"Make your own green grass"

Rachel took these first steps on November 2. Then she decided crawling was lots easier - and faster! Just this week, though, she is finally walking around a bit more than crawling. I have been totally fine with her taking her time as I hold on to the baby days! She is SO much fun!

The video starts out sideways until Trevor figures out he needs to turn it:)


And here a few more recent pics of Rachel . . .


This one below is my favorite! She loves to get into the cereal and crackers. You can see someone put the jingle bells on the handle to alert us that she is opening the cupboard! But being the third kid is great - there is so much going on that you can pretty much sneak into anything you want!!! (so she thinks . . .)



Rachel also loves baths, and recently ELMO. She sits on the chair with her blanket and asks for "Melmo!!" I turn on this old VHS we have that Trevor also LOVED, she watches it for about 15 minutes, and then she's on to something else (like stacking blocks or sneaking Rice Krispies).

I found this bed for Savannah on Craig's list. She has been telling her grandparents and aunts about it on the phone and they wanted to see a picture. She loves having her bed up high and having her own space beneath to play! Rachel learned to climb the ladder right away, but still prefers crawling to walking!

Trevor started boy scouts in July, but is just now getting really into it now that we stopped traveling back and forth from UT! He loves, loves, LOVES going and can't wait to tell me what he learned each week.

Savannah wore my sister's old clogging costume and Rachel was a hippie! Trevor was not so into dressing up this year - but our friend had this fun costume and he wore it (for the shortest possible duration in order to get candy!) We had fun yelling "AL-VIN!!"


Trev being wrapped as a mummy at his school party

Savvy in front of her cubby in her classroom

Veggie tray we made for Trev's school party

Crazy hair day in November

My baby sister got married on October 13 to Grant, her high school sweetheart. They are adorable and we are so happy for them. But seeing her all grown up and married makes me feel SO old!!! It was a whirlwind of a week, but we got to see lots of people we haven't seen for ages, which was fun. And we had a pre-Halloween party, went to our favorite ice cream place in Utah: Leatherby's, and went up to Ashkii's parents' cabin for an afternoon. It was beautiful, and we hadn't seen it in years - they had done lots of work and have made it a great retreat. My mom and I also took an hour or so to take Savannah to Gardner Village to see the Halloween witches - another favorite UT place!

I LOVE fall; that's why I haven't wanted to blog much! I have been too busy getting outside and enjoying the wonderful weather and gorgeous leaves. Our fall was FULL of soccer and football. Oh, and a leaking basement and roof, and a minor car accident. But let's not dwell on those nuisances . . . GO NAVY! WAY TO BEAT ARMY!!!!!

Savannah started KINDERGARTEN in August, which is full-day here. I think she spends most of her time in the art center since her backpack is literally bursting with paintings, drawings, and books she puts together each day. She is worn out when I pick her up, but loves school, her friends and her teacher.

Trevor started THIRD grade and has had some big adjustments: more homework and a not so favorite teacher. He has persevered, though, and is doing great. Sometimes those life lessons are harder on the mom than the kid, I think. His favorite part of the day is playing soccer at recess.

From Utah, we drove to Ashkii's grandparents' farm in Fallon, NV. We stayed one night there and then drove to their cabin in Twin Lakes, CA. Trevor now considers this his favorite place in the world, and why wouldn't he? He spent 5 days with his cousins fishing, sleeping under the stars, and baiting/catching chipmunks. Savannah loved the swimming, floating the dock into the middle of the lake with 14 people on it, and kayaking. Nobody liked the visit from the bear at 2am, but what is a family reunion without a memory like that!? Thank goodness for our cousin's dog Ginger!

From Chicago, we flew to SLC and stayed for a week. As always, it was a whirlwind, with a play at Hale Center Theatre, a visit to the new Oquirrh Mountain LDS Temple, wedding dress shopping with Aunt Lindsi, tennis lessons with cousins, a wedding shower for Lindsi, and a visit to "This is the Place" park in Salt Lake. Savannah got to ride a horse there, and said it was her "dream come true." We had a great time with our families!