Boo!

Here are the long awaited pictures of our little Boo.

Anna loved being Boo for Halloween, even though she didn't always like wearing the hat part of her costume. This costume was a real stretch for me. I'm not one that feels comfortable sewing clothes without a pattern. I am so grateful for Devin's help. We probably spent way too much time talking about how to make the costume and even more time actually putting it all together (It was definitely a four handed project at times.) It was worth it. She looked super cute.

Special thanks to Devin for taking Anna out trick-or-treating in the rain and cold.

Too bad the kids didn't go out the night before or the night after, the weather was perfect on those nights. Anna still had a good time. She likes getting candy in her pumpkin. She likes to hold the candy, but could really care less about eating it.
Happy Halloween 2010! Now we are on to brainstorming ideas for next years costumes. Any suggestions of what Anna and Nicholas should be next year?

Our Backyard

One of the things I loved about our condo was that we were so close to Provo canyon. I loved being able to go for runs up the canyon and to be able to go there often with the family. When we were looking at houses I was worried that we would end up living far away from the canyon. I guess we lucked out, because American Fork canyon is practically in our backyard.

With the fall colors out in their glory we couldn't pass up the chance to go up the canyon. It was great! Devin got home from work, we packed things up for a quick "hot dog roasting" dinner and in less than 10 minutes we were up the canyon enjoying the fall colors.

Happy Fall Everyone!!! I hope you all get a chance to enjoy the beautiful fall colors.

2 Down, 10 to Go

Today was Anna's 2nd birthday. We have lots of fun birthday pictures to post, but I wanted to post my favorite part of Anna's birthday first.
We decided a long time ago that each year we would take our kids to the temple on their birthday. If I could give my kids anything, it would be a deep love for the temple, a desire to go there as often as possible. Hopefully as we make going to the temple a special part of each birthday they will develop that love.
Today was a beautiful day and Anna loved being at the temple.

While we were there she kept saying, "Anna go inside temple!" 10 more years kiddo, only 10 more years. :) She is on her way.

We Are Officially Moved In

I guess you could say that we are now officially moved in. Why? No, there are still boxes (Devin's boxes) that need to be unpacked. We still haven't hung any pictures up. So why would I say we are officially moved in. Well, the picture says it all.

Look closer at the flag pole.

A Henderson isn't a true Henderson without a pirate flag. Thanks to the sneaky little people who decided it was time for us to start showing our true colors. Our neighborhood has three types of flags flying at all times. The tie for first place goes to BYU and U flags. Our neighborhood seems pretty evenly divided between blue and red...not something we are use to at all. There are a few US flags. And now a pirate flag has joined the mix.
I am happy to display a flag that lets people know that I am proud of my pirate ancestry. :)

On a side note. This pirate flag was a great surprise Tuesday morning. We went to get the mail and as we were walking back I looked up and said to my neighbor, "We have a flag on our pole....A pirate flag???" She was shocked that I didn't know anything about it, they just figured we were being festive for Halloween. I told her that I was positive my little brother was behind it.
After a few text messages and a phone call Peter tried really hard to deny the whole thing. I let it go. That night we were watching Zach and Liz, Peter's kids, and I just ever so causally asked Zach if he'd ever seen a pirate flag. Zach spilled all the beans. I wish I could have recorded him tell us all the details. "Ya, we got one in the mail. We opened it up and showed dad. Then we snuck over to your house and hung it up on your flag pole." Wow! That was way more info than I thought I'd get. I was just expecting a simple "yes" or "no." Thanks Zach! The flag means even more to me now knowing that you had so much fun giving it to me.

Personality Plus!

Anna has enough personality to go around.  She cracks me up.  She is quite the talker.  You never know what she is going to say.  Like most children sometimes I wish I could just hit the mute button.  Today during church we have a classic example.  During the sacrament Anna is saying over and over again in a not so quite voice. "ROBIN HOOD!!!  Where is ROBIN HOOD!!! ROBIN HOOD!!!"
Here are a few random pictures of Miss Personality and her latest adventures.

Riding the horses at the State Fair.  Anna loves horses.  We have neighbors down the street that have horses.  We can see them from our kitchen window.  Anna loves horses and is always asking to go see the horses.  Quite often as she is eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner she has cute conversations about and with the horses.  The other day she informed me that the horses were eating noodles and apple juice for lunch.

Anna is not a die-hard shoe girl, but she loves to wear big shoes.  She is also very protective of her shoes, so please don't try and take her shoes.  She loves clopping around in Devin's boots.  And I must say she looks pretty cute when she does.

Last of all, Anna has been showing interest in using the potty.  We haven't really pushed her into full on potty training, but we often ask her if she wants to sit on the potty and sometimes she does.  We have found the most success right before bath time.  The other night she sat on the potty for a while and then said she was done and into the bath she went.  At the very end of her bath, just as we are washing all the soap out of her hair she says, "Need to use the potty!"  Hold on Anna!  We rinsed as fast as we could, threw the towel around her and luckily had a successful potty experience.  If you are wondering what the funny face is, she is saying "cheese." 

I'm An Author!

I love to write.  I can't spell worth bananas, but I love to write.  Several years ago I had a friend tell me that I should write something for one of the church magazines.  I was very hesitant because I write to help me think and remember things, not because it makes a lot of sense to anyone else.  Sometimes when I would get a good idea for a talk or lesson I would have the thought that maybe this would be a good idea for an article.  I would write it in my journal and that would be the end of it.
About a year ago I got another idea and it really stuck with me.  Over and over I felt like I needed to write it up and send it in.  The impression was strong enough that I actually did it.  I didn't spend a lot of time drafting, I just wrote up my thoughts and sent it in.  I was surprised when I received a letter shortly after that saying that my article had been accepted.  There was something about "it could take several years" and "it still might not ever get published"  so I tried not to get too excited.  (Truth be told I still have that letter at the bottom of the stack of books on my night stand to remind me that I tried and that if I felt impressed again I should do it.)
Every month when our church magazines came I ripped them out of the plastic and flipped through them to see if my article had made it. 
We have recently moved and are playing the "mail catch up" game.  We have tried to have all of our mail forwarded but some of our mail is still being sent to our condo.  This last week we finally went and picked up a HUGE stack of mail from our condo.  In the stack was a big envelope from the church distribution center.  Weird, I didn't order anything.  When I opened it up and saw two copies of the October New Era I got really excited.  There was also a short letter saying, "Congratulations your article will be featured in the October New Era."  I opened one of the copies and there it was!  Devin was excited that it had a "big picture" with the article.
So there you have it.  I'm an author, in REAL print.  It isn't a perfect article.  There are things that I would change.  Bottom line, I am grateful that I followed the prompting to just send it in.  Hopefully it will help someone out there...possibly on the other side of the world.  How cool is that! 
Here is a link if you'd like to read it.
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