I wish...

On Friday Eric came home from work and told me he had a Surprise in his car for me. I wasn't very excited because his surprises are usually a Pepsi or some snack. So I go to the car and this is what I found...



I got super excited thinking that he bought me a camera...well no he didn't!! I started to ask questions and then he told me he borrowed it from work. What a stinker! He knows how bad I want this camera and then he goes and teases me like this?? Seriously? Well all weekend long I have been playing with this camera and I fell in LOVE! I want it! Maybe Santa will be nice this year and bring it to me!! Well here are some pictures that I took with it...

Don't mind the {Messy} face...

This {one} is my favorite...

Dad and Tatum made a fort in the basement and Tatum had so much fun crawling in and out:

I love how you can see every {grain} of sand...

I had to post this picture because I have almost the exact same one of me when I was little...

...{I was so sad to see it go}...

Ahhh!

I am so sad that today SuMmEr is officially over!!! I can't believe that it is already Fall!! I do love the Fall season because of the beautiful colors, Halloween and I will admit that the weather is pretty nice...but...it just serves as a reminder that WiNtEr is just around the corner!!! I'm going to go cry now...

[[[ Utah State Fair ]]]

Every year Grandpa Larsen takes all the grandchildren to the Utah State Fair. This year Tatum enjoyed it so much more than last year. He loved the animals and could tell what each animal was and what sound they made.


There was an area for kids where they would walk through and pretend they were farmers. Each kid would put on an apron and get a basket. Then they would put corn in their basket,

Pick an apple from the tree,


Plant some seeds,


Ride the "Tractor" around,


and at the end they got $1 to spend on cookies and milk!


We then went over to the stadium because Eric's Dad wanted to watch the tractor pull. It turns out that Eric's cousin was competing in the stock truck pull and was last to go. Everyone before him could only get about 150 feet and then he goes and blows them all out of the water...he got 190 feet, winning 1st place!! Way to go "Honkie"!!


We sat and watched almost the entire show, it was really entertaining. We didn't leave until 10:00pm and surprisingly Tatum sat and watched the whole thing! We felt a little bit like Rednecks and made jokes about Tatum fitting right in with his mullet!!

- - I Remember - -

I know this may be cheesy to do a post about 9/11 but it seriously is on my mind every year on this day! During the weeks leading up to the anniversary I always watch all of the specials on the Discovery channel and the History channel. I get so intrigued by them and can't stop watching. Every year I think about where I was when it first happened and I can remember it as if it were Yesterday.
4 Years ago my best friend Kassy and I picked up and flew to New York on an impulse and happened to be there for the 3 year anniversary. It was an experience I will never forget! All of the family members of those who died were there and there were flowers and notes that lined the memorial.


The Governor of New York was there reading off the names of all of the victims and everyone was in tears. It was such an emotional moment. Below is a picture of Ground Zero, it really was just a hole in the middle of all these buildings.


I stood down an alley way that I vividly remember from a bystanders video and I could just picture people running towards me in front of a massive cloud of smoke. It all was a bit surreal to me! I really am so thankful for this experience because it helps me to never forget that tragic day!!

BuMmeR!!

Tatum is officially down to oNe nap a day!! I am in mourning right now...this is a sad day for me. I tried so hard to push this out as long as I possibly could, but it seems that I must throw in the towel. I'm done trying to get 2 naps out of him, its just not worth the fight anymore! Although I am a little bit in deNiaL, hoping that this is just a side effect of Tatum teething yet again. He has 2 more molars coming in on the top now, as if it wasn't enough to get 4 tEetH just a few weeks ago...lets add another 2!!