I can hardly believe it's been a year. My baby is ONE! I feel like it couldn't possibly be true. I've been reminiscing and pondering a lot the last few days about how far we've come in the last year. I have a few things I'd like to write down in a post all about Clara. It's been a pretty crazy week,(I wanted to have this posted first thing this morning. Oh well!) For now, enjoy this video all about Princess Clara.
We love you baby girl! Here's to many many more happy birthdays.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Aunt Ashley Visit
We were super lucky to have Troy's sister Ashley in town for a few days. She was staying in downtown Phoenix for a conference for school. We got to see her lots while she was here and it was so fun. She was actually here for Halloween so she came trick or treating with us. The next day we got to hang out at her hotel and go swimming at the pool. Jackson and Clara both loved that. We also walked around downtown and showed Ash some of the sights. Another day we got to enjoy dinner at Ashley's hotel while we visited with her professor. We then walked through a crazy Dios de Los Muertos party near the hotel and enjoyed some delicious frozen yogurt. We had a blast. Ashley got some super cute pictures on her phone. Thanks for hanging out with us Ash, we loved it!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Halloween 2012
Halloween is so much fun with kids. I love it now and I haven't always been able to say that. However, by the end of October, I'm kind of all Halloweened-out because of all the activities. Maybe this has something to do with the fact that I've been pregnant the last two Halloweens. Ha. Isn't it funny to think about that? Guys, I'm pregnant now and I was pregnant this time last year too. Craziness. Anyway, we had a blast this October as usual, even if I was a little tired by the time November 1st rolled around.
{Midwestern Halloween Party}
We started off with the Midwestern Halloween party which we always love. So fun. Troy was in Iowa on an interview during that so bless those Teftellers-- they hung out with me once again and helped me keep track of my children. I took hardly any pictures. Mostly because I wasn't feeling so hot. But Jackson had a blast, got some candy, and played lots of games. The games this year were awesome. He loved this squirt gun game where the kids sprayed the guns into jack-o-lanterns to put out little candles. Super cute. Jackson also visited the fishing pond about ten times. No one else was really around and the students running it didn't mind. But that guy behind the pond nearly got nailed with the fishing pole hook every time Jackson swung it around. Pretty funny.
{Trunk-or-Treat}
We LOVE our ward trunk-or-treat. I was beyond excited when I learned they were bringing back the soup cook-off activity. Yes! I love, love this. It was also all outside which was fabulous. We ate yummy soups, ate by the light of surrounding Christmas lights and had a blast. Jackson was so excited to be playing with all his friends in their costumes. He also loved the actual trunk-or-treating. Some people in our ward really get into decorating their trunks. They look awesome!
{Halloween Day}
We started off the actual holiday with preschool at our house. Jackson love, loves his preschool. He basically hasn't stopped talking about it since the last one finished in May. We stuck to the letter E as I wasn't really in the Halloween spirit (as mentioned before), however I did make little rice krispie pumpkins to decorate. Guys, they were awful. Like hard as rocks. Haha! I haven't made rice krispie treats in a while, after talking to my mom I guess my marshmallows were too old. But I promise they were still soft when I decided to use them. Oh well. I was pretty entertained by the fact that even most of the 3 year olds wouldn't eat them. Lesson learned.
That evening, the Leavitts invited us for pizza at their house and trick-or-treating in their festive neighborhood afterwards. We love the Leavitts. They are so great. Jarin is a OB resident at Good Sam in Phoenix. We met them through our friends the Wahlstroms and the Petersons. Nancy Leavitt totally let us borrow her car for a week when ours was broken and Troy was in Texas, and I'd just started to get sick with Baby #3. Bless them forever for that.
We had a yummy dinner and Jackson kind of suffocated the Leavitt's cat. (Seriously where did this animal lover come from?! He just wanted to hold him and kept picking him up and carrying him around the house.) Clara got her picture taken over and over while wearing Troy's hat because she looked so funny and then we headed out to trick-or-treat. Jarin and Nancy took us to the best neighborhood ever. Like almost all the houses had crazy decorations and some of them were completely decked out. One house had a whole haunted house inside it, with a line that went around the corner. It looked very spooky. I'm not a haunted house girl. Some of our group were going to try it, but they were charging $5 per person (this thing was the real deal!) and no one had cash on them.
Something that is fabulous about Halloween in Arizona is that the weather is optimal for trick-or-treating. Almost every house had people handing out candy in the driveway. I was wearing short sleeves and loving every minute of it. We were actually worried Clara might be too hot. It was perfect weather.
Because the neighborhood was so awesome, it was pretty crowded. The streets were packed in some areas. Have I mentioned I don't like crowds so much? Ever since I've had kids they kind of make me anxious. Anyway, we met some funny people because of the crowds though. Like two teenage girls who were were AT LEAST sixteen. When a small child darted in front of one of them, she said, "Ugh! I hate it when the little kids get in my way." Hmmm, maybe it's time for a new activity then! Ha. Unbelievable. I don't feel like teenagers should go trick-or-treating. End of story. We also may or may not have encountered a dry ice bomb in a water bottle that scared the little kids to death. And then there was the scary skeleton man who kept scraping a shovel on his driveway and making sparks, or "fire" as Jackson put it. Guys this was intense stuff!
We had a blast Leavitts! Thank so much for the invite. It was so fun to see so much Halloween spirit concentrated into one neighborhood. (Side note: We were lucky enough to have Troy's sister Ashley visiting on Halloween. She was in town for a conference for school so she came with us on our Halloween adventures. Some of these pictures are from her. Funny enough I don't have one picture that she is in. Lame, my picture taking sure decreases in quantity when I'm pregnant. More to come on Ashley's visit later.)
{Midwestern Halloween Party}
We started off with the Midwestern Halloween party which we always love. So fun. Troy was in Iowa on an interview during that so bless those Teftellers-- they hung out with me once again and helped me keep track of my children. I took hardly any pictures. Mostly because I wasn't feeling so hot. But Jackson had a blast, got some candy, and played lots of games. The games this year were awesome. He loved this squirt gun game where the kids sprayed the guns into jack-o-lanterns to put out little candles. Super cute. Jackson also visited the fishing pond about ten times. No one else was really around and the students running it didn't mind. But that guy behind the pond nearly got nailed with the fishing pole hook every time Jackson swung it around. Pretty funny.
{Trunk-or-Treat}
We LOVE our ward trunk-or-treat. I was beyond excited when I learned they were bringing back the soup cook-off activity. Yes! I love, love this. It was also all outside which was fabulous. We ate yummy soups, ate by the light of surrounding Christmas lights and had a blast. Jackson was so excited to be playing with all his friends in their costumes. He also loved the actual trunk-or-treating. Some people in our ward really get into decorating their trunks. They look awesome!
Jackson visiting the Caskey's trunk.
Ryan and Issac Martin (dressed as the scarecrow and the Lion from Wizard of Oz.)
{Halloween Day}
We started off the actual holiday with preschool at our house. Jackson love, loves his preschool. He basically hasn't stopped talking about it since the last one finished in May. We stuck to the letter E as I wasn't really in the Halloween spirit (as mentioned before), however I did make little rice krispie pumpkins to decorate. Guys, they were awful. Like hard as rocks. Haha! I haven't made rice krispie treats in a while, after talking to my mom I guess my marshmallows were too old. But I promise they were still soft when I decided to use them. Oh well. I was pretty entertained by the fact that even most of the 3 year olds wouldn't eat them. Lesson learned.
That evening, the Leavitts invited us for pizza at their house and trick-or-treating in their festive neighborhood afterwards. We love the Leavitts. They are so great. Jarin is a OB resident at Good Sam in Phoenix. We met them through our friends the Wahlstroms and the Petersons. Nancy Leavitt totally let us borrow her car for a week when ours was broken and Troy was in Texas, and I'd just started to get sick with Baby #3. Bless them forever for that.
We had a yummy dinner and Jackson kind of suffocated the Leavitt's cat. (Seriously where did this animal lover come from?! He just wanted to hold him and kept picking him up and carrying him around the house.) Clara got her picture taken over and over while wearing Troy's hat because she looked so funny and then we headed out to trick-or-treat. Jarin and Nancy took us to the best neighborhood ever. Like almost all the houses had crazy decorations and some of them were completely decked out. One house had a whole haunted house inside it, with a line that went around the corner. It looked very spooky. I'm not a haunted house girl. Some of our group were going to try it, but they were charging $5 per person (this thing was the real deal!) and no one had cash on them.
Something that is fabulous about Halloween in Arizona is that the weather is optimal for trick-or-treating. Almost every house had people handing out candy in the driveway. I was wearing short sleeves and loving every minute of it. We were actually worried Clara might be too hot. It was perfect weather.
Because the neighborhood was so awesome, it was pretty crowded. The streets were packed in some areas. Have I mentioned I don't like crowds so much? Ever since I've had kids they kind of make me anxious. Anyway, we met some funny people because of the crowds though. Like two teenage girls who were were AT LEAST sixteen. When a small child darted in front of one of them, she said, "Ugh! I hate it when the little kids get in my way." Hmmm, maybe it's time for a new activity then! Ha. Unbelievable. I don't feel like teenagers should go trick-or-treating. End of story. We also may or may not have encountered a dry ice bomb in a water bottle that scared the little kids to death. And then there was the scary skeleton man who kept scraping a shovel on his driveway and making sparks, or "fire" as Jackson put it. Guys this was intense stuff!
We had a blast Leavitts! Thank so much for the invite. It was so fun to see so much Halloween spirit concentrated into one neighborhood. (Side note: We were lucky enough to have Troy's sister Ashley visiting on Halloween. She was in town for a conference for school so she came with us on our Halloween adventures. Some of these pictures are from her. Funny enough I don't have one picture that she is in. Lame, my picture taking sure decreases in quantity when I'm pregnant. More to come on Ashley's visit later.)
Cameron and Colby Peterson, Izzy Leavitt, Jack Walhsrom, Cade Leavitt, Jacoby Roe, Jackson.
BYU Game Day
While in Utah, Troy got the chance to take Jackson to the BYU Homecoming game. It's hard to say which of my boys were more excited. They both couldn't wait. Clara and I dropped them off in Provo where they met Landon to drive to the stadium. Jackson fell asleep on the way to Provo, so the little man was disoriented when he woke up. Before too long he caught on to the excitement of Cougartown. Despite Jackson's sad face in these photos, he really did have a great time. We have a video to prove it. Jackson was entertained for almost the entire game and was excited about the black uniforms BYU debuted for homecoming. Go Cougars! It was a good day for the Bushman Boys.
Payson Adventures
As soon as we learned we'd be in Utah during football season, Troy planned a BYU-Cougar-Father-Son outing with Jackson. So they went to the black out homecoming game and had a blast. The pictures are on Troy's phone, so I'll do a post on that later. While the boys were enjoying the game, the girls had exciting plans. :)
{The Red Barn}
We went to Jimmy Johns for lunch with Grandma Bushman, Lexie and Brad, and Steph and Company. (Can I just say I love Jimmy Johns? Thank you Kindi for introducing me to this delightful deli.) After lunch, half the group headed back to Bushman headquarters to watch the game and Steph and I headed to Santaquin to visit the Red Barn. Have you ever noticed the cute red barn just west of the freeway while heading south on I-15. Well you should notice it, and then one day you should stop by and visit. They have delicious ice cream. And in the fall, they have hay rides and a pumpkin patch and all sorts of fall loveliness. Steph told me about it and consented to go again even though she had taken her kids only a couple weeks earlier. So nice of her, because I LOVED it. It was sad Jackson wasn't there to enjoy it, but-- let's be honest, he was having the time of his life in Cougar Kingdom. Aunt Ashley joined us which made it that much more fun.
We enjoyed our hay ride, especially that big bump we hit that almost sent us all flying. Like, I literally was inches off my seat and almost dropped Clara. (It is still my biggest fear that I'll drop her someday. Hold her and you'll get it. She is super wiggly and way too flexible she can wriggle out of any hold and she also likes to just bed backwards out of your arms. It's intense. :) We enjoyed beautiful fall scenery and a fun burlap sack slide as well as a maze and picturesque hay bales. It was fabulous. Can you tell how much I miss fall activities in Arizona? Our trip to Utah definitely filled that void for me. :)
{Bushman Halloween Party}
After the boys were back we had a fun little Halloween party. The kids dressed up, we played some fun games (Like 'Don't Eat Pete' borrowed from my mom, that one is always a hit with the kids, they think it's so funny. And we also played the penny game, which I'm terrible at but is fun just the same. Troy was pretty good as was Christa. Who knew there was so much skill involved in throwing a penny?), decorated sugar cookies and loved it all.
We did our best to round up the kids for a photo. Jackson starting yelling, "Aye, aye mateys!" at the top of his lungs while we were taking pictures. Clara eventually started crying because he was so loud. Poor girl. I did get her to smile eventually when she was far away from her scary brother. Ha.
And this is the cute pony tail Steph put in Clara's hair. Clara has this funny wisp of hair that is only on top of her head. This sealed the deal, we are doing ponies all the time now. Soooo cute!
Hooray for Payson time! It was sad saying goodbye since we're not sure when we'll be back up to visit. I'm so glad we were able to see everybody though. We miss everyone so much!
{The Red Barn}
We went to Jimmy Johns for lunch with Grandma Bushman, Lexie and Brad, and Steph and Company. (Can I just say I love Jimmy Johns? Thank you Kindi for introducing me to this delightful deli.) After lunch, half the group headed back to Bushman headquarters to watch the game and Steph and I headed to Santaquin to visit the Red Barn. Have you ever noticed the cute red barn just west of the freeway while heading south on I-15. Well you should notice it, and then one day you should stop by and visit. They have delicious ice cream. And in the fall, they have hay rides and a pumpkin patch and all sorts of fall loveliness. Steph told me about it and consented to go again even though she had taken her kids only a couple weeks earlier. So nice of her, because I LOVED it. It was sad Jackson wasn't there to enjoy it, but-- let's be honest, he was having the time of his life in Cougar Kingdom. Aunt Ashley joined us which made it that much more fun.
We enjoyed our hay ride, especially that big bump we hit that almost sent us all flying. Like, I literally was inches off my seat and almost dropped Clara. (It is still my biggest fear that I'll drop her someday. Hold her and you'll get it. She is super wiggly and way too flexible she can wriggle out of any hold and she also likes to just bed backwards out of your arms. It's intense. :) We enjoyed beautiful fall scenery and a fun burlap sack slide as well as a maze and picturesque hay bales. It was fabulous. Can you tell how much I miss fall activities in Arizona? Our trip to Utah definitely filled that void for me. :)
Madi and Ashley.
Could we get just one of them to look? No, too much to ask. Ha.
{Bushman Halloween Party}
After the boys were back we had a fun little Halloween party. The kids dressed up, we played some fun games (Like 'Don't Eat Pete' borrowed from my mom, that one is always a hit with the kids, they think it's so funny. And we also played the penny game, which I'm terrible at but is fun just the same. Troy was pretty good as was Christa. Who knew there was so much skill involved in throwing a penny?), decorated sugar cookies and loved it all.
Aunt Lex and Clara.
Boston was Thor and he was awesome at it. Jackson kept trying to steal his hammer though. Bossy's costume was just too cool. :)
Uncle Bry and Clara.
My contribution to the Halloween party. Witches broomsticks. Perfect for my nauseous self as they were so easy. The kids liked them.
Hooray for Payson time! It was sad saying goodbye since we're not sure when we'll be back up to visit. I'm so glad we were able to see everybody though. We miss everyone so much!
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