The Squeaky Shoes

I wasn't thinking about my daughter's footwear when I dressed her on Saturday to take her with me to the Dog Show. We wandered around for an hour, watching Collies and Samoyeds, and Bouvier des Flandres without incident. And then, while watching the Golden Retrievers in the conformation ring, I let Clara out of her stroller. Within two steps of her squeaky-shoes, every Golden's head had whipped around to stare in her direction and every tail began wagging furiously. I could just hear their thoughts, like in the movie "Up", shouting "Toy? Toy! TOY!"
=0)

"Holy Mini Van, Robin!"

"How's this baby on gas mileage? "

" I'm not going to lie to ya, there's times when I miss the grappling hooks and the heat-seeking missiles, but you can't beat this thing for getting the groceries home."

"Is that a seat warmer?  Awesome!"

Hyrum likes putting his action figures into vehicles.  So far he isn't very picky about WHICH vehicle they go into.

Ladders

We haven't had the bunk bed ladder in place for several months, because the children would kick it from the bottom and break the ladder and scratch the wood.  The other day Russ put it back on, and within minutes Clara had climbed up to the top bunk!  She's never climbed a ladder before, and she's normally pretty cautious, so I was very surprised.  Now the ladder has been retired again.  Maybe we'll pull it out in a few more months, when she's a little more steady and less prone to falling.  =0)

*Disclaimer: The kids' room isn't always this messy.  Often.  But not always.

Halloween Tinkerbell

 Clara was a darling little Tinkerbell for Halloween.  She was so cute!

 She didn't like the flower garland however, and quickly removed it each time I placed it on her head.

Halloween Snow White

 Another costume from my Mom!  

Brielle was Snow White for Halloween this year.  She looked beautiful!

Halloween Pirate

 My Mom gave Hyrum this Pirate Costume to wear for Halloween.  He loved it!  

 The bird adds just the right touch.

And this is why Pirates wear eye-patches!

If the hat fits.....

 These were taken back in September, Clara loves hats, and when she finds one she'll wear it for a long time..... this witch hat is her new favorite.

Kip was curious about the stranger in the hat.

Utah in October

We went to Utah, the second week in October.  We went for a funeral (which Russell will blog about in another post), but while there we were able to visit my Grandpa Francis!   The last time I saw Grandpa was when he came to see me a couple weeks after Clara was born, so it was wonderful to see him again!!

My Mom was able to drive down to Utah the same time we were there, and she was a great help!  Mom watched the kids for us while we attended the funeral, and my children were tickled pink to see both of their grandmas on the same trip.

Grandpa and Clara.  I wish I'd thought to take a picture the first time they met, when she was 2 weeks old.

 We went up Rock Canyon and took a couple pictures with the pretty Fall colors in the background.  

We also went to see my brother Mattie-pants at BYU.  We've only seen him once since he got back from his mission, so that was fun.  Visiting Provo always brings back so many memories!