Halloween 2010

I absolutely love Halloween. This year, we had a lot of fun. First, Brent and I went to an adults-only costume party at our friend's house. We dressed up as the princess and the frog.

And when a princess and frog get together, they have a little bug.

With our friends, the Fackrell's--LOVE their costume of a paddle ball!

On Saturday, our ward had the annual Halloween party. There was a chili cook-off, a pinata and costume contest for the kiddos, and then a ton of candy passed out during the trunk-or-treat. Tylie dressed up like a mad scientist. She looked adorable!


And her buddy Benjamin dressed up as Frankenstein. They were such a cute pair!

We tried to get her crazy laugh together, but she wouldn't give in. I think her facial expressions are perfect, though. :)

This is my absolute favorite! We couldn't get her to keep her glasses on for longer than a second, but they completed the look so well. This picture makes me laugh out loud.

The family together. It was so nice to have some fam. time.

All the kids lining up for the costume contest. And the winner is....??

Tylie and Benjamin, of course! They won the "most creative" category and got to split a chocolate bar.

Hanging out with dad.
Tylie didn't feel very good all night, plus she was overwhelmed by everything that was going on. We weren't sure if she was going to make it to the end, but going outside for some fresh air and trunk-or-treating livened her up a bit.











Tylie got a kick out of all the people handing her stuff. She kept stopping in the middle of the parking lot and sitting on the floor so she could check out her stash. It was really funny. She would take the candy out of the bucket, put it back in, and then walk around a bit more. So much fun for her, and for us to watch her!
We had a really good time. When we got done, we wanted to go trick-or-treating at a couple houses....just for Tylie to have the experience of knocking on doors and such. But, welcome to South Carolina, everyone will be celebrating on Sunday--the true Halloween (It's been all over the news. They wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page). It's times like these, I miss living in Utah! So, trick-or-treating will have to wait until next year...glad we had such a fun ward party in its place!

Food Fetish

I am ADDICTED to zucchini and summer squash sauteed in fresh garlic!!!

Fall Festivities

It's been an eventful couple of weeks for us....and with Halloween on the way, I don't think it will slow down too much. These are some of our favorite moments recently:
Tylie loves to read books. This picture just makes me laugh so hard....she looks so grown up and independent. I'm glad we've been able to instill a love for reading in her. I know it will benefit her for the rest of her academic life.


Because of a strange and random course of events, Tylie had to come to work with me one day. The kids were ecstatic to see her, and I had to remind them all day long that school work still came first. Tylie did a really great job of keeping herself entertained and letting mommy do what she needed to. At lunch time, when she and I were just hanging out, she climbed into a box by my desk....too funny.

It took a while to convince her to fall asleep in such a new and exciting place, but she finally nodded off and took about a 45 minute nap. It wasn't nearly long enough, but it got her through the rest of the day without a complete meltdown.

On Thursday when I picked her up at the babysitter, Tylie couldn't stop asking for her dada (in sign language, SO CUTE!). He had a JV football game to cover that night, and it was only about 5-10 minutes from our house, so I took Tylie to see him. She had so much fun running around in the grass and banging on the fence to get his attention. When the game finally ended, she ran out onto the field to meet him.


One of the ladies in our ward arranged for a story time at the local pumpkin patch. We joined in the fun, and I was surprised at how well Tylie sat with her little buddies and paid attention to the story. It was very cute to watch her sitting in the hay engrossed in the book.

She even got so into it at one point that she stood up and walked right over to the guy telling the story. She was concentrating so hard, and all of her focus was on him.

Of course, that also happened to be at the climax of the story when he shouted "CRACK!" and all of the kids jumped.....especially Tylie....

He felt really bad for scaring her, but we got her calmed down quickly, and she still gave him a smile in the end. Then it was off through the patch. She immediately headed for the baby pumpkins and picked out one that we just had to take home with us.


Thanks to a dear friend (Martie, we love you!!), we got free tickets into the South Carolina State Fair! So, we took a couple hours off of homework, school applications, and the monotony of life to take Tylie to her first fair. It was a lot of fun, and we didn't even have to spend much money....just one treat....how can you resist with all the delicious aromas wafting through the air at lunch time!?!
Measuring Tylie...sorry kiddo, I don't think you qualify for any of the rides!

All of us taking in the crazy atmosphere.

The arts and crafts building. Brent was such a trooper to tag along through all the cake decorating, quilting, scrapbooking, cookie, crafty displays. Tylie wanted to ride on his shoulders all day long, and most of the time he obliged.

My favorite picture of the whole day. My two favorite people in the whole world having a great time together.

The petting zoo was a huge hit. There was a momma and baby donkey, and they were the softest, sweetest animals ever. They came right up to us and let us snuggle them a little. I think Tylie thought they were dogs...which she loves...so she enjoyed them a lot.

The Bug's very first funnel cakes. They were absolutely delicious!

What else can you do after a long day at the fair?!? She slept the whole way home, and then for another couple hours after we got to the house. She even let mom and dad get a nap in too!

We had a really good time, and feel blessed to be able to do things like that together. Now we're gearing up for one of my favorite holidays of the year...

Recent Pictures

Tylie loves to be outdoors (and who can blame her)! Every time she sees me grab my purse, or my keys, or put my shoes on, she is standing at the door knocking for it to open up. She ventures out and spends forever exploring everything in sight. I think she looks very grown up in this picture.

Wearing some adorable pajamas...too bad they don't fit anymore!

Climbing again!

And cheesing for the camera again!

It takes almost all her effort, but she keeps working until she finally makes it onto the couch.

Climbing up on the back of the couch, and then hamming it up for the camera.

Tylie is so determined! When she wants something, she does whatever she can to get it. I'm going to have my hands full when she's more independent!

She absolutely loves shoes and socks....anybody's shoes and socks. Daddy's are her favorite, but she'll politely demand that we put on anything she can find.

The age old saying....if your child is being unusually quiet, there's a reason!
Sneaky little girl!

Wearing a dress I made for her. It was an experiment without a pattern and although it's not perfect, I was pretty happy with the results.