded by exclaiming, "Bald!"
Walking around the grounds was very cool. The girls enjoyed checking out the moss and checking every hole and burrow to see if there were any animals home.
We walked down Birdhouse Path to get back to the truck where there were probably close to a hundred very creative birdhouses lining the way.
I thought the adventure would be over once we got settled in the truck, but of course I took a wrong turn on the way out and we ended up nearly surrounded by a family of about 10 deer, one of which was a 5 point buck. "Wow, he has antlers!" Halle said. You've got to love how excited kids get, but in all honesty, I think I had just as much fun as they did.

October 2010

This Halloween was lots of fun. We had 3 or 4 costume parties, a ward carnival, and trunk or treating, so the girls got to dress up a lot. I decided to try and be crafty by making everyone's costumes. It was a fun project that resulted in a lot off hot glue and costumes that were so original that the average person couldn't tell what we were :)

So I'll sum it up for you: Annie was sunshine, Halle was a rainbow, I was Spring, and Justin was Fall.

After about the 2nd or 3rd costume party, I had to revamp the girls' costumes. Apparently costumes that are hot glued together tend to fall apart. So Annie ended up with a tutu and Halle ended up with an even puffier tutu. The girls really loved dressing up. Then the highlight was the night they got to trick or treat. It was so fun to watch the two of them: Halle running from trunk to trunk just as fast as she could with Annie toddling right behind her. It sure doesn't take long for a 1-year-old to figure out what to do when she has a big sister to follow after. All in all, it was a fun time.

Playing With Food

Life becomes a lot more exciting when you have a baby eating solids: Splatters on the wall, splatters on the floor, splatters on me...and some pretty adorable pictures. Annie has been eating solids since about four months and it has been one fun and messy ride :)

Let's just say our girls like to "get into their food". That's why I was excited to try this cute idea I found in a Parents magazine.
It's called a DIY salad. You fill a muffin tin full of salad fixins and let your toddler go to town. Well, it was a hit. Halle tried everything, even the raw vegetables!

My thoughts: "I didn't even have to grind up the veggies and hide them in something else! We are definitely doing this again."

Well, that lasted a few minutes, and then Halle started experimenting and making some interesting combinations.

My thoughts: "How cute, she's a little scientist."

The combinations became a little weirder...and messier.

My thoughts: "Is she really going to eat that?"

Pretty soon, Annie became distracted from tossing Cheerios off her high chair tray to watch her scientific sister work on something that no longer resembled anything edible.

My thoughts: "Is she actually going to--uh, don't do that--keep your soup out of there---keep that out of your soup--don't splash that all over the place---wait---stop---ARRRRG!"

Well. Now we've got salad fixins keeping the scattered Cheerios on the floor company.

My thoughts: "NEVER AGAIN!!!!" Or at least until we get a little better control over science.

Happy Easter!

Enjoying Some Easter Goodies

Halle's Rockin' Outfit...Guess who picked it out all by herself?

Fun with Bubbles

Vikings, Damsels, and a Grumpy Old Troll

Halle the Viking

Halle, Annie, and I joined Bubba and all the cousins for dinner and a movie on Saturday while the guys were at Priesthood Session. We saw "How to Train Your Dragon". Really cute movie, but a little intense. I even found my heart pounding in parts. Annie slept through most of it, which was nice. It's been awhile since I've been to a movie in theaters and I was a little nervous to take her. I was even more nervous to take Halle, but apparently, she can handle vikings and fire breathing dragons. Kinda funny since the day before she was playing the damsel in distress at Playgroup. She kept climbing on top of the shoe rack and calling out, "Save me!". Then her little rescuer, Grant, would help her down. They did this over and over...and over. It was pretty cute. She sure picks up on random things. And I'm not quite sure how I feel about the influence of tv yet. For instance, she's been learning a lot from Dora the Explorer. The other day she needed help with something and she said, "Help, Mommy! Ayudeme!" "Cool," I thought, "She's learning Spanish." But then today she called me a grumpy old troll. Suddenly I'm not as big a fan of Dora. ;)

Gramma and Grampa's Egg Hunt

The girls really enjoyed the egg hunt at Gramma and Grampa Porter's.

Grampa helped Halle find lots of eggs.

Annie was content with one egg as long as she got to chew on it.Jeremy chows down on some candy.

Alisa and Wes

Our Handsome Photographer

Note: For some reason, I'm not able to upload any more pictures to this post right now. There were a lot more people there like Gramma, Gramcracker, Spencer, Lyndee, Tyler, Melissa, and Halle and Annie's cousins who they absolutely adore: Landon, Brecklyn, Jaxon, and Khilyn. I'll post more pics when I can.

Family Phases

Part of the fun of family life is seeing the different phases we all go through. Halle is going through an "Imaginary Friend" phase. Right now, she has a friend named Roxanne. We have to include Roxanne in everything we do. One time I set a box down and Halle informed me that Roxanne was sitting there and I would have to move the box. It must be hard to be invisible.

Halle and Roxanne having a conversation.

Halle and Roxanne running from a monster.

Justin is going through a "Flashlight Phase". Actually, there are three things he feels he can never have too many of: flashlights, fishing poles, and pocket knives. This is his latest find.
Annie is going through a "Put-Anything-I-Can-Get-My-Hands-On-In-My-Mouth-Including-Daddy's-New-Flashlight Phase". Enough said :)

And I guess you could say I'm going through a "Write-Really-Random-Stuff-On-Our-Blog Phase." So bear with me, if you will. It's just a phase :)

Easter Cookies

Halle had a great time decorating Easter cookies.

Annie enjoyed herself by rolling around on the floor. Check out that tongue. She's always sticking it out with a big grin on her face.