Pumpkinland!

Last Saturday, we visited one of our favorite places: Pumpkinland! The kids love running through the little corn maze that is designed for young children. They actually changed it this year, so it took us awhile to find out way out! We brought Daniel's friend Mady along for the day.

They loved all the colors and shapes of the ghords and dried corn on the cob.

Nathan was really into the fun this year. He loved it all!

Trip to the Visit Grandma

Last weekend, Daniel and Ashley took a special trip to the East Coast to visit Ashley's brother Dane and her Grandma Lil. Daniel was VERY excited to go on an airplane and stay in a hotel.

Dane is currently working on a project for Bank of America in Providence, RI. So, we got to stay in his amazing hotel for a night. It was so much fun. Daniel loved the indoor pool.

Dane was such a great host to us-- driving us around in his car, treating us to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, letting us stay in his hotel. We had a great time with him.

On Saturday we spent the day in New York City and went to the top of the Empire State Building.

Here we are on the lookout of the 86th floor.

Daniel got a little tired from walking from the Empire State building to FAO Schwartz (by Central Park). So, Dane tried to put him on his shoulders, but Daniel freaked out. (Dane is pretty tall)

On Saturday night we went to see Grandma Lil and Uncle Ted in New Jersey. Aunt Thelma is also pictured. Ashley's Grandma is 89 and not doing that well.

Uncle Ted and Kathy

The house Ashley grew up in New Canaan, CT

Ashley was a few weeks early to truly see all the New England fall Colors. But, some of the trees were starting to change here and there...

Waveny Castle

Daniel and Dane went for a run around Waveny. We had a long drive from New Jersey to Rhode Island, so it was nice to stretch

Daniel loved Dane's new Subaru car keys. The remote had buttons that were different colors, which were a big deal to him. Daniel is still semi-obsessed with keys.

Which is how he got a tour of the cockpit of our airplane. He asked the pilot if he used keys to fly the airplane (he said no) and invited Daniel inside to show him how a plane works...

Life

Since Ashley signed Daniel up for activities (playdates/preschool) every day, poor Nathan has been so sad adjusting to being alone with Ashley all day. So, she's been trying to do things with the "little kids" like take walks, invite friends over etc. This picture was taken after a walk.

Elizabeth has really changed in the last week or so, now that she's 4 months. She is so much more giggily and playful. She's really moved past the newborn phase and is now a chubby happy baby.

Lizzie always has a smile for everyone.

She was interested in Ashley's camera and was trying to grab it *(to suck on it) during the photo.

The boys having fun at a park.

Daniel treats Lizzie like a pet he just can't get enough of. If she's around he'll just kiss and squeeze her non stop. It almost bothers her that he's so attentive, but it's cute to see how much he loves her.

One of Elizabeth's favorite pastimes these days is sucking on her dresses. She is starting to put everything in her mouth....

The Apline Loop

Last Sunday, Ashley took the kids for a drive along the Alpine loop in Provo Canyon. The trees were beautiful with fall colors up at Sundance, but the Aspens on the Alpine Loop had not become yellow yet, so that we a bit of a bummer. But, in a few weeks it should be perfect.

Daniel's pose of choice these days.

We had to stop for a potty break. Can you tell?

Brooke's Visit

A few weeks ago, Ashley's sister Brooke came to visit from Washington DC. We hadn't seen her for while, since she had been in Beijing all summer working for the Olympics so it was fun to catch up and spend time with her. Brooke accompanied us to Daniel's preschool orientation at BYU.

Brooke's pregnant with her first child, a boy due Dec. 20th.

Daniel loves playing in the fountains by Dave's office

Daniel's preschool is in the same building as Dave's office. So, it's convenient to drop in and visit him when we pick Daniel up from school... A rare photo of Dave holding Elizabeth.

Daniel's teacher Miss Dorie.

Summer

Daniel was so excited because I brought him to our end-of-the summer YM/YW boating activity at Utah Lake. He had never been on a boat before and LOVED IT! He keeps asking when we are going to get one. He insisted on sitting in the front and holding the flag.

Daniel had no fear about going on this big tube. He even asked to go back again a 2nd time.

Daniel planted his own little garden this summer. Here is one of his sunflowers that he actually grew from seeds. It's huge and he's very proud of it!

Daniel's friend Mady loves powerwheel cars, so we've been trading off activities. She comes over one day a week to ride in all of our cars and then we go to her house one day a week to swim in her pool. The kids love it.

Family Photos

Now that we are a family of 5 we decided to have some new family photos taken up in the Canyon. Here's some of our favorites....

This shot is so rare to get both boys smiling and looking at the camera!

Elizabeth was fussy and tired so we were happy to just get some of her not crying.

We are in the stage of life where it was impossible to get the kids to all look at the camera at the same time. It was pretty chaotic getting this picture taken.