A "Spooktacular" Day!

             I love Halloween! It's such a good excuse to dress up, carve a pumpkin, and eat some candy. Seriously, what could be better... (besides Christmas)? Our family started our Halloween celebration last Saturday. Austin finished a demanding cardio block the day before, and it was incredible having a few days to be together as a family without stressing about school - I was beginning to forget what that was like! We started the day out by watching the University of Minnesota defeat Nebraska with some impressive play-calling. That really put Austin in a good mood.

             Lydia may not have woken up on the right side of the crib, but she was thrilled to get out of the apartment and play outside with her daddy before we went on a breathtaking hike at Hoyt Park, just down the street. We didn't realize that the park had such a lovely trail along the river. Lydia enjoyed quacking at the ducks and was a happy camper the entire time we were out. We even came across a couple of dogs that she could bark at. That's pretty much her idea of a perfect afternoon.

         
           
            Later that evening we headed over to the church for the ward Halloween party. We were in charge of decorating a door and handing out candy for the trick-or-treaters. Of course I cheated and found the scarecrow idea off of pintrist. I thought it turned out pretty cute, and it was fun putting it together with Austin's help. Lydia was so excited by all of the people in costumes that she just ran around in circles for the longest time when I tried to bring her trick-or-treating. Austin finally picked her up and made sure that she got a full basket of candy, which she was pretty excited about. The party ended with a chili dinner and door/costume awards. Believe it or not, we got a prize for our costumes! I've always wanted to win a prize at a costume contest, so that's one thing I can make off my bucket list.

         
            The rest of the evening all Lydia wanted to do was inspect her candy. She repeatedly took it out of her basket and tried to eat through the wrappers. Sometimes she wanted to share and would try to shove the candy in our mouths. Lydia's sugar-highs are pretty awesome. I'll have to capture that on video sometime. She runs around squealing with delight. I don't know how to keep up with that child. Needless to say, Lydia loves Halloween!

Apple Holler

         

            Last Friday Austin took a break from studying and brought us to Apple Holler. This was both mine and Lydia's first time in an apple orchard. We had such a wonderful time picking/eating apples, chasing Lydia, going through the corn maze, and chasing Lydia some more. Hopefully this can become an annual Burdge tradition. There's nothing like homemade apple pie after spending a day in the orchard!

Riding the wagon out to the orchard 

Lydia was such a big helper! Haha, she kept picking the rotting
apples off the ground and putting them in our bag....

Lydia was pretty excited about this "Golden Goat Bridge"

                                         

                     

Trying to keep up with the munchkin!

A Spoonful of Laughter

            This morning I decided to let Lydia handle her own spoon and bowl full of cheerios. I knew this would be bad news for my carpet (that child has an arm - you never know where the food is gonna end up), but it was totally worth watching Lydia squeal with delight when she first managed to get the spoon into her mouth. Of course, I was giving her plenty of help and encouragement along the way by clapping and cheering for her. That girl sure loves a good audience! Despite the mess, this was definitely one of the most fun breakfasts I've shared with my silly little munchkin. Now I just have to figure out how to teach her to be this cute without throwing and squishing her food... haha, yeah right!

Taking the Plunge

           This morning I woke up and decided to start a new blog. This has been on my 'to-do list' for a very, very long time. Needless to say, I'm very good at putting things off. The fact that I'm actually starting to tackle this project makes today a success. While I don't consider myself particularly computer-savvy, I do believe that it's always good to keep learning. I guess this blog is a way for me to learn something new, keep an online record of my life, and possibly even share some of my joys, frustrations, and insights in the process.

           I lead a pretty simple life as a stay-at-home mom. I'd be lying to say that I always love what I do, cause who honestly loves changing poopy diapers, battling temper tantrums, and watching your toddler go on a rampage and destroy the house in a fraction of the time that you spent cleaning it? Sometimes being a stay-at-home mom drives me crazy! There is no break from my job. I am on-call 24/7 and everything that I do is effectively undone rather quickly. It's pretty frustrating work. However, it's also the most rewarding thing that I've ever done. I love being there to see my little girl discover new things during the day. I love watching her play and interact with other people. I love blowing bubbles with her, coloring with chalk, going on walks, and reading books. And, as much as I might beg to differ in the moment, I do love finding the cheerios on the floor, my hairbrush in the toilet, band-aids on my produce, and shoes in the dishwasher. I know that I will miss the mess someday, so why not try to laugh and enjoy it now? It's such a joy to see the world through a child's eyes and rediscover the excitement in the small and simple things of everyday life. Those are the things that collectively make life so wonderful, and it's incredible to share them with someone that I love!