Pumpkin Festival

On Monday, we stopped by Farnsworth Farms, which is an orchard out in Draper. They were having a Pumpkin Festival, and at the right price (free!), we were sold. The first order of business? Delicious scones. The second order of business? Staring at the creepy life-size "ghoul butler."While there, we ran into our friends Kim, Rob, and their daughter Clara. We loaded the kids in a wagon and were off to find the perfect pumpkins. I sense a budding romance!We also took a "tractor ride," which consisted of driving around the orchard (now pitch-black). But we still had fun and tortured Cole by trying to take family pictures.While I'm not sure how much older kids would like it, it was a really fun activity for our little family, and I'd recommend it to anyone!

Diving In Headfirst

After making Cole's cake, I was so excited to do more, and this weekend, I got some great experience. I did three cakes - one of which was actually a paying job - and although they didn't turn out quite the way I thought, I learned a lot from each.

The first was a cake a woman at work hired me to do for her dad's birthday. They had an inside joke of snowmen in their family (I have no idea...), which they asked me to use for inspiration.
The second was for my wonderful Grandma Barber's birthday. She is turning 86 this year, and is such an inspiration to me. I was so excited to make her cake.
The third was for my Grandma Allen, who turned 80 last week. It was such fun to have dinner with my dad's family to celebrate, and I enjoyed working with the fall theme.

I really did learn a lot, and I'd really like to thank my family for letting me practice and for being so supportive, despite some of my "rookie mistakes." :)

It's Not You, It's Me...

Dear Can of Enfamil Formula;

You are my final can of formula. Cole is now drinking regular milk, and I must say goodbye. We had a good run, right? For 12 months, I purchased you faithfully, even getting the formula for spitters. You didn't come cheap, and I cursed your $25 a can price every week. I hated the way you smelled, and loathed the way you would clump in the bottom of the bottle and clog the nipple. More than once, I sat seething as a fine mist of powder settled over my kitchen after a too-full can was opened.

But, you did your job. You kept my baby happy and healthy, and for that I'm glad you were there.

However, I won't lie. I'm glad to see you go. Good luck to you, can of formula, until we meet again,

Danielle

Bullies Already?!

Cole came home with a fresh set of bite marks from one of the other kids in his class at day care.

This is the second time.

Isn't it too early for bullying?

6 Whole Years

Even though our anniversary was October 1st, Bryce and I just got around to celebrating it this weekend. It's amazing to think we've been married six years - sometimes it seems so much longer than that - in a good way. We went up to Stein Eriksen and stayed overnight to celebrate. We dropped Cole off at my mom's (THANK YOU!!!), drove up to Park City and did some outlet shopping. Once we checked in at the hotel, we went on a beautiful hike. We even played around on the ski lifts!We went to dinner at the hotel restaurant, went back to the room and watched a movie, and spent some time in the hot tub on the balcony. All went very well until we tried to sleep and realized the A/C unit on the roof was making a horrible rattling noise. Even Bryce, who can sleep through everything, couldn't sleep. So, at 3:30AM, we called the front desk and were moved to another room. Not quite as relaxing as I'd hoped. But, we did have a delicious breakfast and a great trip down.

All in all, it's been a great six years. Life can definitely be challenging, but it is so worth it when you have someone so amazing and understanding. Thanks, B - love you!!!

Look Who's 1!

I just couldn't resist posting my favorite pictures from Cole's birthday. On Friday, we had a little celebration after we got home from work. I ordered from Goodwood thinking Cole would like some potatoes and chicken, but all he wanted to eat was the broccoli.
With Mom...
And Dad...He loves to read, so we bought him some books - I love how studious he is, even while holding it upside down.
We're also trying to encourage walking, so got him something he could push around. He loved taking things in and out of the basket.He also loved his new bathtime toy.The next day, we had our family and friends over. Of course we had to have balloons.
Aunt Carol along with Grandma and Grandpa AllenGrandma and Grandpa Thomsen
We had lots of fun opening presents, everyone was so kind and thoughtful!!! We moved on to the cake, which I knew he may be a little apprehensive about...

What the.....
Hmmm...tasty.....Delicious!!!!!The carnage.Thank you again for the birthday wishes - Cole is certainly blessed with lots of loved ones. Happy Birthday to our little man!

Cake Decorating

I just finished my first cake decorating class through Orson Gygi. It was a ton of fun, and I learned a lot. In honor of Cole's birthday, I did a cake inspired by his favorite stuffed puppy.

I'm hoping to keep doing more cakes to see if it's something I really would like to do. If you have anything you might need, please keep me in mind - I'd love to practice and am super cheap!!!

Happy Birthday Cole!

On the eve of the big 1 year birthday for Cole, I just wanted to put up a little post. Bryce and I cannot believe it's been a whole year since Cole joined our family. Our lives have changed so much, and it's been an amazing experience. We just wanted to say Happy Birthday to our little guy. We love you so much and are so proud of everything you do. We hope for the best for you throughout your life and want you to be happy always. We have loved spending the past year getting to know you and creating new memories, and can't wait for all of the things to come. Happy Birthday to you - we love you!!!

Spooky!

Last Friday, Bryce and I went on a ghost-story tour around Salt Lake with Shannon and Lance. It was super fun, and it was cool to hear all of the local legends. There may have even been a ghost sighting - some of us could swear we saw a nun ghost in the hallway at the old Holy Cross hospital. My favorite story was the one of Jean-Baptiste, a grave robber who was banished to Fremont Island for his crimes and never seen again. (It's true - look it up!) Anyway, it was a good time, and I'd recommend it for a fun Halloween-y date night.

Oooh, spooky, haunted...tour bus.....
We just barely missed Emo's grave - the cemetary had already closed. Shan and I tried to get a picture of "orbs" but were sadly disappointed.Up at the Fort at the U, trying to catch a glimpse of "Clem," the "colorful" (aka icky skirt chaser) ghost that haunts it.I knew it - we got an "orb" on camera! It's spooky, it's creepy, it's......the moon. Oh well, I need to have a ghost story of my own, right?

New-Found Appreciation

On Saturday night, we had to take Cole to Primary Children's. He was running a temperature of nearly 106, which was scaring both Bryce and I to death. They took a bunch of tests and gave him a healthy dose of Motrin, and at about midnight, we were able to go home. He seems to be doing okay, keeping around 103, and should be back to normal within the next couple of days.

Even though it wasn't a huge emergency on the grand scheme of things, I couldn't believe how upsetting the experience was. It gave me an enormous sense of appreciation of families who have to go through having a child who is truly sick. I cannot imagine living with that sense of panic and helplessness day in and day out. I am so grateful Cole has been healthy so far, and hope he will continue down that path. Bryce and I are also appreciative for all the support we had from our families - including putting up with our late-night phone calls.

On one final note: can you bubble-wrap kids?

Fall, How Do I Love Thee?

Last weekend, we ventured up to Silver Lake. This is becoming an annual tradition, and we love seeing the beautiful colors. We figured out that last year we went up on the exact same weekend, which was about a week before my due date. It was fun to go up with Cole and talk about all the changes this year has brought. I think we'll continue this tradition!