Summer Fairs

Lyla and I were lucky enough to attend a couple fairs this summer with Grandparents. First up was the Davis county fair with Mimi and Papa, Liz, Owen, and Mya. The Sonoma County Fair had just happened, and I was feeling a little homesick for it, so it was nice to be able to attend some kind of fair. I was a little shocked by how tiny it was, but it was fun to pet the animals, ride a few rides, and watch the horse riding.

Lyla was pretty hesitant about the petting zoo

Lyla and Mimi

Longest ride I've ever been on

We also got to go to the Utah State Fair with my mom and dad, Ashley and kids, and Des and kids. Since I was still feeling a tiny bit homesick for the Sonoma County Fair, it was fun to go to a fair with my parents, like we used to do. The "Little Hands on the Farm" was lots of fun, and Lyla and I also had a lot of fun ditching the rest of the crowd and wandering around with my Dad. Lyla's strength is definitely not following the crowd. Lyla really took to Grandpa, and I love seeing them together.

Lyla loving the tractors

She took the "apple picking" very literally

I felt a little bad about the damage...Also, I just noticed the nice view of baby Hudson, just a few days before he was born :)

Grandpa and Lyla hanging out...how bout the calves on that old guy?

My cute parents and 1/3 or their current grandchildren

Grandma, Grandpa, Lyla, and Cambria

Lyla and Grandpa checking out the fly fishing

4th Wedding Anniversary

Todd and I got really lucky because my mom was in town around our wedding anniversary, so we got to do another overnighter this year. I was also glad that Lyla and my mom got to spend some quality time together. We were in a pretty great position this summer, where Lyla was old enough to leave, and no pregnancies or babies, and I'm glad we could take advantage of it a few times.

We started off our date by going to the Salt Lake temple to do sealings. This is our second year in a row doing this on our anniversary, and both times have been really special experiences for us. After that, we checked into our hotel room, then went to the Copper Onion for dinner. It was a perfect evening, and we got to sit on the patio. It was fun to try something new and a little fancier than we usually do. After that, we walked down to City Creek, which seems to be our default, but it was great to just be together and chat. We picked up some delicious chocolate cake at the Cheesecake Factory, and headed back to the hotel to hang out. We just relaxed and watched Jimmy Fallon, and it was really nice. We had reserved a garden room, but got upgraded to a tower, so that was great too!

The next day, I woke up early, like I always seem to do when we get a chance to sleep in. We ate the rest of that chocolate cake for breakfast, checked out of the hotel, and then went walking again. We ended up going to the Cathedral of the Madeleine, which was really cool to explore. We ended our time out with lunch at Maxwell's pizza, and came home to see our girl.

It was such a fun time, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to get away and reconnect as a couple. So grateful to my mom for watching Lyla, and making me feel like things were awesome every time I called to check in. I know Lyla had a ton of fun spending time with her!

Lyla was hoping for a family photo

Halloween 2014

Halloween was a lot of fun this year! Lyla was finally old enough to kind of get it, so that was awesome. We kicked things off a few days before Halloween by visiting Grandma and Grandpa Barfuss, with Lyla, Mya, and Owen dressed up in costume. Lyla and I got a fun suprise when Grandpa opened the door dressed up as a pumpkin! I've never seen a 90+ year old dressed up, and it did not disappoint! Unfortunately, it freaked Lyla out a little bit and it took a good 10 minutes or so for her to even look at Grandpa.

Grandpa opening the door

I snapped this picture of Lyla after seeing Grandpa

Lyla, Owen, Mya, and Grandpa

After Grandma and Grandpa's, we went to Gardner Village to see the witches. The kids had a great time running around together.

Mya and Lyla are great friends. I love that Mya will play with Lyla, even though she's so much younger.

Cute kids and Mimi

The kids were loving sitting on the wagon, but snapping a good picture was a challenge!

Friday was Halloween, and Todd and I took Lyla to a few houses in our neighborhood. Mostly we'd get to the door, ask Lyla "what do you say?", and she would answer with her classic "peeeeaaase". I think there was maybe one house where she actually said "a treat" on her own. She was darling though, and Todd and I really enjoyed walking around our neighborhood and showing her off. It reminded us of how much we like where we live, and the people we have grown to love.

Our cute little leopard. Her bag says "Julianna" because I got it at Downeast for 74 cents that morning. I figured she can't read anyway :).

A little blurry...I love this girl!