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.

All By Myself

Oh, independence is such a blessing - unless you are dealing with a 10 month old and a spoon. I'm pretty impressed how much of his squash actually made it in. Yep. He's so very talented!!

Look At Me Grow!

After 9 months in:





After 9 months out:





Our baby is getting so big!!!

Autumn Stroll

The colors are just starting to really go so we decided we better get up the canyon and let Eli enjoy fall in Utah before the snow comes - or everything turns brown, which is not very exciting. We walked up the trail by Bridal Veil Falls and had just enough time to enjoy the view before a raging thunderstorm drove us back to our van and out of the canyon. But Eli loved the walked and was fascinated by all the trees and colors. He held on to that leaf the whole walk and only tried to eat it once. It is so much fun to see everything new through his eyes. I can't get over his wonder about everything! What a cute bug!

Twinners

Dad and Eli just happened to match - Kelly was delighted. I've got to get those twinners some more matching outfits!

Catching Bugs, cont...

I am very excited to report Eli has learned to share! Not so exciting is that he shared his flu bug. So really, there is no off switch for mom. You are on even when you can't stand. Thanks to my hubby, though, who got us through the day.

Bree and Joe's Wedding

What a beautiful day! Bree and Joe were married yesterday at the Salt Lake Temple and we were able to spend the day with them and all the family. Thanks to Becky we only had to make the trek from West Valley and were at the temple on time!! Wahoo! Then, thanks to Stephanie Osborne, Eli was able to enjoy the temple too! He really had a great time with the cousins.









After the sealing, it was off to Bountiful for a yummy Chinese lunch and a beautiful reception. It was so hot and muggy, but the car air conditioning was great and saved us! We are just so grateful for our family and grateful we could be a part of Bree and Joe's day!