Looking back on halloween

We are so excited for Halloween!!!  Myra keeps saying to me, "Trick-or-Treat pleaaaaaase?".

Last night Jordan and I were getting some of our costumes made and I started thinking back to Myra's very first Halloween and had to dig through our photo albums on my computer so I could find them and look at her cute chubby cheeks.  I have to stop myself from looking at old baby photos too often because it makes me get really emotional and sad that she is growing up.  She was such a delightful baby with yummy yummy cheeks... BUT on the bright side it is so so fun to see her excited and really get into the spirit of it.  And while she isn't a delightful chubby baby anymore she is a hilarious toddler that I simply ADORE! ( I just have a thing for babies...ok?!)

For her first Halloween the two of us were in Newport with Jordan's family (but without him) and we went trick-or-treating at Balboa Island.  It was a blast and SO fun because they REALLY get into decorating over there.  


Unfortunately not too long into the fun Myra vomited ALL over me (two posts in a row about her with a tummy bug? haha oh my!) and I had to endure the rest of the night like that because we were on an island with a large group of people.  


Here is a picture of us on the ferry boat on our way back with me covered....
It still ended up being really fun but I felt so bad for her.
I caught the tummy bug not too long after.

Anyways, I am so excited to dress up as a family this year for our ward trunk-or-treat AND trick-or-treating.  TWICE!!!!??? YAY.  And Jordan is really grateful I am not making him wear any face make-up haha.

My Minnie


Myra is obsessed with PINK right now.. so when we stopped to get some ice-cream we of course had to get PINK to match her PINK hat.  And watching her chow down on that cone was so adorable.

Jordan and I enjoyed this scrumptious dish...

And both of the kids sat on the carousel by themselves for the first time EVER.   Myra has always been too scared to sit by herself, but this time she loved it.
...Check out her crazy cool eyes...
Lets get another look at those...




Joy School


This new school year has been SO fun for me so far.  Myra hasn't had the EASIEST time sharing her parents with a new sibling....I mean, she loves him to DEATH but her sassiness headed to a whole new level after Maxwell graced our presence.  So with the combination of knowing she needed one-on-one time with me during his morning nap, reading oodles of the Eyre's books recently and wanting to teach her more (girl is a SPONGE for knowledge and knows more than I did at age 5!) I decided to homeschool her...specifically in JOY SCHOOL.

Joy school focuses more on teaching children the joys of the world rather than academics and we have had a lot of fun with it this week.  She is loving learning the songs, creating and being with her momma.  

When teaching Joy school you are asked to read a book called, "Teaching your children Joy"... In the introduction it talks about how important it is to help our children be happy.  Not by giving them everything they want (that would certainly help them to end up NOT happy in their lives), but by being a joyous parent and helping them to see, feel and love the world around them. We are focusing on one joy a month for a year and have started with the "Joy of spontaneity!"  So I filled our day yesterday with just that... and on our way home from a trip to the grocery store and a spontaneous stop at the chick-fil-a drive through for a well deserved ice cream, Myra exclaimed in the car, "feel happy, momma!!!" and I said back to her, "I feel happy to, wawa (what she calls herself)".  Because NOTHING makes me happier than seeing her happy... and for her to be happy enough to actually communicate to me that she feels happy, meant that she really felt happy and special that day.  

I am SO excited to continue teaching her JOY and see her grow up using that JOY to help her through the hard times in life.  

Blueberry pickin'

Bright and early this morning we headed over with some friends to pick some blueberries.  For months I've been asking Jordan "Where's the southern charm?"  You see... Florida is in the south, with out a lot of the charming southern ambiance.... But you can find it here and there and I love it when we find it!

Well, we turned a corner and it instantly felt like we were finally in the south.  We pulled into the cutest house with a huge yard.  They had TONS of blueberry bushes that you could pick pounds and pounds of blueberries from for an AMAZING price.

We had a lot of fun picking them and then walked a little around their farm.  Jordan and I were in heaven the whole time because this house was so close to the exact house we have imagined we want when we someday build one.  They had the cutest back porch with flowers, huge trees with swings on them, a beautiful pond far back with another tree swing near it, chickens, goats.... you get the point!  :)

Myra ran around the whole time laughing and eating berries.  I am sure it was pure heaven for her as well because blueberries are her very favorite food.

By the end we had such a big bag of blueberries we all decided we would make a blueberry pie that night!  So Jordan made the most delicious pie I have ever tasted and we all enjoyed a wonderful night together.



The yummy, yummy pie at the end of the night.


Sunday With My Chunky Monkey












Everyday I spend hours and hours with this girl.  Just the two of us.  And a lot of those days are spent in pajamas all day long.  Sundays are different.  We get to dress up and go make friends at church.  This girl is a magnet here in florida and has made it a lot easier to make friends.  Wherever we venture to during the days we get flocks of people talking to us as her chunky cheeks and big blue eyes draw them in.  I am grateful for her.  Grateful for the chance she is giving me to meet random strangers.  She is forcing me to become outgoing again and it is oh so good for me because people are wonderful.  They are really really wonderful!  

Sundays with my chunky monkey make me happy inside. 

An Evening at the Pool
















The three of us spent some time at the pool a few nights ago just before dinner.  Jordan has been so good with his balance of school and family.  So many people have told me to get ready to be a single mom while he is in med school...but Jordan being Jordan i kinda more worried that he wouldn't study enough, but he is working so hard.  I feel so proud of him lately.  The boy just thrives off of learning and it is so fun to watch him get excited about weirdo biochemistry facts.  I said just the other day that I haven't seen him this happy in years and he said to me, "Hailey, I feel alive again."  And my heart filled with gratitude.  I am so grateful that our Heavenly Father has given us this opportunity.  

Anyways, I love watching these two together.  She just adores him and he... well, he is wrapped around her finger.  Yesterday he left for school before she woke up and then came home after she was already down for the night and he was so sad to have missed playing with her.  I don't think he even ate dinner last night...just came home and studied till midnight.  Some days he is busy like that, but it makes us so much more grateful for the times we do get with him.  Like nights at our pool. My heart is full!!!

Everglades












One of Jordan's awesome young men leaders from way back when, signed us up to go to his families Wild Florida this weekend.  His brothers started this company not too long ago where you can go on an airboat ride around the Everglades.  It was breath taking and the tour guides were so nice.  It was so fun to feel the wind on our faces as we took in all this beauty around us!  I kept thinking in my head, "Holy moly, God is good.".  There were thousands of lily pads, birds, and bald eagles flying over our heads.  We even got to see a few gators.  Once we got off the airboat ride there was a little restraunt outside of it where you can buy things like turtle and gator to actually eat.  They also have a zoo of wild animals you can go through and see but Myra was about to melt, so we decided we would come back again for that.  

We really miss our families in Utah, but are really loving Florida.  It helps to be in such a fun place (more on that later :)).  

Needless to say, we will definitely be going back to Wild Florida.