Conference Sunday

One of my very favorite McFarland traditions, and one of the only ones still thriving, is General Conference breakfast. We all got together at Rick and Kathy's for sweetrolls (thank you, Kathy!), dads egg dish, and lots of yummy fruit. While the food is excellent, the company is even better. I love seeing the cousins interacting and everyone trying to listen to the talks. It's the best!
Eli really loves it too - lots of people to pay attention to him and lots of singing. Oh - and he loved the food, too!

It's also become a tradition to go on a walk afterwards. This year we were a bit too ambitious and walked to a farther park. It was quite the walk with little feet - Jos and Adam - and full bellies for the rest of us. However, we did make it and enjoyed a few minutes of playing before we had to high-tail it back for the afternoon session.

Leaves, Leaves, and Daddy's Eye

One of the benefits of our lovely Japanese Maple is that it turns an amazing red and does so long before any of the other trees in the neighborhood. This means we didn't have to be patient for an outing in the leaves.
Eli was a bit hesitant at first, but it didn't take much to help him see the joy that can be found in crunching and throwing the leaves around!
The only problem came when Eli's excitement ran into Kelly's eye. It's amazing what a leaf can do to a cornea. Good thing they heal fast!
I kept thinking about all the years Sandy Sue used to take us down to the old Academy Square and play in all the leaves. Now I get the chance now to introduce my bubba to the wonders of Fall! I'm sure Grandma was out there tossing a few leaves around too!

Ponies, Witches, and Friends

I've always wanted to get to Gardener Village for the witches festival and when I found a KSL deal for the petting zoo and pony rides I figured it was a sign that the time had come.
Eli and I met up with Anne and Ethan and Lisa, Tabitha, and Abigail for a little outing. It was so much fun to have a week day off that I could meet up with them in just a casual way. No big plans or schedules. Just being together. Of course the village ended up being packed so it was us and several hundred friends. But what are crowds compared to squeals of delight and good company?
We had to wait quite a long time for the pony rides which have us plenty of time to go through the petting zoo. Oh how Eli wanted to be as big as Ethan and Tabitha! We finally resorted to him walking around holding my hand and only sitting down in the dirt a few times. He loved the ponies, but especially loved the baby alpaca and the bunnies. Oh! And the ducks. I could tell he felt much more comfortable with them - like old friends meeting again.
After some lunch we finally got on the ponies. Ethan and Eli ended up together which was fun. Eli wasn't too sure about the whole riding on the pony thing especially when "Rascal" (appropriately named) kept refusing to walk. He was apparently afraid of cars, crowds, and puddles -all of which were in ample supply in the village. Eli made it long enough for a picture and a little riding and then was much happier to be in mom's arms walking next to the ponies.
I am so grateful to have such great friends and grateful our kids have such fun together. Eli just adores his buddies and I hope we can keep these kiddos close as they grow up.