Halloween 2015

Halloween was much more fun this year with Marlo being a year older. Although older, we still used her costume from last year and it was a hit! No one was dressed like her and she was adorable in it! We weren't planning on dressing up with her but we had a few change of plans so we decided to dress up at the last minute! I am glad we did because most of our friends did and we loved seeing everyone's costumes! I am ALL for family themed costumes. I know Marlo will have more of an opinion in the future but I am pretty sure we will make it work each year ;) Bless my Mother who let me dress up as a "dead rollerblader" for like 3 years in a row - may Marlo never be as stubborn! 

We went to a Halloween party with all our friends! There were about 50 people there and all the kids were dressed up so cute!

This picture KILLS me! The party was during her naptime and I think at this point she was pretty much DONE. We left right after this picture haha.

We also went to the library with our friends for a little Halloween party there. Any excuse to use this costume! 

It's finally getting cold in Denver! It was a huge shock when we got back from AZ but it is so beautiful! Swing time is coming to a close so we are trying to get it in as much as we can. 

Thank you, Pinterest + Hobby Lobby! Went out on Saturday morning, spent $13, and we put together these hats. Nephi did most of the work and I was so impressed! All the kids at the party LOVED it! They kept calling Marlo our "baby duck". We ended up giving our hats to my friends little girls to add to their dress-up outfits - glad it's going to good use!! 

We didn't trick-or-treat with Marlo this year because it made me feel guilty?! I felt like if we took candy, all the parents would just stare at my hips and think, "Oh, we know where that candy is going!" Eek. I did let Marlo try a tootsie roll and she loved it! Next year, baby girl. 

Surprise Trip to AZ

Marlo and I took a last minute trip to AZ. The flights were cheap and we wanted to see family while we had a good chance and before things got too busy for us. We also went to spend time with my Dad who is not doing too well. He lights up when he sees Marlo and him and my Mom (and all my siblings) would do just about anything to see Marlo. No one knew we were coming except my parents so it was fun to surprise everyone!

We had an opportunity to buy Garth Brooks tickets off someone so we went for it! IT WAS AMAZING! I won't go into much detail, because I could go on and on, so talk to me about it in person, please? Because I want to tell you all about it - Ha! It was so nostaligic. We used to listen to him during on our summer vacations to Lake Powell and on all our family road trips. He is an amazing performer and so humble. I had a lot of friends go to his show in SLC as well and they all said it was the best concert they have been to - I agree! 

Marlo was SO good on all flights! On the way there she slept the whole time. On the way back she slept on the first flight but not the second. But, we had pretty empty flights so it worked. She sat and looked out the window. And she licked the window over and over and I didn't even stop her. Yeah - I am that cool of a Mom. 

The best part was, and I am writing this so I don't forget, when I got off the plane in Denver we were walking to baggage claim and a man who was on our flight walked next to us and said, "Your daughter did so well on the flight! She's the best baby I have ever seen in all my traveling. She is so beautiful." Wow! And then when we were leaving with Nephi after getting our luggage, we were just walking and talking and we walked by another guy and he kind of waved at us and said, "Hey, hey! Your daughter is so cute and such a good baby. I meant to tell you that on the flight but didn't get a chance. She is so cute!" Ha! So, good job Marlo. I guess it pays to just let your kid lick the window. 

Lots of cousin time! Marlo lights up when she sees Ava! And Ava is so sweet with her. Sure, she pushes her around sometimes, but I really think she does well with her and makes sure Marlo is always being good! :) And Colt! He is just THE SWEETEST babe. He is cooing and smiling and is so chill. He definitely has his Mama's personality! It was so fun spending so much time with him. He will be huge by the time I see him again! :( 

And of course, lots of Granddad time!!! I never see my Dad happier than when he is with his grandchildren. He is the best Granddad to them. Marlo was loving him this trip and would lean in to give him kisses without him even asking! I think she senses that he needs the love. 

Grandy time! He came into town the day after we did and I picked him up from the airport and about gave him a heart-attack! Ha! Marlo LOVES Grandy. She would run to him and put her arms up. She actually sat with him which she doesn't often do. 

Went to the AZ State Fair! It's been years since I have been and it was NOT as fun as the Eastern Idaho State Fair. The food was blah, too. But, we got in free because of a promotion they were having. ^^I love this picture of Marlo looking at the pig. He started snorting and it scared her. The video was so funny!

Took a little trip to the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins! 

Made sugar cookies with royal icing and they turned out so good! It is SO time consuming but I am excited to have the skill so I can use it for parties and such. I got The Allison Cookie Party course for my birthday and it was so worth it! Such great tips!

I LOVED this trip to AZ because I got to see Emily AND Maddie! They are my very best friends from High School. I usually get to see Emily every time I go to AZ but I haven't seen Maddie in almost 5 years! It was so fun to catch up and "brunch". Maddie teased that we are finally old and rich enough to brunch - HA! I said, yes we are old enough but I am not rich enough! But really, it was so wonderful to see them and we sat there for 5 hours chatting about old times and new changes in our lives. Grateful for such great friends that we can just pick up where we left off.

I am so glad we got to make the quick trip. Every time I see my family I usually have a detox a day or two after I leave and stay in bed and just super lazy and this trip was no different. Poor Nephi has to deal with my quick depression, haha. I just need things to look forward to and after a trip it always feels so far away! But Chelsea is coming in 2 weeks and then we get to see the Guymon's at Christmas! 

Our Denver Life

It feels like we are finally settling in well here in Denver. We have a good routine and although we have another schedule coming up (daylight savings + new job) we are relishing our days for now. 

Marlo pooping. I worry about potty training with her little pooping routine - she will not be able to squat like that on a toilet! It's typical to find her in a corner squatting like this or hear her grunts from her crib while she postpones napping with a cute little poop. 

 We went to Goodwill the other day to find chairs for our table because we were going to have the missionaries over for dinner and found some!  They are PERFECT for our table and were in our price range. And we like to dress up for shopping at the Goodwill, clearly.

I know they tell you that church will get harder before it gets better and now I finally believe it! Our church is right during Marlo's first nap (the one she is best at) and it's ROUGH! We've resorted to bringing a bottle now and lots of books and that's been helping but we are all exhausted by the end of church and so is she. 

A little folding arms action at family prayers. 

We had a girls night the other night doing makeup. I didn't actually do my makeup because it was late and I didn't want to have to clean my face - ha! But it was fun to compare brands and techniques. AND I love these girls. The most welcoming and friendly girls I have ever met. 

This was to document Marlo eating one of those "DO NOT EAT" packages. YEP. Don't worry, we googled it real quick and it's not actually poisonous - it's just a choking hazard. Nephi got Marlo to open her mouth by letting her put her fingers in his mouth and he got most of them out. I assume she took the rest out because we didn't spot anything in her poop. She is mischievous.   

I finally made my favorite bread! It's inspired from my Mom's recipe (I made a few adjustments). She even sent me a few loafs on my mission because I love it so much. It freezes so well and makes great toast and sandwiches!

Pumpkin Patch'n

In true fall fashion, we hit up the pumpkin patch down the street from us at a local church. Pumpkins in Denver are expensive compared to Idaho - but these were for a great cause (read: NOT really). 

The pastor started telling us about this lady who broke her hip and I was thinking it was going to be for hospital bills but NOPE. Apparently this church needs to raise funds for a golf cart to help their elderly attendees get to the church from their car so they don't fall and break their hip(s). So we bought 4 little pumpkins. Hope our $12 helps. (I hope that doesn't sound heartless but it's just a little strange to raise funds for that and make it appear like charity.) 

Apparently, Marlo is afraid of pumpkins and bouncy houses. She was being such a wuss! But, she was being a cute wuss and we loved teasing her. 

Hanging with Ms. Marlo

We've gotten in a looooot of family time the last few weeks with us all being home and it's been so nice! That won't last much longer so we are trying to take advantage of hanging out with Ms. Marlo.

Marlo LOVES the Dada book. She brings it up to us 20x a day to read and it's the only book she won't flip fast through the pages. The other day she ran to Nephi with another book and he said, "No, go get the Dada book!" Sure enough, she ran into the other room and came back with the Dada book! 

She has been the BEST eater lately! (knock on wood) She will eat just about anything and sometimes double fists her food to get it into her mouth faster. When she is done, she pulls her bib towards me and sometimes says, "Done?!" We are trying to get her to say, "all done" but her pulling her bib is good enough! 

Finally loves the bath again. She went through a phase where she hated the bath and now when we say, "Bath-time!?" she squeals and runs to our room. We have a big bath in there and just just walks around and plays with toys. I can't get her to sit down anymore. And she loves the water being dumped on her head! I have Nephi to thank for that - hopefully she with love swim lessons next year!

We have always counted out loud with Marlo to distract her and it's finally paying off! Last week she starting mimicking our counting! We were in the tub and I was showing her the 1, 2, 3 foam numbers and then suddenly she was mimicking my tone! She loves it and will sometimes use her fingers. When she is falling asleep for a nap or when she wakes up from a nap we just listen to her in her crib saying it over and over again. Next up, ABC's!

Her first piggys! 

My Costco Clan. Bless their hearts for dealing with me in that place! 

Wrapping Up Summer

We wrapped up our summer by dragging it out as long as we could. While everyone started busting out the pumpkin spice, we took a trip to the pool, hit up a Rockies game, and have been on walks every day to soak up the beautiful weather! Long live summer!

I had the opportunity to work an event in the Bahamas through a company that a friend of mine started. They needed some event planning experience and I am glad I could help out! I mean, fiiiiiine, I will go to the Bahamas if you make me ;) 

It was crazy (read: expensive) to get my passport in order and then book flights. I was a little hesitant to leave Marlo with Nephi, but his schooling is such that he does most of it online and had to put Marlo in daycare only 2 times for him to go to campus. Also, there was no question in Nephi's mind that I should go. A little of it was networking, a little was to earn some money, and then a lot was just for me to get back in the event planning game considering that I have taken some time off to do other work. I LOVE it and hope I will have future opportunities to keep doing so. It keeps me sharp. 

These 2 did just fine without me! In fact, Marlo had a rough 2 weeks after I got back with all the transitioning but turns out she is teething (still is). So grateful for a supportive hubby like Nephi. There is no one else like him!