Fall 2014

Here are some highlights of our Fall 2014.

 

Picnic in the backyard

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Cheering on Mississippi State.  It was a great season!  Although it did not end quite as we hoped, it sure was exciting!

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We visited Schnepf Farms again this year with some friends.  It was fun to see how much more Clara enjoyed it this time! We spent some time at the petting zoo, saw a dog show and pig races, and picked out pumpkins to take home and carve (a huge hit with Clara).  Just to give you a picture of our very verbal toddler– on the way home from the farm, Clara said, “a donkey licked it” while holding her shoe.  She then took her shoe off, smelled it, and said, “See, it smells like a donkey.”  Nice, Clara.

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Clara spent her first night in her new big kid bed when we got home from Schnepf Farms.  We have the bunk beds that Jeff slept in for most of his childhood– really fun! She did well but was just a little concerned about the new bed and the dark.  She went to sleep pretty quickly though and slept through the night!

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Clara’s first time carving a pumpkin.  She told us it was too slimy and let Jeff do most of it.

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Clara was a cat for Halloween for the second year in a row.  This costume was given to her by Nana and Pops last year to carry on the tradition because I loved my cat costume as a kid and wore it year after year.  Too bad we don’t still have the original but her new one is super cute!  We spent the night before Halloween with friends and decided to let Clara trick-or-treat to just a few of our neighbors and hand out candy on the actual night.  At the first house, she was already a little iffy with the creepy decorations.  By the time we made it to the second house, she was telling me that she did not want to knock on the door.  As we made our way down the street, we ran into a little boy in a full Godzilla costume, and Clara lost it.  I think this started her saying, “I’m scared of the alligator” and turned into an imaginary alligator that is sometimes in our house.  She likes to pretend but then seems to actually get a little scared sometimes.

Some things that you might hear Clara say about the alligator:

–  “I’m hiding my feet (blanket over them) so the alligator can’t get me.”

– “It’s not an alligator… it’s just a deer.”

– “Alligators are not nice.”

– “It’s just outside with Walcott” or “It’s far away at the zoo”

After the Godzilla incident, we came home and handed out candy until a dad dressed as a creepy clown ended the night for Clara.

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Around the house…

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One of Clara’s favorite things– spending the day in her pajamas.  She is getting a lot better at entertaining herself.  Here she told me that she was setting her people up for a parade.

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Out of Africa

Jeff, Clara, and I visited the wildlife park Out of Africa at the end of September.   We bought tickets at a deal and wanted to get in a visit before a new baby joined the family.  It was about a two hour drive north to Camp Verde from Phoenix.  We got out of town early and made it for the first safari ride of the day.  They have a large, enclosed preserve where you can get up close to lots of animals! It was much cooler than I think we expected.  We were given celery to feed the giraffes, and one came right up to the bus and stuck his head in.  Clara held the celery in her mouth and got a nice giraffe kiss! We pet a huge snake, a cavy, and a crocodile monitor and saw many other animals pretty close up (tigers, lions, hyenas…).  Definitely worth the trip!

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Around the house

Just a glimpse into the happenings around our house.  These were taken in August and September and are just making it to the blog.  Clara has a very active imagination, and it’s really fun to see her enjoying pretend play.  She is a fan of making dinner and eating at her table in the playroom.  Also pictured are “trips” to various places where the stroller, baby Navy (name given by Clara), and a purse are essentials.

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Clara’s 2nd Birthday

So, I am incredibly behind again on blogging but here it goes anyway.  We had Clara’s birthday party at the beginning of August.  We had a great time with just a few friends over for swimming and food.  Clara really seemed to enjoy her party, particularly when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her.

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All of the kids…

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We were so happy to have Nick, Betsy, and Silas join us for the party!! We both now have baby girls born only a few days apart!

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