THE CARDS

October!

We were able to go to our annual BYU game. It is fun to support our nice--Aliyah loves going on the field to see her and eating ice-cream. Go Cougars!

One of our date nights this month was to go see the witches at Gardner Village in West Jordan. Aliyah loved them. There were a few particular ones that she remember--this one flying on the bike and the one sitting on the toilet in the outhouse (she mentioned that one for a couple of weeks after!)

This is Aliyah's common request--to have Repunzel hair. She will use her baby blanket and want us to put it on her head at night. Pretty good imagination right?

Library fun. I love going to the library--for me and for Aliyah!

HALLOWEEN!

Aliyah wanted to be Cinderella for Halloween-fortunately her cousin had an old dress-up that she could wear. She loved being dressed like Cinderella and she loved getting candy (but she would only eat the suckers..more chocolate for us!)

We went trick-or-treating with cousins!

Dance, Dates, and Departures

Aliyah started dance class! It is one of the cutest things I have ever seen. She is at least 4 months younger than the youngest in her class and it might show just a little bit in her ability to hold still, but she has a patient teacher and room for improvement. She sure is cute.

We have been trying really hard to make sure to do date nights…that are actually planned. One of our favorites has been going to the park--it is fun for everyone involved!

Dave's sister left for her mission the end of September. We are so excited for her and all that she will experience. We know that she is blessing the lives of so many in New York. Her nieces and nephews will miss her!

Summer

A neighbor gave us 4 different varieties of tomato plants. We were excited about each of them, but had heard wonderful things about the one that would produce small orange tomatoes that were very sweet. We were not disappointed. Aliyah LOVED them. She would seriously eat them like candy. That's okay by me!

One of Aliyah's new favorite places to visit during the summer while at my parents house is the creek that is just behind their backyard. We have played there on a number of occasions--we just need to be better prepared with bug spray!

Then there is always our pool. Aliyah likes to just play on the stairs. She'd be content there the whole time, but we still try to get her out in the water. We want her to be comfortable with water, hopefully next summer will be better. Here we were at our pool with sisters and their little ones. Pool time is soo much more fun with family and friends.

And a little bit more outdoor water time…with Aliyah's cousin and the sprinklers!

July

I love the 4th of July. I love mostly being with family, but I do love celebrating the freedoms of our country. Every year we go to the parade--it is the best 4th of July parade out there--they throw out a ton of candy. Aliyah didn't quite catch on to the fact that they were throwing candy. She just enjoyed sitting in her little chair, watching people pass by and clapping for each of them! I'm afraid of what she will realize next year!!

We had a BBQ at my parents house and were able to stay for most of the day before heading to Salt Lake to be with Dave's family. We did a few of our own fireworks and then watched the Sugar House Fireworks.

The other eventful thing in July was our big family reunion to San Diego. We got to have two of our nieces drive in the car with us. It went really quite well..and Aliyah loved it.

As soon as we got there we took a break at the pool. Here's Aliyah playing with her cousin.

One night the hotel had smores--they were a hit with Aliyah and with all of us.

Our days consisted of swimming in the morning...

quick lunch in our room...

and out to the beach in the afternoon.

Here's our cousin teaching Aliyah to play the Ukelele.

Playing on the beach

And sitting and enjoying the sun.

Another night we left all the kids at the hotel and did sealings at the San Diego Temple. It was pretty neat to have us all together in the temple again. The last time was when Dave and I got married over 5 years ago.

And another night we did family pictures. I love this big family of mine!

All of the cousins...

It was a wonderful vacation. I'm pretty sure that we annoyed a number of people there as we went everywhere in a huge group! We sure did have fun though.

The drive home was a little bit harder, needing a few more breaks, but fun never the less. Grateful for the stickers we got at an In-N-Out to keep Aliyah entertained!