Thanksgiving in Colorado!!

Well this is Bradley reporting in for this blog update! It is that time of year again and we had a great start to our holiday season in good old Colorado! I had a whole week off of school (including one day of skipped classes!) so we had plenty of time to party hard! We left Des Moines right at 11:30 in the morning and we actually made the journey to Colorado springs in only 10 and 1/2 hours which is a new record! Oliver was a great traveler although he did get a little grumpy every now and then! Here are some of the things we did while we were celebrating!

We had an awesome time trying to hit golf balls at the driving range!

What a Swing!

Getting ready for a great drive

We played a seriously intense game of jenga

After all of that hard work hitting golf balls and playing games we had to go and get some refreshment right? So we went to this cool ice cream place and got kids sized cones for a dollar! Yes those are KIDS sized cones! It was crazy!

Oliver just loved his first thanksgiving (although he didn't really enjoy the mashed potatoes that we force fed him!) One of his favorite parts was when he got to jump on a tampoline for the first time with mom! In his new bear suit and all!

All in all our Thanksgiving vacation was really fun and it was just too bad that it had to end so quickly! The best part was of course being with family especially so that Oliver could get to know his family better even if they are a little crazy sometimes!






















After it was all said and done I knew more than ever what I am most thankful for in my life! The two best people in the whole world! Happy Holidays everybody and a Merry Christmas!!

Baby Love

There are two things babies love: food and things that light up. Oliver started rice cereal mixed with juice, and man does he devour it! (Hence the unbreakable concentration.)



We weren't going to put up a Christmas tree this year because we won't be in town, but while Bradley was at church (I stayed home sick), I decided to surprise him and put it up anyway. Oliver has a hard time looking at all the sparkles. It looks like he just got out of a whirlpool when he stares at it too long.

Five-Year-Old Flying Lesson

Bradley went to church without me today because I was sick. The Primary lesson was supposed to be on the Resurrection.

"So, what can Jesus do for us that we can't do by ourselves?" (Looking for the Resurrection answer)

"Can Jesus fly?" One of them asked randomly.

"People can't fly." Another answered smartly.

"The only way people can fly is by hang gliding when you have to hang stuff on your arms and legs so there's no way for the wind to get through when we fly."

"I know some people who can fly. Batman and Superman."

"Yeah, but those aren't real people."

"I know how you can fly," another piped in. "If you don't understand the law of gravity you can fly. But if you do understand the law of gravity, you can't fly."

Then one of the students tried to levitate out of their chair.

"Look! I don't understand the law of gravity!"

Our Windows are Covered in Goo.

We have a fly problem at our house. For weeks I was wondering where all these darn flies were coming in from. The weather has changed. Summer's gone. There shouldn't be house flies buzzing in at every moment.

Well after two weeks, I'd had enough. I was sick of smashing flies with an old Ensign magazine in windows and against our newly painted wall. I began wracking my brain for places they could be originating. Maggots, anyone?

I thought of Oliver's diaper pail. Nope. Not there.

The garbage? Perhaps an old lump of steak had fallen somewhere and had attracted the little nasties.

Then it hit me.

When we first moved into our lovely, brand new apartment, a bird nest had been built on a fire sprinkler on our deck. Birds had left a giant mound of poop in front of our sliding door and also...we THINK...a few little birdie eggs that DECOMPOSED.

Bradley went outside with an apron, gloves, broom, and a Walmart bag. He knocked the nest down, and BANG. Flies. Lots of them.

I'm still mortified. Every once in a while a little sick one still wanders in, begging for a snack.

Too bad we took his away. I just hope whatever was whetting his appetite was tied directly to the decomposing nest. If not...something seriously disgusting found its way into our sprinkler head.

Nerd Alert

Happy Halloween! I bet no one can guess what we dressed up as. Expectopatronum, dude! Ha!

Oli was Hedwig/An Obscure Owl. Isn't he cute?!


At least we weren't the only nerdy ones there. We dig other nerds.

The Epic Dual...

We found Dumbledore. Phew.

Oli + Dad = Still Distracted

Snot, drool, tears. Poor little owl. He didn't know what to think.

The trunk-or-treat was awesome this year because it was beautiful outside! That is definately one thing I'm loving about Iowa. There's actually a long fall! Yippie!

Oli Pop

I just can't get enough of this little guy! He looks just like a little lolly pop that got licked and stuck to the carpet. His hair is so crazy!

Crazy Iowa Colors

Being from Colorado, I'm a little biased. When you enter the state line, the sign says "Welcome to Colorful Colorado". I thought nothing could be more colorful: the red rocks, the purplish mountains, and bright indigo sky.

Iowa's taken me by surprise. Here's a progression of a sunset from my deck. It was wild!







The whole sky was literally orange. Not just part of it. The whole thing. I'd never seen anything like it.

A few days later, we were at a local park, and this was the bright green algae on the Raccoon River! I thought it was totally nuts! It looks like Mormon Jello salad. Ha!

No Free Guac

For those of you who don't know, if you dress up like a burrito on Halloween and enter the euphoria of a local Chipotle restaurant, you get a free burrito. A few people in my family have been doing it for years.

Needless to say, I was a little disappointed to find that Halloween fell on a Sunday this year. Not that I particularly like Halloween, or that I was looking forward to breaking the Sabbath, but because I wanted my free Chipotle burrito via dressing Oliver up as a burrito so I could wallow in free zesty chicken and black beans.

Oh well. At least we have a blog to showcase the Renold's wrap pre-Halloween rehersal.

10-10-10

Ten Things You Probably Didn't Know About Us (And Probably Didn't Want to):

1)When we go on long car trips we don't listen to music or talk for hours and hours and hours on end. And we don't even mind.

2)I ran into Bradley exactly 3 years ago at the Conference Center and then we started dating immediately afterwards.

3)We are counting down the days for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1.

4)Bradley is secretly in love with a Fiber One Andioxidant cereal. I'm in love with the Fiber One pancake mix. Please, no comments on this one, people ;-)

5)When we're bored, we watch full episodes of House Hunters on HGTV.

6)We both talk in our sleep. For example, two nights ago Bradley sat up, and waved his hand like he was Captian Planet saying "Walk. Ground. Earth. Wind. Dirt." He was completely serious.

7)I am dead set on throwing a Regency Ball someday.

8)We love looking at model homes and getting pretend quotes.

9)No matter what we do, Oliver always has fuzz between his toes. He rarely even wears socks.

10)We haven't washed the outside of our car in two years.

So now you know. Aren't you thrilled? Hopefully this gets you thinking about the kooky things in your home! Life would be boring without them!

Out of the Gate and Time's Already Flying

Oli's second month is almost gone and I don't want to forget it. His floppy, cuddly, bob-against-your-neck stage is coming to an end. I will miss it.




This is his "before church hair"

And his "after church hair"


We went to a corn pool (literally). That's Oli with his friend Atticus. Oliver mostly just sat on top of the corn and wiggled his feet through it. It was pretty amazing, that corn.

And nothing's sweeter than a baby sleeping. Bradley and I always joke that it's like watching a fire. You just can't stop looking at them!



I can honestly say I've never had so much fun in my entire life. Being a mom is just too cool.