Cedar Temple Open House

We escaped to Cedar this weekend to go through the much-anticipated Cedar City Temple. It was beautiful!

We left Thursday afternoon after Greg got home from work, and I am proud to say that Claire, my little angel babe, slept in her car seat the entire time. I was so happy that we didn't have to relive the nightmare of Sofi screaming the entire time when she was 3 weeks old for her first trip to Cedar. Horizons are looking much brighter, as far as road trips are concerned.

Thursday happened to be my nephew's birthday, so we crashed his party in Minersville to go celebrate with him. Greg was thrilled to take a detour through Beaver county :).

It's rare that all of us sisters can be gathered together for a birthday party, but it sure was fun.

The theme was "Paw Patrol" and Sof had a ball running around with this mask on. 

He's a good sport.

My other sister was staying at my parent's house too, so Sof was lucky enough to sleep in a queen sized bed all by herself, and it was no surprise that she loved it. She slept like a champ during naps and through the night. She's pretty much the best.

We didn't have tickets to the temple, but were lucky enough to go Friday morning without having to wait. We were told the temple was designed after the history of the area, so we could expect to see the Columbine flower (a prominent flower grown on Cedar Mountain), berries (from the local trees), and feathers (for the Paiute tribe) as the main design features. It was so fun to see the personal touches added throughout the Cedar Temple, and know that my ancestors made it possible for Cedar to one day have a temple. I come from good stock.

Walking to the temple!

Giving Jesus a high five.

It was super windy that day!

We were told by 2 sources in Northern Utah that our car needed its tie rods replaced, so we planned on having my Dad's buddy fix it for us for much cheaper. Turns out the tie rods didn't need to be replaced, so we saved some money there. Oh well. We also needed new rotors, so Greg learned a new skill from my Dad on how to tear 10 year old rusty rotors off a car. Oh boy.

The rotor changing cheerleaders.

Greg was thrilled when my Dad told him to bring down his work clothes to help him move his equipment on the mountain. The plan was to leave Saturday to come back home, but they got home late enough I decided we would stay one more night. Turns out that was a good decision, because my Grandpa Thorley stopped by, and he was able to meet Claire.

We made it back in record time Sunday to be able to spend a couple of hours home before Greg took his drugs and went to bed (he's not feeling too hot. I can hear him breathing like a dragon in the other room). But, I'm glad he went with me because it was well worth it to see Cedar's Temple. What a blessing it will be for my hometown. 

Home again. My 2 cute girls!

Halloween Festivities 2017

Having a newborn in October pretty much meant that the month flew by without us doing anything remarkable. Poor Sof. I have already promised to do better next year.

She is following in her sisters footsteps and has become so alert! I fear for our future.

We made it to our new ward's Halloween Party, and it turned out to be pretty fun. They had food and games for the kids, and a candy cannon. We left too early, but I guess they let the dads chase candy out of the cannon too. I now wish we would have stayed to see Greg do that. 

Courtesy of Greg.

She loved this cake walk. She would run around the circle counting off the numbers as she went. She was a hit, and everyone loved her, as is the trend with our cute Sofi loaf.

The candy cannon!

Greg's Dad and Kathy had their annual Witchey-poo party. I failed to get pictures because I left my camera at home, but suffice it to say that it was fun.

Decorating Haunted Houses with baby Leona (her kitty).

Chubby Claire.

Sofi refused to eat lunch and dinner October 30, so we refused to let her carve pumpkins. Let's just say that she didn't really care. She was content to sit, watch and spin circles in the kitchen. Although it was annoying, her ability to shake off the negative can be pretty inspiring.

Spinning and jumping.

She ended up eating a good breakfast Halloween day so I let her carve her pumpkin. She could've spooned guts for hours.

She loved it.

On our way to feed horses. I thought she looked so cute in her puffy dress pushing her stroller.

She ran up to this horse without any fear. I now know the heart attack my mom used to have when I would be surrounded by my Grandpa's horses when I was just tiny. 

Kisses

Running back to "give hugs." That paint may have just found its new best friend in a 2 year old. We may be giving away a lot of carrots in the near future.

This is before we went trick-or-treating. She was the cutest Belle I've ever seen. I left a bowl of candy on our front step and I'm sure the kids had a heyday when they saw the abandoned bowl.

This Grimm Reaper was out strolling the streets of Farmington. He was freaky! (just ask Sof). Greg almost hit him on his way down the hill to get donuts - he was standing in the middle of the road. That would've been a fun Halloween experience.

Sof wanting to eat her donut.

My cute girls!

Claire is exhausted!

What fun we had this Halloween Day! I thought Sofi was fun during holidays as a baby but she continues to be much more so the older she gets. It's so fun to be able to explain things to her and have her share in my excitement. I loved that she was able to choose her costume this year and was so excited to be a princess. She sure has a zest for life. Claire continues to be a bump on a log - we love her.

We Survived

I, as in we, survived the first week of being a parent  to two, and it really wasn't as bad as I thought. I have come to the conclusion that adapting to the first child was harder than adapting to two; a happy realization on my part.

I think over the 2 weeks of Greg's paternity Sofi was drowning in the extra attention and started acting out. Happily, she has returned to normal. However, she does still only let Greg put her to sleep at night and asks every day if "Daddy put me nuh-night" for naps. It never fails. And, she doesn't like me to sing to her - she prefers Greg's voice. I don't know whether to be insulted or relieved.

Good Morning!

This happens every morning. No joke.

We made a trip to to the West Bountiful park. She didn't want me to play in the sand with her (a first). Instead, she pointed to the bench and said, "No, sit over there." I happily obliged. 

Soaking up the sun on my bench.

Well hello Miss Claire.

Sof, "Can I lay by her?"

She let me do her hair all fancy one morning. She was so excited to have her first play date at the new house!

She is getting really good at her smiley faces.

She has embraced the wrap.

Sometimes I think she's a better parent than me.

I was ambitious one morning and gave Sof her first haircut.

It turned out a lot better than I thought. Thank you Kung Fu Panda.

After 3 months, Sof will finally wear this cute cape we scored from a parade back in July.

I've got to say my favorite part of the day is being able to hear Sof sing herself to sleep while I feed Claire down the hall. She knows both verses to "I Love To See the Temple" and her little voice is just the cutest thing ever! Even if she is awake for an hour singing, I continue to love it. Greg's opinion may be different though.

Starting to smile in her milk coma's.

The ultimate entertainer.