being festive...

We decided to celebrate the season with pumpkin carving, pumpkin painting, and carmel apple eating...yum, yum. Ilie loved smearing paint all over her pint sized punkin', and she was very proud of her end result. Mark and I tried to do a decent job of carving our rotting pumpkin. (Yep, one whole side was already rotting out...I guess it adds character!) So we ended up with a rotting toothy grinned pumpkin. Halloween festivities would not be complete without carmel apples. Oh my, They were sooo good...thanks Amber. So we
munched on those yummy treats until we were about sick. That's what Halloween is all about, right.

mark turns 28...old man!!

Well, on Monday, October 22, Markus officially turned 28...yep, he's old!! Unfortunatley, he had to spend most of the day at school and didn't get home until about 5:30 pm. So we did a little family celbrating when he got home. Ilie went out shopping for her daddy and bought him all his favorite treats...Dr. Pepper, Peanut M&M's, and mini Rolos. You can't get much more spoiled than that. The birthday boy didn't have any presents to open, besides all his cards from Utah, because he is spending all his birthday money on a bow (to shoot poor and innocent bambis...oh, he loves me for saying stuff like that!!) Well, birthdays are always a reason to go and eat nummy food at Montanas, so that is just what we did, and it was fabulous. When we got home, our plans to invite friends over for brownies and icecream failed to happen because it was so late. So we ate the yummy dessert all by our lonesomes. (Sorry friends, we'll make it up to ya later.) Then we decided to really act like the old people we were and we went to bed around 9:30, isn't that pathetic. Our families all called and left messages saying we must be out partying, but no...we were sleeping!! Well, happy birthday Markus...we love you!!

our cabin...heaven on earth

One of my favorite things to do while we are in Utah, is
visit the Shepherd family cabin in Christmas Meadows.
It is absolutely the most beautiful place in the world
(but I am a little biased!) If you ever want to be close to
heaven, wake up early in the morning and take a run
down the dirt road. The air is so crisp and fresh, the sky
is shockingly blue, and the quiet of the valley just
surrounds you. It almost feels dreamlike because the view
of the valley is so perfect. I'm telling ya, it's pretty fabulous.
Okay, there was my cheesy inspirational moment,
gotta love it!!

our summer in utah...

we're official bloggers...

Well, we finally caved into the pressure. Thanks to all the
convincing of our great friends in Halifax, we are now official
bloggers. Hopefully it will be a great way to keep everyone
updated on our crazy life in the Maritimes...AND show off a
few cute pics of little Miss Ilie. We're having a fun time
enjoying the beautiful fall weather here in Scotia land. We've
tried to squeeze in a few last trips to beach, taken a trip to the
valley to pick apples and pumpkins, and enjoyed a Canadian
Thanksgiving where we cooked Mexican food for the Americans.
So we'll keep you updated on the latest...rather you like it or not!!

Lots of luvs,
Brooke, Mark, and Ilie

annapollis valley

birthday in annapollis valley

We decided to celebrate my 27th (ahhh, getting too close to 30)
birthday in the beautiful Annapollis Valley. There is a small town
in the valley called Wolfville and it very close to the coast of the
Bay of Fundy. It is absolutely beautiful...rollling green hills
(something we don't see very often in Halifax), brilliant flourescent
colored leaves, and festive fall activities everywhere.

We had a crew with us, the Jake, Amber, and Emmy, Jake, Malese,
and Jace, and Curtis and JoLynn. We went to the same orchard we
visited last year to pick the best apples we've ever tasted. After a
hike up the hill, while pushing the kids in their strollers through
the mud, we reached the fabulous Courtland apple trees. We picked
enough to fill our 20 pound bag and ate enough to make ourselves
sick. Ireland ate one apple after another, and ran through the
orchard with Emmy and Jace, she was in pure heaven.

Afterwards, we headed to the "pick you own pumpkin" patch.
We got geared up with clippers and wheelbarrows and head into
the patch to pick out a winner. A lot of the pumpkins were
starting to rot and Ilie actually found the best one out there...
it was a winner. So we packed up the kids and the pumpkins in
the wheelbarrows and headed out.We then took the kids to the
petting zoo, and oh...they loved it. Ireland fed the goats and just
giggled and giggled everytime they ate out of her hand. They
also giant pigs, rabbits, and peacocks, and played on boats and
tricycles. OK, so by that time we were starting to get hungry again
(after eating 10 pounds of apples), so we headed to the town.
We ate at this cute little pub and grill called Joe's, and oh...
a cheeseburger and fries never tasted better. And that ended our
adventure to the valley. It was a great way to keep my mind off
how old I was turning...27, what a grandma!!