Pumpkin Carving

We finally got around to carving our pumpkins.

Jax was more excited about the large knife than the pumpkins.

 He lost interest after we wouldn't let him play with the knife. Once we got into the slimy stuff he came back to help.

 Both Jaxon and Baxter thought the guts were pretty cool. Bax kept trying to taste them and Jax thought they were hot and kept pulling his hand back really fast.

I carved Peter Pan.

And Luke carved a pirate ship. Then he thought it would be cool to build the ship back together and pin it to the top. Overachiever!

 Can you guess what we are dressing as for Halloween?

A Near Death Experience (for the Camera)

Last week we traveled to Jackson for a follow up doctors appointment for Luke's back. Good news, its healing fine! On the way there we saw a bunch of cars pulled off the road. Good thing about Wyoming is that Wyomingites don't pull over for anything that is not a moose, elk with large antlers, or a bear. This time it was an awesome bear enjoying a feast right off the side of the road. Nature is cool. 

 After the doctor Luke really wanted to go to Granite Hot Springs, not to the swimming pool but along the river next to a waterfall, which is cool in theory not in actuality. It was a little cold outside for hiking around in swimsuits but Jax sure seemed to like it.

 The waterfall and my cute boys. 

 The hot water was coming out of the rocks, of course on the other side of the river, so Luke and Jax went across first. It wasn't very deep but in the middle the water was moving pretty quick and the rocks were super slippery. They made it across without incident, I however was a different story. In hindsight I was not thinking clearly, I blame the cold. Thinking that us sitting in the hot springs with the waterfall in the background would make an awesome picture, I decided to take the camera across, as well as the towels. Halfway across I slip and catch myself not with the arm holding the towels but of course with the arm holding the camera. It got dunked only for a second but I was stuck sitting in the freezing water. It was so cold I just sat there for a minute trying to catch my breath before Luke and Jax came back to rescue the camera. Finally we all made it across. Jax had a great time throwing rocks in the water saying "splash!" For me the experience was a little ruined because I felt so bad that I had ruined the camera. It was a beautiful waterfall and I had a great day with my boys but we decided that we probably wouldn't attempt this adventure again with a baby or a camera. 

 Three deer right by the road on our way home (taken with my phone that didn't get dunked in the river). 

Good news. The camera did survive its horrible experience of a bath. 

Disneyland

My sister Lindsey and I took a trip to Disneyland for a few days. It started out horrible with a mix up with the plane tickets and things but we finally made it. I thought the horribleness would continue. We got stuck on Splash Mountain and had to be evacuated. That was kind of cool since we got to see "backstage". Then Lindsey got sick on Space Mountain, but we persevered and had a good time. Everything was all decorated for Halloween. Each day started with The Tower of Terror, which is both our favorite ride. 

 In the animators studio you can find out which Disney character you are. Lindsey was Tinkerbell and I was Eve from Wall-e.

 My favorite horrible picture. Apparently we were both having a great time on Space Mountain. 

 One day we had a delicious Monte Cristo lunch in the French quarter (which always reminds me of our Aunt Char) then got to meet princess Tiana. 

 Our timing was great that day so we also got to meet my favorite, Princess Aurora. 

 We finally made it all the way through Splash Mountain. This is right before we were absolutely soaked by a wall of water. 

 Cars World was new to us. Lindsey loved the giant tires that moved like air hockey. I liked the Cars Racers. 

 It all reminded me of living in New Mexico with all the red rocks and the route 66 signs. 

My Mom and Dad watch Jax for me while we were gone since Luke had to work. I got to talk to Luke every night but Jax is not much of a phone talker except to say "Hi," "Good-bye," and "Love you!" so my mom sent me pictures everyday of his cute face. He is such a happy animated little boy so it drives me crazy that lately he refuses to make any kind of face for pictures. He's still so stinking cute though! I missed my boys like crazy. 

 Lindsey had a migraine the last day so we took it pretty easy going to all the shows and learning how to draw a Piglet. Mine turned out pretty good considering I have absolutely no artistic abilities. It was a lot of fun to have a little vacation with Lindsey!

Anniversary/Pumpkin Patch

Our trip to the pumpkin patch was an adventure. Jax refused to have any fun and was determined not to look happy for any picture we took. We lasted about 15 minutes before we called it quits. The pumpkin we found is pretty cool though. Hopefully Jax will have more fun carving it with us than he did picking it out. 

 Right as we were leaving he did give me one smile and blew me a kiss. 

Yesterday was also our anniversary! I am not one for gushy proclamations of love especially in a public forum. That being said I love my husband! I love the life and little family we have built together. He is my best friend and he keeps me on my toes. So grateful he married me :)

Yellowstone

This weekend we took a mini vacation to Yellowstone with Luke's parents. It was a quick trip but pretty fun. We got there late on Friday night since Luke had to work. It wasn't a very scenic drive at night but we did get to see lots of animals. There were a bunch of elk right along the road (scary and cool at the same time), a couple of coyotes, a fox, and a bunny. Saturday morning we took it easy, had a delicious french toast breakfast and headed to see the park in the daytime. Old Faithful was our first stop. We walked around the trails a while waiting for it to go off. It was overcast and pretty chilly. This was also when Jax usually takes his nap so he was a little cranky. I don't know if it is because Luke hurt his back and wasn't able to pick up Jax for a couple of weeks but lately Jax is totally a Momma's boy; He wouldn't let anyone else carry him. Grandpa gave it a few tries though. 

Throwing rocks is Jax's favorite thing in the whole world. He could do it all day long. 

Not happy to be taking his picture with the coyote!

Jax fell asleep right after Old Faithful so we were going to drive around and see what sort of wildlife (besides the buffalo walking right down the middle of the road) we could find. As soon as we started climbing up in elevation Jax woke up and started screaming and crying. He has never done this before! We tried giving him Tylenol and a sucker to help equalize his ears, we put on his favorite movie... Nothing was making him feel better so Philip turned the car around and we headed back to the condo. Fifteen minutes down the road and still crying Grandpa had the genius idea to pull over and let Jax throw rocks in the river. He was so happy! Only the promise of the swimming pool could pull him away. 

The pool was a big hit. He had a great time splashing around with me in the kiddie pool and practicing his kicking with Grandpa in the big pool. Our room had a Jacuzzi tub that Jax liked just as much as the pool. He also enjoyed taking a huge bite of the soap. We were too slow to stop him and thought the bad taste would make him spit it back out but he seemed to like it so Luke had to fish it out and got bit in the process. 

See Mom. I bit it right there!

 We spent the rest of the evening playing games. I was an amazing scum I must say (card game). 

Our ride home was about as much fun as the day before. Poor baby did not like the elevation changes! We stopped at a gas station and bought some ridiculously priced Mentos and that helped a lot. He kept covering his head with his blanket. Apparently suffering is better done in the dark. 

We passed this herd of buffalo that had some babies that I did not get a good picture of them but they were still cute. 

 The snow frosted everything and made it pretty and there were also trees turning pretty fall colors.

 We went out the east entrance instead of the south hoping there would be less change in elevation. I'm not sure that was the case but we got some different scenery and also this grizz and his cute bear bum. 

 We had a lot of fun with Philip and Cindy although I felt bad that we cut their ride around Yellowstone short. We wish we lived closer so we could see them more often. Family time is the best time :)