Proof that it does snow in Monument Valley

It was pretty cold today, but I was surprised to look outside and see it snowing. I love the snow, so I made Devon and Spencer bundle up and come enjoy it with me. Spencer apparently doesn't remember the snow last year, he thought it was just cold, and sticking to his face! I am excited that it snowed though- now it can feel like Christmas!

At the beach

We went to the beach while we were in San Diego over Thanksgiving. It was pretty cold, so we thought that would deter Spencer from the water. Well, it didn't. So he went from a nicely dressed, warm boy to a white trash baby hanging out in his diaper. The last pictures says it all, we were chasing him into the water the whole time. We'll have to go back when it is warm and let him go crazy (maybe with a swimsuit this time!)

San Diego Zoo

We went to San Diego for Thanksgiving. We stayed with Devon's aunt and uncle. It was a great time! On Friday we went to the San Diego zoo. These are some kids we found along the way J/K. Some of Devon's cousins came with us, McKay, Blake, and Annika.
Our favorite part of the zoo is the aviaries. It is like you get to walk into the cage with the animals, and the birds fly all around you. The bird i the second picture walked right up to Spencer. He was so shocked he didn't talk or move. Here are some more cool aviary pictures.





We got to ride on the Skyfari, which was really great because it takes you clear across the park. I thought Spencer would be nervous- but he loved it! He was sad to get off! The other kids loved it to. We got to go on it twice.


Spencer's favorite parts of the zoo were climbing through the tunnel, petting the goat and ride the Merry-Go-Round. He enjoyed the rest too- but those were definite favorites.



Here are some more cool pictures of the zoo.

Popcorn Popping

Spencer's new favorite song is "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree." He wants to sing it all of the time, and he is getting better at remembering the actions.

Spencer's Half-Birthday

So we decided to start a new family tradition and go out to ice cream on "half birthdays." Well, this was our first try and we ended up buying ice cream at the store and eating it the day after Spencer's half-birthday at Grandma Gosney's house. So much for the new tradition- but Spencer thought it worked out just fine!

So Spencer has a few new favorite things to do. He loves putting on big people shoes and trying to walk around in them- although he usually falls. He also loves trying to wear anything as a "hat."

Curious George

Spencer was Curious George for Halloween. Devon was the Man with the Yellow Hat. We decided Spencer should be Curious George because he is so much like him! He climbs on everything, and he is always trying to figure things out. He also loves to watch Curious George on PBS- it is one of the only shows he will sit through.
Happy Halloween!

Carving Pumpkins

The day before Halloween we had a pumpkin night with our friends the Whitakers. We carved pumpkins and ate dinner in a pumpkin.
This is Sadie. She is pretty girlie usually, but she dug right into the pumpkin. She cleaned one out all by herself!

This is Spencer, Sadie and Lara with the finished pumpkins.

So someone gave Spencer a sucker the other day. I was not too happy since I think suckers are just cavities on a stick- but I let him try some. Apparently Spencer has no problem with future cavities. We just brushed his teeth extra good!

Produce

Lately Spencer has taken a liking to produce. When he got a pumpkin that was just his size he carried it around all the time. A few weeks ago our friends came back to town with a huge bag of potatoes. Every time we go outside Spencer tries to grab a few to play with.

This is Spencer in Devon's old hat. He is carrying a green tomato in his pocket. I guess we know what he wants for Christmas this year!

Gosney Visit to Monument Valley

Devon's parents and sister, Catherine, came to visit us last weekend. The first thing that we did with them we do not have any pictures of, but I still want to record the adventure. The first thing we did was to hike up to "teardrop." We had only driven up the back way with Lewis, but many people told us this was a pretty easy fast hike- you just follow the trail. What trail? We got a little lost, and there wasn't much of a trail to follow. Finally Devon (with Spencer on his back) and Terry made it to the top- but they had to pretty much scale the mountain to do it, the less adventurous girls didn't think that looked like fun. I guess from now on we will check out the hikes we plan on taking visitors on before we actually go! There are no pictures because Devon was carrying Spencer instead of the camera, and I always forget to take pictures!

After our hike we took a tour of the 3 hogans by the school. The construction inside is pretty neat.


Spencer thought this Hogan would make a great new bedroom for him. What could be better than a bedroom covered with dirt?!


On Saturday we went over to "the valley." There is a loop road that you can take to look at many monuments up close. The road was very bumpy. We saw a lot of small cars driving it- but we all piled into the 4-runer to save our car.
These are the mittens. You can see them from our house, but they look more impressive close-up.


The monument behind us is called "Three Sisters."


This one is Elephant Butte- can you see the elephant?


This one is camel butte. Not as obvious as the elephant, but at least it has humps.


This one is called Rain God Mesa


The tallest one in this picture is Totem Pole. Apparently Clint Eastwood climbed it while he was shooting a movie here. I can't remember the name of the movie, but it wasn't Dirty Harry.


This is artist's point. I think this view made the bumpy drive worth it. It was so beautiful!


Later in the afternoon we drove to Mexican Hat. This is Devon and I in front of it. Devon was having everyone else try on his new cowboy hat.


Here is Devon's mom in the new hat. Can you tell that rock formation is supposed to be a hat?


Spencer especially liked this stop on our trip because he could get out and explore. Grandpa is giving him a great ride on the walk back to the car.


The last thing we went to see was Goosnecks. I think it might have been the most spectacular thing we saw too. The pictures don't do it justice. This was one amazing view- but the kind of view where you have to keep Spencer securely strapped in the stroller.



If you want to see all of this amazing stuff- you have to come visit!

Silly Spencer

We were trying to get Spencer to say some words on video- but he didn't want to sit still. This video turned out so cute that I had to post it!

Piggies

Spencer is learning his body parts. He still gets a little confused with the nose- but otherwise he has got it down.

Spencer's animal sounds

Spencer is getting very good at talking. He knows many animal sounds. We had to take a video because he has such a cute little voice and he makes pretty funny faces too!

Pumpkin

We got some pumpkins from our local FFA garden. Jack, the teacher in charge gave Spencer a special one just his size. Spencer was so excited about it that he would not let anyone else hold it. I tried to help him out so he could climb up the stairs on the way home, but he would have none of it. He even held onto it once we got hom, but we had to take it away so he could take a nap.