Halloween 2012

Before I start with the Halloween festivities, I wanted to recap Eva's very first Primary Program.  (Where the kids do a program for church services.)  I wish I would have taken a camera with me.  Holy cow.  It was so cute.  She stood right in the front and covered up all of the littler Sunbeams behind her.  She was very... er... excited?  (cough...hyper and crazy.)  She would jump up and down, grin out into the crowd, sway wildly to the music.  The best was when they sang "Choose the Right."  She belted out the chorus so loudly that she drowned out the entire primary.  Then she would mumble the verse and belt out the chorus again.  It was pretty funny.  And she had her part memorized, "My ears are reverent when they listen."  Again, wish I had a picture.

We visited a ward last week and it was their primary program.  Eva cried and whined the entire time b/c I wouldn't let her go up to the stand.  They opened with "Wise Man" and then repeated it later in the program.  When Sophie heard it she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Oh no! Not again!!!" 

On to Halloween.  This year I decided to let Sophie wear her costume all week.  She wore it for 8 days straight.  Why not, right?  She's pretty much obsessed with Minnie Mouse.  She still asks me daily if she can wear this dress.

The creative hair-do is to keep her ears on in case you were wondering. 

Cute little high heels I made from some old plastic princess heels and Minnie Slippers.  That was the extent of my Halloween craftiness. 

Here is my cute little Cinderella.  Complete with Cinderella heels, of course.  We had about 4 different parties on 4 different days so these costumes had a fun ride. 

Here's Sophie with her new little best friend, Lucy.  She was Minnie too!  They were so cute that day!  I love it. 

And here we are at the ward party.  Devin was a professional soccer player and I was a Beverly Hills Housewife.  It was one of those awkward costumes where you're not really sure if the person dressed up.  Yeah, I'm not very good at the costume thing. 

Eva's preschool class for her class party. 

Jack-o-lantern. 

The costume was looking a little rough by day 8. 

She was pretty much a mess by the time Trick-or-treating came around. 

And Eva was over it.  But they held it together long enough to fill my candy coffers.  Thanks, girls!!

Apple Orchard, Pumpkin Patch and the End of the World

 I know.  I know.  Seriously.  Shame on me.  I've been a terrible blogger lately.  It has been a busy couple of months for us between the election, photography gigs and kids.  I just keep thinking, "I only have TWO kids."  I can't imagine what things would be like with more.  But I do feel a little bad for my lack of journaling.  I do wish I would record more of the weird things my kids do like Eva climbing into bed with us every morning at 5 AM and sniffing until we kick her out or Sophie trying to pry up my fingernails when she sits on my lap.  I could go on.  But before I get to the normal pics and such I do want to record a couple things for future reference.  1. When my kids look back 20 years from now and everything is in the crapper they will know that yes, I did see this as the tipping point for America.  I'm sorry.  I did everything I could to prevent it and my cell phone bill will prove that.  2.  Girls can serve missions at 19!!!  I'm so excited about this.  For me it means a much better chance that my girls will serve and we're starting to prepare now!  Woo-hoo!  (Eva thinks she is going to serve a mission in Mexico and often asks me to teach her Spanish words.)  Alright, enough of that.  Time for the first round of fall photos.

Since my $50 preschool didn't work out very well for me last year (she hated it) I bit the bullet and put her in a real (ten times more expensive) one.  They had to drag her out of the car kicking and screaming for the first couple weeks but the tuition was non-refundable so that was that.  Now she loves it. 

 Eva's always saying, "Sophie is my best friend."  They really do have a great time together.  Especially when they're both prancing around the neighborhood in gymnastics leotards.  Don't you wish you could too? 

 Every fall we take a trip to Charlottesville to the apple orchard.  It is a beautiful place on a mountain top with 360 degree views and who wouldn't want apple cider doughnuts for lunch?

 My kids hate me.  When I have a camera in my hand. 

 We also had the chance to go to the pumpkin patch with Eva's preschool class.  It was fun.... but... it was also the field trip that never ended.  Hayride to the patch, pick the pumpkin, hayride back, walk to the giant ball, chase it around a field, watch piggies race, eat a snack, launch apple cores into a field, play in corn box, race rubber duckies, plant a pumpkin seed...  Whew!

 This was taken while I was trying out the light at a park before a bbq we had with friend.  I love this pic of Eva and her little sis trotting along behind her. 

This is Soph.  Yes, she dresses herself, picks out the clothes and puts them on.  Yes, I do try.  She is the most stubborn thing when it comes to her clothes.  She will scream and rip off her clothes if I ever manage to wrestle her into something else.  ("No wike it!") Black pants, every day.  They make her so happy.  She squeals, "Black pants!!!" in the morning when she sees them.  Tiana or Minnie Mouse shirt.  Some sort of tutu.  Sparkly Toms that are 3 sizes to big.  Pigtails pulled out. But she lets me tickle her and smother her with kisses whenever I want to I'm not complaining. 

 Trip to the Botanical gardens with friends Rex, Amelia and Theo.  If I had an iPhone I would have taken a cool Instagram pic of the moms.  That's the only way to do it now.

 A rare pic of myself with a child while trying out a tripod.  Novelty has since worn off. 

 Super-hero poses with Rex and Brody at Maymont Park. 

 Sophie, Lily and Eva. 

Man Post. Road Trip: South Bend

“There are two kinds of people in the world, Notre Dame lovers and Notre Dame haters."  
   -Dan Devine (Notre Dame head coach 1975-1980)

I must say, as a BYU fan, there are drawbacks to independence.  But as a BYU fan on the East Coast, the schedule is certainly not one of them.  Independence affords BYU the opportunity to travel to various parts of the country and oftentimes to college football's most historic venues.  Last year, it was Ole Miss and Texas.  This year it was probably the most historic venue of them all: South Bend, Indiana, home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  When the schedule came out last spring, this game was immediately circled on my calendar.  For me, like most college football fans, a visit to Notre Dame is a "bucket list" item.  Fortunately, my buddy and fellow Cougar fan, Richard, was willing to make the trip with me. Sure, it meant a lot of hours in the car (approximately 25 or so total) traveling through America's not-so-scenic heartland but it was well worth the trip.  So without, further ado, here's the recap...

The College Football Hall of Fame is located in South Bend for one more season before it relocates to Atlanta, GA. It was a great way to start our game day.

Me doing my best "LaVell face".  LaVell has a very prominent display among other of college football's best coaches but in anticipation of the many traveling BYU fans (and there were many), the Hall of Fame set up a few special exhibits to highlight the other enshrined Cougars.

Yup, the one, the only, Touchdown you know who.  Notre Dame's campus is full of sights (see the Golden Dome in the background) and the campus could not have been prettier with all of the fall colors. That's me pictured with friend and former Richmonder Dustin who drove over from Chicago for the game. It was an absolutely ideal day for college football.

Inside the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Having spent just a little time in France, I've seen my fair share of cathedrals and this one was equal to many of them.

The Grotto of Our Lady Lourdes.  Passing by this spot is a pregame ritual for many Notre Dame fans on their way to the stadium.  Stop by, say a prayer for the home team and head off to your tailgate.

The band on their march to the stadium.  About an hour before the game, the band does a concert inside the Golden Dome.  Thanks to a tip from a friendly ND fan, we decided to attend.  We were packed inside like sardines but the concert was very cool.  The music reverberates inside the rotunda of that building and its hard not to get excited for football hearing that Notre Dame fight song. "Cheer, cheer for Old Notre Dame..."

Whoever had the idea to fashion those iconic helmets after the Golden Dome was genius.  Although this picture doesn't do them justice, the helmets are very impressive in person.  I'm a big fan of the traditional uniforms.

If I haven't made it clear yet, the Notre Dame experience is all about tradition: from the uniforms to the stadium itself.  Unlike nearly every other college football team in America, the Irish have resisted modern stadium amenities.  There is no Jumbotron, no massive sound system, and as evidenced by the picture above, the seating is still wooden bleachers.  Good thing we didn't spend much time sitting down. 

The band is out on the field!  The band is out on the fie...oh wait, they're always positioned there.  Notre Dame is probably the only school that does this but during the game, their band is directly behind the end zone.  I'd never seen anything like that before.  I'm not sure why more teams don't copy them because I guarantee that it is a subtle home field advantage. It's got to be much louder for the opposing team.

I was so happy to be in attendance as BYU notched a historic victory that will be remembered for... oh wait, that's just the score at halftime.  As has become the recurring theme for this season, BYU was so close to pulling off the upset, and yet so very far away.  The Irish ended up winning the game 17-14 to keep their perfect season in tact.  But the game aside, the trip to South Bend was well worth it.  Notre Dame is worthy of its acclaim as a special place to see a college football game. It met or exceeded all of my expectations. The game day experience lived up to its billing and the fans couldn't have been friendlier (much like Ole Miss last year). Certainly a disappointing result for this Cougar fan but a very memorable weekend nonetheless.