iPhone Pictures

(FYI: I was having problems getting the videos to work, but I think things are fixed.  If the videos wouldn't play before, go ahead and give them another try.)
  
So, as early birthday presents, Ryan and I got iPhones, which are the first phones we've ever owned that even have cameras.  So, I'm not used to processing pictures on a phone.  Anyway, here are the shots I got on our Utah trip.  Keep in mind I didn't have a case yet, so I hadn't taken the protective film off the front and back.  That means the pictures turned out mysteriously blurry for awhile.
   
On the way up, we stopped at Johnson's Farm so Connor could look at fossils for his school project.  There were a ton of cool footprints, and the kids made origami swans at the end (it was part of a display of origami dinosaurs, but those were too hard.)
  

Visiting Grandma Cloe

Also, after we got back, Connor used his camera to take a couple of videos at our house.  I really shouldn't post them, since they're not interesting, they show me nagging my kids from unflattering angles, and highlight our house's messiness.  But, I never take videos for some reason, and these probably ought to be saved somewhere besides a six-year-old's fragile camera memory card.

Thanksgiving 2011

This fall, Elise graduated from speech therapy.  She saw Ms. Kathleen for a little over a year, and it made a HUGE difference for her speech, plus she loved going.  It was pretty sad for her to say goodbye.  Around the same time, Evan started therapy.  At eighteen months, he wasn't saying or understanding any words that we could tell, which meant "more than 50% delayed", and qualified him under our insurance.  I wasn't particularly worried about him, but after seeing how much it helped Elise, it seemed like a good thing to do.  So far, he's learned probably 20 words, and understands more than I can count.  We love Ms. Kathleen!
   

  
We were able to go up to Utah for Thanksgiving this year.  I drove the kids by myself again - it's getting to be no big deal (although the drive wasn't as flawless as last time.)  Shortly after we arrived, it snowed!  It was great timing for my poor deprived California kids.  Ryan and I even got to do a quick ski trip when he joined us two days prior to Thanksgiving.
   

Grandma still does Atkins, so there were no carrots in the house.

The banana stayed put for about thirty seconds after this picture was taken.

Thanksgiving day was wonderful, as usual.  Our whole extended family on my mom's side was able to come, and the food was awesome.
   

  
We played frisbee after dinner, and the little boys played ball (ball is Evan's favorite new word.)
    

   
The last two years, I've made everybody do a thankful tree on Thanksgiving.  I know it's kind of cheesy and perhaps not too creative, but I don't care!  It's too nice to have to think up random things to be thankful for.  I'm pretty sure my mom wasn't laughing at the tree in this picture.
  

  

Halloween and Joshua Tree

Despite how long Halloween always drags, I got very few pictures of it this year!  These first are actually just Evan showing off (he's pretending to dig up dinosaur bones like Connor.)
   

  
We did our usual Joy School Halloween Party with the 4-year-olds, and it was of course delightful.  Here they are singing "Mean Old Witch".
   

   
We attended the ward Halloween party, too, and I remember none of it!  I'm sure it was fun and sugar-filled, though.
   

   
On Halloween day, the kids finally carved their pumpkins.  You can't really do it much earlier here anyway, since everything molds in the heat.  We went trick-or-treating in our friends' neighborhood and left the house abandoned, since there was no chance of anybody climbing our hill just for candy!
   

   
In early November, our friends invited us to go camping with them in Joshua Tree National Park. We considered it for awhile, then decided that 30 degree weather was too cold for us.  We spent the night in a motel, but had a great time hiking around and exploring the park during the day.  Our friends were hard core, and slept in a tent with their 2 year old and 3 month old!  
   

Connor fell several feet climbing these rocks.  He told us later.  Good supervision, huh?

Cholla Cactus Garden

   
   

Tennessee

In mid-October, we were able to spend a week in Tennessee visiting with Ryan's grandparents.  It was a wonderful trip - visiting the South is not something either of us has done much, and we enjoyed all the local food, as well as picking cotton from a field and attending a tiny branch of our church in Dyersburg (tiny branches are pretty common in the South.)  On one of our first days Grandpa Al, Ryan, and Connor were able to go shooting in a friend's field.
   

   
We braved the very claustrophobic St. Louis Arch Tram to get a view from these tiny windows.  It was actually pretty cool.
   

    
We were able to visit the graves of some of Nana's family, including her mother, Helen McCracken, and saw the house where she lived.  (We also got to see where Grandpa Al grew up in Kentucky.)
   

  
On our way out of St. Louis, we stopped at the Science Center, where the kids had a blast.  Connor decided he wanted a marble run for Christmas.
   

  
We were able to visit Shiloh, the Civil War battle site, which was amazing.  The kids even seemed to learn something.  Here they are pretending to be in a "battle".
   

   
On one of our last days there, we stopped at Reelfoot Lake, which was full of these crazy cypress trees, and supposedly is crawling with rattlesnakes.
    

   
Nana and Al were such incredibly kind hosts!  We had a great time in the Tennessee area, we'll definitely go back someday.  Oh, and on our way out to the Nashville airport, we had to get a picture in our favorite-named town wearing our new Camo Snuggie.