Happy Halloween!

Halloween was jam-paked with fun this year with the ward trunk-or-treat, two family parties, a neighborhood party, and Robbie's first "real" trick-or-treating. Ari was a cute little black cat for her first Halloween.

Robbie really wanted to be a dog or an airplane man [pilot], but finally decided to be a race car driver, which was great since we had already inherited that costume from some cousins. He had so much fun trick-or-treating and didn't even miss all the chocolate mommy and daddy stole from his stash.

As always, Nathan dressed as "death" again this year. He loves to wear this costume when he answers the door for trick-or-treaters. Every year at least a few kids (and some parents too) get pretty startled. Here's a photo of "death" and his little black cat.

Another fun Halloween tradition is the annual pumpkin carving party hosted by Grandma and Grandpa Morrill. Here are all the kids (Robbie is hiding somewhere in the crowd) and pumpkins this year!

The Utah Human Race

For those of you who don't know, we've made a goal to run the Utah Human Race 5k this Thanksgiving. You should join us! Its a great deal--you get some excercise on Turkey Day morning (so you can fill up guilt-free later that day) and help a good cause (all the proceeds go to the LDS Church Humanitarian Fund and the Utah Food Bank). The suggested donation is $10 per person or $50 per family. You can get a t-shirt if you pay extra. The race starts at 8 a.m. Thanksgiving morning (rain/snow or shine!) at the Factory Outlet mall here in Draper. Don't worry, this is NOT a serious "race" at all--its just for fun and lots of people either run/walk or just walk! Check out utahhumanrace.org for more info and to register.

Ari's First Feeding

Ari tried her first solid food yesterday and it was a big success! She got so excited she would shake as the spoon came toward her mouth.

A Fall Update

Our camera has been broken for a while and we just got a new one, so I wanted to post some new pictures and some updates about our little family lately. So here's a rare photo of Robbie holding Ari. As you can see, its pretty precarious! Robbie is finally starting to acknowledge Ari's existence and even plays with her once in a while and also likes to "tickle" (i.e. scratch, poke, hit) her.

An update on Ari.

Age: 3 months

Personality: happy, cuddly, hungry!, sweet, observant, playful, attention-loving, and picky

Favorite activity: eating and being held

Favorite toys: anything that hangs and can be grabbed

Directions for putting her to sleep: wrap her up tight with the binky in mouth and her face buried in your armpit and pat her bum for a few minutes before putting her in her crib

Hero: Robbie (she can't get enough of watching him bounce around)

Newest skills: turning 360 degrees while laying on the floor; rolling half way over

Here's an update on Robbie.

Current favorite TV show: Reading Rainbow (he thinks LaVar Burton's name is "Rainbow")

Current favorite movie: The Incredibles (he calls it "The 'I' Show")

Halloween costume progression: a dog, an "airplane man [pilot]", a dog, a racecar driver (hope this one sticks because we already have this costume!)

Current favorite toy: the red "big truck" (a little red pick-up on huge "monster truck" wheels--he tucks "her" into bed at night under the covers)

Current favorite clothing item: red rubber "Lightning McQueen" boots (he wants to wear them EVERYWHERE!--thanks Grandma Morrill)

A New Temple in Our Backyard!

Well, not literally . . . but the new Draper temple is just a few miles from our house and we can see it from our back windows. Robbie loves to ride in the car to see the temple; it has been fun to see the progress. The outside looks complete now, they're just working on the landscaping and inside now. The open house will begin in January and then the temple will officially open in March or April I believe. Yesterday at church it was anounced that 500 volunteers will be needed from our stake on three different days in January, February, and March to help with the open house. We're planning to sign up!

Spiderman Loves to See the Temple

Here's a video I've been meaning to post for a long time. Robbie got into a singing mood (as he often does) while we were in the car driving home from a family reunion where he had had his face painted like Spiderman.

A Getaway at the Ranch

A few weeks ago we introduced Ari to one of our favorite places in the whole world, the Morrill Meadowbrook Ranch and Capital Reef National Park. My parents and their kids, Keli, Skyler, and Ember joined us for this fun little weekend getaway.

Here's video from Ari's very first hike ever, in the Grand Wash in Capitol Reef National Park. She slept most of the way.