Old Ephraim's Grave

Last Saturday we decided to go for a drive, cuz staying home these days kind of makes me crazy with anxiety. We drove up to Ephraim's grave. For those of you, like me, who don't know, Ephraim was a great big bear that was causing problems for sheep herders back in the day. One of the sheep farmers finally trapped the bear and killed it at great risk to his own life. It's actually a pretty great story. The drive was nine miles of dirt road and it was bumpy. I thought for sure I would go into labor, but alas, nearly a week later, I am still anticipating the arrival of our little bundle. Still, I had never been to Ephraim's grave, so it turned out to be a fun little adventure.

The Pumpkin Walk

I love everything about fall. One of the things I look forward to every year is the Pumpkin Walk in North Logan. It's free and the pumpkin displays are so creative. What even made it more fun was that Daxton and Brandi came up with Grandma Peggy, and even Tahnee and Tyson came. Despite the crazy cold, I think we all had fun. Aubrey's favorite part, tied with the bus ride there, was the posters of characters that you put your face into. She loved the princesses, especially mermaid. If you've never been to the Pumpkin Walk, you should go this year. It goes until Tuesday, Oct. 28th, so there are still a few days left.  

What a little princess. I'm thinkin' this is as close as were gonna get to talking Aubrey into wearing a costume for Halloween. She's not super excited about the whole costume thing, sadly. 

The most exciting part, riding the bus from the Specialty Hospital to the Pumpkin Walk. I don't think Aubrey's ever ridden a bus before so she thought it was pretty cool. She didn't have to sit in a car seat, plus there were tons of other kids riding it, too. Pretty darn exciting.

Awe, Aubrey and her Daddy. She looks so much like Corey, don't you think?

I couldn't resist. This pumpkin display was of a bunch of babies and one said "It's a girl." I thought it was quite funny considering I'm due at any moment (OK, I wish). I still have a week 'til my due date, so no hurry.

Fall FUN!

Aubrey was having so much fun playing in our yard yesterday, I decided to take some pictures. 

Conference Weekend

Now summer is over, I really don't have much to report. So I'll post what fun we had at Grandma and Grandpa Hyer's house this weekend. As you can see by the pictures, Aubrey's having a pretty good time. 

^Here she is having a snack with grandpa and cousin Daxton. Amazing enough, she's actually wearing clothes in this picture. (Aubrey thinks being naked is the way to go these days.)

^"Watch me put my whole hand in my mouth." Aubrey does this a lot. I think it's just a nervous habit or something. (Notice - not wearing any clothes.)

^Rockin' with Daxton. Aren't they cute?! They could be brother and sister.

^One of the many good things about going to grandma's is that Aubrey has so much fun, she gets worn right out. That means Mom gets a break. Actually, I got lots of time to catch up on my rest. Corey and I even got to see a movie together, at a theater, just the two of us. I know, it's crazy! Oh, and conference was wonderful, too, but like I said, I kind of took advantage and slept thru a lot of it sadly. I'll catch up in next month's Ensign.

It's time to take the bottle out!

One of the hardest things I think I am ever going to have to do in my life (I'm being a little dramatic) is take Aubrey's bottle away. It's been such a comfort to her and so I've gotten used to giving to her when she's upset because it calms her down better than anything. I don't know who's going to miss it more, me or her. It's getting close to the due date so we have to take the bottle away soon! My doctor suggested taking it away cold turkey. He said to have her watch us throw the bottles in the big black garbage can outside and watch the garbage man take them away. Then if she asks for one we can say "the garbage man came and took them all away." That seems a little harsh and traumatizing to me, but I'm to the point where I'm ready to try anything. If anyone has any suggestions, please comment because I'm really struggling with this. I know what you're thinking..."what a wimp."

Corey won! Hooray!

On Saturday, we went to visit with Corey's family in Wellsville at the kid's rodeo they have every year. I just thought we'd hang out and have a good time watching the kids participate, and we did. We watched our nephew, Daxton, win a cute bunny. Aubrey had fun watching the horses. Not only that, but Corey entered me, Corey, and Aubrey's name in the raffle. As soon as I found out that the prize was a colt I just knew we would win just because we were probably the only one's who entered who couldn't possibly take care of a horse. Sure enough they called 'Corey Hyer.' At first everyone thought it was a joke, because it just so happens that the announcer was Corey's uncle. Very funny! HaHa! But he wasn't kidding. I think Corey was in shock, too, because they had to call his name a couple of times before he went out into the arena to claim his prize. I honestly haven't seen Corey so dang excited in a long time. He was grinning from ear to ear. I wish I could say I was just as excited, but all I could think about was what in the heck were we going to do with a horse?!!  Needless to say, it was a very fun and eventful night. It's one night I doubt we'll ever forget!

Here's Corey happy as can be. Who can blame him? How many people can say they won a horse? Who would've guessed our first pet would be a horse? Go figure.

Her name is Jewel. Isn't she pretty? She's the cutest little colt ever! Now that I've been able to get over the shock a little, I wish we could take her home with us. Aubrey would love it!

As you can see, I have no idea what to do with myself. I don't even know how to stand by a horse. How am I supposed to take care of one? 

It's Official! AUBREY'S TWO as of today! Happy Birthday, Aubrey!

I can't believe how much Aubrey has grown just this last year. I was thinking about her last birthday and how she couldn't even walk yet. Now she is so busy and talks like crazy. It's a little depressing that she's not a baby anymore, but I love how cute she is right now.

Aubrey had a fabulous party yesterday! It was so great to have her cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents travel from so far to be there. Of course it rained like crazy the morning of the party so we were forced to celebrate in our lovely garage. Corey did an awesome job cleaning and decorating it. He worked very hard. And my Dad, uncle Jeff, and my nephew Kallen worked hard on the yard clearing the huge branches that had fallen from our tree during the storm. You'd think a hurricane hit it was so bad. I'm sure that's just what they wanted to do during their visit, but we were really grateful. It was pretty cold in our garage, but luckily Grandpa Doug saved the day with his amazing propane heater. So, everything worked out after all. 

     
     

Aubrey got super spoiled, as always. I really think she appreciated and enjoyed everything she received. When she opened her presents, she looked at every single one very thoroughly, which took forever, but it was cute and sweet. 

Grandma Dinah brought party favors and Aubrey's favorite was a princess locket filled with purple lip balm. Aubrey's lips and face were completely purple. It was pretty funny. Aubrey had so much fun. I think she's had a wonderful birthday. Hooray!