Fall, Pumpkins, & Trick-or-treating

FALL FUN in NORTH CAROLINA

~PUMPKIN PATCH PICKIN'~

~FALL PHOTOS AT LITTLE RIVER LAKE NEAR OUR HOUSE~

~PUMPKIN CARVIN'~

~HALLOWEEN PARADIN'~

~TRICK-OR-TREATIN'~

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Last month (I know, I'm behind) - my baby turned 4!! I still can't believe it...

We had a lot of fun celebrating, starting the weekend before when we went to dinner with our friends and mentioned it was Ashley's b-day dinner outing. WELL, needless to say the restaurant went OVER the top with balloons and toys for the kids, oh yeah - and also the free "birthday treat" (see below - Steve was literally going around the restaurant offering cake to other people. We've never seen anything like it! Whatever happened to just the little scoop of ice cream? That restaurant rocked!)...

Then, the morning of her birthday, Ash got to eat her breakfast in her "birthday bowl"...

and open one of her gifts from mom and dad...

Later that day, Ashley had a "princess party" (her choice) at our house with her friends from the neighborhood, church, and school. The night before, I had fun making the cake...

At the party, each girl showed up wearing their princess dresses. I had crowns and wands for each girl to decorate with plastic jewels along with wooden princess stand-up dolls to color and decorate.

We also played "pin the crown on the princess"...

Then we had a "tea party" luncheon. (I had planned on doing it outside in our backyard, but it was pouring rain all day :( --- still worked out I guess). I served "princess wands" (skewers with fruit and marshmallows), "princess jewels" (jello jigglers cut out in shapes of heart, diamonds, etc.), and other finger foods...

That night, Ashley opened the rest of her presents from us and grandparents, etc. What a day!

Ashley's highlights this year include some big ones...a cross-country move to a new home -- TWICE (Baltimore to SLC; SLC to Durham), anticipating becoming a big sister, starting pre-school, dance classes, learning to write her own name, starting to read, fun trips, etc.

Some of her current favorites are:

~ READING BOOKS!!! She can't get enough of them. Will literally carry down a stack of 15 to sit in front of the couch and read for an hour.

~ TV shows: Little Einsteins, Blues Clues, Dora, Diego, and Olivia.

~ MOVIES: Any of the Disney Princess, Barbie, or Strawberry Shortcake ones.

~ FOOD: apples, hot chocolate, cereal, cheese and crackers, pizza, and of course CANDY and ICE CREAM (she has a huge sweet tooth!)

~ Riding her trike all the time.

~ Going on runs with daddy.

~ Showing us how she can whistle, snap, blink, and hop on one foot...at the same time!

~ Playing "Go Fish" and "Old Maid".

~ Hiding behind the couch and "scaring daddy" every day when he comes home from the hospital.

~ Going to pre-school and dance class.

~ Singing primary songs.

~ Playing the piano. She can now play "Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb" all by herself!

~ Writing letters to anyone and everyone.

~ Writing her name. She's gotten pretty good at it!

~ Playing with, arguing with, or bossing around her imaginary friends "Apoepa" (sp? we've never figured it out, but it's pronounced "Ah-Poe-Pah") and "Asosa" ("Ah-Sew-Sa").

~ Going to primary.

~ Doing her own laundry - yes, she really does this and it's fabulous! :)

~ Helping me dry the dishes.

~ GIVING "tweeties" a hundred times a day to Steve and I (little kisses right next to your eye --- the sweetest thing ever!)

What can we say, WE LOVE THIS GIRL!!!

The adventures of the Duke Football Game and the County Fair...

Last month we experienced a few North Carolina "firsts"...

1st Duke Football Game...

1st time wearing the color BLUE to any college sporting event (and felt very weird about it...to this day)...

1st time seeing a camel at a neighboring county fair...

and the 1st time riding a "dumbo ride" at the county fair where the ride operator was smoking a cigarette while lifting children in the ride...(wish I had a pic of that one - it just all happened too quickly).

Also went to our 1st "Pig Pickin'" --- think luau, but in the south, along with hush puppies and vinegar bbq sauce...

A few randoms

I'm trying to catch up on my blogging...or lack, thereof. I have to do things (mostly) in chronological order so I can keep track because this is a form of "journaling".

So here are a few randoms from the remaining part of August.

We went to the Durham Bulls baseball game and BBQ dinner courtesy the Duke Radiology Department...

...and ate lots of cotton candy with the Paxton girls.

Ashley also discovered our master bathtub, and so it has been nearly 2 months now that she has taken a bath in her own tub.

And we were also given an impromptu "sharing time/primary lesson" one afternoon after coming home from church...which lasted over an hour. (literally. i have video to prove it.)

Elder Smoot

My little brother entered the MTC (Missionary Training Center) today.

He'll be serving in the Manchester New Hampshire Mission for 2 years. His mission includes Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, and parts of New York and Massachusetts. We're so excited for him and he's going to be a terrific missionary for our church.

Dropping off missionaries nowadays at the MTC is different --- you pull up, open the trunk, missionary gets out of the car, and you drive off. Think airport curbside style.

So, we all said our goodbyes at my parent's house before he left...

Good luck Elder!! WE LOVE YOU! See ya in 2 years!!!

Ashley's First Day of Pre-School!

She loves it! She also picked out her tote bag and helped me design and decorate it the day before...

July Recap

Besides unpacking and getting settled in here in North Carolina, we were also able to enjoy a couple of fun Saturday outings to a nearby lake called Falls Lake Reservoir. The first Saturday we went with our friends the Paxtons, and the girls enjoyed playtime on the beach...

---------------
The next weekend, we went again with the Paxtons and this time our new friends, the Draughons. What was so fun about it was that their boat and jetski came along too. :) Never thought we (well - this time, Steve) would get to waterski on the east coast. Thanks Draughons!

Oh, and did I mention the water here is 85 degrees?

Yeah - we're not boating on cold Utah mountain lakes out here anymore...

---------------

We also found some time to do a little blueberry picking...

...and met our new "neighbor" who visited our backyard.