Halloween Carnival!

On Friday we went to our wards Halloween carnival and it was a blast! Thatcher loved dressing up and being in his costum. He also loved watching all the other people in their costums. He got his face painted, went through the spook alley, tossed some bean bags and ate some donuts on a string. It was all in all a great time!

Our little "Mr. Incredible" or "The Dash" take your pick!

Thatcher tossing the bean bag

Thatcher aka: Dracula!

Thatcher with his friend Ian.

Thatcher trying to eat the donut off the string. He was pretty determined, let me tell ya!

TIme Out For Women

Here are Jill and I at Time Out for Women. It was really fun and it was great to see Jill again. The speakers were REALLY good and fun, and I learned a lot about how to be a better wife and mother, which is always important! Anyway, it was great and I hope to go again next year!

My Celeb Look Alikes! (yeah right! )

On A Personal Note...

So to get a little personal for moment, I am happy to report that I have dropped 1 pant size/dress size in the last three weeks! YIPPY! I am really happy because I can now fit into some clothes that I haven't been able to wear since before Thatcher was born! So, everyone asks how I am losing weight, and for those of you who knew me on the mission you won't be surprised to know that I am off carbs...it just really works for me. Yay for loosing baby weight!

TIme Out For Women

This Saturday I am going to Time out for Women and I am really excited! I have had this planned ever since I found out there was a Time Out held in Phoenix probably about six months ago! I am leaving early early Saturday morning to drive to Phoenix and then I am going with my good friend Jill Holyoak (Carter) who was my MTC companion. It should be a really fun day and I am excited!

Fiesta!

On Saturday our Stake had their annual "Fiesta". It is a huge event and they provide food for everyone along with jumping castles, a dunking tank, lots of sports and a huge sand pit for toddlers. It was a really fun time and the weather is absolutly beautiful right now in Tucson and so we really enjoyed ourselves!

Thatcher enjoying his halloween cupcake!

Taggart taking a siesta at the Fiesta!

Thatcher absolutly LOVES jumping castles. There was one at the Fiesta and he didn't want to get out!

Thatcher roaring through the netting...

Getting his balance...

This is Thatcher's little friend Lacey. They have become best buddies over the last little while, infact Lacey went on vacation to Utah for two weeks and when Thatcher saw her again he smiled really big and ran over to her! It was really cute! Their favorite game to play is chasing one another around. They also love to give hugs, as you can see!

First Smile!

Todd caught one of Taggart's first REAL smiles on camera last night! Isn't he cute! He has been smiling and cooing a lot lately. It is really fun.

Surprise!

I went out of the room for a minute and came back to find Thatcher sitting next to Taggart eating an APPLE! He must of quickly sneaked it out of the fridge when I wasn't looking! I laughed so hard!

Going to Church!

This past Sunday was the first time that Taggart went to church! He did really well. Thatcher is now in nursery and he LOVES it. As soon as I take him to the door he lets go of my hand is off!

Thatcher and Taggart ready for church!

Umm so yeah. Even though I am 26, married and have two kids, I still love movies like this. I actually didn't see Mean Girls until about a month ago and I laughed my head off the whole movie. The best is now I refer to others as "Regina George". The other day we had a couple over for dinner and she was explaining something to me about the paint colors that she was painting her house, and I said, "oh that sounds way cute". After she left I said, "those are crazy paint colors to paint your house!" and Todd said to me, "okay Regina George". I laughed and laughed. You would have to see the movie to get the joke.

Sneak Peek!

Here is a sneak peek at what Thatcher is going to be for Halloween...doesn't he look adorable?

Pumpkins!

On Saturday we went and picked out pumkins for Halloween! It was really fun and I was happy to see that they had a little pumpkin patch off the side of the road since it has not really felt like fall here, being 85 degrees every day. Thatcher had a really good time and picked out some good pumpkins to carve.

Thatcher didn't quite know what to think of all these big orange balls! There were hundreds of pumpkins and he kept running down the aisles looking at all of them!

For some reason the people who owned the pumpkin patch had pigs there. Thatcher loved watching them and as soon as he would come to the fence the pigs would all come over to him.

These are the pumpkins Thatcher picked out!

Thatcher pulling the wagon with pumpkins.

Our Zoo Trip

Since the weather has been so nice lately we decided to take the kids to the zoo! It was really a fun day and although Tucson isn't too big, the zoo they have here is really nice. Thatcher loved seeing the birds and the fish, but didn't really grasp how cool it was to see Elephants and Tigers yet!

This is how Taggart enjoyed his trip to the zoo!

Us with the giraffes. (We have such a hard time getting Thatcher to look at the camera!)

Daddy and Thatcher

Two Rhinos snuggling

Thatcher chasing a tropical bird around the
bird cage.

Thatcher trying to touch the GIGANTIC fish!

YUMMY!

Thatcher eating some lunch

Taggart up close and personal! :-)

Taggart hanging out on our bed.

A famous Arizona sunset. They really are spectacular!

Daddy, Thatcher and Taggart on our walk.

The front view of the double stroller aka: "the beast" as I have affectionately named it.

Tricks...

Okay so here is an update on all the latest and greatest "tricks" Thatcher and Taggart can do!

Thatcher....

He adds new words to his vocabulary every day! His latest is "thank you" and "mama" (it's about time! :) )

He can point to and say various body parts such as: eye, nose, mouth, teeth (when you ask him where his teeth are, he will just give you a toothy grin), hair, head, ears, toes, and tummy (when you ask him where his tummy is, he lifts up his shirt and says "tickle tickle tickle"). Thatcher also loves to point out these body parts on his brother, and sometimes unfortunately actually POKES Taggart in the eye. He will also grab Taggarts nose and saw loudly, "honk, honk".

I can now ask Thatcher "do you need a diaper change" and he will then sniff in the air, run to the hall closet where we keep the diapers, get a diaper, come to me and lie down in front of me. Todd couldn't believe that he does this now, neither could I! Maybe he is getting ready for potty training!

Thatcher has semi-graduated from his high chair to a booster seat at the table. We noticed that after dinner while we are cleaning up Thatcher likes to climb on one of the chairs and sit there and pretend to eat. So we tried him out in a booster sitting with us at "the big boy table" and he did such a good job! He is growing up so fast!

Thatcher thinks Taggart is the funniest person on earth. He will sit by him and laugh and laugh. Especially if Taggart makes any kind of squealing noise or sneezes. Thatcher thinks it is the funniest thing he has ever heard and I constantly find myself busting up because Thatcher is laughing so hard at Taggart. I guess Taggart already has a big fan in Thatcher.

Taggart...

Taggart is becoming more and more alert. He stays awake for longer periods of time now and loves to just look around at everything. I can tell that he loves his big brother very much because he loves to watch him and I am sure he can't wait for the day when he can go and chase him!

He is growing so big and is already bigger than Thatcher was at two months old! He is also going a bit longer between feedings and sleeps about 3-4 hours now, instead of 2-3 which is nice for mom!

Taggart is really laid back, I love to notice the difference between Thatcher and Taggart's personalities. They are alike in some ways, but so different in others. Taggart will just sit there and chill while Thatcher and I play around him. He loves to watch and then when he is tired, he drifts off to sleep. Also, Thatcher wouldn't go to sleep unless he was sleeping right by Todd and I, but Taggart doesn't like to be held while he is sleeping, he likes to be in his swing, bassinet, or bouncer. Also, Taggart doesn't like his binkie as much as Thatcher liked his!

Bath Time!

Thatcher in the tub with all his toys. He absolutly LOVES bath time and playing with all his bath toys. All we have to say is "bath" and he starts to RUN down the hall to the bathroom.

Thatcher as we usually see him after a bath.

What a silly boy!

Was today a good day?

When I was a missionary I used to ask myself at the end of the day just before I prayed, was today a good day? Most of the time (thankfully!) I could answer with a definite yes. Usually I would recount in my mind what seemed like endless hours of tracting, service, Maltese class, discussions, visiting and walking. Needless to say, at the end of the day I would usually be exhausted and when I would finally fall into bed it felt so good to know that I had accomplished so much that day and I would fall asleep to a wonderful feeling of satisfaction. Well, now sometimes I define a good day if I showered. Wow. I sometimes look back and think of all I used to accomplish and I feel a little guilty that it seems that I do now is take care of kids, clean, and cook. But, lately I have realized how really wonderful this job is to be a mom and how lucky I am that I can stay at home with my kiddos. I still ask myself if it has been a good day, just before I pray. Obviously I define a good day a little differently now, but it is funny that late at night when I am finally falling into bed and my sons are peacefully sleeping, everything is clean and put in its place and the only sound I hear is the sound of our dishwasher washing the days dishes, I still feel that same feeling I did as a missionary, a wonderful feeling of satisfaction.

October

This a picture of the zone Todd and I served in together in Malta.
October is a special month for me and not because of Halloween...October 24, 2001 Todd and I both entered the MTC and started our missions. I cannot believe it has been 5 years! For me that one decision that I made to serve a mission has impacted my life like I never could have imagined. Elder Scott has said that everything good that has come to him in his life, has come as the direct result of serving a mission. I feel the same way. Before I left on my mission my father gave me a blessing that said that I will meet people who I will know throughout the eternities. I met people on my mission who have left impressions on my life that will forever effect me. I was blessed to have made best friends out of my companions, and we still keep in touch to this day, now all of us wives and mothers. I was privileged to serve around, in my opinion, some of the most amazing missionaries ever. I saw miracles on my mission that changed me, and strengthened my faith. I am a different person because I served a mission. It was there I really found out who I was, and what I wanted to be. And of course, it was on my mission that I met my wonderful husband, Todd. My good friend Shalee says that God must have a sense of humor because he made Italy into the shape of boot, I would have to agree because the way that I met Todd is one funny story. Lets just say, it was NOT love at first sight! We started in the MTC in sister districts and hardly ever spoke (mostly because Todd only spoke Italian!) When we went to Italy we were sent to our first city together. There we were in Italy on a train traveling from Catania to Cosenza, a 8 hour trip, alone. We didn't really speak, but I was impressed that he never once let me touch my luggage, he insisted on carrying them for me. We served together six weeks and then I was transferred but then we were reunited in Malta four months later. Out of my 18 month mission, I served 14 months with Todd in my district. I actually think it is comical now looking back at how much of my mission my future husband was right there with me. I remember nights talking to my companions about our future husbands and in reality mine was just down the street! I don't know why we served together for such a long time, and most people when they find out that we were around each other that long raise an eye brow, but for me I never thought of Todd as anything more than "Elder Bishop" until the last week of my mission when I realized how great of a team we made together, and we do. I love that Todd and I served together because we share something so wonderful, and I am excited for the day when we can be missionaries again, but this time as companions. So, here we are five years later, married with two adorable kiddos. I am grateful that 5 years ago I entered the MTC to serve a mission, that I made that decision with the help of the spirit, and for all the blessings that have come into my life since.