happy fall :)

click to enlarge. trust me. you'll want to!

{more details to come. i'll wait until the initial shock wears off :)}

the help

i just finished reading one of the best books that i have ever read.

i absolutely loved it.

i realize that the help has been on just about every best-selling list out there...but it is for a reason. i could not put it down {ask danny}!

i love reading about the history of the blacks/segregation/white + black women who fought for what they really believed in so this book was right up my alley.

{other must reads: to kill a mockingbird + the secret life of bees}

so. if you are looking for something amazing to curl up with on these chilly fall days, i highly recommend this book.

from a to z

we had SUCH a good time in arizona. the weather was ultra-warm, the company was awesome, and the fact that danny didn't have to work at all was the best.

{we took an insane amount of pictures so be warned that this is going to be an extremely long post...}

lets start from the very beginning:

we arrived in phoenix wednesday night after a very long day. we were supposed to get in at 5:30 but after loading our plane, approaching the runway...and turning around...we learned that we would not be leaving slc for another TWO hours. awesome. we were already worried about max {since he has never flown before...} and another two hours without a nap was not going to make for a good flight. miraculously, however, we were sitting next to some of the nicest people in the world and max was great!! as long as he had some form of food in his mouth, and was looking at his favorite books he was good to go. dave, danny's oldest brother, was there to pick us up and after surprising hazin and theori, and eating a delicious meal that codi made for us, we crashed for the night.

{we were pretty much the last ones to board the plane so max had the privilege of walking on. the flight attendant was loving max...and it was pretty cute}

thursday we took it easy in the morning, played volleyball in the backyard, packed lunches, and drove to a beautiful park in scottsdale where we played frisbee golf. it was such a nice day...a little too nice of a day...so the girls {and max} only played three holes once we thought we were going to die of heat exhaustion. it was still a blast, and max loved being at the park. dave lost his favorite frisbee in the gross and disgusting pond...but was brave enough to face whatever germs/bacteria were residing there! luckily he found his disc! and after a very hot, hot few hours at the park we stopped at bahama buck's shaved ice for some of the best shaved ice in the world! max crawled all around the floor and turned his feet a nice shade of black while danny and dave had themselves a little arm wrestle...

thursday night danny, max, and i drove out to queen's creek where we met up with my old young women leader and her family. how crazy is that?!? jacque fagrell was my beehive leader, and her husband skye teaches seminary at corona del sol in chandler, az. i haven't seen them in a loooong time and it was so much fun to see them again and meet their three adorable kids! max LOVED gunner and had a blast with his trucks, cars, balloons, etc... jacque made us a delicious dinner/dessert and afterwards danny and gunner wrestled each other for awhile. probably the highlight of the night: seeing a three year old little boy turn into a "superhero" and fight danny. max was loving it too and by the end danny had two little boys jumping on him. so cute. thanks jacque and skye for the very fun night!!

{unfortunately, i didn't get any pictures...}

friday we woke up and got ready to go to the mesa temple. dave and codi were so kind to watch max for us while we left for the morning/afternoon. we were a little worried to leave max for such a long time, but max absolutely adored ginger, their puppy, and he also bonded with theori and codi while we were gone. so it was a win-win for all of us.

*The Mesa Temple*

Why do Latter-Day Saints go to the temple?

(my brother Dave and his wife Codi asked this question as we were prepping to go to the temple)

The very last book of the Old Testament is written by a prophet named Malachi. He has a very good knowledge of God's plan and gives a very quick, profound insight to our responsibility and opportunity to help others.

Chapter 4 verses 5 & 6:

5. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

6. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

God promised to send Elijah back to earth before the second coming. That happened on April 3rd, 1836 when Elijah visited Joseph Smith in the Kirtland temple. click here to read more about it.

We turn our hearts to our ancestors and are baptized for those who have passed on

who never received the gospel, giving them the opportunity to accept it.

Paul teaches about baptism for the dead in 1st Corinthians 15.

We also perform temple sealings for those who were not married for eternity.

God's power is on the earth, and families truly can be together forever through His love and these beautiful temples.

(one day Dave, you and your family will get to go to the temple and be sealed together)

the temple was absolutely gorgeous and it was so neat to be able to do a session in a temple we'd never been together to before. afterwards we were both starving so we ate at this little sub place, jersey mike's, which was absolutely delicious. i ate my entire sandwich in about five minutes flat.

after the temple, we came home and decided to hit up the swimming pool {since it was a whopping 93 degrees outside!} so we piled the kids into the car and drove out to mesquite groves aquatic center where there was a lazy river, two slides, diving boards, a whirlpool, and a kiddie playground. it was amazing! we even got in free since we didn't have cash or check...it was awesome. after a while of swimming, max and i bundled up in our towels {apparently, 93 degrees is colder in arizona than utah...haha} and watched everyone else show off their sweet skills on the diving board.

friday night we had dinner and then went out for a night at the bowling alley. it's been a long time since we went bowling...too long! but we all had a blast. i think danny and i both scored an all-time low but danny had some pretty awesome bowling moves so it made it all worth it. max even slept the whole time...he was exhausted from the busy day! on the way home we got TONS of candy and rented "how to train your dragon." none of us had seen it yet and it was SO good. we all loved it.

saturday, our last full day in arizona, we woke up super early and went for a hike up south mountain. i almost died!! {definitely a sign that i need to work out a little more...dang it!} max loved it though--especially since he got to be so close to the big doggies. and it really was a pretty hike. the view was amazing and it was neat to see so many "cacti."

saturday afternoon we got ready for lunch with danny's great aunt jane {who we have never met!} she is a sweet, 93-year-old lady, with a very funny sense of humor. she loved max--luckily he decided to be on his best behavior--most of the time. and she treated us all to her favorite little restaurant in down-town scottsdale: the sugar bowl. apparently it opened in the 1950's and nothing has changed since--not the decor or the menu. it was a cute little place and we had a great time getting to know her better.

and saturday night we hit up the biggest arcade that i have ever been to. it was pretty crazy! we got so many tokens, won tons of tickets, and had a great time acting like little kids again.

sunday morning, we got up and packed all our stuff away. max said good-bye to ginger and we headed off to the airport around noon. the flight home wasn't quite as pleasant as the flight to arizona, but max still did pretty good. he even fell asleep the last twenty minutes. it was good to get home but we really did have such a great time! thanks dave, codi, hazin, and theori for making our trip so memorable!! we love you guys and can't wait to see you {hopefully} at christmas!

red leaf, blue leaf

who knew that fall could be so incredibly, breathtakingly, beautiful???

i sure didn't. i think most of my life i have spent my fall/winter/springs waiting for summer to happen again. i'm trying to do better, and appreciate every season of the year, since summer only lasts for a few months.

tonight, we took family pictures up the canyon {which, by the way, is a short five minute drive from our home!!} and if our little snapshots are any indication of how the real pics turned out...i am going to be very pleased.

one of the guys that danny works with offered us our christmas present early--for his wife to take our family pictures!! score. she has a much nicer camera than we do so i can't wait to see how they turned out. the other seminary teacher and his family were there too, so while they were getting their pictures taken, we snapped a few of our own.

...until our battery died a few minutes later...boo.

it was pretty chilly near the end, and we had to cover up some chocolate spit-up from max, but other than that we had a fabulous time.

aren't those trees gorgeous?!

p.s. what do you think of my new do?? i chopped off quite a bit!

also, i know some of you {you know who you are! haha} are waiting for pictures and a re-cap of our trip to sunny arizona. they will be coming soon. very soon!

p.s. if you didn't know we went to az...we did! it was a much needed trip over fall break for all of us.

finger puppets!

i just did a post over on belly mama's on how to make finger puppets for your little babes.

check it.

salon k

my friend karissa is having a giveaway over on her blog.

she has some AMAZING products!! check it out.

p.s. i'm chopping off my hair. TOMORROW. am i freaking out?!

a little. but i can't wait!! pictures to come...

rainy days

i don't know about you, but where we live, it has been freeeeeezing cold and rainy.

i'm not complaining though because there is something so very comforting about rain after a long, hot summer. we've been snuggling up in blankets, eating delicious soups, listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops on the rooftop...and taking lots and lots of pictures on photo booth.

what are you doing during these beautiful fall days??

have any scrumptious recipes you'd like to share?

{i have some zucchini bread in the oven...if it turns out, i'll put the recipe up!}