All the leaves are brown...

October has been a busy month. Early on we decided that we would venture out to the Medina Love Creak Orchard and Pumpkin Patch sometime this month and let Jelly live out her dream of being a "cowgirl" for a day. However, we got back from a 7 day trip out west last week and we leave for New Orleans in the morning, so our opportunities to play with the pumpkins were pretty slim. With a little effort, we managed to squeeze in a few hours as a family so that Belle could enjoy a hayride, pet farm animals and paint a pumpkin!

Medina was much farther than we anticipated and we arrived at Love Creak only 60 minutes before closing time. Yet, we were able to rush from one event to another and managed to see most of the farm. Belle is so fascinated with animals and farm animals seem to be her favorite. She was thrilled to ride a pony, pet a goat and hold a baby chick all by herself. She begged us to bring at least one animal home and was smart enough to say "I have a good idea! We could bring home just one tiny baby chicken, they are small enough!" after Ben told her a horse was too big even for our "garden."

We were hot and sticky after our short trip to the country which didn't quite seem like Fall, but all the effort was worth it to catch these great looks on Jelly's face! Besides, she is being what else but a cowgirl for Halloween this year!

I want to stay here forever!

This is what Isabelle said last week as we traveled to Utah for my sister Alex's wedding! Alee was a beautiful bride and Belle is quite smitten with Uncle Nick. We enjoyed a classic black and white reception at the Provo Library, formerly the Brigham Young Academy, on Wednesday night and then the couple was sealed in the Salt Lake Temple on a crisp October Thursday morning. The weather was beautiful and the Sealer was funny and warm. It was a perfect wedding day!

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After we enjoyed a lovely meal with all of the Christensen and Vernon family at the Radisson,the newlyweds jetted off for a honeymoon in Lake Tahoe, and the rest of us headed up to the canyon to relax for a few days in Sundance.

The Bees gathered in a 5800sq ft cabin and spent the next few days in the mountains. We enjoyed going on walks, playing games, the hot tub, a camp fire and mostly just talking and hanging out. Belle and I decided that a fully furnished cabin with wood floors and leather furniture is our type of camping!

To finish off the week, we celebrated with almost all of the Thorpe family at a fall reunion. The kids went on a pumpkin hunt and then painted their findings. We ate yummy food and enjoyed good company! We passed out our 2008 Family Scrapbook pages and this time we needed 17 copies!!! We had a wonderful time and cherish the moments we get to spend with our loved ones, especially Grandma Joan, Grandpa Neal, Hal, Janice, Pennie, Pearl, Viv and Dan, as they certainly do not come often enough! We are grateful Belle is able to know so many of her Great Grandparents and Great Aunts and Uncles.

We flew out early Tuesday morning so we stayed with my parents in Salt Lake City at a hotel on Monday night. We had a few hours before bedtime, so we made a quick trip to Temple Square and were able to watch the new movie playing in the Joseph Smith Building, Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. It was a great way to end our vacation and Belle again was heard saying...I want to stay here forever!

Squeaky Clean!

Isabelle loves to shower! It is not uncommon for her to shower two and three times a day and for long amounts of time. The other morning I came home from jogging when I was greeted by Ben telling me "Belle is in the shower waiting for you!" She had already joined Ben in the shower and he was now dressed and ready for work while she was still enjoying a warm shower. I then showered and also got out and into my bathrobe when I finally had to tell her that the water was running out and she would soon have to get out. She likes to start and finish her day squeaky clean...and Ben and I have not been able to shower alone for months!

Miss Independent!

Ben and I were quite surprised when Isabelle pointed out Barack Obama on the cover of a magazine at the bookstore a few weeks ago and declared "That's Barack Obama, but we don't want him to be the President!" We then had a quite lengthy conversation about the 2008 Presidential Election and explained to her which candidates were Republican and Democrat and who was running together, etc. Ever since, it has been the topic on her mind. Probably because the candidates are everywhere we look and we watch a fair amount of political news around our house most days. As you can see, she already has an independent mind as she declares she will be casting her pre-school vote for Senator Obama! She initially favored Senator Joe Biden and wanted him to be the next President, but when we explained to her that Obama had to win in order for Biden to enter the White House, she quickly corrected her vote. Either way, we have learned that we have to be careful about what we say at home because there are two tiny ears listening and what she hears is already influencing her little mind and opinions!