A little taste of our photo session last week

Some of the final product
Not too shabby

Amelia's Quote

This morning while Phil was getting ready for work and playing with Amelia, she lifted up her shirt and said, " raisins please". It took a few times for us to realize that what she really wanted was Phil to blow raspberries on her stomach. We both had a good laugh. Hope you do too.

Collages Galore

Yes there are an abundance of collages on this issue of blogging, but there were so many good ones it was hard to choose so I just used them all. Ben is grabbing his toes now and it is so adorable.


















We attempted to get the kids pictures taken last week and it was a disaster. At least Amelia's portion. So this is our half-hearted attempt to make it right at home and that was just as disastrous, but these were a few fun ones.

Tricks, Treats and Snakes

On Saturday, the zoo had a Halloween party. You got to go trick or treating in different areas for candy, toys and stickers. Since it has been in the 90's, Amelia had to shed some of her costume and after the first station of trick or treating, we shed everything but the hat and bag. She really loved walking up and down these stairs clutching her bag. Stairs are her new obsession ever since we went to the cabin. Much to her disappointment, our apartment has no stairs.


Amelia touched an albino rattlesnake. She actually asked to touch it, but by the look on her face, she was second guessing her decision once she got near it.




This was the last trick or treat station and the volunteer had a crow puppet that squeaked. I hope you can see in this picture that she was more freaked out by that squeaky toy than a rattlesnake. If this picture had audio, you would hear, NO! NO! NO!.

Trick or Treat Preview

On Friday we went to our ward's annual Trunk or Treat. Amelia was a witch and Ben was a pumpkin. (I didn't get any pics of Ben there so you'll have to wait until the real Halloween, but if any of you remember, it was what Amelia was 2 years ago) Amelia had fun walking around saying trick or treat and collecting some "Amelia friendly" goodies. I made her costume so that she can use it for dress up later and I am so happy that she loves it. It makes all my efforts worthwhile. And I love this pic because you can see her red socks which was a cute touch.

Pow!!

I got these shirts for fun for $1 at Target and I didn't read the tag that said they are 3-6 months. Too big for Ben and too small for Amelia but still cute because they fit their personalities. A Mommy's boy and a little monster (at least right now) Whenever Ben wears his, Amelia can't get enough of saying "I love Mommy" so I like to put him in it when I need to hear her say she loves me.



I like this pic because it looks like Ben is socking Amelia right in the cheek and she is laughing about it.

Halloween Fun

We went to a pumpkin carving party tonight. I made soft pretzels shaped like fingers and toes. (Thank you Martha Stewart) They turned out pretty yummy and totally gross looking which was perfect. We carved a cute little pumpkin and Amelia enjoyed running around holding hands with her little buddy Kalia. We had a really great time (thank you Everitt's) and are so excited for Halloween to come now.

Dracula??

I have been working on some fun projects this month. I made this at the cabin for Amelia's dress up collection. It is a reversible cape. I figure it will serve as a number of different looks for all our kids, so it was a great staple to add to her dress up stash.

Conference and puzzles (pronounced pooz-lays)

We enjoyed being lazy while listening to conference. We managed to finish a hard puzzle thanks to Phil, Will and Megan. Ben was held non stop. Amelia got to follow around grandpa and "help him". All in all it was a relaxing nice trip. Made us rediscover our love for the cabin, cold weather and the cost effectiveness of the Prius.

Crazy Uncles

What's a cabin trip without a little brotherly competition, eh? Slapping games and rock throwing contests. All of which Amelia cheers on delightfully and bestows the lucky winner with a squeeze.

Licking the Beaters

After Annie and the kids left, I decided to make some more cookies while we were waiting for Phil and others to come to the cabin. I let Amelia lick the frosting beater for the first time. She couldn't get enough of it. She got every last drop of that frosting off with her little tongue. I was rather impressed by the way she could make her tongue get all those hard to reach places. It kept her busy for about 20 minutes then jumping off the walls for another hour.

Some of the Cutest little kids

So here are some of my favorite pics of the kids. I wish I could have gotten one of all of them together, but these are still really cute. you have to zoom in on Spencer's picture to see his adorable little face. Thank you Nikon camera.

Cousins

Amelia enjoyed her cabin visit with her cousins, Spencer and Luke. They loved filling up cups with rocks and throwing them in bushes. They loved jumping on the bed in the stairs and going up and down any stairs. We attempted potty training, but no luck. We made a ton of yummy food, but she still insisted on eating chicken dinos. We watched a lot of movies, but she slept the entire ride home from Cedar Mountain to Los Angeles. A total miracle.

Fall

Living in LA we sometimes feel like we miss the seasons. Especially since it has been abnormally hot for incredibly way too long. (upper 90's in the first of October, not fun) When were at the cabin we got to see fall at it's finest driving through Cedar Canyon. It was like driving through a hall of oranges and yellows. The air smelled like campfires from a controlled burn in the canyon. On Saturday it rained and was cold all day. We got to enjoy the fireplace, warm bread, hot soup and snuggling in blankets. Driving home, we went through Cedar again and saw the leftover snow. I love this picture of the first snowman of the year. It was just sitting there melting on the side of the road. Thank you whoever made this. It made my day.

Answers

So for some of you who are dying to know what my lie was in a previous post here it is. I think all are worth telling a little something about.
1. I love speaking in front of perfect strangers I will never see again.
TRUE. I loved doing new employee orientation when I worked for Zions Bank. I loved doing the new volunteer sendoff for the last 2 years for WorldTeach. It is a rush that I love, but I hate speaking in church or when I was in school, class. Kind of weird.
2. I did not call Amelia by her first name for the first 10 days of her life.
TRUE. Amelia wasn't my first name choice, but it was the first name we both liked and had family significance. It seemed so weird to call her that, but now I can't imagine her as anything else. It was kind of opposite for me and Ben. I had to convince Phil a little and once we said that was his name, I can't get enough of it.
3. I often wake up in the middle of the night laughing.
TRUE. It makes Phil so mad for some reason. And then when I realize he's mad, it makes me laugh even harder,but the silent kind that will shake the bed violently, and it's really hard to stop.
4. I don't enjoy reading.
TRUE. I feel like I should and so, I am often filled with guilt that people talk about books and I have no burning desire to read them. I feel like it is a chore to finish most. I think I feel like this because IF I have down time to read, I am too busy cleaning up after 3 people or I would rather be doing a project. But on the upside, I have been pleasantly satisfied after finishing a large chunk of books, especially most of them I read in the RMI.
5. I cannot leave the house without leaving a note or telling someone where I am going.
FALSE. Maybe because as a child, we were expected to leave a note if we were going in the backyard. I kind of hate people knowing my business. In college, I would often stay in my room and be as silent as possible so no one would know I was home and "escape" once I thought they were all gone. Once I had a neighbor that would leave their door open at all times so they could talk to everyone walking in and out. Sometimes I would be trapped in the apartment for hours waiting for them to leave so I could. It's completely insane, and I am getting a little better.
6. There is a spot on my back if you touch I will instantly get the shivers no matter how many times you do it.
TRUE. And Amelia has the same spot. Makes haircuts sometimes challenging.
7. I do not like cinnamon.
TRUE. Unless it is cinnamon rolls. Cinnamon hot chocolate is the worst. Or really any cinnamon and chocolate combo. It makes me instantly gag. I don't like apple pie because of the cinnamon, apple cider and especially snickerdoodles. Just the smell really gets to me and this has been the case for years. Even before pregnancy and morning sickness messes all that up.
8. I am slightly less than terrified of the ocean.
TRUE. When we lived in the Marshall Islands I had to do breathing techniques and close my eyes whenever we had to fly on those tiny airplanes over endless, endless ocean. I get major anxiety going over bridges and I have no desire to ever go on a cruise because of this. I am a little better in boats or watercrafts, but if I fall out, I panic. I just got in the ocean a few weeks ago for the first time since the RMI, but only waist deep and that was enough creepiness for me.
9. I don't believe in love at first sight or "the one".
TRUE. This kind of makes Phil sad, but I think that there are lots of people that could be your "soul mate". It just depends on where you are and who you are happy being with at the time you decide to make that kind of commitment. I am sooo glad it was Phil. He's the best match I think I have ever come across for me.
10. I have had a slew of nicknames in different times of my life including V, Ronnie, V-Dub, Nast, Nica and Vern and I am kind of particular about only certain people using them.
TRUE. I am not really in love with the nickname Vern at all, but a lot of people use it. I keep hoping that it's a phase that will end, especially before Amelia starts calling me that. I think that there are about 3 people who I can see calling me Vern for the rest of our lives and it not seeming weird.
11. The last time I wet my pants was in the 8th grade.
TRUE. Contrary to what Tyler thinks. Walking home from school. I didn't like using the bathrooms so I would sometimes hold it all day. On this day, I didn't make the 6 blocks I had to walk home in time. I told my mom I fell in a puddle on the walk home. I am sure she knew what happened because the water mark from that is pretty unique, but I think she said nothing because she didn't want to embarrass me more than the humiliation I felt walking my neighborhood with a pee stain.
Hope you all enjoyed.