The Fair 2011

The Fair was soooo much fun this year! Dave got unlimited Fair tickets for his birthday this year so we were able to go a few times! Lucy was old enough to really enjoy it! And I was not 8 months pregnant like last year so I fared better too!

We started out visiting the horses. Lucy was crushed when she found out she couldn't ride the horses there, but tried to suffice with an imaginary ride! She takes horses seriously!

Well, yeehaw! She made it look so fun...Dave and Levi wanted to join too!
We let Lucy choose one ride because we were kind of on a budget. She chose the spider swing! When she watched it go around and made her selection there was tons of kids aboard, but when she got on, she was the only kid in line! I thought that would make her sad, because it sure looked lonely, but she smiled so big and put her hands up anyway. Just having fun in her own little world, thrilled that she got to ride something!

At night the lights were really beautiful! Even though the kids were tired, nobody was about to close their eyes and miss out on any magical fair moments. Here is the kids looking up at the lights and rides! Pure amazement, huh?


Got some big smiles in there too!

Levi was getting really tired, but he only opened his eyes wider. Yup turns out we have another live wire in the family...seriously though... sleep is so overrated! Maybe one of our kids won't mind putting his head down when he is tired like Dave... I look forward to this child with very dear emotions, but for now I just enjoy the party!
Here was our view of the fair from where we parked...so beautiful, huh? Very worth the walk up the hill with the stroller, plus we saved 10 bucks!


I went back for more fun on another day and entered Levi in the diaper derby. I had high hopes since I won the diaper derby at the Del Mar Fair 26 years ago. I thought maybe it was in the genes... ...but Levi just started socializing with another cute baby, backed off the line, disqualified himself, shattered his mother's dreams, but still got the 3rd place ribbon, because only 2 babies actually came in and Levi did turn around and make it the whole way across and come in third. He is fast, but I guess we didn't train hard enough! Levi wasn't impressed with his ribbon!



On the other hand, Lucy had a magnificent time! Papa let her go on the trampoline!

I have never seen a happier 3 minutes! Pure bliss!


And then if that wasn't good enough, he topped it off with a pony ride! She has been asking to ride a horse for months now! All of Lucy's dreams came true in one magical day!

I expected to hear how thrilling the ride was, but when she got off she asked me "When do I get to run on a horse?" One step at a time there cowgirl!

What a fun time! Thank you so much for the tickets Mom and Dad! We had a blast!

First Outings

We took Levi to the beach for the first time on Saturday night. He loved it. Of course, who wouldn't?

I took him again today, since it is incredibly hot here! We had so much fun! He just ate and then napped in the tent for 2 hours, while Lucy played with a friend she had just made.

I am so happy to be raising my kids here. I felt very confused raising Lucy in the snow. I never really knew what to do, except stay in the house, which was kind of miserable (I am not a home body).

I also took the kids to the park on Saturday morning (since Dave had to work and I had to get out). I am so proud of myself when I leave the house, since it usually takes a whole hour to get everybody ready (and that doesn't mean looking good, we are talking fed and clothed, not necessarily matching).

Anyway, here are the cute shots from the beach:

Ode to October: Cornbellies Cornmaze

One of my favorite days in October was October 15. I have always wanted to go to a cornmaze and since I was on a "must do everything before I leave Utah spree" we went to Cornbellies Cornmaze for the day.

The coolest thing was, I had no idea how much fun stuff there would be there!

We ended up staying for 3 hours, going home for Lucy's nap and then going back in the evening (yes, we had that much fun and still had our admission wrist bands on).

There was a glorious pumpkin patch, but I only took pictures of my pumpkin.

Princess dress ups, with a tower, stage and Cinderella carriage. We danced on the stage and googled over the carriage (we, meaning Lucy and I, not Dave).

3D haunted house (It looks creepier without the flash of the camera on everything, plus the glasses help)

Cow cart ride.

We watched the pig races. When they asked for volunteers I told Lucy to hold her hand up. Wow! They called on her, so Dave took her up. 4 kids each got a pig they were cheering for. The pigs had hilarious names, but now I can't remember Lucy's pig's name (Should have blogged about it when it happened). Lucy's pig won! She got a pig nose so she would always remember the experience! Cute!

On the hayride


On the bouncing pillow. Lucy would have jumped all day, I think. The kid is a walking spring. She definitely got her Daddy's hops. She talked about it for weeks afterwards. She would mention "I jumping en pollow & dragon" (There was a huge dragon we went through). That is how she would talk about the whole experience over and over. It is getting so much fun to bring her places! If this was fun, just wait until her first Disneyland trip!
Oh, aren't we the cheeziest corn family you have ever seen. I just love Lucy in her little bundle.

Lani joined us for the evening festivities.

They even had princess dress ups for the Moms! I was ecstatic!


I didn't actually get any pictures of us in the cornmaze, because it was dark. We felt like we were totally lost. At first we tried to use the clues and map, but after about 10 minutes we just let Lucy choose where to go. She got us out in no time! We were all amazed and she felt like the most important person in the world, getting to make all the decisions. The next day, while driving she was getting really upset that I wouldn't go the way that she told me. I try to let her choose every once in a while, just for fun now a days.

What a blast! I highly recommend it next year if you are nearby! The pictures I displayed didn't even show half of the activities there!

Ode to October: Post 4

October 3 - After Conference Birthday Dinner.

We went to the Mayan.

My Dad wanted to stay at the Family History Center in Salt Lake, because he doesn't get the opportunity to research there as often as he likes. I said that was fine, but later I was sad he wasn't coming to dinner with us.

We decided he really should come and devised a plan to get him to come with us. Me and my Mom secretly found him in the bottom floor of the library and snuck behind some nearby desks. We started whispering, as if he was hearing voices:

"We need you..."

"Come with us..."

"We need you..."

Progressively getting louder.

He kept looking around, wondering what was going on, until he caught me crawling closer under the desk.

We didn't really have him fooled. He thought it was one of the other patrons talking to themselves. He got quite a laugh out of it and decided he would reward our hard work by coming. He still had a little more work to do, but he did manage to pull himself away and share the evening with us.

I had such a great Birthday dinner, and loved being sang to with my rocket volcano sundae.

The shows were awesome and much improved from the last time I had been. Usually they just have normal divers doing tricks off the cliffs, into the water (No wonder I love this restaurant, huh?) Now they are dressed like natives, and make more of a show out of it, plus they have a fire dancer. Lucy loved it too. She kept saying "More show" I guess every 15 minutes wasn't enough for her. Dave and I call this the "Grown Up Chucky Cheese."

After Dinner, Dave and I went in the Haunted House the were doing upstairs. I was really scared and screamed a lot. I just hate when you are in closed spaces and being chased and don't know which way to go to get away from creepy people. I don't really mind the creepiness, but I hate being startled. It was definitely exciting. Dave really enjoyed it because I was scared. Oh boys! They just live for scaring girls and it doesn't change as they get older!

We concluded the night with a photo shoot inside the creepy (I think that is the word of this post) snake mouth. What a very fun night and Birthday! Definitely one of the best I can ever remember!




Fire Dancer
I didn't get any good shots of the divers. It was too dark inside the restaurant.


Yummy Dessert

Snake Photo Shoot:


I think I just have one more post to go about my Birthday weekend. And then just a few more October Posts to get done in the next 2 days (Let's be honest I cannot post about October in December!) Wish me Luck!

Ode to October: Post 3

October 3

My Mom, Dad and I went to the Saturday afternoon session of conference. My Dad had never been to conference before, so it was a treat to bring him!

Dave watched Lucy outside the conference center. He said an Ensign Photographer took lots of pictures of them. I just checked the November Ensign and they didn't appear to have made. That's okay, someday we will be in the Ensign.

I did a little SLC Temple Photo Shoot and shared posted a few of the many pictures I shot. I love pretending I am a professional photographer. I can hardly wait 'til I have a state of the art camera and actually know how to use it! Anyway, if you want to praise my photography skills in the comments section, I will be your best friend! (Flashback to elementary school!)

After conference we went out to dinner in honor of my birthday, at The Mayan (my favorite restaurant in Utah). I think I will post the pictures and a little blurb in a separate post, since this one is already getting long. I had to work hard to get my Dad to come, it's a funny story, so stay tuned!

Here's the goods!



Lucy and Momo. I think they both have the same cute cheeks.

Yay for Conference!