Smatterings

It would appear that I haven't blogged much in the past, oh, month. Here's a smattering of the happenings:

• Ella is learning to talk. It's amazing to me that I now have a little PERSON who TALKS and can communicate her desires! . . . OK, when I say talk, you know I don't mean talk, right? I mean that she uses the same sound to mean the same thing, and it's somewhat close to the actual word. For instance, she is BIG fan of hand washing. She asks for it numerous times a day, by rubbing her hands together and saying, "Wa." We're trying to keep track of how many words she has, and it's somewhere around 20 now. She's even starting to say Julia, "Ju-ah." It's all very exciting, and very cute.
• Julia loves preschool! I couldn't tell you exactly what she does in preschool, because she is pretty vague on the details, but I know it's fun! They started to practice cutting with scissors last week, and that was a big deal to her. She's been itching to use scissors for a long time now. We even got scissors to take home and practice with. So now I find little bits of paper all over the table. Good cutting, Julia! She tells me she is going to make them into a castle. I'd love to see how that turns out. She also told me the other day that someone's mom is having a baby. I'm pretty sure that mom isn't having a baby. So we had to have a talk about not assuming someone is pregnant. EVER. I just pray our talk sticks and we don't have any embarrassing situations on our hands.
  
• Have I ever mentioned how much I love fall? Because wow, I love this season. And fall in Michigan? GLORIOUS. Everyone talks about fall in New England, and while I haven't been there in person, the pictures look amazing. However, the fall here seems every bit as spectacular as the fall there. I think it feels that way to me because fall in Utah, while beautiful, doesn't compare. There simply aren't as many trees. And not as many maple trees, to be specific. The brilliant reds that are lining every street here are magnificent! I think the peak was last week, which the weather cooperated beautifully for. I went on a few afternoon walks with the girls, just in the neighborhood, and it was magic, I tell you. Absolute magic. The warm fall air, the sun streaming through the brightly colored leaves. And there are leaves all over the ground, but not in a dead, compost, mulch-y way, they are still such vibrant colors, it's almost like walking on rose petals. But they are crisper, so you get that fall crunch beneath your feet. AH, it's dreamy. Apparently I could do a full post on fall alone. I'll move on now :)
• Hey, remember General Conference a couple weeks ago? I just wanted to mention that it was wonderful. And since we had no expectations that we'd get to listen to any of it due to small, restless children, it was a much more pleasant experience than 6 months ago. In fact, we did get to listen to a good portion, which was a nice little surprise. We even went on a little drive Sunday morning and listened to a podcast of Saturday morning's session. (I love technology.) It was such a spiritual boost.
• We are getting geared up for Halloween. The girls' costumes have arrived (via mail), and they are pretty cute. Julia is going to be an elephant, and Ella is going to be a peanut. Julia wants to eat Ella. I kid you not. I'm a little concerned that we're going to be stuck with a theme for a while, as last year Julia was a gorilla and Ella was a banana. Poor Ella, I think 2 years of being Julia's food is enough! Next year you get to pick your own costume, ok? I'm not sure if Clark and I are going to dress up. Any suggestions?