Okay, I know this isn't too flattering of either us or our bedroom, but it captures one of my favorite times of the day. I love it when we're all cuddled up in our PJ's on our bed, talking and laughing about anything and everything. This one morning we were babysitting Lole, Haley's doggy friend, for a couple days. The more the merrier, right? Pretty soon there will be a whole litter of kids (and dogs, probably) squeezed onto this queen bed of ours. We really should have gotten a king...

We were so lucky to get a visit from some of the family a couple weeks ago! Marshall had a confrerence at BYU, so he and Jennie decided to come down together from Philadelphia with their two kids, Isaac (2) and Meili (4 mos.). When my mom heard about their visit, she and Kathleen decided to come and join the party!

My mom and her favorite grandkids. :)  Sydney (left, 3 mos.), and Meili (right, 4 mos.). What lucky girls to have a cousin exactly their same age! It was so fun to see their similarities and differences.

Marshall and Jennie and their kids cuddling up with Grandma!

Mason and Isaac, a year apart. Mason seemed to be enthralled by his big cousin and all the cool, big-kid things he could do. After they left, Mason has gotten really good at walking and other motor skills, so I think Isaac's influence has worn off onto Mason!

The boys were glued to the Wii every night

For some reason Sydney was a big fuss-ball the entire week. And then, of course, as soon as the family left, she's been a little angel! 

We all went on a hike up in Hobblecreek Canyon. It was a perfect fall day with the leaves changing colors and falling. 

 

It was the first time bundling Sydney up for cold weather, since it just started to get chilly. It's definitely a lot more work taking kids out in the cold!

James is the ultamate outdoorsy-man, so he led the way on a very rough and wild path where we took our strollers over streams, dams, tree trunks, and mud! Thank goodness for our tough 3-wheeled stroller (thanks to our Aussie influence). :)

Crazy Malinda and James in shorts and t-shirts!

Haley was so happy to see her auntie Kathleen, who helped raise her as a pup when she lived here in Springville a couple years ago.

Ever since she was a puppy, Haley has given us a run for our money with her countless accidents and sick episodes. The poor thing has had to go all the way to Australia and back (I know, a little selfish of us, but she's our baby!), and that's probably been a shock to the system. She's chewed through stitches, gotten a million infections in her ear/feet/lips, kennel cough, all different allergies and reactions to who-knows-what...the list goes on and on...and so do the vet bills. 

Yesterday was another day for Haley drama. We got home from church to see her with a HUGE fat lip (probably tried to bite a wasp). And just as that was going away and we were getting ready for bed, we find her up on the counter finishing off the last of the brownies. Luckily our wonderful brother-in-law, James, is a vet tech at a nearby emergency vet clinic. He rushed over there with us, performed the needed procedures (a shot to make her throw up and some charcoal down her throat), and helped waive a $200 fee! What a life-saver!

You're probably wondering why we put up with so much, but she's our little girl and brings us so many smiles. I mean, look at those eyes...how can you resist those?

We found the sweetest hat in a little shop on Main Street in Park City. There was this nice lady who knitted it herself. She went on for a while about how she made it, and I pretended to understand, even though it's been over 10 years since I've picked up knitting needles. But she inspired me to get more crafty.

I'm always surprised at how fast Sydney seems to be growing up. At 3 months old, she's already a little smarty pants:

The house came with this playset that we've stained and it looks 10 times better! We're going to add a swing, a ship's wheel, climbing wall, etc. We're also still in the process of staining the fence, but that's a big and slightly boring job! 

We found a beautiful rug for our downstairs wood floors to prep for the upcoming cold weather! So I thought I'd use it as a fun backdrop for a little photoshoot with the bub: