Pumpkin Carving

For FHE on Monday we carved a pumpkin. Lilly helped Gus pull out all the insides and then tried to help carve it, which was a little scary.

In the end, she was so proud of her daddy!

My Birthday and Sharpay

For my birthday last Friday Gus gave me roses and a SEWING MACHINE! I have wanted a sewing machine forever, and now I just need some money to buy fabric.

On Friday night, MJ came over and watched Lilly for us while we went out to eat at Olive Garden. We haven't gone out just the two of us forever and it was wonderful.

Lilly recieved this little number from my mom for her birthday. She calls it her "Sharpay" outfit. Sharpay is her favorite High School Musical character who is always wearing extravagant outfits. Lilly loves to put it on and prance around the house singing High School Musical songs.

Four Day Weekend

Last weekend was a busy one. Gus had Friday off and then Monday was Columbus Day, so he had that day off too, which made for a 4 day weekend!

On Friday we went to Cox Farms. We had a fun time looking at all the baby cows, pigs, goats, and sheep. We went through the corn maze, ate apples, drank apple cider, learned how to milk a cow, and went down all the big slides. Lilly especially loved the slides. At the end of every slide she would take off running back up the big hill to go again. At the end of the day we each picked out one pumpkin to take home.

On Sunday morning we left for Charlottesville, Virginia. We took a 2 hour drive through the Shenendoah National Forest and looked at the beautiful fall colors. Lilly threw up 3 times in the first hour of our drive. We think she got carsick because we were swerving through some pretty narrow roads, but when we stopped she was just fine.

We arrived at our hotel in Charlottesville later in the day, got a bite to eat, and went to sleep.

The next morning we drove over to the University of Virginia (where Gus's Aunt Jane went to college). We had a great time taking pictures with all the wonderful old buildings.

On the way back home we stopped off at Pop Pop and Betty Sue's house. Betty Sue fixed us a delicious lunch and we sat around and talked for a while. Then Gus took Lilly around the farm and let her run all of her energy out before the drive home. Lilly had a fun time giving Pop Pop hugs and kisses and telling him all her stories. Before we left, Betty Sue gave Lilly a bag of candy. She was so excited.

Princess Party

Lilly will be three years old on Sunday. To celebrate the big day I decided to throw her a birthday party. Lilly requested either a princess party or a High School Musical party. I figured the other girls her age would have more fun with a princess party, so princess announcements went out.

On Friday afternoon at 1:00, three of Lilly's princess friends arrived. They each received a crown, wand, necklace, and gift bag full of lots of princess stuff and a chocolate flower sucker upon arrival.

We played pin the crown on the princess, made candy necklaces, ate a princess castle with pink ice cream, and had a princess dance party. It was fun to plan but I am REALLY glad that it is over. I realized it was all worth it when the next day Lilly woke up and said, "Mom, I had so much fun at my party yesterday!" She was a happy little girl.

The beautiful princess Lilly

Pin the crown on the princess

Making candy necklaces

The magnificent cake that took WAY too long to make

Eating the magnificent cake

Lilly received very fun presents

The beautiful princesses

Eating ALL of her candy after a fun party

Bittersweet

Yesterday was bittersweet. It was the day that the headstone was finally finished and placed on our sweet little boys grave. For us, it made everything feel final. I was so happy to have something finally covering that bare spot of dirt, and it turned out beautiful.

It was also a day of remembering. It was hard because it brought back some very sad and angry feelings. We miss so much what we could have had here on this earth, and it hurts. I look at Lilly and feel sad that she won’t get to play with her two little brothers. I hope that some day I can think of my boys and ALWAYS think happy thoughts.

While we were in the Angel Garden at the cemetery I noticed a couple who stood crying over their tiny son's grave. It made me feel so sad for them because they may not have the knowledge that they will see him again. This made me so grateful for the knowledge that I have that I WILL see my two little boys again someday. But even with that knowledge, I still feel empty and sad over their loss; yet knowing that this isnt the end makes it bearable.

We put a Norway flag with the flowers because Gus's brother Nate is on a mission there

Kissing her brothers

Happenings

What Lilly has been up to:

1- She started Joy School two weeks ago and absolutely loves it. She wasn't scared at all because all of her friends from church were there. She goes twice a week for 2 1/2 hours, and I have loved having this time to myself to run errands and shop.

2- She is obsessed with anything High School Musical. It all started when Aunt MJ and Aunt KA showed Lilly their "We’re All In This Together" dance they did with their friends for a ward talent show. Lilly now knows the words to all the HSM songs and occasionally busts out her rendition of “Breaking Free” or “Bop to the Top” at the most inopportune times – like in the middle of Sacrament Meeting. It’s quite embarrassing, but very cute (I think it’s because she’s so off key when she sings). Her favorite character from the movie is Sharpay, and she makes this known to everyone.

3- Dressing up like a princess in her tutu, sparkly shoes, princess crown, butterfly wings, and bracelets. Gus even took her to the grocery store like this.

4- Playing mommy to her twin babies.

5- NOT taking naps. Recently, Lilly has been on a nap strike and it drives me crazy! She gets really tired but refuses to nap, and then she’s super cranky and whiny all day. It’s awesome.

What I have been up to:

1- Reading the last 3 books in the Faith of our Fathers series.

2- Making hair bows and headbands for Lilly.

3- Shopping for a new Fall wardrobe for Lilly (she’s growing up way too fast!).

4- Putting together a shadow box in memory of Jax and Rook.

5- Planning fun Fall adventures.

6- Reading up on photography and photo shop. I really want to start taking pictures for people but I need to get a whole lot better. So, if anyone wants me to take pictures of their family or kids for free, I would love to. I need the practice!

7- Looking for a sewing machine. I really want to sew Lilly some cute dresses. Hopefully Gus gets me a sewing machine for my birthday (hint, hint).

Virginia Beach

Last weekend we took a trip down to Virginia Beach before we said goodbye to another fun summer. We invited MJ to join us on the trip and Lilly couldn’t have been happier. I get real nervous when we have to travel long distances with Lilly because she’s never really done well sitting in her car seat for long periods of time. But, it turns out she did great with MJ sitting next to her. They read books, watched High School Musical over and over, had lively dance parties (with their seat belts on, of course), and entertained each other during the whole three hour drive out to the coast.

When we arrived, we checked into our hotel and then immediately headed down to the beach. MJ was nice to take family pictures for us, which turned out great, and then we stayed for a couple of hours and let Lilly play in the sand. She loved making sand castles and searching for seashells, and spent only a few moments playing in the waves with Gus. She said it was “kinda coldy” even though the water was quite nice.

After we got cleaned up from the beach we went and ate dinner at the Silver Diner. Honestly, the food was disgusting. I don’t think we’ll ever go back. But the ice cream at Cold Stone afterwards…ya, we’ll definitely go back there.

That night I was anxious to see how Lilly would do sleeping in the queen bed with MJ. She never sleeps well anywhere except her own bed, but it turned out that Lilly was really excited to have a bed buddy and she fell right to sleep while MJ tickled her face.

On Saturday morning we headed down to the beach again. Lilly went right to work building sandcastles and then finding seashells to decorate with. She loved standing at the water’s edge and letting the water knock her off balance. She laughed and laughed when it would hit her legs.

The weather was great, the water was warm, and Lilly was happy. So ya, we had a wonderful time – a great trip to end the summer.

Building the perfect sandcastle

Adding the finishing touches.....seashells, feathers, and driftwood

Kat also had an amazing time at the beach. Lilly had a fun time burying her in the sand.

The water was SO warm. We all loved it

Sometimes the waves were a little strong and they would knock us over