Pumpkin patch with our little pumpkin

I love everything about Fall, I love it even more now that we have a baby boy to share all the fun fall activities with.
Our first family outing (besides grocery shopping and doctor visits) was to a pumpkin patch this past Saturday. Cash had so much fun even though he slept most of the time in his wrap ;).

We went to a cute little place called Jim Dandy Farm.

It wasn't an actual pumpkin patch but instead there were lots of pumpkins already picked and scattered around a field. We picked out a big, medium, and small pumpkin, one for dad, mom, and baby. I still can't get over how cute Cash's little pumpkin is! Everything is so much cuter in baby size!
As we were leaving the sweet owner came out after us and gave us a tiny little white pumpkin for Cash for his first Halloween.
 I'm so excited for all of his first holidays.

Goodbye September...hello October!

Hello October.

I can't believe my due date month is already past and now I am finally not pregnant (I thought this day would never come) and I have a beautiful baby boy! Cash is almost 3 weeks old and I am a mom, those are two things I don't think I will ever get over. 

I will forever hold September close to my heart. September was perhaps the sweetest and hardest month of my entire life. I have never been more exhausted, overwhelmed, happy, emotional, excited, scared, and worried more than I was last month. 

The day we brought Cash home I was so doubtful in my capability of being a good mother and being able to take care of our sweet baby. I was so overwhelmed and tired from the restless nights in the hospital. Every time Cash cried, I wanted to cry. But with every little look and every smile or grin that Cash gives me is my reassurance that he loves me and I am doing a good job. There is no better feeling than being needed and wanted so much by someone. It has all been worth it. I am so happy and proud to be his mama. He brings so much joy and happiness into our home. Now that he is here I can't imagine life without him. Every time I see those chubby cheeks resting on his body, milk dripping from his perfect lips, his gummy smile, or curious eyes I am so grateful he is mine forever and that I get to see that face everyday! I hope he knows how loved he is! He is my favorite reason to lose sleep. Mama loves you to the moon and back Cash!

Thirteen things we're thankful for in 2013

We are grateful for...

1. Our comfy apartment we live in

2. For car belts that no longer squeak 

3. Only one more semster left for Scott after five years of undergrad

4. For the attonement 

5. Nightly prayers 

6. Family that lives within driving distance 

7. For our surplus of gift cards from our wedding

8. Kissing, cuddling, and hands to hold

9. The application for optometry school is almost complete 

10. Our crock pot that never disappoints 

11. Good health

12. Walks to the park on unusually sunny days 

13. Each other's sense of humor 

Happy Halloween

Last Halloween Scott and I were in two different states. So that made this Halloween EXTRA special, our first Halloween together. I was so excited to dress up in our costumes I bought for us last year that we never got the chance to wear. I was really bummed that our ward Halloween party was on the Friday I was in Utah, which is the only time I thought we would get the opportunity to dress up. Luckily, we were able to dress up for the Halloween kids carnival that we helped out at for Scott's club he is apart of. I loved handing out candy to little kids and seeing all of their creative costumes. It makes me excited to plan and possibly coordinate costumes with our kids one day. I think the best one we saw were these two little boys dressed up as curious george and the man in the yellow hat. Writing this one down to remember. I never was able to hand out candy growing up because we lived in the country so we wouldn't get any trick-or-treaters. I remember always wishing we lived in town so that I could hand out candy to little kids. I don't know why, I guess it sounded like fun. 

Since we couldn't actually go trick-or-treating, which I would have loved to do (oh the joys of growing up) I wanted to make something special that we could snack on while we watched scary movies. I decided on homemade cinnamon rolls. I probably would have chosen something else had I known how difficult they actually were to make, or should I say how difficult they would be for me to make. I apparently didn't roll the dough out well enough, Some were tiny rolls while others were huge. I also had a hard time telling whether they were done or not, so they turned out a little gooey on the inside. Other than that, Scott seemed to be happy with them and that's all I care about. I kept debating on whether or not to do a spooky dinner with creepy but delicious looking food and settled on spaghetti, it looks like bloody insides or brains right? Oh well. Maybe when we have kids I will actually do a spooky dinner. We spent most of the night working on Scott's Calculus test. He is required to take Calculus for Optometry school and in order to just skip the entry level classes the professor said he can take his class if he scores an 85 or higher on the online test. We took about an hour on just 1 question! Luckily, he has 3 days to finish it. After we spent about 3 hours racking our brains we watched The Tall Man on Netflix. It was really good, we were both pretty blown away by this movie and all the twists and emotions it had us feeling. I'm pretty set on buying it someday.
It was a nice Halloween night spent at home with each others company. Besides little kids coming to our door and kicking it continuously wanting candy that we didn't have, it was a nice night. I wouldn't say Scott and I are homebodies but if we were to stay home every night just hanging out with each other, I would be happy. I love our time together and wouldn't trade it for anything. I don't know how we ever went almost a year in two separate states. I'm just glad that's over. Happy Halloween!

(Scott insisted on two pictures, he wanted to hold the REAL human brains...my silly husband)

Reminiscing October

Making: a homemade Halloween banner...poor newlywed problems

Cooking: homemade chicken noodle soup

Drinking: hot chocolate with marshmallows yummm

Reading: Living a Covenant Marriage together (still). Not doing so well at reading this book

Wanting: this semester to be over already

Baking: banana bread, for the first time! We loved it

Looking: forward to Thanksgiving

Playing: music and having our own little random dance parties

Saving: electricity. Scott's turned into the electricity police ever since we got our bill

Wishing: we could go trick-or-treating. I told Scott if we start having kids already we would have an excuse to go ;)

Enjoying: the changing leaves and the chilly air

Waiting:  for my interview tomorrow. Crossing our fingers that I finally get a job

Using: lots of maple syrup. I've been making french toast, pancakes, and waffles regularly

Liking: the blankets of leaves formed on the ground

Wondering: how much snow we will get this winter. It already snowed twice this month

Loving: our costumes we wore for the kids carnival at the college

Hoping: to finalize Scott's personal statement soon

Marveling: at the colorful and vibrant leaves

Needing: to get our belts fixed on our car. Every time we turn it on the belts squeal SO loud. Embarrassing

Smelling: fresh cinnamon rolls out of the oven

Wearing: layers on layers. Love this season

Following: the new dress rules at the BYU-I gym (they are ridiculous) 

Noticing: how Scott always matches his Sunday tie with my outfit

Knowing: next month we will have been married for half a year

Thinking: about the OAT

Taking: fun trips to Utah

Organizing: an intramural volleyball team for winter

Buying: a new game with our Target gift card. I am sooo excited for it to come in the mail

Spending: money on mailing transcripts to optometry schools

Learning: that I'm not always right

Admiring: Scott's sweet notes he writes to me

Celebrating: Halloween

Feeling: hopeful about a job

Expecting: my new skirt in the mail for Karter and Melanie's wedding

Watching: the Jimmy Kimmel - I told my kids I ate all their Halloween candy. Never gets old

Giggling: at Scott every time I scare him

Settling: on dying my hair dark again

Brainstorming: baby names just for fun, of course

Things I love about fall

1. Crunching of the leaves on long, cool walks beneath my feet. We plan our routes so that we are guaranteed to be crunching on fallen leaves. I love the crisp sound it makes and kicking them up as we walk. 

2. Carving pumpkins. Coming up with a design and scooping out all the seeds and slime is so much fun.

3. Chilly weather=lots of cuddling. We love opening our windows at night and burying ourselves under the blankets. 

4. Cozy sweaters.  I love love love layers, oversized sweaters, leggings, tall boots, scarves, mittens, and all things knitted.

5. Warm drinks. There's nothing much better than a hot cup of cocoa...with marshmallows of course. 

6. Scary movies. Tis the season for all things scary. Halloween always brings out the side of me that loves being scared. 

7. Nice smelling candles. Fall scented candles are always the best smelling candles! My favorite is cinnamon.

8. Leaves changing color. This is probably my most favorite part about fall. Bright yellow leaves are the best. I am always amazed at the beauty fall brings out. I love seeing blankets of colorful leaves on the ground.

9. Homemade soups. I made my first homemade soup the other day, it was delicious. Next, Scott wants me to make homemade chili.

10. Fall treats. Everything and anything pumpkin, apple, or cinnamon.

11. Scott & me <3 (but that's every season)

Utah trip

This past week I made a trip to Utah while my parents and sister Julie were there visiting, since they were only there until Saturday I decided to go on Wednesday which meant leaving Scott in Rexburg. In all honestly I was pretty heart broken leaving Scott, I really hate being away from him. While away, we both realized that we have a hard time sleeping without each other. We've been married long enough now that being away from each other is hard. Especially when one of us is left in a small town with nothing to do and no car. I'm grateful that Scott is as sweet as he is. Other than missing my hubby, Utah was so fun. Being with family is the best.

(As soon as I arrived at Kim's house Harlow wanted to play hide-and-go-seek with all of us. We found her like this, she is so cute and funny. Love that little girl

(Nothing much better than eating a popsicle in a pile of leaves)

(Thursday we went to Thanksgiving Point where every fall they have corn mazes, games, and fun activities. It took us a little while to find the way out of the corn maze, I've never been too fond of those things)

(One of my favorite things we did was going over to Mandy's house who makes these beautiful and fun Hoopla earrings. She has SO many earrings to choose from, it was a little overwhelming ;). I would love to have a hobby like this, to find something girly to make and sell them out of my home, I think that would be so much fun. Maybe one day)

(Friday night BYU played Boise State which was an exciting game. If Kellen had still been playing, of course I would of been cheering for BSU. But it was Cougars all the way!)

(Loved seeing this girl! Being back in Provo with her makes me miss the good old days of college life. It was like we were never apart)

(I can't get enough of this little guy, the faces he makes are hilarious)

(We took plenty of walks to parks and the lake. The weather was so nice, it was like it was still summer time. We even played a little soccer in the park. We were all winded after a few minutes ha, Bronx was running circles around all of us)

We had so much fun eating out, shopping (except my dad ;)), playing games, and being with each other. These trips always go by way too fast. Missing my family already, but of course glad to be back home with Scott!

Fall festivities

This past week has been a FUN one. I love all the fun activities Scott and I have been checking off on our Fall bucket list. I forgot how much I love this season. We decided to carve pumpkins Friday night with Scott's cousin Logan and his wife Becca. Originally Scott and I were just going to carve one pumpkin together but we got a little excited while picking out a pumpkin that we decided to go ahead and get two. We were both very proud of our work! I have to admit I was pretty impressed with Scott's pumpkin, he has a very artistic side to him. After gutting and carving we of course roasted the seeds, which seems to be a must when carving pumpkins. I've never been a big fan of pumpkin seeds, but Scott seems to love them...more for him. 

Can you tell whose is whose? 

Saturday evening we drove to the trail head of R-mountain to hike up and catch the sunset as sun went down. Scott loves hiking and the outdoors, as for me I was a little scared of the thought of a snake slithering out and crossing my path the whole way up. Scott assured me that snakes are more scared of us and that they don't move around when it is cold outside (whew). Once we reached the top it was so worth it, the sunset was beautiful! It was so fun sitting together watching the sunset change colors as the sun went down. We wish we could have camped out right there on the mountain so we could watch the sun rise as well, however that was against the R-mountain rules and we didn't have a tent. Maybe someday. I love doing fun adventures with Scott. Life is wonderful. 

Reminiscing September

Making: room in our closet and drawers for winter clothes, bidding a farewell to sandals and swim suits

Cooking: lunches in a plastic bag for Scott

Drinking: delicious homemade orange julius' 

Reading: Living a Covenant Marriage together

Wanting: a job while Scott's away at school

Baking: lots of Pinterest dessert recipes

Looking: forward to taking a trip to Utah and seeing family 

Playing: "hashtag" video with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake over and over

Wishing: the wind wasn't so violent here

Enjoying: putting together meal plans for the week and being organized 

Waiting:  for the leaves to change

Using: all of our new wedding presents

Liking: dropping and picking Scott up from school each day

Wondering: where we will be in a year from now

Loving: working out each evening together

Hoping: for some enlightenment on Scott's personal statement for Optometry school

Marveling: at the beauty of each sunset on the open farm lands

Needing: a new sound system for our tv

Smelling: the fresh cold outside air that comes in through the window at night

Wearing: old winter clothes that over the summer we forgot we had

Following: the days until the Pretty Little Liars Halloween special 

Noticing: Scott's peculiar knowledge of knowing when our pillows are switched...always!

Knowing: that we only have 7 months here

Thinking: about how lucky we are and how much we love our apartment

Taking: hot bubble baths
Organizing: EVERYTHING, it's hard to share a closet

Buying: a new/used desk chair for Scott at the DI
Spending: money on a wedding album

Learning: how to cook

Admiring: my ring, in one month I will have had it for a whole year

Celebrating: Scott's new position as treasurer on the optometry committee 

Feeling: blessed

Expecting: Scott to get busier with school

Watching: the last and final episode of Breaking bad

Opening: a new gallon of ice cream :)

Giggling: as Scott talks in spanish to me

Settling: into our new apartment

Brainstorming: a Fall bucket list

Fall bucket list

Last week Scott and I created a Fall bucket list. We are so excited to start crossing some activities off. I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it was perfect. I love writing lists, and this way we wont forget what we are wanting to do. So once Friday rolls around we have a fun plan for the weekend.

While crossing off the list 'scary movie marathon' we were also able to enjoy/cross off caramel dipped apple slices...YUMMM. It was so fun watching movies all day with my sweet. Usually scary movies can be kind of cheesy and lame but all the movies we picked were surprisingly great. Thank you Netflix!

Recently we have had some fun trying out Pinterest dessert recipes. Our new favorite is crock pot monkey bread. It is so easy, simple, and delicious. here is the recipe: Crock Pot Monkey Bread Ingredients 1 tube Biscuits, I used Pillsbury Biscuits 1 Tsp Cinnamon 1/4 cup Margarine/butter, Melted 1 cup brown sugar Directions 1. Cut biscuits into quarters with kitchen shears 2. Dip biscuit pieces into melted butter 3. Cover pieces 4. Toss pieces into your Crock-Pot 5. Cook on low for 2 hours 6. Dish up and enjoy