First Big Mess

Walter made his first big mess today while I was on the computer.  He was having so much fun that I couldn't bare to stop him.  He found a stack of papers on the shelf and spread them all around himself. :)  I love watching this little guy explore and get excited about new things. :)

Halloween Time

We put Hulk up for the third year and I can now say that we are famous on our block for this big guy. :)  All the kids love him and during October, apparently people use "you'll pass the house with the big hulk" as directions to get to their house. :)  Lena loves this big guy and every time we drive out of the driveway she is sure to say "Goodbye Hulk! Goodbye House!"

We decided to throw in a photo shoot while we were out with Hulk. :)

ROAR!!!!

Lena decided that she wanted to be a kitty this year for Halloween. :)  This was the first year she picked what she wanted to be and it was fun to make it happen. :)  Here's a photo shoot of her in her costume. :)

Miss Holly is awesome and put on a great Halloween party for the kids this year!  Here are a couple of pictures from the event. :)

Instead of trying to get the ghost in the bucket, she basically just launched it as far as it would go (across the room). :)

Decorating (and eating) cookies with Tanner. :)

So Tanner is one of her "best" friends at school and he always wants to hold her hand.  They are so cute together. :)

I was lame and didn't get very many pictures of Walter in his costume... here is the only one I took of them both at the neighborhood trunk or treat. :)

Lena also decided that she wanted to go actual trick-or-treating this year so we went around our neighborhood and she loved it... I kept telling her to hurry and run up to the doors because it was freezing and by the end she said "I don't want to run, I'm too tired". :)  She was so nice to share all of the chocolate versions of candy with me. :)  She also LOVED answering the door and passing out candy to trick-or-treaters. :)

In Memory of Virginia Peterson McLean

My sweet sweet grandmother passed away this last week.  I'm so glad we were able to make the trip to Arizona to her funeral... though very very hard and very very sad, it was also a very very good experience.  The first night being in her home without her in it was the hardest I think.  I remember seeing a letter from my sister Rosie on their desk that they received just a week or so before she died and an overwhelming feeling of guilt came over me... I felt terrible for not writing her... I kept meaning to... I guess I just had a hard time seeing her so sick... I was in denial and didn't want to face the facts.  After that first shock I was able to sit up that night with Randy (who lost his Grandpa a couple of years ago) and just talk... talk about how I felt and he comforted me sweetly.  I felt much better after that long talk.

That whole week I was grateful to learn about my grandma's whole life, including her younger days which I never really appreciated before... I never thought to look at her as a young nursing student or a young mother.  In tears, my mom talked about how she was so sweet and had to be SO careful and a young mother because all of her babies were premature... she would make the older siblings stay outside when she brought a new baby home and they could only see him through the window outside... it was only when they were bathed and in clean pajamas that they could get closer.  She would sanitize EVERYTHING for her precious little babies because she knew how fragile they were.  Another thing that everyone said in their memories was how she was always ALWAYS thinking of others.  We would joke that she had a spring in her chair because every time she sat down to eat dinner she would think of something else that someone needed... like the salt or a spoon or a drink.  One thing that one of there old bishops said was that in Tucson, Arizona everyone would always say "when are we going to get a temple?" and for the longest time they wanted one closer... the bishop then talked about how when he was in my grandparents' house, that is where he felt the closest to being in a temple in Tuscon, Arizona.  One more memory that everyone shared was that my Grandma and Grandpa shared one of the sweetest marriages anyone has ever seen... not that they didn't have trials... but they were always so sweet and loving to each other.  My grandma would always tie my grandpa's tie on Sunday and after she tightened it she would always pull my grandpa close with it and give him a kiss and say "I love you".

Well, I better leave it at that for now, I just hope that I can somewhat live up to my Grandma's amazing example of love, service and living simply.   I love you Grandma and will miss you dearly.

Here are some pictures from this one last trip to Tucson, Arizona:

Bundled Up And More Inside Fun

Well it's officially starting to get colder outside... at least in the mornings!  We like to go out in the morning to see Maddy's, Audrey's and Thomas' bus drive by and hopefully catch Spencer doing the same thing so that we can play with him.  Well Lena sleeps in so we didn't have time to get her dressed this day... but luckily those jammies were warm. :)

These two were just being so cute playing by each other... They really do have so much fun together already!  I love it!

Daddy Daughter Dance

The Young Women hosted a daddy daughter dance this year and Lena was so excited to go.  She even let me dress her up!  Here is this cutie in her "princess-ish" outfit. :)  Randy said that she ended up being really shy and just wanted him to hold her the whole time... one day she'll be brave enough to show off her AMAZING moves.  Really though, she loves dancing around the house and I'm so impressed with her moves and how well they go with the music.

Look How Much I Can Hold?

I was organizing the office and there was a bunch of notebooks, pens and post-its laying out from some work convention and the next thing I knew, Lena came into the room saying a muffled "ook 'at I an 'old"?  She was holding everything and was using her mouth to help.  It was so cute!