pumpkin patch

or as Claire calls it 'chumchin atch' (the p's are difficult, I guess)
We were going to get our pumpkins at a fun place in orem, but we stuck close to home as Jason is pretty busy with his upcoming prospectus of his dissertation defense. It was raining, but it was still a lot of fun. Thanks to the cute hat grandma made her, the rain didn't stop her at all. Claire loved the hay bale maze, especially when following other kids/ them following her.


And running around in the rain in general... love seeing her cute run

Claire felt bad for the little goats, who were not too happy about the rain.

Here is the pyramid of hay stacks... hard to get a good pick of.

Picking out a pumpkin for Claire. (right) Okay now we are kinda soaked and ready to warm up.

Then, we warmed up with free pizza at Pier 49. Yum

We also did some kitty sitting... Claire now loves cats, thanks to her potato head cat- sounds funny but its a real toy. And was really excited to see kitty. But kitty was kinda afraid of her. She kept repeating 'Hi key' (Hi kitty) and 'key sad' (kitty sad)

fall colors + other stuff

I love how so many of the trees nearby have changed colors at different times

Green smoothies- we have decided to give them a try. And although we just started, I hope this habit lasts! My body seems to crave it, especially those mornings I am feeling extra tired. Because I know how good I feel after having it. We add 1 C water, 1 C spinach ( until it reaches 2 C line), then to add some flavor, a banana, oj, pineapple juice, and flax seed (another healthy additon). You can also add yogurt for some protein. I recommend giving it a try. It is so hard to get 5 (1/2 cup or fist size) servings of fruits and veges everyday. Spinach is a good price at Costco, so you can stock up and then have an excuse to make it every morning! Claire is beginning to like it too!

conquering fears

Claire and I both conquered our fears... I cut Claire's hair! And she vacuumed!
I watched this video on cutting hair. And it was pretty helpful. I did realize afterwards that her hair on the side, needs to stay on the side of her head. Because it was a little longer once it dried and it pulled back to the side (hopefully that makes sense). Luckily Claire has a cute curl at the bottom that hides this mistake. If anyone has more tips/ helpful hints for me, please share!
(side note) Claire loves 101 dalmatians ... she watches it whenever I take a shower

(left)'This isn't so bad when your behind the loud, noisy thing'. (right) Once she tired it, all her friends had to try it too! She is such a good mommy to all her babies!

anniversary dates

We went to the Draper Temple. Who knows what the future holds and how much longer we will be in Utah for, so its fun to visit the different temples while we are still here.

Note to self: When its really bright and sunny, don't trust the pics you see on the view finder. Even though they seem way exposed on the view finder, they don't turn out that bad


Sundance's Moon light ski lift: I love how we are both laughing and squinting cuz we know the flash is going to be super bright. (right) least blurry pic taken while coming down the mountain.

Quilt show

The Springville Museum had their annual Quilt Show. I thought it was far better this year, but that is probably because my knowledge of sewing and figuring out how they did that is always growing.

Here is my favorite! Its quite stunning in real life, and crazy difficult to figure out how they did it. Yet I love the symmetry, the colors, everything about it is amazing.

I love the artistic touch of the mural in the middle.

I love how each block, besides the repeater block, is so unique and vibrant. Great use of fabrics & colors

Here are some other great ones:

Kayaking at Payson Lake

Salem Pond was closed this year, so we had to find a new lake to go kayaking in. Through much work of grandpa van der Horst, we finally decided on Payson Lake. It was so beautiful- again reminding me of living in the northwest, had several private little alcoves for families to claim as their base, our base was nice and shady with two rock walls (built in chairs for lunch), and had rocks to keep the kids entertained when they weren't in the kayaks. Overall it was great! Thanks mom and dad vdh!
(left)Amy and Nathan(right) mom and dad

(left) Tim, Laura, Nathan, Jonathan, and Matthew (right) Claire waiving at grandparents

(right) Clarie's first ride on the kayak (left) chasing after ducks with mom

(left) Many of us tried using the kayaks as gondolas. It was fun to have races this way.

I was in love with the surroundings, there is something so peaceful and serene to be surrounded by majestic pines! Its crazy how much I love pine trees. Thank goodness we have Christmas, so that even if we live somewhere where there is no pines nearby, I can still be reminded of their beauty at Christmas time.

Happy 5!

It's crazy, but we have hit the 5 year mark!


A few pics from that most memorable and wonderful day!
I am so glad that I found someone who loves me just the way I am. Who I am can be myself around, and who I feel comfortable telling my deepest darkest secrets and fears, etc. I am so lucky to have you Jason!

And someone I can be goofy with!