Belated Halloween

We had a great Halloween this year, complete with Halloween party hosted at our own apartment.  Arek and I decided to dress as Shrek and Fiona and I worked for several weeks on Arek's and my costumes.  I think they turned out pretty good.  Unfortunately the picture of just the two of us turned out super blurry.  But we got a good one of us with Julie, who loved wearing the same Snow White costume that I wore when I was her age.  

Aren't we adorable?  :)

 
He'll hate me for spilling the beans, but I have to brag about Arek's fantastic job at the detail work on my dress.  That's right... after I sewed the gold trim around my waist and neckline, Arek glitter-glued the amazing flower/swirl pattern onto the front and back of my dress. It turned out so well, and made the dress look just like Fiona's.    

Julie with her best friend, Gracie, at our party before the girls went to bed

The night after our Halloween party was our ward trunk or treat.  Julie had a blast and got tons of candy, both that night and on actual Halloween.  They definitely learn fast how to work the candy system!  Here she is again in as her cute "Snow White princess" as she called her costume

Julie LOVED her pumpkins this year.  Here are the two she got to help carve. 

And here are the three Arek and I carved while she was sleeping

Hope you all had wonderful Halloweens!

Long Story Short

So it has been ages since I have blogged, so hopefully I can sum up what's happened with as few pictures as possible, but it's been a busy few months so keep scrolling... there's most likely more.

BIG news - Baby #2 is over halfway here.

We are due February 28, 2013, which means we are 21 weeks along. 

Here I am at 16 weeks:

Here I was at 16 weeks with Julie... It was amazing to see

how much sooner I "popped" this time:

And here I am at 20 weeks:

LOVE this week cuz we got to see our little GIRL :)  Yep.  Julie is gettting a younger sister.  We are all super excited for another girl to join our family.  It still amazes me how much they can see and know from the ultrasound.  Here are some of my favorite pictures:

 Baby Girl's profile, with hand by her face.   During Julie's ultrasound she was moving so much that they couldn't get a good profile picture.  So we were really excited that this little girl wasn't moving quite so much.

3D pic "1, with hand trying to block her face from the camera

 3D pic #2... Look at that pointed chin!  :)  Can definitely tell already that she's related! 

Brigham City Temple Walk-Though

We loved being able to take Julie through the new Brigham City Temple.  One of her favorite places to go in Logan is to the Temple, so she loved being able to go inside this one.  She especially loved all the chandeliers, and also the fountain outside the front of the temple.  Here are some shots we got before leaving

Birthdays

I turned the ripe old age of 24 (which is exciting to our family because it means you use a full box of candles) and 3 days later Julie turned 2.  I can't believe Julie is so big!  She's been looking like a 2-year-old for several months now, but it is crazy that she is officially a toddler.  SO exciting for her.  We had pretty low-key birthdays, but did celebrate with cake and ice cream.  Arek made my cake

and I made Julie's. 

Julie's first big owie

This week Julie had the misfortune to pinch her big toe under our full 5-gallon bucket of flour (about 35-40 pounds worth of flour).  Here is her toe later that evening.  It looks much worse now, but I will spare you those yucky photos.  Sadly for Julie, the nail is coming off and is quite painful for her.  She is one tough girl, though, because anytime we ask her about it she says, "I'm fine". 

North Logan Pumpkin Walk

We LOVE the pumpkin walk.  One of the main reasons is because it's free and family-friendly.  Julie loved it this year.  The theme was "Let the Games Begin".  Here are some of our favorite of the exhibits:

 Julie having a blast running along the path, looking at the pumpkins and displays

 AWESOME game: Utah State vs. U of U.  We were there.  We didn't think Julie would be ok the enitre game (especially since we had to be there 2 hours early to get seats) but with some walking breaks and snow-cone bribes, she did amazing. 

 Clue.  LOVE it  :)

 The list of the "Clue" suspects

 These were either bee pumpkins or ant pumpkins... either way, Julie loved them

 Wizard chess

 Hunger games #1 - The Reaping

 Hunger Games #2 - Tributes of District 12

 Hunger Games #3 - Shooting the apple

 Hunger Games #4 - Victors

 And at the end they have these super fun cardboard cut-outs.  Julie really got into them this year.  There are a LOT

 Ariel

 Snow White

 Cinderella

 Mr. Incredible - LOVE the face

 The Genie

 Jesse and Buzz (aka Julie and Dad)

 Pooh Bear

 By the last one she thought it was cooler to stand ABOVE the mickey instead of looking out of his face

Later that evening we went to the USU vs. Arizona State hockey game.  It was so much fun.  Julie loved cheering.  Her new favorite expression is "Go Aggies!" which she exclaimed anytime people started clapping and cheering. Cutest thing ever!  Hopefully we can take her to another game or two this season

Julie's random breakfast

So the other day we started making Arek's school lunch while Julie was eating her breakfast.  This is what she ended up eating after choosing some of Arek's lunch food:

• honey nut cheerios
• cinnamon toast crunch
• cheddar cheese
• chips

No idea how that all tastes good together, but hey... whatever works

Night(s) at the County Fair

We LOVE the county fair and rodeo.  We never miss an opportunity to go.  Well, this year we went a little every day, to break it up for Julie.  She loved it every bit as much as we did, which we were thrilled about. Here's some of what we did:

The first day we looked at all the animals.  Julie was afraid of the sheep because they baa-ed at her.  But she loved the pigs and cows.  They even had some piglets that were super cute.  

The next night was the rodeo!  Unfortunately it started raining just before the rodeo started and continued through 3/4 of it.  Still, despite getting very wet we had a great time.  Our friends, Bobby and Breana, snapped this photo of us when the rain finally subsided.  At least the rain had stopped before the bull riders went at the end!

On Saturday we just wandered around the booths and such.  They had $3 pony rides, which we couldn't resist for Julie.  She loved it!  (Even though she isn't smiling in these pictures).  She was so relaxed in the saddle, just holding onto the horn.  What a cute cowgirl!

Then we had to see all the different tractors.  They were probably Julie's favorite part of the entire fair.  What can I say... she's her father's daughter  :)  

We are so glad we live in a state that has county fairs.  Arek's and my first date was to the state fair and I love that fairs and rodeos have become a tradition for our family.  

"Rides"

It's been forever.  I can't believe it's already August, and we have just 4 more weekends (including this one) until school starts again.  Crazy!  We have been having so much fun this summer and know we will enjoy every last moment.  Here is probably Julie's favorite thing to do when we come down to visit family: taking 4 wheeler rides with her dad and Grandpa Higgs.  The first thing she asks every time we come down is if she can have a "ride"... today she climbed up on it by herself! 

 Good thing she can't start it yet!... although she's so smart, we won't give her the opportunity because I'm sure she could figure it out soon.