An ominous sign. . .

Yes, the rainbow is the ominous sign. Why? It was the last sign of warm weather before winter hit. It was the signal for everyone (people and animals alike) to hole up in their houses and not come out until the spring thaw, which could be the end of April if the wooly worms (or whatever it is the Farmers Almanac gets its information from) are right. I guess it's a good thing I like my house and the people in it.

My parents were here last week visiting and we miss them so much. We had a lot of fun hanging out and seeing some of the sights around here. They celebrated Logan's birthday with us, which was fun. I never seem to take pictures when it really matters to me. This one is of Carli "helping" Grandpa fix the door handle. She just had to see what was going on. We're glad it will only be a few more weeks before we see them again at Christmas. And we're excited to see all the aunts, uncles and cousins then too. We're also excited to see Grammy and Papa Tommy and the uncles next week for Thanksgiving. I can say all I want about winter (which I do actually like, I just wish it weren't so long around here), but I sure do love the holidays and getting together with family.

Of course, I saved the best for last. I took a couple of videos, and Logan wanted me to put one up, and I wanted the other, so here they both are. The first one is success, and the second one is just plain cute. Thanks, Nana, for the fun walker for my birthday next week!

Happy Halloween. . . or is it?

Happy Halloween to you all! I put these pictures up and realized that Carli is not happy in any of them, so I put the one below just to top it all off. Hope you all have a fun and safe holiday. I also hope you get our family costume, some people had a hard time, maybe we'll have to be more clear in the future. (Just think Atkins. . . :) )


Am I a mean mom because I think this face is just as cute as her smiling face?

A day in the life of a Snapagus. . .

We all went on a hayride a couple of weeks ago before it got too chilly. It was a lot of fun and we saw some beautiful country. Regardless of what the girls' faces look like, they enjoyed the trip too.
Carli has been busy, busy lately and into anything and everything. I guess we hit that age. The one where no matter how child-proof you think your house is, she'll prove you wrong.

The look of a crazed Snapagus who realized her hiding place between the wall and couch had been discovered.

Next we move to the kitchen where we figure out how to take the garbage bags off the roll one by one. If this girl is to be happy, there better not be anything organized - everything should be on the floor, and it's her favorite game to make sure its that way.

Another perfect hiding place, once all those darn pans are extracted. Of course, you have to test out the roominess in the cupboard and turn around to grin at the camera to get the full experience.She stopped her exploration for a few minutes to take a picture with Mom one Sunday afternoon.

Poor girl had Roseola this past week, so things were a little rough for awhile. Afterwards though, she had to catch up on her rest to keep up her busy lifestyle, and the crib just won't do for that kind of beauty sleep. That calls for the pillowtop with Mom.

Fun Visitors

Our good friends Robby and Julie (and little Robby) came to visit us this past week and we had a blast hanging out and catching up with them. It was great to finally meet their little guy and to relive the good old days of staying up late and playing Hearts. We had a really fun time at the zoo and introducing Julie to custard and fried cheese curds, and don't forget butter burgers. Here are a few of the pics we got at the zoo. I'm sad we didn't get a picture all together, but hopefully it won't be too long before we see them again.

On the carousel.
In front of the lions, they were pretty interactive, so we got a lot of pictures.

It's pretty fun to be that close to a lion.
For some reason the lioness took a liking to the Robbys. She scratched the window and kept nuzzling the window where they were.

The dads and the babies. They're only one month apart and they had fun playing together. We miss you guys and can't wait to hang out again!

More Fall around town

Of course, I had to add one of Carli - just hanging out listening to her Ipod.

Reasons to visit us - a celebrity endorsement and more!

Fall has become quite spectacular around here. These pictures were all taken from our yard. I keep meaning to take a picture down main street of our quaint little town - it really is beautiful with the sesquicentennial houses and the brick street lined with the fall trees. I wish/hope you can all visit sometime, you wouldn't regret it.

Speaking of people visiting, do you recognize this woman? That's right, Supernanny came to visit our little town. She was filming at a house at the end of our street, and on the last day she took pictures with people and signed autographs. We didn't really want to take other people's limited time since we've never even seen the show(and believe me, there were some very excited people), but we did snap a couple of pictures from across the street. Ours is the one on the right. She never really looked our way, but I think you can tell it's her from the back. As sad as it seems, that's about my only claim to fame.

Here's the best reason to visit our little town though. Man, she is cute. She did, however, find her inner tantrum buddy yesterday. I have a feeling we may have some brief, yet profound episodes of drama in this house over the next 18 or so years. Hopefully they are few and far between, but I sure caught a glimpse of the magnitude of them yesterday. Luckily, she almost always looks like she did in this picture, and we're crossing our fingers that it stays that way.

A couple of weeks ago, Carli finally decided that the Snapagus Shuffle, as her daddy liked to call it (army crawling) was just not cutting it. So, here is the new and improved Carli Crawl. Make sure you stay tuned for the surprise ending. . .

Drive your tractor to school day

I thought Homecoming week in my high school was cool - check this out! The high school is at the end of our street, and when I drove by it today this is what I saw. Then, I was unfortunate enough to be driving through town when school got out. Stupid move. . . Getting stuck behind tractors happens fairly frequently around these parts.

Logan and I had a trip back to high school when we went to the Homecoming game tonight, except that it would have been a trip back to the alternative high school with a 10 month old. Anyway, you haven't seen school spirit until you've seen our little town support its football team. I've never seen an area as packed as those bleachers and fences were. It was fun to get to know the town a little better. We'd really get to know them if we'd been invited to one of the many keggers going on afterward. We live in a unique place, I have to say.

Carli's new tricks

Here she is waving at you all!

Carli's method of avoiding "plopping". Do you think there's a possibility of ballet in this girl's future?

My Little Cutie

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

Pretty sure Carli gets this from her Daddy. She has figured out all on her own how to turn on the stereo, then turn it up. That's her favorite, obviously.

I'll see you in September. . .

I realized that I only usually talk about Carli. I guess I'll update on the rest of the family, although we're not nearly as exciting.

Logan just passed his yearmark at his company. He is still enjoying his job and is as happy as ever. He is the branch clerk, so he spends most of his day at church on Sunday and we both spend Wednesday nights there (seeing as he has no assistant). He has been running most mornings and has grown to love it (it would take a lot for me to get to that point), but he's not quite sure what he'll do once winter comes. He's thought about jump-roping in the basement/garage or going to the high school across the street to the open gym in the morning. Anyone have any good suggestions for exercise when you can't do it outside and you don't have a home gym? Logan has also become Carli's main man, especially on Monday and Tuesday nights when he gets her dinner and gets her to bed. He even makes me dinner on those nights! She sure loves him - she must take after her mother. :)


I spend my time watching Carli grow and loving it. She amazes me everyday. I am enjoying my job as well. It is difficult at times, but I am sure learning a lot. I'm sure that understanding how to overcome power struggles with children (anyone, for that matter) will come in handy in the not-too-distant future. . . I'm the 2nd counselor in Young Women. Working with the young women has been fun. It's pretty humbling what these girls deal with, and amazing how easy they are to love, even when you want to whap 'em. I can't believe we've been here a year! I have really enjoyed the summer, and unlike some of you others, it could last forever for all I care. Don't get me wrong, the falls are beautiful here and you can't ask for better weather, but the cooler temp, the crisp smell and all those things I usually love just remind me that winter is coming. Ugh. . . At least I'm prepared this year.

Carli is getting around more and more. She finally cut another tooth today that she's been working on for awhile. She started to pull herself up to standing last week, and it wasn't a day before she realized she could also climb. This picture was when she first made that discovery, with Dad's ever-ready hands in the background.

We went to storytime at the library and she loved seeing all the little kids. It was unbelievable how well she paid attention to the reader. Her thrill was apparent as she clapped her hands and repeated "Yayayayaya" throughout the stories and songs.
Our forward-thinker is already contemplating her future career. This is when she tried out mechanics for a day. This is a pretty typical expression when the camera comes out. It's like she's wondering "Mom, I'm not sure what you find so amusing, I'm trying to work here." Such a serious girl.

What can you expect in the coming weeks? Hopefully lots of time outside so Carli can store up some vitamin D. We're anticipating some fun things in October and November, but the rest of September will be a time to relax and enjoy time together.

Family Time

Princess Carli in her Bumbo throne, awaiting her feast.
Carli drowning her ear infection sorrows.
Carli and Haven - the best seats in the house (or out of it).
Ben and Haven
Carli and Papa Tommy

Logan and Haven

Dad and Carli

Papa Tommy and Rory

Create your own caption - I'd give anything to know what was going through her mind in this moment.

Is that the cutest ruffly bum you've ever seen? Actually, that's more of a statement than a question.

We had a fun time with Grammy and Papa Tommy in town the past week. We loved having them and can't wait to see them again at Thanksgiving! We're already planning.

Carli has realized her potential real estate and is now all over the house - down the hall, in the kitchen, in the bathroom, anywhere I am. She sure is fun to have around.