Cast off and Halloween!

Here is a much needed update! We have had a lot happen in this last… almost a month! We have been having problems with our computer and it was just shipped off for 3 weeks. So hopefully everything will be better when we get it back. So now is the time to catch up!

We went to the ward campout. It was lots of fun. A guy in the ward dressed like a giant ape and ran through the camp a few times to freak out the children. Rufus tried to bite him. It took us all night to calm him down. At least we know if Bigfoot tried to break into our house Rufus would have our back. In the morning Haley helped Benjamin roll up the tent. Then Haley found a few friends to play with. Then Benjamin gave Haley and Laura a ride on the handcarts that were there to carry wood with. Then Benjamin caught a frog and told Haley to kiss it. It was way cute. But we aren’t so sure that the frog thought so.

It will be a few years before there is a prince...

Haley got her cast off and it was awesome! She freaked out during the removal (it was a really loud saw) and then they took an x-ray that she wasn’t happy about. But she healed completely and now it is almost like it never happened. She is the happy little girl that she always has been!

Laura also did something new… She cut her hair. It might be the shortest she has ever cut it. She cut about 8 inches off. She is having problems getting it to go curly now though. That’s what a baby will do to you!

Oh my!!!

Laura was really excited when her friend from BYU-Idaho came up from Kansas to visit. Ali and Matt are awesome and Ali is pregnant with Baby Alex. It was so nice to see them again. The last time we saw them was back in November of 2007. While they were here we made caramel apples, were introduced to “Dr. Horrible” (Look it up on hulu. Good stuff.), and went to the pumpkin patch! We chose our pumpkins from the patch instead of out of the huge wagons full of pumpkins. We went on a hayride to get there and back and went in the corn maze right next to the pumpkin patch. It was really muddy (because we live in Iowa…) and at one point Haley fell and face planted in the mud. Notice the mud on the tip of her nose. Here is the progression of her getting upset…

Benjamin caught it in the middle of her sneezing!

Daddy and Haley looking for pumpkins...

It's behind you!!!

Helping Daddy...

I want THIS one! Get out of my way!

Face plant!

On the way back to pay for the pumpkins and see some of the animals, Haley insisted upon holding her own pumpkin herself. It was too heavy for her, but she kept trying to take Laura’s hands off of the pumpkin. She got to ride in the wheel barrow and play with Benjamin a bunch too!

We have been having fun teaching Haley all of her animal sounds. Here is one she said at the pumpkin patch.

It is fall here in Iowa. Here are a few pictures of how beautiful it is here. It doesn’t do it justice because we can’t fit a whole scene in the camera. These are of the street we live on. We have been raking a lot and Haley is LOVING jumping in the piles. Sometimes it gets in the way of getting stuff done.

Laura was getting excited for Halloween and invited her friends Michelle and Mary over to make sugar cookies. Mary has a little 5 month old named Nora and Michelle has a little 12 week old named Kylee. Haley and Nora hit it off great. Here is a video of when Haley climbed u on the chair to talk to Nora. It was precious and the Mommies didn't even set it up! It was so cute to watch. All the Mommies even got a few minutes of adult conversation when ALL of the babies took a nap at the SAME TIME. It was like a miracle. After Michelle and Mary left, Laura just laughed as she let Haley take advantage of Halloween. Haley reached up and stole a huge spoon from a bowl of orange frosting. She ate it and then came back for seconds. She dipped the spoon in it and then started licking it again. Then she shared with Rufus. They were both covered in frosting. Then she stole a few cookies. She had a great day. So did Laura.

Hugs for baby Nora.

She is covered with orange frosting!

It was all over his face.She loves her cookies!

We carved pumpkins together! Haley’s is Elmo (what else could we put on it that showed her personality?!) and ours is a “meta-pumpkin”. It is a good thing our college education didn’t go to waste! It is a pumpkin inside a pumpkin (similar to a meta-play about a play inside a play…) It was lots of fun and very, very messy!

Halloween here is a little weird. Everyone goes trick or treating on “beggar’s night” or the night before Halloween. And in theory they are supposed to tell you a joke before they get a treat. Weird. Laura worked hard to make Haley a dress and wings. She was a beautiful angel. She was all glittery too. We went trick or treating with Haley to four houses (including our own). She loved it. She has been eating candy a lot lately. On Halloween we went to the ward party where we had a chili cook-off and a trunk or treat. Benjamin took Haley around until she saw a guy with fake teeth in. Then she didn’t want to see anything else! She was freaked out! Benjamin and Laura were corn. Why not? We live in Iowa. We didn't get any pictures, but someone in the ward did, so we will post it when we get it.

It is hard to keep Haley still enough to get good pictures. When she is dressed like an angel she was actually trying to dodge the camera and laughing the whole time. She is a lot of fun.

Sorry this took so long but we are so glad that you all stop by to check up on us. Have an awesome holiday season and we will post more often!

We will leave you with a word from Rufus: "You are a scholar and a gentleman."