HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

The day has finally come! Has everyone started the day off right with some Halloween candy? I know I have!! Nothing like Reese's peanut butter cups and Kit-Kats first thing in the morning! I took these pictures of my little Halloween monster the other day with some crazy bat things on her head. She kept pulling them off, but I managed to get a few pictures in between.

This afternoon I'll be dressing Kirsten in her costume and taking her to see Daddy at work! Microsoft has trick-or-treating at all their offices and I've heard they did some decorating and everything, so it should be fun! It's a good thing we have an indoor place to trick-or-treat too, because it's a rainy Halloween here!

I'm REALLY excited for our traditional Halloween dinner tonight and Stephen is too! My family is the only one I know of who has the same dinner every single year for Halloween. I'll do a whole post later about our Halloween traditions and what our dinner is. I'd love to hear about everyone else's fun Halloween traditions too!

Whenever Kirsten manages to find a sucker she carries it around and starts sucking on it right through the paper. It's fine until the paper starts getting all soggy and then it turns into a sticky mess if I don't get it away from her immediately!

I hope you all have a really Happy Halloween! It's such a fun holiday!!!

Pumpkins Everywhere!

We took Kirsten to the pumpkin patch for her first time ever! We went to Craven Farms in Snohomish, and it was great! It was a little cold but VERY clear and the sun was shining. Our whole October has been a gorgeous month in Seattle. Fall is my favorite time in the Pacific Northwest, no contest! The trees and the weather are so beautiful!

We almost got a wheelbarrow to push around the patch, but then we found this cool wagon. Kirsten had a great time riding in it! These first two pictures had something wrong with the exposure, but after a little editing I think they look pretty artsy and cool!

Here's a bunch of pictures of her in the wagon! It worked really good. . . until she decided she wanted to stand UP in it. She's a little daredevil.

Here's me and my Kirsten! Aren't those trees behind us beautiful?

Kirsten explored around the pumpkins and she thought it was pretty fun.

I think this is my favorite picture of her we got that day!

And of course we have more pictures of Kirsten with pumpkins. :) I love her little pumpkin hat and we got lots of compliments!

We got two medium-sized pumpkins for us and a really little one for Kirsten. We still haven't carved them! I told Stephen we better do it tonight or there would be no point! I want to make roasted pumpkin seeds too. I don't like pumpkin pie at all, but I do LOVE pumpkin bread! I've made it twice this month and everyone likes it!

A Picture Tag and 50 Random Things!

My Aunt Lani tagged me to go to My Pictures, open my 6'th folder, find the 6'th picture, and post about it. I've seen this one floating around on LOTS of people's blogs lately, so I'm glad I get to do it too!
Here's mine. . . This picture was from February of 2005 and is the only time I've ever been a bridesmaid! Carrie, one of my very best friends that I grew up with and have known forever, got married in the San Diego Temple. It was a beautiful wedding and she was nice enough to want me for a bridesmaid even though I was six months pregnant! My mom actually found a maternity dress pattern and made the dress for me! I LOVED being a part of Carrie's special day and I even got to ride in the limo with her down to the temple. So other than the fact that I felt very large next to Carrie's other very skinny bridesmaids, it was all really wonderful!
(Carrie is now living in Texas while her husband goes to law school down there, and she is pregnant and due just two DAYS before I am in April! We're so excited to be pregnant at the same time!)

And now, the 50 random things tag! I've been wanting to do this one for awhile!

1. Do you like blue cheese? Nasty! No way!!! Hate it!

2. Have you ever smoked heroin? Ha ha, would anyone actually admit to this? No I haven't.

3. Do you own a gun? I have been thinking and can't think of one gun that's in my house! I'm not even cool enough to have a Nerf gun or a water gun! I better get with the program!

4. What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? I miss Sonic! They don't have any near Seattle! In Utah, I used to add Cherry and Vanilla to my Dr. Pepper and it was YUMMY!

5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Not really. The dentist is much more nerve-wracking! Oh, but I DO get nervous before Kirsten's pediatrician appointments now because I know she'll have to get shots and they make her cry so hard.

6. What do you think of hot dogs? I LOVE grilled hot dogs! Reminds me of camping and bonfires at the beach. . . two things I absolutely adore!

7. Favorite Christmas movie? It's really hard to just pick one. I always have to watch the Muppet Christmas Carol and A Christmas Story every year! And as far as comedies go, I love Home Alone 2 and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Ice water, with lots of ice! If it's really cold, I also love hot chocolate.

9. Can you do push-ups? A few. I never was one of those amazing people who could do 100 of them without pausing for breath!

10. Age? 26!

11. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? I would have to say my wedding ring. It's gorgeous, and I've never seen another one I like better!

12. Favorite hobby? Traveling! It's probably one of the most expensive hobbies you could have too, unfortunately.

13. Favorite Actor: I can't really think of one favorite.

14. Do you have A.D.D.? Not as far as I know!

15. What's one trait you hate about yourself? I tend to get self-conscious and quiet around large groups of people. It's not like my normal self at all!

16. Middle name? Kathleen, which is also my mom's first name

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment... I should really go to bed soon, because Kirsten might wake up early and then I'll be tired! Why am I such a night owl? What on earth will I make for dinner tomorrow? And I'm thirsty. I'm always thirsty lately!

18. Name 3 things you bought yesterday/today? Halloween candy for trick-or-treaters (okay, I just might eat some myself too), cute outfits for Kirsten in her next size, and kid conditioner so Kirsten doesn't scream so much when we comb her hair after her baths.

19. 3 drinks you regularly drink? 1. Ice water 2. Pibb Xtra or Dr Pepper (not as much lately as I used to!) 3. That's really all I ever drink. I guess the next one would be chocolate milk or hot chocolate, but it's pretty rare!

20. 3 Current worries? 1. I hope my pregnancy goes really well and I have a healthy baby! 2. I hope I can survive through having another newborn with the constant feeding, crazy sleep schedule, AND keep Kirsten happy too! 3. I'm the Primary chorister and our program is coming up soon. I have to get those kids ready!

21. Current hate right now? ALL the political stuff! I know it's important, but I'm just not a very political person and I'll be glad when it's all over and done with!

22. Favorite place to be? With my family and friends, wherever they are!♥ I love being home, but I also love to travel and see new places!

23. How did you bring in the New Year? Playing games with my parents and other relatives. I was in San Diego and Stephen had already come back to Seattle for work.

24.Where would you like to go? Everywhere!!! Back to Europe, to South America, China, India, the South Pacific, NYC, Alaska, Hawaii, my list goes on and on!

25. Tag three people: Hmm, most of my friends who would take the time to do this have already done it! I'm going to try Erin Hoy, Leilani Alger, and Whitney Capelo!

26. Do you own slippers? Yes, I love fuzzy slippers! I usually stick with warm socks though, the really soft kind.

27. What shirt are you wearing? A blue one from Old Navy with a few buttons in the front.

28. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? I haven't tried it, but it sounds nice!

29. Can you whistle? I actually can't whistle or roll my tongue.

30. Favorite color? Blue!

31. Would you be a pirate? Sure, it sounds fun to me!

32. What songs do you sing in the shower? I really don't sing in the shower, because I usually shower at night and don't want to keep Stephen awake. Even if I sang love songs to him, I don't think he'd appreciate it!

33. Favorite girl's name? Kirsten! And it's Kirsten, not Kristen, in case anyone hasn't noticed.

34. Favorite boy's name? That is such a tough one! I love the names Gavin, Ben, Tommy, Spencer, and a whole bunch more!

35. What is in your pocket? ALWAYS chapstick! If I ever forget to put it in I regret it!

36. Last thing that made you laugh? I watched a little bit of the Colbert Report before I started this. It always makes me laugh!

37. Best bed sheets as a child? They had Care Bears all over them! I loved those!

38. Worst injury you've ever had? I split my chin open when I was four years old. Other than that, I broke my pinkie in 7'th grade and it was such a bad break I had to wear a full-arm cast. Everyone thought I broke my arm!

39. Do you love where you live? YES! I don't love living so far away from family and friends, but it is beautiful here and I adore the weather!

40. How many TVs do you have in your house? Just one

41. Who is your loudest friend? I don't know!

42. How many dogs do you have? I WANT a dog, but don't have one yet! I guess we need a yard first.

43. Does someone have a crush on you? Yes!!!

44. What is your favorite book(S)? I love Gone With the Wind, the Twilight series, Anne of Green Gables and other books by that author, The Brothers Karamozov, Angels and Demons, and lots of historical fiction!

45. Where were you born? Anaheim. Same place as Disneyland!!!

46. What is your favorite candy? This could be a long list! Ghiradelli chocolate, Dove chocolate, Reese's peanut butter cups, sour gummy worms, gummy bears, jelly bellies, and Life Savers in the sour berry or tropical flavors!

47. Favorite Sports Team? BYU Cougars baby!

48. What songs do you want played at your funeral? (Shudder!) I hate funerals. I guess something really positive like "A New Day" by Celine Dion.

49.What are you doing at 12 A.M.? Wow, it's 12 am right NOW! Weird, huh? So I'm either blogging or sleeping, depending on the night. :)

50. What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Too early! Too early! Wish I could go back to sleep!

My Beach Baby!

On every blog I've been looking at, I'm seeing so many adorable pictures of pumpkins, Halloween costumes, and fall leaves! Every blog except mine. On my blog it's still summer, because I'm STILL not done with all my vacation pictures. I think almost everyone loves fall, and it's my very favorite season! But if anyone is missing summer and the salty ocean breezes, then these pictures are for you!

We went to a couple of different beaches when we were in San Diego. . . La Jolla Shores and Oceanside. They were gorgeous! I had the best time at La Jolla, because the waves were perfect for boogie-boarding and the water temperature felt amazing too. (Sorry, I don't have any shots of me on a boogie board. You'll just have to imagine it!)

Kirsten didn't love the beach immediately, as you can see here. . .
The wind was blowing quite a bit and I don't think she liked that at all.

But after a bit of time, she warmed up to it and started exploring along the shoreline.

I'll always be a California beach bum at heart!

Kirsten did end up having a fun time playing at the beach!

I hope you all enjoy my last summer pictures of my beach baby!

Sea World!

So judging by the lack of comments, everyone has seen enough Disneyland pictures. Well, I'm done posting them anyway. :) But we still did even MORE fun stuff on our California trip, and one of those things was our day at Sea World, San Diego! (Can you believe we've been home a whole month and I'm still blogging about our trip? Too many pictures, too little time!)

We did lots of fun things at Sea World. . . We saw cute penguins. . .

We saw sleeping polar bears. . .

And one very awake polar bear named Stephen!

Of course the best thing about Sea World is the shows! The dolphins were so adorable in the dolphin show.

We found a big sandbox in the kid's play area, and Kirsten loved playing in the sand. It was one of the only areas not crowded with a ton of kids.

We also got completely soaked on the Shipwreck Rapids ride! Well, me and Stacy and Oscar did. Stephen opted out of the ride and instead decided to shoot us with the water guns they provide from the dry area. By the end of the ride I felt like I had gone swimming WITH the dolphins, I was that wet!

We saw a really cute pet show! I don't know what it has to do with the ocean (nothing!), but they had a bunch of dogs and even cats doing awesome tricks. It was really entertaining!

The sea lion show was really cheesy and funny, like always.

We ended the day with the BEST show, of course the Shamu show! Kirsten liked watching it with Grandma.

The killer whales are so breathtaking. When I was little and even when I was a teenager I had a dream of becoming a killer whale trainer at Sea World. I still am envious of those trainers and think it must be one of the most amazing jobs in the world!