What we are up to....

We have had a busy fall and I don't see it slowing down any time soon. It's crazy to think that the holidays are right around the corner. I am really looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. All I could think about at this time last year was that we would have a little addition to our family. And it's every bit as exciting as I imagined. Brett and I can't wait to continue and start new family traditions with Liv. I am really excited for Halloween. We bought her the cutest little costume... lots of cute pics to come.

I have been doing some canning...mostly just salsa, strawberry jam and peaches. I don't know what it is about this time of year but I always get a strong urge to cook. Brett loves it. We have been working on stocking up the pantry ever since this lady gave a presentation at my work. I signed up for the weekly shopping lists and have been saving tons of money. I am not usually a big fan of Wal Mart but since they will price match all the local stores' deals, I only have to go to one store to get all the deals. I know... I am a total nerd. I told my neighbor about it and she said, "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you are the most Mormon non-Mormon I have ever met."

Yummy peaches from the Murray Farmer's Market

Our garden was pretty pathetic this year. I blame it on a certain infant and the weather being slow to warm up. It snowed into the last week in May. We had some great tomatoes, basil, squash and peppers. Our cherry tomatoes re-seeded from last year which was pretty cool. We had a new garden design this year but Brett wants to completely revamp the garden for next year. 

Brett is funny... he has a really inventive mind which is good in the sense that he has a lot of great ideas. He can see things in an entirely different perspective. On the other hand, he will spend a lot of time and money planning and carrying out a project. In the middle of the project or once the project is complete, he will come up with a better plan or idea... One that involves even more time and money. I am the type of person that will take a long time to decide on something. I will weigh all the pros and cons to make the best, most cost-effective decision. Once my mind is made up, I am done and I don't like to have to do "things" twice. In the past, I would let his ideas overwhelm me but I have learned to just listen to his ideas and not be critical while in my head I am thinking, "Are you nuts? You just painted your motorcycle and now you want it a completely different color?!" Or, "No way are we adding a third level to our house so that we can optimize our view of the mountains." Or, "You must be ridiculous to think that we are going to tear apart the front yard so that we can add another window in the basement!" Love him... he is always making me laugh.

OK... back to the garden. Here is our one pumpkin we harvested. I haven't decided if we will carve it or not.

I have a lot of fall clean-up projects to do in the yard and garden. Last night I was out in the yard at 8 pm after Liv went to bed.... it was nice and chilly. That is the only time I can find time to get the yard in order. I couldn't see what I was doing since it was so dark. Would wearing a head-lamp be ultra dorky? We have been wanting to plant some trees since last Spring. Brett did a great job transplanting this Maple tree from our parkway to our front island.... let's hope it lives! Not a great picture... I know. Brett is a great photographer and he is constantly giving me pointers. But I was trying to take them quickly since I feel a little weird taking pictures of my yard. Oh... and I had to snap a shot while the neighbor had his BYU flag down... I guess four losses in a row will do that to fair-weather fans. The flag is back up now (after one win) but I am sure it will come back down after they lose miserably to TCU. Really?!

These are the new parkway trees (another terrible shot). They are London Plane trees or Sycamores. We hope they will be big and gorgeous and provide a lot of shade from the hot afternoon sun... of course, that's about 50 years away. One of my neighbors caught me snapping some shots and asked me if I was taking pictures so I could remember how spindly they were. Funny. I do appreciate sarcasm more than fair-weather fans, though.

We will be having our very first family pictures taken in a couple of weeks. I am crossing my fingers they turn out. You will know if they don't because I won't be posting them. And what would this post be without an adorable picture of baby Liv! I just love that milky, white complexion... she nearly glows in the dark.



And this is the view from the third level that Brett added on to the house to optimize the view...hahaha.