Snow...snow...snow...

I would rather be outside playing in the snow then inside working. Or better yet, I would love to be sitting at home curled up on the couch reading a good book with the fire place going. The snow has been non stop today. The drive home tonight will be rather interesting. This summer I downsized from an all wheel drive Ford Explorer to a small 2 door Honda Civic. So far my little car seems to be holding her own out in this weather. These shots are not the greatest but you can get the general idea. This is the view from the back door of my office.

Happy Early 7th Birthday Stephanie!!

On Halloween night I brought Stephanie back to Sandy with me to spend the night. Since I will be in Arizona on Stephanie's birthday I decided to have a sleepover. We slept in and then went to breakfast at Ruth's diner. It is this cute little diner up the canyon. We got to sit outside under the heat lamp and had a great view of the mountains and trees. Afterwards we found Steph a new outfit and she had to pick out a new toy. She went with the Barbie Zoo Vet set. She told me to go into the other room while she played so I couldn't hear her talking to the doll. Later when I picked up my camera this is what I found. Stephanie's very own photo shoot. Oh how I love my little niece. Happy Birthday Stephanie Marie!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday Payton!!!!

After trick-or-treating we had a little birthday party for Miss Payton. It is hard to believe that Amanda brought Payton home from the hospital Halloween 2 years ago. How time flies and how fast kids grow. I love this picture of all the cousins together.

Amanda has this rule of no characters allowed on Payton's clothes except for pajamas. Taunya took that literally and provided Payton with a full set of pajamas complete with slippers of Spongebob. I think she looks so cute here. She loves her strawberry milk or as she likes to call it "strawberry cake". Since she loves strawberries so much I got her a strawberry ice cream Dora cake. MMM...it was yummy.
Here is Payton still in her PJ's but with her Dora mermaid play dress over the top. What a sight.

Grandma and Payton playing together.
I love the party hat over the wig.

Amy, my dog, had to be in the center of it all to make sure she wasn't missing out on anything. She looks so cute curled up on Taunya's lap. She is waiting for someone, most likely Patyon, to drop cake on the floor.

I love, love, love this picture. Patyon loves her mommy and you can tell.

Here is Papa and his little girl. They really do love each other and are great buddies. Happy birthday Payton Jade!!!!

Trick-Or-Treat

Other then a few raindrops the weather was perfect this year for trick-or-treating. Heston had to be the first one to the door and the first one gone. Steph took her role as older cousin well and made sure Payton made it safely up and down the stairs. The funniest thing was that Payton would drop her bucket on the ground after she said "trick-or-treat". The people handing out the candy would have to bend down to put the candy in the bucket. I think she finally got the hang of it at the end.

Boo at the Zoo

The Utah Hogle Zoo does trick-or-treating ever year for kids. The kids get dressed up in costumes, trick-or-treat and see the animals. The weather was so nice this year which made the zoo very crowded. Nephi and I met up with Taunya, Heston, Stephanie and Lexie, Stephanie's BFF, at the zoo. We had a really good time. Afterwards we headed to Pier 49 for some yummy pizza.

Here is Steph giving me her best "Bat Princess" face. MMM...does that wing taste good?

Heston and Taunya posing for a picture.

Heston, Stephanie and Lexie are posing for a picture on the elephant statue at the elephant exhibit. You can't tell but they were squishing each other. I think Lexie had it the worst. They were so determined to get their picture on the elephant that they were all smiles despite the pain. What good sports.

I love this picture. Heston is giving his best "Batman" pose.

Stephanie as cute as ever as a Bat Princess.

Batman is taking a rest in the car on the way to pizza. He loved his costume and we could only convince him to take off the mask to eat, not the costume.

Arizona, Here I Come...

I bought my plane tickets today for my trip to Arizona. I will be down there the week of November 10Th. I am just like a little kid at Christmas time when it comes to my trips to Arizona. Once it gets closer to my trip I can't stop thinking about it, I count down the days and then it is gone before I know it. Since this year I am only going to make it down once I want to make the most of my trip. I have made a list of things I want to do and this is what I have come up with so far...

*Visit family and friends.

*Day trip to Sedona if Jen is up to it. I still have never been.

*Play with the Bauers' cute little Yorkie puppies and kids.

*Eat yummy food (i.e. Bahama Bucks, In and Out and a good Mexican restaurant)

*Watch Quantum of Solace (HP...want to come?)

*Session @ the Mesa Temple (anyone in?)

*Relax!!!!

Thank You Jen and HP

My mom asked that I do this post especially for Jen and HP. Jen is my cousin and we are just 3 months apart. She is my dearest friend and I would rather call her a sister then a cousin. HP is her husband and I have enjoyed getting to know him over the years and I am glad to call him family. They have three wonderful children that keep their lives busy and entertaining. I need to come and visit soon before I can't recognize them. Hopefully November!!

Last summer Jen, HP and the kids came to Utah to visit. While visiting Jen and HP told my mom about a tree that Jen had helped her mother-in-law make. My mom loved the idea so Jen and HP set about to find all the materials to make the tree. They went to the store a couple of times, stayed up late and worked really hard to complete the tree before their journey back to Arizona. The final result was a very unique piece of art that displays my mom's angels and fairies. My mom loves her angels so it makes her very happy to be able to display it in such a way that the angels seem to float. Her two granddaughters, Stephanie and Payton, love Grandma's tree. Stephanie has two of her own angels on the tree and know that she can touch those ones. Patyon has been really good about just looking and not touching. I think Mom is going to have a very hard time putting away the angels to replace them with Christmas Ornaments for the Christmas season. So from my mom to Jen and HP...Thank you very much for my amazing tree!! I love you guys.