Month 21 in Review

We had a great time this month enjoying the fall. The big event was of course was the birth of Olivia, as well as a fun Halloween. But we also really enjoyed the leaves, various outdoor activities and a really hot day at the Annapolis boat show for Mommy's birthday (her birthday dinner was the largest Maryland crab-meat dinner ever...YUM!) Daddy is hooked...on a boat and the crab meat!

Some of Morgan's favorites this month

Thing: Pumpkins

Music: Dan Zane

Toy: Stroller (Anything can and will get pushed around the house in it.)

Food: Pumpkin seeds (There have a been a few but as of today, I think this one wins out

Books: Love you, Love is a handful of honey, Twinkle/twinkle, Gossie

Activity: Stomping through leaves

Game: Put "___" down for a nap. This is soooo cute. Everything takes a nap...her doll, her cup, her spoon, her book, etc. She lays it down, covers it with a blanket/washcloth and pats it. Sometimes we even get Twinkle, Twinkle hand motions.

Another favorite activity this month is apparently screaming...she is exploring her vocal chords and she is definitely 100% Little Girl.

Happy Halloween

Halloween with Morgan was a lot of fun this year! As you can see she was one cute bee...and with her little "Jump up and down" song she was actually one cute dancing bee...complete of course with a flower candy basket.

The festivities began yesterday at school with a Halloween parade. All the kids dressed up in their costumes and walked around the front circle for their parents...they were adorable. Morgan's friend Jack was a little lion and her friend Emma was Raggedy Annie (a great costume handmade by her mom).

Of course for the little ones there was a lot going on. And for a certain little bee all the excitement was down right overwhelming. But even a crying bee is still cute.

After the parade we went to the pumpkin patch at MerryMead Farm. Unlike the parade, Morgan loved it and was picking pumpkins like a pro. After we were done in the patch, we walked around the farm and actually saw a new calf that was only hours old.

This morning we decorated our pumpkins and saved the pumpkin seeds for roasting...Morgan's new favorite snack. YUM!!!!

And Halloween wouldn't be complete without trick or treating after dark. The weather didn't completely cooperate but at least it was warm, and the rain didn't stop us from going to a few blocks. Morgan really got the hang of ringing door bells and collecting candy, especially after she broke through one of the wrappers and realized what was inside. :)

Welcome Cousin Olivia!

Morgan's new cousin was born yesterday morning...an absolutely beautiful baby girl named Olivia Marie. Mom (Aunt Stephanie), Day (Uncle Matt), and baby are doing wonderful. We were so excited to meet her just after she was born. Here are some of our favorite first pictures of her. As you can see, Morgan was able to keep herself entertained...courtesy of Oswald, a big, blue octopus. :) The DVD player was bought for vacation, but this was the first time she really showed any interest.

Grand Tetons

After spending 5 days visiting Yellowstone we headed south to Grand Tetons National Park. Unfortunately, the long drive (since we were now at the north end of the park) was made even longer by a little detour. The Arnica fire which we had briefly seen from West Thumb on our first day, had left us stranded on our second night, and had threatened to evacuate us from the Lake Hotel was causing havoc again. This time closing our route south resulting in a several hour detour through Montana and Idaho (but hey we can cross two more states off our list). In the end the fire burnt ~10,000 acres of forest over >9 days, it never did get too close to the hotel, but was only put out by the snow that arrived on our departure day the following Friday.

The Grand Tetons were breathtaking. And it was a perfect time of year to go…the sun was warm but the air was just crisp enough, the crowds were low but everything was still open, and the fall foliage was at its peak. We stayed at the really nice Jackson Lake lodge in the park and ate some of the best food we've ever eaten. In this park, we had a little more chance to relax and just enjoy the scenery. One of our days we took a boat ride across Jenny Lake and took a great hike up through the mountains.

Our last two nights were spent at Jackson Hole a ski resort type of town with many shops and some great restaurants. And then all too quick it was time to board a plane again and head home.

U.S. Safari

Throughout the trip we felt like we were on a safari in the U.S. It was really neat to see so much wildlife; just about everywhere we looked there was some animals not too far from the road.

When we entered the park, the rangers gave us a kid's "Find the Animal" check-off game…probably for Morgan…but we were happy to play along too. By the end of our trip we had crossed off every single species: buffalo, elk, wolf, coyote, bear, eagle, pronghorn deer, long horned sheep, an eagle, and on the last day (in Grand Tetons actually) a moose. It was pretty easy to find many of them…just look for the big group of cars pulled to the side of the road (it must be crazy during peak season in the summer…no wonder they say to leave extra time for driving) or look outside your hotel window. :)

On two occasions, we saw herds enjoying a morning snack right in front of our hotel. The first was a herd of buffalo in front of the Lake Hotel. The second was a herd of elk (including a bugling male) in front of Mammoth Springs.

The Geysers

And the geysers! Probably the biggest attraction to Yellowstone and we can see why….they don't last long and can require a lot of a patience, but they sure put on a magnificent show.

When we were at the park, there were ~6 "predictable geyers" (erupting at regular intervals, often 2x/day at an estimated time +/- 2 hours) including the famous "Old Faithful." With some determination and a little bit of luck, we saw all of them in just 1 day! A feat not may visitors can say they accomplished.

For the first one ("Castle"), we were at the site with our coffee mugs before sunrise, and the last one ("Great Fountain") we snuck in during sunset, after being stranded from reaching our next destination by a forest fire that happened to have closed the road. (Seriously, it's true!)

Yelllowstone

After flying into Jackson Hole, WY and spending our first night at the large Jackson Hole ski resort, we headed up to Yellowstone National Park. What an absolutely unique place! The colors, thermal features, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and wildlife make it location like no other.

For five days we stayed at various lodges throughout the park including Old Faithful Snow Lodge, Grand Lake Hotel, and the Lodge at Mammoth Springs and enjoyed beautiful weather which was so unusually warm we had wished we packed summer clothes.

Morgan did great, probably reveling in the fact that she could spend 10 days in the outdoors with Mommy and Daddy's undivided attention. We had one melt-down at dinner, many rough nights of sleeping, and a few painful moments in the plane…but for a two year old we considered that, not too bad!

Over the five days we saw most of the attractions, including the gorgeous Grand Canyon which goes for ~24 miles (800-1200 ft deep and 1500-4000 ft wide) with waterfalls and amazing colors.

And our last stop in the park were the beautiful terraces at Mammoth Hot springs all the way at the northern entrance, which are probably even more amazing during the wet season in the Spring.