In October...

...we went to Uncle John's Cider Mill and picked out a couple of pumpkins.

While we were there we rode a wagon, train and had the best apple cider ever! I've never been a big apple cider fan, but this was the best apple cider that I've ever have had.

Olivia riding a little apple car. This was probably the best part of the day for her. (for some odd reason she loves those quarter machine rides)

Of course we had to get a picture with the bus.

We carved our pumpkins with some friends.

And then the big day came Halloween!!! Olivia had been waiting weeks for this day to come.

She was a little purple fairy and dad and mom were boring and did not dress up this year.

She was so excited to get candy that she lost some of her manners and ran across the lawns!

Over all we had a great Halloween!

Fall Fun!

This last Saturday was such a beautiful day so our little family decided that it was the perfect day to go to the park and play and take some fun pictures. (Well maybe the whole picture idea was just mine).

Playing hopscotch.
Olivia is at such a fun age where she wants to learn how to play games and tries her very best to understand them.

We still aren't quite strong enough for the rings.

We love our daddy! He's so silly!!!

My two most favorite people. :)

And yes we like being just as silly as our daddy!

Don't you just love the fall and all the leaves!!!

Olivia is ready for the Halloween season to start, thanks to Granny!

Last week end Jared and I did a first. We were driving through our town after getting the oil changed in our car when we saw a yard sale and decided to stop and bought this little kitchen for Olivia for 5 dollars! She loves this little kitchen and has been playing with it everyday since we got it. We did have to buy the food and dishes at Toys R Us but we still think it was a steal all it needed was to be soaked in bleach :) to get all the icky germs off.

The best part was bringing it home! Jared was soo mad when he found out it wouldn't fit in the trunk. He told me to take it back to the lady and get our money back. But with lots of begging I finally convinced him that we could look like a bunch of wierdos and tie it to the top of the car. And so here is a picture of how silly we must have looked driving down the road. :)

Home

A few family members have asked to see pictures of the little place that we are now calling home. I've tried to post pone this post in hopes that they (you) would decide to just come all the way over and visit us. Two of them did, but the rest have failed to do so, so here is a peek into the place that we now call home. :) (I know we've only been gone for three months)

The top picture is the outside of our little apartment. I wish I could claim the wreath on the door, but I can't seeing that we live upstairs and that it's the neighbors door.

This is the entry into the apartment with a little Olivia waiting to greet you at the top of the stairs. (the door goes into the garage)

A view from the top of the stairs into our living room.

The top of the stairs takes you strait to the kitchen table.

Just in case you can't tell this is the kitchen. ;)

A closer view of our bare living room.

And one more view of the living room just for fun.


And last but not least







my most FAVORITE room in our





home...















Olivia's room!

This is the first home where Olivia has had her own room, I never got to decorate a nursery for her or anything so this has been a treat for me. (poo hoo, do you feel sorry for me:)

Our bedroom, is just a boring bedroom, so I failed to take a picture. And no our house is not always this picked up. It would be nice if it was but that's almost impossible with our two year old.

tOo MuCh fUn!!!

The other week our little family was blessed with a great surprise! POP AND GRANNY (Jared's parent's) came to visit!
We were soO happy when we heard that they were coming to visit us during Jared's little break between summer and fall semester. Jared has such great parents, so this truly was a blessing and treat. While they were here we did a few fun things around our area.

Granny and Olivia sitting on a butterfly seat at the Children Garden's at MSU.
What two cute girls!

This was a really weird but a cool plant sculpture man thing that they had.

Our little family

We went to the "beach" (Michigan Lake). It was a windy day, but we still had a lot of fun showing Pop and Granny our Michigan beach.

Its so hard to believe that this is a lake and not the ocean since you can't see the other side and it has waves.

Olivia loves the water and tells you that she's surfing. :) What a silly!

Jard and his dad with the huge waves.

We went to the Henry Ford Museum and had lots of fun looking at all the cool cars.

Olivia loves buses! Ever since she rode one for the Draper Temple open house she has not stopped talking about buses and how cool they are. Every time she sees one she will let you know that's a bus and how cool it is. So we had to take her picture in front of this little bus.

And then she got to ride one to the place where they build the F-150 trucks. I think that was the best part of the day for her.

Jared's parent's in front of the Detroit Temple.


We had so much fun with them and were so sad to see them go even though we have made so many new friends and everyone has been so kind and welcoming there is nothing like family. :)

What have U been up to this summer?

This year our summer has been pretty low key since Jared is taking his first medical school class, but here is a list some of the stuff that we have been up to.

We went to our first pro baseball game the Detroit Tigers.

Sitting behind all the drunks! :)

We are silly.

I (Melisa) got in a little car accident while being lost. :( My poor new car but thank goodness for insurance, its back to new.

Olivia's Granny had surgery so she has been blowing lots of get well kisses from Michigan to Utah.

This summer we have also been learning how to go potty like a big girl and have been very successful so far (thanks for all the advice). She loves to put on her on undies note the tucked in shirt. :)

Jared has found a job for Olivia, shining his shoes.

We did celebrate the fourth of July like most Americans by going to a parade and eating fruit snacks.

And lighted fireworks with our new friends.

I learned how to make bread with a great recipe from my second mom (Jeanne).

Our poor Olivia got Conjunctivitis, this was the first time she had ever had a prescription.

Olivia and I went to the zoo and she rode on a camel.

We play with our dolls daily.

Sometimes we get bored and take random pictures.

Olivia and I (Melisa) went to a dairy farm with some ladies in our branch and their kids.

I milked the cow. EWWW!

And Olivia got to sit on a tractor while we were there. (she's frowning because she just hit her cheek on the steering wheel and is holding the tears)

That pretty much sums up our summer so far.

REWIND- Road Trip

CAUTION: Lots of pictures!

Day:1

Jared, Olivia and I left on our road trip headed to our new home in Michigan on Saturday June 6th in the morning.

All ready to go and saying "good bye" to Utah. :(

On the first day we didn't do anything exciting we just drove straight to Denver Colorado and enjoyed a beautiful drive.

This was Olivia's first time staying at a hotel.
(What a silly)

Day: 2

This was a LOOONG day driving through Kansas to Missouri.

Me and my grumpy little girl. She was such a good girl on the whole trip but sometimes enough was enough for her.
Olivia and I had fun in the back reading books, playing with stickers, coloring, talking on our play phones,(thanks Granny) and watching Disney movies.

While Jared had fun driving.

Day:3

On day three we went to Liberty Jail in Independence Missouri. It was really interesting to see the jail that Joseph Smith and a few other great men stayed in for so many months.

This is a small part of the jail.

Sleepy OliviaI loved how she put her foot up while she was coloring, what a silly girl.

Carthage Jail
After we finished at Liberty Jail we drove to Carthage Jail in Illinois. That was a really sad but neat experience that we were able to have as a family. We were able to go into the bedroom that the Prophet Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith died in. After that experience we drove to Nauvoo.
Mississippi River

Day 4:

On the fourth day we visited Nauvoo and had so much fun seeing the beautiful Nauvoo Temple, the old pioneer homes, activities, riding in wagons and just exploring.

Olivia
If you know Olivia then you know she had to get a picture with the horses.

Jared and Olivia in front of the Nauvoo Temple.

Olivia and me.

Our little family on the temple steps.

What a beautiful temple!

This is Jared entertaining himself.

After we had a ride from the ox Olivia got to pet them.

Nauvoo was such a fun and spiritual experience and I highly recommend people to visit it if they haven't and ever have the chance, plus all the attractions run by the LDS church are free.

That evening we started heading over to Chicago.
(Nothing makes Olivia happier then a new pack of PEZ).

Day: 4

On the fourth day of our trip we arrived in Chicago and went straight to the Navy Pier. Where we rode on a tour boat that takes you through the city.

Olivia and her Daddy looking at all the towers as Olivia calls them.

While we were in Chicago we stayed at Jared's cousins home with his wife and their beautiful daughter. They were very nice to us and we really enjoyed staying with them in their home and visiting.

Day: 5

It was really rainy on this day :( because of the rain we didn't get to do to much exploring outside.

But Jared did get his picture in front of this "Bean". (It's the one thing he really wanted to do in Chicago?!)

Oh and he really wanted a Chicago style pizza. Jared and Olivia thought it was really yummy but I didn't think it was that special.

She actually ate her whole slice.
Since it was raining so hard Olivia got to experience riding in a taxi a few times with no car seat Scary!
P.S. Taxi's are so gross!

We went to the Field Museum in Chicago. The museum was really COOL and big.

The museum kind of reminded me of Night at the Museum. It had mummies (my favorite), dinosaurs, pretty much every animal (stuffed), fish, insects, things about different cultures, and a lot of other great things. They had this little section for kids where they had dress up clothes (it was kind of gross to let her put them on) and activities for kids as well.
Here is Olivia picking corn.Jared and Olivia standing in front of Sue the T-Rex. All the bones are real except for the skull.

After the museum it stopped raining so we went and rode the ferris wheel on the Navy Pier. It was so cold.

If you ask Olivia about our trip she will tell you all about riding the horse.

Day: 6

We drove to our new home in Michigan!

And made a little stop at Jared's new favorite stadium.

We had a great road trip and had tons of great adventures. We hope that you enjoyed seeing a few of them.

Sorry about all the pictures but I did warn you!