For Halloween Emma was Ariel and her cousin Cambryn was Cinderella. True to their characters, Cam carried both her Halloween bag and Emma's Halloween bag, which was a purse. Emma just stole whatever candy she wanted, when she wanted it. It was in the 80s that day, so naturally we put on lots of layers under her costume to make sure she wouldn't be cold when it got down in the 70s while we were out.



So I bought Emma this new yogurt that was super on sale. It's called "Crushables" because you are just supposed to squish the cup to get the yogurt out. Their selling point is that you don't need a spoon. After she tried it I thought..."Well I don't technically need a spoon to eat my food either, but I think the point of one is to prevent me from looking like Emma does". What do you think?


Ammon trying to do a Christmas card. Emma's not buying it. A hat like that is not exactly necessary for 75 degrees and sunny. She now loves Santa though. She says Santa whenever she sees a piece of red and white clothing, and definitely knows the "Ho Ho"...not to be confused with her impression of a Daadoo(Dog) "Hoo Hoo".



Our favorite thing to do is to go to a park. It has since gotten a little colder and we have to wear a coat (60s), but at least we can get out of the house! We would definitely go crazy otherwise!


Emma's first encounter with the snow was at Thanksgiving in Salt Lake when we went to visit Ammon's family. She wasn't the biggest fan of all the layers...except the hot pink boots (thanks to grandma!). I was expecting her to just eat the snow because she still puts everything in her mouth. However, she didn't want to get her face that close to it because it was a little too chilly for her. She also learned the word "COLD" on this trip. It was definitely COLD!



Ammon's family are all very outdoorsy, so we went rock climbing at an indoor climbing gym. I thought Emma would climb more than she did. She didn't have the patience (attention span maybe?) for it. She enjoyed cheering everyone else on. This is one of the few pics we got of her actually trying to climb.


We also went to see the Salt Lake City Temple Lights. They were as gorgeous as ever. It was C O L D, but not as cold as the year before when we went around Christmas time. Emma also learned the word "lights", but was more interested in pointing out all of the "cuckies" (garbage cans...her current favorite word. not to be confused with "guckie" for her aunt becki!).




Most of the time older kids just push Emma down at the park...no seriously, it's the saddest thing. However, this time, an older kid finally taught her something useful. The first few times she skinned her nose during take off, but this time she got it and was so proud of herself. Cute.

It's finally cooled down! No more fun in the sun. Autumn brings with it the ability to FINALLY wear jeans (clearly the pumpkin idea was Ammon's)!



We used to be able to hang out with Jana (Ammon's sister) and her boyfriend Mark Eliason. They have since left the valley of the sun. We do, however, get to hang out with Mark's brother Jon and his family whenever we want because they are in our ward. Emma LOVES Adam (Mark's nephew).




Emma has finally grown up enough to like hanging out with other friends too...
Her cousin Cambryn








Her friend Elizabeth


Her favorite dog Charlie



Emma is also getting ready for Halloween by practicing her dress up skills.






I LOVE playing with Emma's hair...although it only lasts a few minutes.




So Emma got the Chicken Pox last week. When they were all scabbed over, she got diarrhea pretty bad so we get her Pedialyte. She apparently had an allergic reaction and swelled up like a balloon on her face and had hives everywhere. Poor kid!


Pumpkin carving with the Fam...





Because Ammon's family doesn't live close, we try to connect them with Emma as much as possible. For Ammon's mom's birthday, we bought one of those cards with a song that you can record your voice beforehand. Emma is a HORRIBLE mimicker so we have to videotape her saying it (it takes a million times) and then we hold the card up to the computer. I did it in the dark because I was not expecting to post it. It turned out so cute, so hopefully you can at least listen to it!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I have been hesitant sharing the news about my calling because I feel like it's not really set in stone until I am set apart. On the other hand, the 2 people I told first have already shared the news with everyone, so I thought that I might as well start spreading the news so people aren't offended that they didn't hear it first hand. :) I've already had 2 meetings with the new calling, so I guess it's more or less official!

I have been called as the Assistant Choreography Director of the Mesa Easter Pageant, and am totally excited to be a part of it! I have always wanted to perform in the pageant, but always had a reason not to try out. Now I don't really have to! :) It's a 5 year calling, and I'm in charge of holding auditions, casting, and teaching the choreography to the Angels that stand on top. I am extremely nervous because I have no idea what I'm doing, but am very grateful for all of the support of the other directors, the former choreography directors, and definitely from my family! This should be an incredible spiritual experience!

Hopefully you can all attend the pageant this year! For more information about show times and auditions, visit this site.

Looks like I'll be thinking Easter for 6 months out of the year!