Pumpkin Carving

Brooklyn was SO EXCITED about picking out a pumpkin, and the idea of sitting on the table to play with it and try to hug and pick it up. But as soon as we took off the top and started pulling out the innards, she changed her mind. It took a little convincing that carving a pumpkin wasn't so bad after all, (though she still wanted NOTHING to do with the inside of the pumpkin). After we got over the initial fear, she LOVED the idea of poking holes in the pumpkin, and actually, was pretty good at it. And of course, she was thrilled with the final product, especially when we put the candle in to light it up.

The rains came down and the floods went up

Brooklyn and I have been so blessed, (and so spoiled), to be able to travel back to Georgia to visit so often. So at the end of September, we made another trip to the sunny (ha!) south. It still took some time to get used to everyone, but we had been practicing names with a family picture, so before long, Brooklyn knew who everyone was. This made a HUGE difference for everyone-- it was so much more fun!
Unfortunately, our visit also brought on the flooding, not the sunshine we thought we would enjoy. The day after we arrived, the rains came down and the floods came up. We felt very trapped, and thoroughly soaked. Thankfully, my parent's home wasn't in the worst hit area, though there were plenty of people that needed lots of help cleaning out flooded houses. We made it through the rain and had lots of fun with family.

asking for a little attention

meeting her new Heaton cousin- Baby Joshua

Grandma and Grandpa-Great

Grandma (her favorite)

kisses for Uncle Matthew

playing in the fort with Aunt Anna

cozying up to Grandpa

We all scream for icecream!

Just a cute picture... and the beginning days of a new hairstyle (the alien antennae are a personal favorite). So much to post, so little time. Pictures will have to do!

I DID try to warn her...

You are going to think I'm horrible after watching this video of Brooklyn, but it's just so funny, I HAVE to share it. This was taken at the beginning of September, so Brooklyn was about 14 months old. She LOVES helping me fold laundry-- mainly because her version of "helping" involved (and still does), putting everything on her head. She still thinks it's funny to put things on her head and try to walk around even though she can't see a thing. I DID try to warn her about running into things...

Our Pet Squash

When Mom and Dad Shurtliff stopped to visit while passing through our neck of the woods this summer, they brought some of the long-awaited produce from their garden. While we were living in Enterprise with them, we (meaning mostly Tim) helped prepare and plant the garden, but unfortunately, we moved right before most of the produce was ready for picking. Thankfully, the garden was explosive and they had much more than they needed, and they were nice enough to bring us some. We enjoyed spaghetti squash, carrots, green beans, etc... but our favorite was the banana squash. It was more of a second child really. So we had a little fun with it and took some family pictures for home evening one night. This was the night before it was sacrificed to feed the masses (note: we do not typically sacrifice our children to feed the masses). And when I say it could feed the masses, IT COULD. I mean, check out the size of that thing. We were pretty sure it would go bad before we could even make a dent in it, so we dispersed chunks of it to everyone we could think of. (I think we fed half of the ward...)




I wasn't sure how to cook it so we tried a couple of different toppings: butter with salt and pepper, butter with cinnamon-sugar, and butter with... I can't remember the last. Clearly, it is good with butter, but I think my favorite was the salt and pepper. Surprising huh...
Now if you're wondering how to produce squash the size of the one you see here... I can tell you. When preparing your garden in a desert with dirt as rocky and hard as you can imagine, plow by hand.

Bathing-Suit Beauty

Wow, you know, I just realized that the last "real" post I put on here was from the 4th of July. The rest were all just my ramblings. Looks like I'll have to start back farther than I thought...

From our summer-swimming fun, here is Brooklyn in all her glory... the bathing-suit beauty. Oh that we all had such confidence and thought so highly of our own well-defined abs and legs... Take a lesson from the young.

New Years Resolution

So one of my new year's resolutions is to catch up and blog more. I also vow to do better at looking at all of your blogs and commenting on them... Though I will do my best, there are no promises on either account. Hey, nobody's perfect right?
So now let me look back and see where I left off. Keep checking because there are going to be lots of posts soon!