Sugar cookies

I love sugar cookies! I love being with my kids. This sugar cookie-making venture was the most fun we've had yet!

Working together! I love that my kids are becoming big helpers. They're doing more and more around the house to help out, and I love it!

Yummy anticipation!

Frosting cookies is work! Carter and Lily both frosted two each, I frosted the other 48.

Yummmm.

Attention to detail.

I just had to stick this one in because it's so cute! Hazel enjoyed her olives while we frosted cookies. It's funny to note that our cousin, Hannah, has a picture very similar to this on her blog this month. Hmm, they must be related!

Our masterpieces!

She didn't frost, but she sure did eat!

We had so much fun making sugar cookies that we did it again when our buddies came over. It was a lot of fun!

It's autumn time!

We don't exactly have autumn weather here. When it finally cools down, it's in the 90s. So I took my kids up to Flagstaff for some fall weather over a long weekend.

Our nature walk in the crisp air was so great! It helps that Uncle Neal plants crystals in his rock bed. My sweet aunt and uncle let us stay at their house. They were out of town and we missed playing with them. Carter was particularly bummed that Grandpa Neal wouldn't be there.

Gathering leaves, sticks, rocks, pine cones, and the like.

Cuteness!

Carter wouldn't smile for a picture. So I said something silly like, "There's a booger on your earlobe" and it got him smiling.

It snowed!!!! It was only a very tiny bit, and it melted when it touched the ground, but to us that was pretty darn exciting!

Hazy's first fall nature walk.

Lily sat down with a book, a mug of hot chocolate, and she was a happy girl on a cold afternoon. My daughter is just like me! She's a complete bookworm! I would read as much as she does, if I could. But I can't, because mommies have a lot of work to do. She's read over 2,000 pages for her school's read-a-thon in the last 5 weeks!

Carter was happy on this cold afternoon too: building for his vehicles. He played trains and cars all afternoon.

Hooray for long weekend trips!

I {heart} San Diego.

Aaron took me to San Diego last weekend. It was wonderful.

Here are some of my favorite things from the weekend.

Gelato. Coconut and hazelnut. If you know me really well, I don't need to say more. But I will say more, because I adore hazelnut. I fell in love with it while I lived in France on my mission. When I saw hazelnut gelato I gripped Aaron's arm in excitement. I think my strength and delight surprised him a little. Yes, we got the same gelato on our first and last days on the trip.

Pizza is my favorite food. Filippi's quite possibly has my favorite pizza. It's loaded with cheese and vegetables. The sauce is made from scratch. The only thing wanting was whole grain crust, it was white. I'll definitely be returning to Filippi's on our return trip.

We went to the San Diego temple. It is exquisitely beautiful inside. My brother, Jaren, and his wife, Melinda, were married there, so it brought back sweet memories for us.

Flowers outside the temple.

We enjoyed the Mormon Battalion in Old Town. It was educational, fun, and really well presented. Kids love it: dressing up as a battalion member, pumping water from an old well, and panning for gold. It'll be fun to bring the kids back.

Yummmmmy mexican at Cafe Coyote, at the recommendation of a pal.

Another friend tipped us off to Crystal Pier. It's a row of houses on a pier over the ocean. It was fun to walk out over the water and watch the surfers.

The charming little houses on the pier were white with blue trim. Each house had its own design cut-out on the shutters. My favorites were the light houses and sea horses.

I love the beaches in La Jolla.

Did I mention that I love the beaches in La Jolla? They are so beautiful.

I don't know what the red fabric is on the ground...I just like the picture of Aaron.

I love, love, love this man. I adored him when we got married 10 years ago. I had no idea then how much more I could possibly love and appreciate him. He is a perfect match for me, and I'm so thankful he's mine.

The seals on Children's Pool Beach were really fun to see. Again, I can't wait to take my kids back to see them.

I enjoyed the break from all my regular tasks: planning, making, and cleaning up after meals; waking up at 5:00 a.m.; trying to keep the house running, etc. And I really loved having time with just my love. But I also really missed my kids. Hence, their initials in the sand.

This beach had super cool coloring in the sand. I wish I knew what it was from. Anyone know? Anyway, it looks cool.


Sandy feet. It was too chilly to swim, but I loved walking on the beach. The sand felt good on my feet.

Thank you oodles to Jeanette, my mom-in-law, who took care of the kids so we could have a good time.

I love Aaron. I {heart} San Diego.

To school!

Farewell to summer... I love having my kids home with me in the summer time. This summer has been especially neat because Lily and Carter have reached a new peak in their sibling friendship. This summer they clicked and reached the point where they have so much fun playing together. They'd run off and imagine, collaborate and create, be clever and silly together, and have a great time. That's new for them. I loved seeing that this summer. And so it's with a little sadness on my part that I hugged them goodbye on their first days of school this year. Back to the rushed schedules and not as much family time...bummer.



Carter started preschool last week. We had planned to go in early so Carter could meet his teacher, see his classroom, and the preschool dog. (He's very scared of dogs, but has been working to overcome his fear.) The morning after we got back from vacation I called his teacher to set up a time to come visit. To my surprise, she said it started that day!! Fortunately we had all his supplies ready, so we got to start preschool earlier than we thought! (Yes, he brushed his teeth right before we left, so there's a big wet spot on his shirt!)

When we got to school he was so excited! I can't get over how he put his little fists up to his chin in excitement! The reason he's not looking at the camera is because this is his first glimpse of his classroom and he can't peel his eyes away from all the exciting things around him!

He hung up his backpack...Toy Story, not Princess! His teacher has a really fun set up. I wish I could be in his preschool class! I'm so excited for Carter. He is loving preschool already: the friends, the playing, the coloring, and writing, and even the dog! He actually pets Sandy, the dog! If you've ever seen Carter in the presence of a dog, you know that's significant.
I'm impressed with Carter's worksheets. We haven't done very much coloring and drawing with Carter because it hasn't interested him (hello, trucks and trains or a pencil?). So I was a little worried that Carter would have a hard time with crayon work. Well, I was pleasantly surprised to see his great coloring and line tracing skills!

I am such a goober and I forgot to get a picture of Lily before her first day of school yesterday!! I was so disappointed. So I resolved to get a picture of her after school. It seems she had a great first day of second grade...but she was tired.

I took her picture outside her classroom, and between "smiling" shots, I snapped this one of her. I think it accurately captures how she felt.

She has a lot of friends from previous years in her class, and is excited about meeting new ones. Lily is growing so much. This first day of school is still exciting, yet in some ways it seemed like "old hat" to her, as if she's been doing this for years and she's a pro. Well, I guess she is.

We're very excited about Lily's teacher. She is an excellent teacher, with high regards from Lily's first grade teacher. I think Lily's going to love her second grade year.

My kids are growing up. It is wonderful to see them become more independent and helpful, yet I know it means my apron strings are getting even longer and longer. Sometimes that's a little sad for me. In spite of my mommy heart missing them while they're away, I'm completely excited about the adventures they'll have and the growth that awaits them.