a GoOd NiGHt aFteR aLL

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We had a great Halloween even though we didn't do the usual trick or treating. Instead we had a going away dinner for our friend Jordan at the Sunbird Resturaunt (which was awesome). He's going back home to Iowa tomorrow & we're sure gonna miss him. In the spirit of Halloween I dressed Kendra up anyway & took some pictures for her scrapbook. These guys are always a hoot. I never did blog about poker night last week. We had it here on our patio & when Nick ran out of chips he came in the trailer & I went out. Frank loaned me some of his chips & I won back $6 for Nick. Better than nothing right? Anyway, dinner was fun & it turned out to be a great night! Hope your Halloween was spooktacular!

It's a good life!

Today was just a normal day. I woke up to Kendra's babbling. I layed in bed listening for a good 20 minutes before going to get her. When I opened her door she greeted me with her usual "Hi" and then proceeded to play our morning ritual game, Peek-a-Boo, where she squats down in her pack'n'play and presses her tiny hand against the mesh for me to kiss. It's after I've done this that she jumps up to finish the game. She does this over and over until her little heart is content. Finally, she reaches up for me to signal that it's time to pick her up for some loves and binky-breath kisses. I'm smitten!

She's such a happy girl, that Kendra. So happy that even I cannot stay sad for a second. She's contagious! When we go to the store, for a walk, out to eat, we get stopped because of her. I couldn't count all the old ladies that have grabbed her cheeks without warning and laid one on her. It's that red hair and pagent wave I guess.

I've had a rough week, maybe not rough but a little lonely. I could go into detail but it doesn't matter. What does matter is that I'm here with my little family. I married the best guy in the world. I have a healthy happy baby. I've met some awesome people here & overall my life is great. I'm not trying to convince myself but I am trying to remind myself of all the good things in my my life. So when I get homesick or tear up after talking with Lynette (yes, I miss you) I have to remember the most important things in life and wishing we were back home is not on that list. Wanna know what's near the top of my list? Binky-Breath kisses of course!

Leelou Launch Party

Annual Emma Crawford Coffin Races

Emma Crawford lived in Manitou Springs at the turn of the century, arriving with the hopes that the famous drinking Mineral Springs would help with a cure for her tuberculosis. Sadly, in the summer of 1890 Emma died quite young, just before she was to marry Mr. Hildebrand, an engineer on the Pikes Peak Cog Railway. Her wishes were to be laid to rest on top of Red Mountain. Her heartbroken fiancee and eleven other men began the arduous task her carrying Emma's coffin up to the top of Red Mountain. It took them all day, working two shifts to scale the 7200 foot Summit. After years of stormy weather on the granite mountain the granite gave way and Emma's remains were washed down the side of Red Mountain. Emma was later buried in the Manitou Springs Cemetery in an unmarked grave. An official grave site was granted to her in 2004 to honor her life. Now every year in late October, Manitou Springs remembers this beautiful young woman who loved her town and her Red Mountain with this unique festival.

Little did we know that this was a HUGE event! Take a look at the crowd in this picture, there were thousands of people. I waited all week for this and then we couldn't even see that well. Then Kendra wasn't even interested in the costumes or the parade, all she cared about was feeding some stupid dogs her cheeseburger.
Anyway - It was still pretty fun to watch plus we got one more use out of Kendra's costume. I love Halloween!!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

We did the petting zoo first and Kendra loved the goats. She got a little excited and the petting escalated into hitting. I guess the goats didn't appreciate it so they ran away.
Then we headed down the hill for an old fashioned tractor ride. The line was forever long so Nick let Kendra roll around in the hay (literally). She especially loved this and threw a fit when we tried to pick her up.


We finally got our ride and Kendra squeeled and clapped the entire way. The bumpier the ride got, the louder Kendra got. It was too cute!

Kendra and Daddy driving the tractor!

And at last we found our perfect pumpkins. Kendra wasn't too picky, just whatever she could get her little hands on.
When it was time to go, Kendra obviously was not ready. She started crying when she saw the truck. It was so sad!

Stay tuned to see who wins our pumpkin carving contest....

NICK (booooo) OR CRYSTAL (clapping & cheering)

who will it be???

Colorado's smartest deer!

IF I WERE A DEER & IT WAS HUNTING SEASON? I would hang out on someone's front lawn too. So on our way to the pumpkin patch, we ran across these bucks. This house is on a really busy street so we took these pictures while driving. There were three bucks together, all of them about the same size.

Nick has a tag for southern utah but we're not going. It's this time of year that we really miss being home. There's nothing like the mountains - hunting, jeep rides, sitting around the campfire and being with family. This apprenticeship is a lot harder than we thought but I think it will be worth it in the end. All you deer hunters out there - HAVE SOME FUN & GOOD LUCK WITH FINDING THAT TIRTY POINT BUCK!

Munchkin : stay put suction bowls

Here is my find of the day. I've been trying to get Kendra to eat with a bowl or plate but she likes to dump it out or drop it off her tray. The other day I was walking through Wally World and found these. They suction right to the high chair (or a table) and your little ones can't get them off. Plus they have lids and they're small enough you can take them along with you. I LOVE THEM.

My Silly Girl:)

Yesterday Kendra kept rolling around on the ground and laughing. She was cracking herself up. It was pretty fun to watch so I took some pictures. She also likes to carry her toys around in her mouth constantly. I'm starting to forget what she looks like without something hanging out of her mouth.

WE'RE DEFINITLY ADDICTED TO THIS LITTLE LADY!

(as if you couldn't tell)

We Moved!

That's right. We moved all the way down the road to a new RV park. I begged and pleaded with Nick to move us down here because the lack of internet and water pressure and he finally caved. It's quite high class down here too. We have gravel (not dirt), a cement pad complete with a picnic table (one you can actually sit upon), it's fenced in so no more bears AND we have free internet. HOORAY!!

Anyway, I never got to blog about my fun trip to Price so here goes:

Day 1 - drove approx 8 hours, made one stop, Kendra didn't cry once.

Day 2 - Just chilled with Melissa and Neeley. Went to Russell's and played Wii.

Day 3 - Melissa and Brian going at it and I don't mean in the bedroom. Of course I hid out in the bathroom for an hour or so trying to not be nosy but on the other hand just couldn't help myself from cracking the door a few times. Anywho, it all ended with some tears from my hormonal prego sister, a few phone calls from Mr. Charming (aka smart ass), and Neeley asking her crying mommy if daddy killed her. All ended well and we all headed up to the mountains for some much needed fresh air. Kendra ate some dirt and a lot of cookies and then we headed for home. That night, Kendra woke up around 5 am so I put her in bed with me. Just after falling back a sleep, she fell out of bed on her head. Notice the goosegg? What a day!Day 4 - The Wild Whittakers came all the way to Price for one day just to see ME. Yes I have three other sibling that also live there but I'm just positive that I was the reason for their visit. We had a blast, hence the pictures. We all tried to convince them to stay the night but Dustin foiled our plan.
Day 5 - Went swimming at the wave pool where Nils works. He talks me into hitting the "big ones". I'm thinking no big deal, I was a lifeguard myself for a few years. We head out and everything is going great until I start drowning. A few inches away is my wonderful and caring brother watching in embarrasment as I fight for my life. He's yelling at me like a coach would his athlete saying, "DON'T YOU DARE, CRYSTAL, I MEAN IT" over and over until I realize he really isn't going to save me. I finally made it out where I'm greeted by another brother laughing hysterically. What are brothers for? At least they let me know that one of the "girls" was about to pop right out. We followed up with some KFC and good old sugar cookie decorating.Day 6 - Went to Orem to get Kendra's pictures done and got to have dinner with my awesome mother and father in law.

Day 7 - Helped Melissa get some stuff organized and took pictures of the kiddies.

Day 8 - Left for home. Kendra cried most of the way.

We had so much fun and Kendra loved playing with all of her cousins but was ready to come home to Nick.

IT'S FUN TO BE ONE