The Last of the Moh...pictures

I don't think I have ever taken this many pictures of one trip in my whole life. But they are so fun!

There is a new store in Utah called Scheels. It has a FERRIS WHEEL in it! So we rode on it. Alyssa was excited, and then not too excited, and then ecstatic while riding it! I was super nervous she was going to try to slide out or rock us so much that we would do a 360!

They would never smile like this for a staged picture. Only for Alyssa.

 Oh yes, and we celebrated Alyssa's 2.5 birthday! She love parties A LOT! So we had cake and candles and she even got a new tutu-pants thing and some Fancy Nancy books, the best books around! Thanks Grandma and Papa!

Phew! We made it to the end of our pictures and the end of the vacation! We had two fires while we were there. We played endless games of snarf and watched Duck Dynasty. We laughed, we cried, we ran, we walked. We loved every single minute of it! It was so hard to leave. Good thing I love Erik :)

Claire's pooped!

I love to see the temple!

Alyssa's favorite song (favorite based on the fact that if we ask what song she wants us to sing she says this song) is I Love to See the Temple. I wanted her to see the Salt Lake Temple because it is a bit iconic in our faith. It, too, like everything else was beautiful!

The fountains and reflecting pond were just too tempting. Also, don't be deceived by Jacob and Porter. It was not 80 F. It was actually quite chilly!

I also went to the Draper temple with Mom, Dad, and Jacob. It is my favorite temple. I remember going to the open house before I received my endowments and feeling so close to my Heavenly Father. I went back there to receive my endowments and it is my favorite one to visit when I have the chance. It was a nice session with the fam! I'm grateful we could go together!

A Hike Up Bell's Canyon

The mountains were GORGEOUS! I don't think I have seen a fall like that in Utah for a long time. The leaves were turning colors, it wasn't raining or snowing at all. It was just beautiful and vibrant! The air was crisp. Mmm. A lovely, lovely fall.

We hiked a nice, level hike to Bell's Canyon. We made it to the reservoir and it was lovely! Everyone was very kind to carry Alyssa up the mountain. She had to "go" so bad that the burden of walking was almost more than she could bear.

Starting out on our journey...

Claire and Jacob helped, too!

 

Stand by that red tree for a pic op!

Mmm. Beauty!

I just hope I find those mountains in Delaware soon! They seem to be alluding me....

Cornbelly's

Alyssa and I took a trip to Utah. Thus, now is the beginning of many a post about what we did there, because my O my we enjoyed the beautiful fall Utah produced this year!

We went to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point! It has grown in number of attractions!

There was the cow train! Aren't my brothers awesome for riding on a cow train! It was funny standing in line...most parents were outnumbered by kids. However, Alyssa was outnumbered by adoring adults who love her so much to go to Cornbelly's on a day of fall break!

We all participated in some good ol' fashioned duck races!

Porter kindly obliged to have his picture taken with this pumpkin man...

And, of course, we did the corn maze! It was a picture of the U and Y. I went in on the U side because the poor people in my family all think they are U fans. I conceded knowing that it would be the easy side of the maze because the U fans couldn't handle a hard maze. They'd be stuck in there all day!

Victory, VICTORY, VICTORY!!!! We made it. And it turns out that corn mazes are still challenging in broad daylight. They are just less cold!

Not pictured, but still great attractions were the mystery houses (squeeeeeeeeeeeze), the bicycle cars (that Dad rode), another sort of tractor train, a hay ride, a slide that is super super fast (ask my tail bone), and a cow in the hat. 

Halloween Happiness

Alyssa was a little princess for Halloween. Pretty non-descript...pretty easy. She was beautiful, nonetheless! She had a lot of fun at the trunk-or-treat at the church. She was super excited to attend and share our lollipops and get other delicious candy!

Alyssa is a people watcher. She did that more than play games!

They had face painting. Need I say more. Alyssa was sold! She got a pretty flower on her cheek.

The candy has been great. She eats the Gobstoppers, I eat the chocolate and Erik gets what he can. I feel that it has been her greatest motivator behind going potty. She knows she has a variety of goods to choose from each time! It is her self-imposed reward because I never mention it!

Oh, and I gave her a teeny tiny hair cut. It was about a half inch and it was very randomly done after a bath, but I think it makes her hair a little less snarly. I'm glad it's curly so you can't see the uneven-ness of it all!

I'm a big girl now!

Alyssa is growing increasingly independent. She talks so well and loves to "read" books and play. She will flip through every book she owns. It takes a long time, but it is one of her favorite pass times. She has also started asking if she can go to school. She wants to go to school and "learn about A". She has also started spelling things. Erik made her a poster that has a few items on it with their names spelled out next to them. Things like MOMMY, ALYSSA, DOG, CAT, CAR, DADDY, JOSH & SARAH...When we got back from Utah she pulled it down and started spelling out the words. "M-O-M-M-Y ...Mom. C-A-R...Mommy's car." When she got to Josh and Sarah she didn't know J so she said "Josh, Josh, Josh, Josh Sarah Sarah Sarah Sarah Sarah." Kids are smart, my friends. Teach them while they are young!

Even though I miss my baby, I love that she is older. We have a lot of fun together playing and talking and reading. She is my partner in everything! I love my girl!

She has her own style. This she comes by quite honestly! Mmmm. Let us never forget the skirt I made out of a dress, thus the skirt having arms hanging off the side of it and a collar around the waste.

She does her own face paint!

She climbs large towers with Daddy at White Clay Creek.

She sleeps in a big-girl bed and wears big-girl panties***.

She cooks and decorates skull cupcakes!

But thankfully she is not too big to sleep for naps and still love on that blanket of hers!

***

Sometimes we try to get her to sit on the potty by letting her watch "Jesus moomies". She LOVES the bible movies.

Around the beginning of September we started a potty endeavor. It included stickers for sitting on the potty and a wide range of candy for actually going. Alyssa started to wear underwear and was doing fairly well. But then the treats lost their magical motivation and I quickly realized something (thank you librarian for helping me understand)...Alyssa did not OWN the potty going business. So we went between diapers, pull ups and underwear depending on my emotional well-being for the day. There was another problem. Alyssa's lack of owning the potty was turning into an owning of the bowels. She would hold her #2s for several days, and when we went to Utah she started holding everything for AS LONG AS POSSIBLE. I'm talking 8+ hours even though she was wearing a pull up or diaper. Do you know what it is like to hike with a toddler who has to pee? Or watch a movie in the movie theater? All in all it can be very stressful.

And thus I dropped the subject completely. I put her back into diapers. I never mentioned the potty or acknowledged the rather obvious potty dances (oh we shall never forget her standing on the stool stamping her foot endlessly while trying to eat a gogurt!). We have been back from Utah a little over a week and today she asked to wear underwear and went every time she had to go, even doing a #2 in the potty! There is no bribery to get her on the potty, though candy is always requested afterward. And thus I believe we might be on to something. When people tell you when they're ready, they're ready. LISTEN. And if you don't know what that means...then try for a few weeks, and if it doesn't work exactly how you want then they are probably not ready. That is what my advice boils down to.

General Conference Donuts Live On!

We succeeded in making donuts again for General Conference again this year! We went the simple way - canned biscuits fried in oil. Alyssa and Erik were the chief chefs and I ate happily!

The week prior to conference I taught the nursery kids "Follow the Prophet" during singing time. During general conference Alyssa started singing "follow da prophet, follow da prophet, follow da prophet..." I was impressed that she remembered the song we had only sung once before and that she was able to connect it to listening to the prophet's voice!

I have been listening to conference since the beginning of October and Alyssa recognizes that I am listening to it! Yesterday she asked me, "You listening to the prophet, mom?" Yes, indeed I was! I have felt so keenly our need for a living prophet today. He helps us know the will of the Lord! There are many ideas of how we should live. Often times the minority voices are heard the most and they beckon us to live according to the world. Thus, Hallelujah! we have a prophet today! I will hearken to his words! By following the prophet we truly won't go astray.

friends

Good womenfolk friends are essential. Seriously. And my heart feels much gratitude for all the women in my life! There are women who live nearby who make living so far from family so much more bearable and there are the womenfolk who live far, far away but not quite in Judea's plains. I love them too and I am so grateful that technology brings us so close.

This is a small (and not comprehensive) tribute to my womenfolk friends who I have pictures of, because I want to post the pictures :) 

I said farewell to Leslie. She makes my soul smile. I think of her laugh and her enthusiasm and her realness and her lovely aura, and I just can't help but feeling happy. 

Lauren came for a visit to see myself and Sarah. College friends and beyond are what last, and that is for reals! I will always know Lauren and Sarah longer than I have known Erik. (I know that will make Lauren feel good.) Even though I will always have lived with Erik longer! haha We had a fun time around Delaware and in Philly! Alyssa even tagged along for the girl's day out! It is such a blessing to know them!

Attempts

It is already September. It is chilly in the evening and pleasant during the day. Mmmm. The Mid-Atlantic fall times are lovely! As I ran this morning I noticed the leaves that have fallen to the ground, brown and crunchy. It's a good time of year.

[My Google+ profile scares me. I have no idea what I have "uploaded" to it, but I fear it is more than I intended.]

We have begun Attempt 1 at potty training. I am not sinking my teeth into this being the only attempt because I feel that is how life goes when you are doing things like potty training bright minded, slightly obstinate two-year-olds. I am realizing the potty training combined with a nice cold bug that is floating around my house is making me feel a bit, shall we say, cabin fever-esque! And so though I thought I would read a book this afternoon, I am instead writing. Writing, writing, writing! And pictures! I love pictures and I am finding more and more of them everyday!

Attempt 1 is going quite stunningly. She does not wake up wet from naps or bed-time. And we have had only one accident yesterday and today each in big girl underwear! I'm learning things everyday. Like, if you catch her right when it is happening, don't pull down her underwear without putting her in the bathtub first. And all those cloth diaper burp rags? I think they will make excellent puddle clean up kits combined with my Lysol in a bottle!

We still have not had number 2 success. The next couple of days will tell that. And all in all, I really want her to be trained at the end of this, not me. So we'll give it a couple of weeks with the old college try and go from there!

One of Alyssa's favorite games right now is to have Erik and I pretend to sleep. When she wants us to wake up she says "oink, oink". Last night Erik was feeling a bit tired and under the weather so this was the perfect way for them to play together. Alyssa got everyone blankets and pillows dictated exactly how we should play. After awhile she told Erik to "come get me". Erik discovered if he waited about ten seconds Alyssa would charge him and he therefore had fulfilled his duty to "come get me" without ever moving from his spot on the floor.

Isn't she cute in her little undies?

What's inside your forehead?

Alyssa!

A Camping Trip

(not actually from camping, but kind of outdoorsie...from the "hike" that was really a trail in the middle of major highways and train tracks...oh, they're eating grass)

We went camping! We have said over and over that we want to go camping, so we finally did it! We went the Friday after I had my appendix out! We went to Lums Pond. It's a nice, kind of infested, beautiful pond. We went with a few different friends from the area and had a good ol' time!

We had s'mores, and that is all I really cared about. Unfortunately Alyssa not a pro-sleeper when it comes to being away from home. I think I fell asleep before her...sometime after midnight and then we all got up bright and early the next morning! Luckily and blessedly she took a four-hour-nap the next day! :) Happy Mama!

rock throwing

ker-plunk!

Alyssa found pine cones and her friends found sticks and rocks and all sorts of fun, dirty things! We threw rocks into the pond and went on a mini hike observing frogs, toads, really long earth worms, and all sorts of other nature-y type things.

so happy together!

Here's the thing with hiking around Lum's pond. The scenery never really changes. When you hike a mountain you go through so many different elevation phase changes. But around a flat pond, everything is pretty much the same as it was before. That's the bummer about no mountains. But don't worry, the mountains are just around the corner! [My coping method for no mountains.] I just can't ever seem to get around the corner to see them.