A-maize-ing Fall Fun

Spoiler alert: It's not really corn.
Despite the hype, the Staheli corn maze is actually made up of some sort of tall wheat grass. But you can't blame them for the misnomer. Who would want to go to a wheat maze if they marketed it as such? Sounds lame.
When we pulled up in the parking lot, Ella practically hit the ground running. And then she didn't stop until we were buckling her back in to go home. With such attractions as the redneck trampoline (a mattress surrounded by bales of hay), horse tire swings, petting farm, slides, and a sandbox full of corn, how could the actual corn (wheat) maze even hold a candle?

Do Ella and Ailee look worried? We actually paid additional money to stick our sweet little kiddos in a train made of water buckets that was going 100 miles an hour while being driven by a 12-year-old on a tractor.

Let the record show that taking pictures in a dark, dusty place is next to impossible. And getting Ella to hold still for more than 5 seconds IS impossible.

Confessions of a Time-Share Ho

I can't help myself. It's like a moth to a flame. Every time we come in contact with someone offering us some random free gift in exchange for 90 minutes of our time, we are IN! And they just keep upping the ante. We are going to a presentation on Thurs. that got us two free airline tickets and a $100 gas card. Also in our time-share memory bank was our anniversary trip to Vegas last year with a free hotel and free show tickets. So bring on your sales pitch, bring on your investment hype. I am not even tempted to buy your over-priced real estate. But I will smile and nod, because you are, after all, funding next year's vaca.
Any other time-share hos out there who want their name added to the referral list?

Scary Inventory

Random orange and black decor around the house--check

Web with spider rings--check

Baby wearing Nana's cancer wig--check

Ella proving that actually she CAN still fit in her costume from two years ago--check

And jello mold shaped like a stomach (very appetizing)--check

By the way, does failure to dust my house count as decorating for Halloween?

Breaking Done

It is finished. At last, I can put these ridiculous pieces of silliness to rest. Creative, yes. Entertaining, OK. Sometimes boring. Sometimes laughable. And also alarmingly popular with a wide age range of women. Hmmmmmm.
You are welcome to profess your love for the series in my comments below--and I won't think less of you--but I just can't agree. It's not great literature. It doesn't add up to much more than a cheap romance novel under the name brand of an LDS author. And this last installment took things into bizarre territory with a weak, unresolved ending. Not that if she didn't write another one, I wouldn't read it. I just would be looking for something more than I would be likely to find here. So Kathy, you are finally getting your book back. It took me long enough!

Once Upon a Potty...

So here we go again. If you have any advice, here's your forum. This is attempt number I-can't-remember-anymore, but since we are out of diapers and between paychecks, we are motivated to get this one into the "I'm a big kid now" category soon.
I think we are on to something this time, though. With a chart full of boxes leading up to a princess Barbie, Ella seems to be on our team and excited to keep at it. In fact, after lunch today she showed us who No. 2 works for -- for the first time ever! She had to call daddy at work to tell him all about it. So, hopefully we will be joining the ranks of potty-users soon and out of diapers!

Lame is Rob

No, my title for this post is not an insult to Kyndel's husband. I had a linguistics professor one time that said he honestly had a student that misheard Les Miserables in that way, which is a random little nugget I find very funny.
What a great show. Any chance to see Les Mis is such a treat. It's the type of show that makes you want to be a better person. And to top it off, this production out at Tuacahn is fantastic. Not to embarrass her, but Jaime is amazing, so talented! She has a very strong voice and hands down steals the show as Eponine. We also really enjoyed the boy who played Gavroche; he had a charismatic personality that made his character very likeable.
We brought Avery along because she just seemed too little (OK age-wise, if you've been following my previous posts) to leave. I hope the people sitting behind me knew I had a baby and was not just rocking back and forth because I am crazy. Funny enough, she actually watched most of the show and only made a few peeps at the end because she was hungry.
I strongly recommend that if you haven't yet, you should go hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men. It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again...

Party all Knight

Yay! Little Miss Ella is 3 today! Although I should note that she seems to be living in the past; she vehemently denies her age and swears she is only 2. We had a fairy tale-themed party for her with ideas ripped off from Family Fun.


Here's the invitation. We rolled these up into little scrolls and attached a tag that said House of "Family Name."


And here is the spread. Nothing like a little fancy apples and PB for a 3-year-old's feast! And don't forget the Goldfish. We dressed our little knights up with foam swords and the little ladies with mini tiara barrettes. While we waited for our guests to arrive, the kiddos played in these cardboard castles that Bryson made and duelled with their swords.


Then we hunted for treasure in the seven dwarves' diamond mine, which you might recognize as the volleyball court. Also, you may be finding "treasure" there for the next two months. My recommendation: get a fish.


Bibbidy bobbidy boo! Ella showed her friends what Cinderella's fairy godmother says to cast a spell with her magic wand. And it worked! After decorating their cookie wands, the kids cast a spell that made all the cookies disappear.


What a lucky little princess! Ella loved all the dress up and princess items, Barbies, and candy to keep her creative little mind spinning full speed ahead. Thanks everyone for coming! We had a blast!

My Baby Can Eat Your Baby for Breakfast

And may have. We took Ella and Avery to the doctor's office today for Ella's three year visit and Avery's two month visit. Surprisingly, they weigh the same amount...
...just kidding. But close. Avery is topping out at a whopping 12.5 pounds and 24.5 inches at only two months old, which falls in the 97th percentile for height and 90th percentile for weight. Basically, the doctor followed her current weight and height over to the next upcoming milestone column and told me that she is the size of an average 4-month-old right now.
That explains a lot. For instance, why onesies that fit Ella up through 9 months are already a little short and tight. I thought somehow I had shrunk all of Ella's old clothes in the laundry. That's my girl!