Utah

We've been in Utah for my brother's wedding. I don't have many wedding pictures because I was running around after the kiddos. I think my brother Tyson probably ended up with the best pictures. Anyway, driving home I had to snap some pictures of the leaves. I am not sure New England has anything on Provo Canyon.
They are a little blurry because I was in the car...

Technically Math's post...

So this is technically from Math. He picked all the trees he wanted pictures of and showed me how he wanted them posted ;) These are about a week old so we have even more color now!



This is the river we walk by almost everyday.


Matthew's favorite tree on our walk.

Math turns 5...

It is hard to believe but Math is now 5. He loves kindergarten and learning to read. We had a combined party with his little friend Abe whose birthday is only 3 days different from Math's.

Dropping Hints...

Soon there will be tons of blogs from all over the Northern US filled with pictures of leaves. I took these pictures a little while ago. We have a few trees that have turned and we have a lot of trees with branches that have turned. Our nights are getting down into the 40's now so I expect it won't be long until the whole world is yellow, orange and red. How about this amazing trail we get to take our walks on everyday and I didn't even post a picture of the beautiful river that runs between all these trees!

Finally something to argue about...

It is good to have college football back. After about 2 years of marriage John and I ran out of really big things to fight about. About the time Math was born we completely ran out of things to argue about. In fact, about a month ago while we were out walking John was complaining that we haven't had a fight in years. He said we'll end up like all the General Authorities who can't ever remember fighting in their marriage....Enter college football! Of course, there is no dissension when it comes to the Cougars or Longhorns but it is just nice to have something to debate again. John says OU still has a shot at the National Championship. I say very unlikely. John wants a playoff and I don't think that is the answer (if there was a playoff then I would lose all my debate and arguing skills). Is FSU too fast for us? Is TCU too fast? Can we really run through Missouri, Baylor, A&M, OSU and OU? Florida overrated? Ah...the possibilities are endless so here's to great debates, pizza, seven layer dip and hot dogs!!

Two weeks in and looking good...BYU 54, Tulane 3 and Texas 41, Wyoming 10!

Booster Seats

A bunch of new booster seat laws went into effect this Sept although many states already had laws. Texas was one of these states which is why I got an update but then I realized that I had not ever checked Colorado laws. I had seen the promotions in Utah about their new booster seat laws so I knew the age there was 8 years old. Texas's new age is now 8 years too. Colorado is 6 years old but they also have a height requirement with it. Seth really wants to sit in a booster seat but he isn't 3 yet and here in CO (from my understanding) it is illegal to put a child into a booster seat until they are 40 lbs. Almost all booster seats require a child to at least 3 years old before it is safe to use them with a seatbelt so it isn't like the CO law is that far off. Seth isn't quite heavy enough and I am not about to move him because it is so much more dangerous. Also, it really is better to wait till they are 4 (I am not sure we'll make it another year ;) Of course, when I say booster seat I am talking about a seat that only uses the seat belt. There are boosters with a 5 point harness that are safe for children under 4. I don't know what the Texas law is about when you are allowed to move a child to a booster seat. Utah's law requires the the child meet all the height and weight and age requirements before you can legally move them to a booster seat. This means that the child will have to be 3 and at least 38 inches tall. Our older booster seats require a weight of at least 35 lbs but I have seen new ones that only require 30 lbs. Seth isn't 3 so he can't legally ride in a booster seat in any state in the US but it is hard to convince him to stay in his carseat. When Josh was a baby we turned him forward facing right around 13 months because he just couldn't take it any longer. With the other boys it was easier to keep them backwards because they had brothers to interact with when they were still backwards. I try to keep them rear facing longer because it is so much safer but we usually don't make it more than a couple of months past 12 months. Now what to do with Seth? And what to do with Hyrum? He is legal here but when we drive to and through other states he is not. I have a backless booster for him but he is resistant to it :)
Also...why is it so confusing? States really need to do a better job letting people know the carseat and booster laws!! Hmmmm....

Final score: BYU 14, OU 13....

Really people...need I say more!!! YEAH BABY!!

Shout out to Scott, Eldon and Dan who were "righteous" enough to go. By the look of it, they were the only BYU fans there!

If you need permission...

I know people think I am crazy but we declared Christmas music season open tonight! Bedtime songs were Silver Bells and Winter Wonderland and Silent Night. Although we sing Christmas songs all year round, Aug 31st is our official start when John can't roll his eyes because we play it in the car and listen to it a lot at home. Four months isn't really overkill for Christmas...I mean it is Christmas right :)