I love, love, love autumn!

Oh how I love this time of year! The leaves are changing colour, the weather is getting cooler (finally!) and the future months are filled with exciting things to look forward to. Usually, I see my birthday at the end of September as a marker for the beginning of this wonderful season. This year, I had the special treat of having my mum come and visit me for a couple of days.

It was lovely to have her here, and to share some laughs and memories together as we spent my birthday evening making pea and ham soup and fresh crusty bread. (Trev was working) Mum enjoyed spending time with Luke and watching him navigate himself around the living room, clutching onto the furniture. I know that she wishes she could spend more time with her grandson, and he wishes he could spend more time with her!

We played outside some of the time, too.

And here's the pumpkin pie I made, to celebrate the beginning of a lovely season. I made it from a real pumpkin!

It was actually quite yummy, and Trev has requested another one! That is always a good sign.

Stuck on you

Trev and I made some magnets for family home evening. I had seen instructions online and decided to try them, since they looked simple enough to be completed in a short space of time.

In their defense, I have to add that this picture doesn't do them justice :-) They look great on our fridge, and are useful to hold pictures, cards etc.

Basically they are just pictures from magazines and scrapbooking paper (anything you fancy) stuck onto the backs of those little flat glass marbles you get from the florist department. Then, magnets are attached to the back and voila! I have to admit that the eye one is a little creepy, but oh well.

You rock!

Here are a couple of 'crafts' I have done recently. At Trev's family reunion, many of the activities were honouring his late great-grandma, Olive Putnam. Apparently, she enjoyed decorating rocks with her children and grandchildren, so that was one of the crafts that we had the chance to try. I made a little nick nack for Luke's windowsill. It was very simple to make.

It is simply a flat stone, painted red (with acrylic paint). The letters are pre-cut foam shapes, as is the little caterpillar. I used a glue gun to attach red and green pom poms on top, and finally a pair of boogly eyes.

Very, very easy. And this would be something fun to do with children. Maybe we will be carrying on grandma Putnam's rock painting tradition! Tomorrow (or when I get time) I'll explain the magnets we made.

The 'secret' is out...

We have finally started to tell people that we are expecting again. I'm not exactly sure why we left it so long this time. I think maybe it was because Luke is still little, and I know that I personally was a bit worried about what people would think.

But, after some thought, I came to the realisation that we do not have to defend our decision to enlarge our family. Children are such a blessing (well, the one that we have is...and I'm sure the others will be, too!) We are extremely excited to be welcoming another son or daughter to our family.

The baby is due on the 25th of February. By this time, Luke will be around 14 months old. I'm sure it will be a challenge to have two tiny ones in the home, but I am ready for it. Or at least, I hope to be ready for it in just under 6 months :-) I have already started to imagine Luke and his sibling playing side by side, and what it will be like in church when they both start to cry at the same time. Oh what fun!

This summer

I know. I have been a naughty little girl. Out playing all summer, leaving myself no time to write about it. In an effort to 'catch up' and start afresh, here are a few pictures of what has been going on since June.

We looked around the Logan Arts Fair. There were many different pieces of work on display (and on sale) Some of them were stunning, and very inspiring!

Luke enjoyed playing in the large sandpit just outside our home. At first he didn't like the sand, but he is getting used to it.

We spent lots of time on Trevor's family's ranch over the summer. There is just so much wide-open space. It is lovely to be so far away from the busy streets of the city. I think that as Luke gets a little older, he will really enjoy playing in the grass and creeks.

We also camped out for a night or two. This was very enjoyable. Even Luke slept well (camping is a lot easier with an air mattress!)

We took a trip to the Salt Lake City Zoo. We loved it! Unfortunately, we didn't get to see the tigers, but we saw giraffes, bears, lions, elephants, and lots of other species, including a rare white skinned alligator with blue eyes! Luke enjoyed looking at people.

Trev had boys pack trip with his dad and brothers. Thye rode horses up into the mountains and camped for a few days. While he was gone, Sian and Luke spent a week with the girls and babies. We went to Bear Lake for the day. It is kind of like being at the seaside (but no ice-cream vans, donkeys, or fish and chips, sadly) We had a nice day. Luke managed to avoid sunburn, but mummy didn't :-(

We bid farewell to Trev's brother Jake as he left on his mission. He will be in the Arizona, Tucson mission. This picture was taken at the Temple, about a week before he left.

Just last weekend, we had fun at a family reunion for Trev's mother's side. It took place over Labor day weekend, and involved several nights of camping. We enjoyed it, although Trev was still recovering from his gallbladder surgery. Dixie's grandmother passed away about a year ago, and the metal pot in the above picture was something she used to use for canning. In memory of this special woman, Aunt Wendy was taking pictures of all the children sitting in it. So, that is Luke with his two cousins. He really seemed to enjoy playing with them over the weekend. He's having a lot more fun now he is crawling and able to stand himself up.

Trev's classes have started again and he has a busy workload. I am trying hard to be a supportive wife. One of my 'projects' right now is working on creating a more varied and healthy meal plan.

Life is great :-)