A Big Kid At Heart!!!

For some time now Caleb has wanted to build a fort for him and Makayla to enjoy. So yesterday for some quality family time we all went down in the basement and he did just that he built us a fort!

He had to make due with what little "supplies" we had for fort building, but he did a pretty good job. See for yourself....

Caleb and Makayla enjoying the fort and some popcorn.

(Makayla loves her popcorn!)

She also loves her phones!

Family picture in the fort!

Makayla is so lucky to have Caleb as her dad, he knows how to have fun all the time! I think he truly is a big kid at heart and I love it!

Country Corner Farm 2009

Ok I guess it is time to post something about Iowa since I am living here and have been for a little while now. However my first post about Iowa won't really be about Iowa but rather about Illinois. This last weekend we went with some friends to the Country Corner Farm (check out this website if you are looking for a fun place to go with kids and get pumpkins, fresh produce and other stuff). It was such a blast! We did a lot of fun things.

We rode out to the pumpkin patch on a tracker and picked out our pumpkins for the year

Isn't she so ready to pick out a pumpkin!!!

Makayla and her new friend Carson! He is such a cutie! We look forward to many more fun times with him!

When we got out to the patch Makayla didn't want to walk so she had to be pulled in a wagon! Such a diva! Oh and when we were getting the wagons to use we saw like a million, ok not that many, mice running around them! Ugh gross!!!

Just a cute picture!

They had a little petting zoo where you could go and feed some animals. I didn't think Makayla would like feeding them too much, I thought she would think it was gross and scary, but boy was I wrong she loved it!

Feeding the goats or sheep I am not sure which one it was.

Look at her cheesy face! So fun!

We had a fantastic time! I am so grateful for the time Caleb takes out of his busy school schedule to do fun things like this with us!

Family Picture Fall 2009!

Oh and thanks Crystal for remembering to bring a camera so that I can have some of these memories! :) I still can't believe I forgot my camera!!!!!

Utah State Fair 2009

One of our last activities while we were in Utah was going to the State Fair. Now anyone who knows me I love these type of things. I was so excited when I heard the fair was going to be going on while I was in town. I forced my parents and brother to go with me along with my good friends. They were all good sports about it (even if they didn't want to be there!)

Makayla loved it! She loved seeing all the animals, walking through the little farm for kids, and especially the pony ride! Here are some pictures of what we did.

The Pony ride!

She was riding the pony named Joe. My dad thought I was crazy for paying $4 for her to ride it, but hey she loved it so it was worth it!

I just love this picture! They are so cute together! Makayla is going to miss her friends so much!

Makayla and her Uncle Eric by this HUGE pig!

Getting ready for her trip through the little farm for kids! She loved this too!

Here she is riding her John Deer tractor! Fancy that we now live close to the actual John Deer headquarters.

What a cute bunch!

Miss you Ky-Ky and Tae-Tae!

Love, Makayla

Uncle Eric

The reason for our trip to Utah this past month was to see my brother Eric who was returning from a two year mission. I hadn't seen him in two years which meant he had never met his niece Makayla and I wanted him to get to know her so we stayed for a whole month. It was hard to be away from Caleb but I sure enjoyed spending time with Eric ! Thanks for all the fun Uncle Eric we are glad you are home!

Makayla and her Uncle Eric

Another Season Begins

And so begins another football season! Who is our team? Let me remind you.....

BYU!!!

We are two weeks into the season and the cougars have started out great! We love watching the games. I have missed watching them with Caleb. We just found out that we will be able to see more of them than we thought in Iowa, and we are so HAPPY!

I have a tiny confession...........

I love to watch college football and could watch it all day long! I don't like NFL, but if there is a college game on I will watch it, and yes enjoy it!

We bought Makayla a BYU shirt last year and had her wear it every game day, so before we left we bought one for her to wear this year, so here are some pictures of our "tiny" cougar!

She even says "Go Cougars" with her arm in the air! I can't wait for her to be able to watch the games with daddy! He is a HUGE fan as well!!

Back in Utah

So yes we have been back in Utah for the last little while. I only spent a month in Iowa before I left and came home for a visit. We came home to see my brother who returned home from his two year mission. It has been great to be home with him and have him getting acquainted with Makayla. I haven't been good at taking pictures while we have been here, but we have sure had a good time hanging out with family and friends. I will sure miss it when I go back to Iowa. The one thing missing here is Caleb. He could only stay for the weekend and then he had to get back to school. We have been apart for almost 5 weeks now and boy is that a lot longer than I thought it would be. Thank heavens for a webcam, because of it we get to see him each night. I have decided that no matter how much I want to be "home" here in Utah it just isn't "home" with out him. Home is where ever we are together. He is a great husband and I miss him dearly and can't wait to see him this Friday!

Anyway I have taken a few pictures of Makayla and have decided to post them because they are just so fun, and this way Caleb can see some recent pictures of her.

Makayla being in control of the remotes.

Here she is playing with her favorite thing these days a baby doll.

One of my most favorite things that my dad makes is his fresh salsa. He makes it each year at this time. I was so excited that I would be here during the usual time. We have made 2 batches since we have been here and it is so good! I took a picture of the finished product with of course Makayla in it.

Another thing that I love to make is chocolate chip cookies, but only with certain chocolate chips. They are the brand "Guittard" I have only found them at Dick's Market and they are the best. They make them taste so good! I also have to make them with my sister-in-law, Jerilyn. If not they just don't turn out the same! Thanks Jerilyn for humoring me this weekend and making them with me. Makayla enjoyed them too, just look at her face!

First trip to Nauvoo

Since my parents took time to drive us all the way out to Iowa, 17 1/2 hours, we thought that we should do something fun with them before they left. We stopped in Omaha for a night on the way out and visited Winter Quarters. It was fun to see one of the old church historic sites. We walked through the visitor center and Caleb and Makayla put on pioneer hats and Makayla pulled a wagon isn't she so strong!

After my parents helped us unload and unpack a little in our new place we took off to visit Nauvoo. My dad and I had never been there before, but Caleb and my mom had. On the way down we stopped at Carthage Jail. I have grown to love the Prophet Joseph Smith and all he did for this great church so this was an important stop for me.

First picture Makayla, Caleb, and I in front of Carthage Jail. Second picture is of Makayla in front of the statue of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. She seriously stood there for 5 minutes saying "Cheese" over and over so that we could take her picture. She probably would have stayed there longer if we hadn't made her move!

After our stop at Carthage Jail we went on to Nauvoo. We spent 2 1/2 days there and had so much fun. Here are some pictures so show what we did while we were there.

We stopped at the visitor center and walked around the gardens. They were beautiful! I had to take a picture of my baby in the middle of them! These two are my favorite people in the whole world.

We saw the Nauvoo pageant and it was fantastic! I have never felt the spirit so strong! Before it started they have pioneer games and stuff to do. We pulled Makayla in a wagon boy did she love that. Then she played this game where she tried to knock over these pins with a ball. She loved this game.

Makayla did amazingly well during the show. She had her popcorn and she was happy as could be.

We also took Makayla on an Oxen ride. It was fun to hear her say "wee wee wee". She also got to touch the Oxen, but not with me. I was too scared to go near them so Grandpa held her and let her go close to them.

Makayla also enjoyed an ice cream cone for the first time. In this picture I was teaching her how to lick an ice cream cone.

Our little family in front of the Mississippi River. It is a huge river!

We had a lot of fun in Nauvoo and are excited that we live so close to it. Hopefully it can be a reason people will come and visit us. All are welcome!

Now I am all caught up, just in time for my first trip home to Utah. I will eventually get some pictures up of Iowa and what we are doing here.