So if anyone asks me my favorite season I would say summer. But really when the end of the season comes I'm usually excited for the next one. I just am not a fan of rain and cold. I take that back, I do like the rain because I get this burst of energy and aching to cook and bake. Some featured things for this month will be autumn muffins, homemade caramel apples, and pumpkin pie. But autumn, when it is sunny is the best. The air isn't hot enough to sweat in but warm enough with a nice cool crisp breeze. Perfect for going to the park with Grant. I love that feeling. Also the leaves are bursting with colorful life! And it does seem a bit ironic that this is actually the death cycle of the leaves. Oh well they are gorgeous! If I were to redo my wedding colors they would have been the autumn colors. When I see colorful leaves I just was want to jump for joy and shout grateful words to my Creator for the beauty and diversity of this earth!
Driving through Provo Canyon
Cool Caterpillar
Gorgeous trees. They are Aspen.
We made it to the waterfall!
Drumming on a rock.
We went for a hike in the spectacular views of Provo Canyon. September and October are the best times of the year to go. But I think Summer is really nice too because once you get onto the mountain trail the air gets cooler. A perfect escape from the hot weather in the valley (even though it doesn't compare to escaping Redding heat). Anyway, we went up Mt. Timpanogos trail about a mile in to the first landmark of a waterfall. Grant loves waterfalls and whenever we go up Provo Canyon he talks about the waterfall and the tunnel we go through to get to the hikes. It was beautiful. I have decided I will need Aspen trees, Maple trees, and Red Oak trees in my dream home's yard. The colors will be magnificent. And I really like those trees year round.
All of the pictures by the way show Grant smiling. He has learned how to smile on demand lol I love it! We have such a funny video of the process of asking him to smile and then after the demand smile it changes a little to his real smile. lol. I love it. He is so cute. I never brag about my child's cuteness because everyone else does lol. I know I'm really bragging now. But that's my job as his mother right? He is jibber jabbering a lot and saying a lot of sensible words too. But lately he has really been working his "L"s. He is growing up!
We wanted to celebrate the fall by going to a farm with a petting zoo and fun things all around. It wasn't all that I had hoped but Grandpa spoiled Grant with paying for him to go into the petting zoo, to ride a pony, and to play in a bounce house. It was really fun to watch.
2nd Pony ride ever.
It almost looks like his left arm is resting on the seat of the tractor lol.
Such a cute little baby cow.
Can you tell he has a big smile on his face?
Aun May-gnan?
Later on we wanted to go pick out pumpkins so on a nice Monday evening we went to a farm with a free hayride through the farm and got some free hot cocoa when we got back. They had really cheap pumpkins too. Grant got to pick out a 50 cent one and Perry and I each got a dollar one. Grant enjoyed counting the pumpkins. He can count to ten with out any help at all and he counts all the time.
I know most parents think their child is the greatest and I'm in that very category. He can throw and kick like a pro, he can count to ten, he talks all the time, when I ask him something that he answers with a yes he says "yes, right". So cute. Grant also says things grammatically correct like if I say, "You counted the pumpkins", he would say,"I count pumpkins". I don't think most babies can reverse the "You" and "I". Grant is also a very good drummer and xylophonist. He can play simple songs sometimes randomly and he can keep a basic drum beat that they do on the big drum sets every once in a while. Amazing!
Anyway, enough about my spectacular child. I think its all the attention I give him. And I think he has a very secure relationship with me because he plays independently alot but also begs me to read him books. He also goes to nursery with out a peep.
So we had our first week of cold rainy weather and I was such a dud of a parent. The first day of it I was sitting on the couch the entire time cuddled up with the mac and a blanket. It was just one of those days that drags on to be the whole week. So anyway we read a lot of books, watched home videos, etc... This was fun and lazy but that is not a way to get your child to be tired enough to nap. So I was searching the internet for easy rainy day activities. I came upon this subscription:
This was a great idea. I get an indoor activity idea and an outdoor activity idea every couple of days. I save the activities and then I will use them when I need them. For the most part Grant and I have our routine and what we like to do but there are those days where he is stir crazy and starving for something new to do. I could have easily thought of the activities but its always easier when someone hands it to you in a neat little email. So here are a couple things we did on the rainy days.
Sliding down a snowboard.
We were supposed to be rolling balls and cars down but this seemed more interesting to him.
We also harvested a carrot on a sunny day, from our garden. I have yet to harvest a ton but I'm waiting until I need a couple of the ingredients in something.
My family stayed here for a little bit after the vacation. We finally made it back to Orem! My parents got to see the progress of my garden and then celebrate my birthday. This post is a hodgepodge of what has occurred since the vacation so my parents have visited a few more times since then. I love it when they visit. It is nice that they are so close in Vegas. Also Megan visited over Education week. The photos of my garden show it in its infant stage. I should take a picture soon and show you the progress. Its almost done being my garden for the year and soon it will just be boring dirt. I don't like that because it has become a part of mine and Grant's day to water the garden together. Its also therapeutic so thats one less things to de-stress me with. Anyway, Meg and I had a lot of fun doing girl's nights. It is also nice to have my monitor-sitting family back so Perry and I can escape on a date (I still haven't found THE babysitter just yet). So here are some pictures and a few funny videos.
To the left is my small part of the garden with tomatos, peppers, and in the front are cucumbers. It is overgrown now.
Loves lawnmowers.
Likes the sink too.
We visited the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. It was 2 dollar Tuesdays in August.
Roll-Up Crepe where Perry played a small gig.
We also went hiking in Aspen Grove to some falls. It is basically a huge grove of Aspen trees, hence the name. Aspen trees are one my top 3 favorite trees. I love how the light bark is accented with bright green leaves!
We took turns carrying Grant.
As Grant would say, "waturFALL! SHHHHH!"
Grant loves his bear. It was Perry's bear when he was a toddler.
