Halloween Preparations!

I have to say, out of all the holidays, Halloween is the LEAST exciting to me, but I LOVE holidays and excuses to create and do cool dinners, so bring it on. Now that I have a kid, the excuse to go trick or treating and get candy might not be so bad either! Here are a few of our Halloween Preparations!

First I made these CUTE cupcake sucker things with a couple of my friends up here for our kids Halloween Party we were having. They are SO cute and were easy to make (time consuming though, especially when you make them with 7 children in tow!) We did some chocolate cake ones and some cherry chip cake ones. Delish! It was SO fun and SO worth it. Here we have the Jack-O-Lantern, a mummy, and some One-Eyed-Purple-People-Eaters. These are just a few of the ideas you can make. Idea from bakerella.blogspot.com, check it out!

NEXT WAS ZACH'S FIRST PUMPKIN CARVING TIME!!!

Zach LOVED carving pumpkins! He was so funny digging all of the stuff out. This is always Justin's (used to be Jolene's) job as I am somehow allergic to the pumpkin innards! :) Weird, I know. I was interested to see if Zach had the same rashy reaction, but I don't think he is allergic to it at all. Phew! His favorite thing to do was to put on and take off the lid. You know, I am starting to learn that things just take longer with kids!! (Yahtzee, baking, pumpkin carving, going anywhere...) It is a sure way to develop patience and enjoy the journey.
Zach loved the pumpkin carving. He was so interested in what I was doing, we finally gave him a butter knife to pretend carve. I am not so sure carving with him was the best idea. He is a very helpful and self sufficient guy. This morning as I got ready, he was watching cartoons...or so I thought. When I came down he had gotten into the dishwasher and pulled out not 1, not 2, BUT3 KNIVES and was "carving" our pumpkin again. AHHH! Lesson learned. Don't worry Grandmas and Grandpas, I am taking good care of him! I promise! :}

And here is the finished product!!! Awful angle, but SO funny! This has apparently become our yearly Halloween tradition. I have 3 other Pumpkin-head pictures. The funny thing is I am pregnant every other year!

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By Popular Demand...

Sorry if anyone is getting sick of seeing belly shots, but A) it is one of the only things changing around here and I have to blog something and B) I have family and friends far far away who request these too. :) Here I am at 29 weeks! AH! I can't believe it! They really could be here in 6-8 weeks...whoa. Life is still good, I am feeling relatively well. Sore hips, sleeping, and heartburn stink, but what can you do? I have about 5 lbs and 30 inches of babies in me now, or so the internet says. I can definitely tell that I have 2 GIRLS inside of me because my emotions have been crazy sometimes. Wow. I am glad I can blame it on pregnancy. Poor Justin. All this estrogen coming his way. The babies move ALL the time and put on a show (I love it!). I am a belly dancer now, that is for sure.

A Few of My Favorite Things

Zach has been extra cute recently discovering things and it has been really fun, and quite interesting, (and sometimes scary) being his mom. Just yesterday, he brought his little ride on toy to the top of his slide, sat down on the toy, and rode it down the slide! He definitely crashed at the end, head over heels, but then laughed and wanted to try again. He is crazy! It is just funny to watch his mind work. Here is another thing I love...I love when he drinks his milk from his cereal bowl in the morning and then puts it down with an emphatic..."AH! Mmmmmm..."

Yesterday he also wanted to where my boots. He got one on, but I had to help him with the other. He looked SO funny to me! I also love when he does the Chicken Dance out of no where!

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Conversion to Clippers

Cutting kids hair is hard! I found a great way to cut Zachary's hair though...clippers!! I know, a lot of you are saying DUH!! but, it took less than 5 minutes (I only did the sides) and he sat pretty still. When I cut with scissors, a movie, a sucker, and a comfy chair couldn't even keep him still.He would always just twist his head and wonder what I was doing. The other tip I have...do it in the bathroom by the sink or in the empty tub so you can just wash all those little hairs down the drain.

My handsome little grooming man. I really can't believe how big he is already!

Our New Mode of Transportation!!!!

We finally found it...a way to get us all around! We have been looking at minivans a lot lately, especially down in the states because they are cheaper; however, since the Canadian dollar has dropped so much we had to scale back our taste. We decided that instead of an Odyssey or a Grand Caravan, we will be cruising along in this baby. It is a hundredth of the price! Too bad it isn't 4WD.

The Joovy Big Caboose Stand-On Triple Stroller! It is huge, but pretty smooth for toting 3 around in. It even has attachments to put 2 car seats on and Zach can sit or stand on the back. Zach loves it and we got it for a great price. I think they were clearing it out up here in Canada because it isn't even on the website anymore. Anyway, next step...find a van to tote it around in!

Oh, how I love a deal!

It is getting cold here. Cold and breezy enough to not be able to go outside for walks and to play at the park. Now for a toddler who just spent almost every day of the summer outside, this stinks! Now when we drive past the playground, he sees it, points to it, and says "Ide. Wee!" He loves the slide. So I started looking for a slide for him indoor. I found one from a grandma trying to get rid of it here in town for only $15! I thought it was only the slide which would be better space-wise, but Zach loves climbing up and through the holes. Hopefully this will help us through the winter. Hey, for $15, how could I go wrong?

Too cute!

I know I already posted something today, but this was TOO CUTE to pass up. I got an important phone call I was waiting for, so I went upstairs and left Zach to watch cartoons so I could hear okay. When I was done with the call, I came downstairs and saw salt spilled all over the table. Zach had gotten up there and dumped salt out of the salt shaker. I said "Uh-oh" to which Zach ran over to the table and pointed there saying "Oh no!" and "Uh-oh, Meh (mess)" too. He then ran right over to the fridge and motioned for me that he wanted something. I thought he wanted a Popsicle or something, so I lifted him up to show me what he wanted. What he was really going for was a tissue from on top of the fridge to clean the salt up! I gave him a tissue and he ran back to the table and started cleaning up. It was so cute. I love this boy!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you Canadians out there! We had a good Thanksgiving weekend. It was strange though, because there wasn't any family up here to celebrate with! I guess we could have gone to Cardston, but Justin and I had lessons to teach on Sunday and we had to get our garden stuff done, so we stayed and had a feast of our own. On Sunday, we were actually invited over to the closest family members we have up here, The Quintons. They are our aunt's sister's husband's brother's family. Plus, their little girl is a prospective wife for Zach. So the circle will be complete! :) Then on Monday we made a feast of our own and had Arnold and his aid over. Poor little Zachy was sick so he didn't really enjoy it. At least I know I can make a Thanksgiving feast without my mommy! It is DEFINITELY WAY better when she makes it though. I was going to take a picture of our delicious turkey, but oh well. Anyway, we have a lot to be thankful for and are so blessed to live where we do (yes I said it), to be who we are, and to know what we know. I am SO grateful for my family, my WONDERFUL husband, and cute son, and my 2 little girls coming so soon! I am so thankful for my parents and their decision to join The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have been tremendously blessed by that choice. I am thankful for my bros and sisters and our relationships, and all of my in-laws and good friends. I am so grateful for a prophet, the scriptures, revelation, true doctrine, faith, prayer, answered questions, and the peace that comes from the Holy Ghost. I am so grateful that the Lord watches over us, knows what is best for us, and that I can trust him no matter what happens. We really are blessed and need to remember that every day. Life is good.Poor little Zachy. He wasn't feeling so good, but isn't it cute!

Nursery Time!

Zach turned 18 months old on October 5th meaning that he is now old enough to go to the Nursery at church!! HOORAY!! He has been so active lately and it has been really hard to go and get something out of church, but today he went right in, loved it, and was coloring and smiling when I went to pick him up. He waved at me and then motioned for me to come over to him and check his picture out. Then he held my hand and we walked out! The Nursery leaders said he had them laughing so hard when they opened the mammoth toy closet and he stared in unbelief with a gaping open mouth and said "Wow!!" I am SO happy he liked it, and I just think he is so cute. What a big boy. Although the people in Sunday School will miss Zach's entertaining ways, we are excited to enjoy a couple of months of kid free church! Then, it is double duty time...

My big boy all bundled and ready to go to church. (Just a side brag note...I got this cute coat at The Children's Place in April at the end of winter sale for $2! Justin thinks it is girly. I think he's jealous and really means stylish!)

You can't really see it, but right when I walked out of our back door I saw a complete rainbow! It was FREEZING and just started to sleet, but it was so cool to see a full rainbow. Sorry I couldn't catch the whole thing and in better color.

Here he is showing off his picture Here I am showing off my 27 week belly! Only 10 more to go!!

Harvest Time!!

It's harvest time here at Low Gardens! We finally finished picking everything out of our garden, and not a moment to soon because we hear snow is on the way!! AH! Anyway, we had a great time digging it all up and for the most part are extremely happy with how everything turned out. The corn could have used a bit more sun and heat than Edmonton has to offer, AND I think we picked it too late, AND probably burned it while blanching it, but OH WELL!!! This was a very fun experimenting year. It was fun to have a garden and watch things grow. I recommend it to everyone!

Our corn crop.
Zach taking a premature bite. I think he got the corn hair in his mouth in this picture. He did this to every shucked cob he got his hands on.

Zach shucking corn. So helpful!
Our corn harvest. Some were okay, but really, I think we let them grow too long. They were kind of chewy. Zach wouldn't even eat them! :) This definitely wasn't Taber Corn.

My hardworking men.
Justin showing Zach the ropes. He was so excited to FINALLY get to pull things out of the garden. We always said no before and kept him in the car. Now he was happy to help.
Triumphant Zach. He loved pulling them out and he was good at it! Hopefully next year he will be even more of a help.
The BIGGEST carrot we grew.
The most scandalous "spooning" carrot we grew! Woo woo!
The final harvest. All I see is A LOT of work ahead. Washing carrots is oh so much fun. They are SO yummy and sweet though. Come on by and get some!

Me discovering how potatoes grow. They just grow on the tip of the root, so you dig around the plant and pull it up. Some are still connected, and the others you fish for in the dirt. Pretty crazy. My next discovery will be to see how peanuts grow. I wonder if Edmonton is a good climate for that. Hmm...The proud Canadian Farmer, cowboy toque and all.
Zach HAD to wear his gloves. He was so cute there helping out. They didn't stay on well and he really got frustrated whenever they fell off.
Our big box of potatoes.

Park and Ride

We had a fun Friday activity planned to go up to the river valley and walk through the fall leaves before they all leave!! We should have gone down the river more, it was more lush down there, but we still had a great time.

We found a fun park at the Kinsmen Center. Here are some pics of Zach, and us, playin' around.

I love how happy Zach is, and how folded Justin is. :)
These slides were fun, but went REALLY fast! Zach loved it and so did the girls and I!
Zach getting on this weird horse thing. It did nothing but sit there. He was off that pretty fast.
Zach hitching a ride on our fall stroll.

Zach and I going down the quaint leaf strewn path.

Us on the bridge going across the river. It really was prettier up the river, basically on the other side of the bridge. I wanted to go over there for pictures, but Zach was MORE than done and that was just way too much effort. You can actually see me tickling him for just ONE more smile. And yes, I chopped my hair off. I kind of regret it. It is easy, I didn't even do it this day, but I am not too fond of the bangs. They get pinned up...a lot.