Touring the White House and other fall festivities

Touring the White House was definitely something we wanted to do before we leave this area so I was glad when it worked out for us to go last Saturday. 

I wasn't expecting to stand in line FOREVER because it is timed entry, but I also wasn't expecting the home to be so beautiful inside so the wait was worth it. I want Aaron to be president someday so I can be the First Lady! :)

Here is Eli with his pumpkin that he painted for FHE last week and then it rained the next day and most of the paint washed off. We'll be painting it again today after nap time! He attended nursery last week for the first time. He technically doesn't turn 18 months until tomorrow, but the teachers insisted that he attend last week since we'll be moving soon. I did peek in the window to look at him during snack time and I teared up when I saw him sitting on his little chair around the little table with his little friends. He's growing up so quickly. 

We're ready for Christmas over here! Almost. I finally finished these Christmas stockings I started in July. I dusted off my high school sewing skills to make these. If you look really closely at them, it looks like they were sewn by at 10 year old. I need to practice more, I guess! I do love having a sewing machine, though.

And finally, Eli's become obsessed with pumpkins over the past two weeks. I wish you could hear him say, "PUNKIN." We checked out pumpkin books from the library last week and he asks for me to read them almost 10 times a day. I'm not even exaggerating. "Book" is definitely one of his top 5 favorite words right now. Back to Eli's obsession with pumpkins - I figured now would be a good time to take him to a pumpkin patch out here and we went yesterday with friends and had a great time. The best part was that all the activities were free - corn maze, feeding the animals, pumpkin patch and wagon rides. I did spend 42 cents on an apple as a treat when we left.

Eli couldn't get enough of the wagon!

Thanks to our new friends for a fun morning!

Trip to Colorado

We're excited to be moving to Colorado in December! When Aaron got orders to USAFA in Colorado Springs, I didn't want to believe it at first. We're looking forward to being in Colorado and surrounded by so much family, something I haven't experienced for a while now. We'll be 6.5 hours from McPherson, 8 hours from UT, and be living in the same state as TWO of my siblings. 

Colorado, we love you already! 

We headed to Colorado last week to look for a home and prepare our family for the move. Thanks to Alex and my mom for watching Eli for two days while Aaron and I were on a house hunt. I was worried about Eli and every time I sent a text to check on him, I'd get pics like this in return. Turns out Eli didn't even know we had left him. ;) 

Friday night we went to see, "Meet the Mormons" in the theater. We all enjoyed it! 

I loved meeting my new little nephew! 

Lincoln had a soccer game on Saturday and he SCORED!!! We all screamed with delight and the best part was when he ran by us all and gave us a thumbs up! Good job, Lincoln!! Turns out papa makes a great pillow.

Church on Sunday. Lincoln had his part memorized perfectly for the Primary Program!

 I love that Eli has these great cousins to look up to.

Monday lunch was spent at Grimaldi's Pizza in downtown Denver. It's delicious! 

The best part? The kids got pizza dough to play with while we waited for our lunch.

Eli got his first haircut!

I think we'll take early flights more often. Eli slept most of the flight home, which was a huge blessing, because somehow I managed get to the flu and traveling while being sick is awful. Just awful. 

Bye, Colorado! We'll see you soon! Thanks Davis clan for hosting us all!

Loving Fall

Aaron got a new phone a few weeks ago and wanted a picture of Eli to use for his phone background. He did a mini-photo shot with Eli and when I saw the pics, I was in love and wanted to share!

We loved watching General Conference two weeks ago! How grateful we are for technology. We watched the Saturday session on the I-pad and then went to my in-laws' house for Sunday. 

Before we flew to Colorado last week, Eli and I went to story time at the base and got to meet SPARKY the fire dog, Eli's new BFF. 

Most of the kids were scared of Sparky, but Eli kept running up to him and giving him five. It made me smile. :)

Zoo

Eli and I visited the National Zoo last week! 

The weather has been so nice and before it gets cold, we decided it was the perfect time to go.

Most days at breakfast, Eli and I talk about the chores and errands we're going to do that day. And some days, I toss our to-do list and we decide to do something unplanned.

Turns out it's harder than I realized to chase after a toddler while trying to snap some photos for memories! I did manage to get a few!

Eli poked his hand through the gate to wave to the animals and say, "Hi! Hi! Hi!"

I think we have a future zookeeper on our hands. 

We packed a lunch and enjoyed eating at a table in the zoo. As we were leaving, we spotted a frozen yogurt shop across the street so we decided to stop for a quick treat!

I considered inviting some friends to come with us, but then decided it would be a perfect mother/son date and it was!