Hello Mr. Goose

It's been a while. Paisley has had a lot of firsts in the last few months--her first Christmas, her first chocolate, her first goose feeding . . . Here are some favorite recent photos.

And there's nothing like baby giggles to put a smile on your face . . .

Random Sampler

Sisters? No ma'am. Just look-alikes.

looking for water

little nymph

on the patio

Second post in two days. Does that mean I'm becoming a blog addict? I've been enjoying playing photographer and my subject is too cute not to share. She enjoyed digging at the dirt in the cracks, staring at the rustling leaves above her head, and sucking on my bike's kick stand. We'll definitely be spending more time out here.

One day, Paisley, all of this will be yours.

We went on a little family hike out to red rock last weekend. November in Las Vegas is amazing.

Here's the view from the top. Paisley was such a trooper. We went during her nap time so she got pretty fussy and didn't like being her her baby carrier. So Brandon carried her in his arms all the way down and she slept the whole way.

We're thinking about moving to this little cave. Paisley loved it. There's a great view. We're just worried we might scare away potential visitors. Would you still come visit us?

Hooray for grandparents!

We had a great time with Mom and Dad last weekend, but no one enjoyed it as much as Paisley!

Utah Vacation

We wanted to see Tanner before he went into the MTC, so we decided to stay in Utah through Labor day. I guess it was our first official family vacation.Uncle meets niece.Los Hermanos- We got some subway and had Tanner's last supper at a park before dropping him off at the MTC. We will miss him, but he was so prepared and excited to go that it really wasn't difficult to say goodbye. Paisley meets Great Grandpa and Great Grandma Smith. She loved watching the hummingbirds on their back porch.

We wanted to go hiking in Zion's on Monday to break up the drive, but we decided it was too much money for just a couple hours. So we stopped at a place called Silver Reef and hiked up a stream and on some red rock. Paisley was almost as relieved to be out of her carseat as we were to have her stop crying.

Peekaboo!

Take Marriage Quiz--Get Potato Bird

Okay, you might not be as lucky as I was to get this 100% hand crafted baked potato bird, complete with cucumber wings and its very own spaghetti nest, but I do think this quiz will bless your marriage, as it has ours. Some of my answers helped us realize that the exciting and spontaneous nature of our marriage has been somewhat neglected since Paisley's birth. So we've started making a conscious effort to have fun (hence the potato bird). Other adventures the quiz inspired: Instead of having our dinner group eat at our house, we put our meals in homemade pinatas and went to the park--the sandwiches were only a little squished. And last weekend Brandon and I had a blast snorkeling at Lake Mead, despite our bikes falling off the car and skipping down the highway. Isn't marriage wonderful? We are grateful for moments of reflection that help us appreciate what we've got and work to make it better. So take the quiz and enjoy!

To assist in marital communication, try the following exercise together. Allow yourselves sufficient time when there will be no interruptions. You might wish to divide the exercise into several sessions, considering two or three statements at each session.

First, respond individually in writing to the statements. Then exchange papers and talk about what you’ve written. Don’t try to review your responses simultaneously. While one of you is reading or speaking, the other should listen or ask clarifying questions. Then switch roles.

Complete the following statements:
1. In our marriage, I feel loved when you …
2. In our marriage, I feel appreciated when you …
3. In our marriage, I am happiest when …
4. In our marriage, I am saddest when …
5. In our marriage, I am angriest when …
6. In our marriage, I would like more …
7. In our marriage, I would like less …
8. In our marriage, I feel awkward when …
9. In our marriage, I feel uneasy when …
10. In our marriage, I feel excited when …
11. In our marriage, I feel close to you when …
12. In our marriage, I feel distant from you when …
13. In our marriage, I feel most afraid when …
14. My greatest concern/fear about our marriage is …
15. What I like most about myself is …
16. What I dislike most about myself is …
17. The feelings that I have the most difficulty sharing with you are …
18. The feelings that I can share most easily with you are …
19. Our marriage could be greatly improved with just a little effort if we …
20. The one thing in our marriage that needs the most immediate attention is …
21. The best thing about our marriage is …

Brent A. Barlow, “Getting to Know You Better: A Marriage Quiz,” Ensign, Sep 1981, 43–45