November 2009

This month was a bit busy. I was able to get us almost fully moved in, Nate replaced our incredibly nasty kitchen sink, we painted Abigail's room a soft yellow, and she started going to nursery!! We had a Fabulous Thanksgiving with Nate's brother Brandon, his wife Julie, and their cute girls, London and Hadley. We had a great dinner (though no pics to prove it), a fun visit, hit Lincoln Parish Park, and went to Natchitoches for the big Christmas festival.

It was quite the nasty job, but soooo worth it! Thanks sweetheart!!

Abby's room color before...

... and after, though this pic seems to brighten it up a bit :)

Abby's new table, a steal I found on Craigslist!!

Setting up the tree, and a perfect capture of Abby's silly and naughty personality beginning to emerge :)
Great times at Lincoln Parish Park

Our Thanksgiving breakfast at IHOP :)

London was such a fun little entertainer

In Natchitoches (somehow pronounced "Nak-a-tesh")

Our group out in search of the "Steel Magnolias" home

It's such a fun Christmas Festival, and we're definitely planning to keep it a yearly tradition while we live in Louisiana.

October 2009

This month we had a chance to go to Dallas for a second training seminar for ASCH's Hypnotherapy Course for Nate, and while he was away learning great techniques to someday use, Abby and I played tourists. We hit the park, Fort Worth's Water Gardens, and as we were heading out, we wrapped up the trip with a visit to the Dallas Zoo, it was a fun family adventure :)

Abby LOVED our hotel's fish containing coffee table :)

... almost as much as she loved chasing the ducks at a great nearby park we found

Dallas Zoo

Abby was a great traveler with her cute nose-rubbing, self-soothing techniques

All decked out in her Halloween gear from Grandma Sewell :)

This year for Halloween, Abigail was once again a cute little fairy, (this time with more hair) and she LOVED getting dressed up for it.

We started the holiday with Nate's amazing Pumpkin Spice waffles with freshly carved Jack-O-Lanterns as decor ;)

Then made a quick trip to Abby's favorite pet shop...

...headed to our ward's fun Halloween Party - we're nerds, I know

...and wrapped up the day with a bath and a favorite pic of mine :)

We live on such a busy road, it was no surprise that we didn't get trick-or-treaters, but we proudly displayed our Jack-o-lanterns anyhow :)

September 2009

We got home on the 1st, and headed out a few days later to spend Labor Day weekend with Nate's brother Brandon and his family in Round Rock, TX. We met their new sweet baby, hit the pool, and spent fun quality time. It was a great trip, Abby loved getting to play with her cousins, and in the meantime they got us addicted to Rudy's Bar-B-Q :)
We quickly got back into the routine of things, which meant Nate was back to school full time, this time including beginning teaching his own Introductory Psychology class. This program really keeps him hopping.
As for me, I had a whole house to unpack and organize. Luckily, we plan to stay here for the next 2 years, so that made unpacking a lot easier, so now things have more permanent placements.
On the 30th was our 4 year anniversary, and we celebrated as a family at Olive Garden in Monroe, one of our favorite restaurants. Happy Anniversary, Nate!! :)

Glamour Girl :)

Brandon, Julie, and Hadley

We had a great time swimming with the Texas Sewells :)

A great restaurant they took us to in Austin :)

August in Utah

So Abby and I were able to spend almost the full month of August in Utah, it was great! We were able to relax and spend lots of time with family and friends, had a girls night out to the temple and dinner, had a pool party, and were able to go camping with my family in the Wasatch mountains. Then when Nate arrived 2 weeks later, we camped with his family in the Uintas, it was so fun :)
We also set aside a few local adventure days, where we visited historical landmarks and touristy spots in Salt Lake, and spent a day in Park City with my mom.
Every day was fun-filled, even the lazy ones, since we were able to just hang out, get Nate away from his crazy busy lifestyle, and enjoy our families :)
We did wrap up the adventure in a surprising way, when we missed our departing flight and ended up getting to spend time with my mom touring old "haunts" she and my Dad had before they were married. It was a great experience, and definitely made up for the delayed flight home!!
Somehow I think I've lost or misplaced some pics but here are a few to reflect the fun we had:

Abby with her Pinnock cousins at Apple Spice Junction

My two Utah Valley sisters and young'ens

Grandma's pool party!!

Feeding the horses next door

Camping with the Pinnocks

Addi and Abby were out for an adventure :)

Visiting Grandpa P's grave

Park City Day with my Foxy Mom :)

We had a blast with the slides!!

We had a great time (as usual) out to lunch with my brother, Dave.

Memory Grove

Abby with her Sewell cousins :)

Our fun Uinta's camping trip with the Sewells - Thanks, guys!!

This was Abby's Favorite thing to do :)

We rode VERY slowly and carefully. She loved it :)

Nate's Shafer grandparents joined us, it was great :)