We Love Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween this year. Brenna dressed up like a little tiger for her first Halloween. I dressed up like a queen and Brandon went all out as Dracula, face paint and all. He looked very spooky. It is becoming a tradition for him to transform into a Halloween creature. Last year he and I were mummies, and the year before that we were Frankenstein and his bride. Lets just say we love dressing up for Halloween around here. We spent the day making some more spooky pretzel treats to take around to some friends and then we went to a spook alley up in North Logan that my mom's cousin puts on. It was really creative and fun. Grandma Nilson and Great Grandma Barton and Aunt Kati came to visit too. Brenna entertained us all with her rocking horse and her funny faces. It was a "spooktacular" weekend.

Creepin' and Crawlin' through October

Well it has been a while since our last post. Here is what we have been up to for the past few weeks at the Monson's.

Brandon has been working hard teaching seminary and doing his marketing job. I have started baby-sitting a little one year old here every weekday. She and Brenna get along really well and it is fun for here to have someone to play with besides me. We took a trip up to Idaho to visit my family during General Conference weekend. It was such a treat to spend some time with my mom and my dad and to hear the prophet and apostles speak. It always makes me feel so refreshed and motivates me to set new goals to be better. Over UEA break Brandon's family came up to Logan to stay with us. We took them to a corn maze and spooky barn ride out in Wellsville. It was really fun to have them here. We sure are thankful for our families and for the time we get to spend with them.
Brenna has now figured out how to crawl and is all over the place. She can pull herself up to lean on and cruise around the furniture pretty well too now. She is very curious and loves to make us laugh by making faces and funny sounds. She is looking more and more like a little girl and less like a baby everyday. She is a sweetheart.

I think October is one of our family's favorite months. We love the cool fall weather, the leaves changing and falling, the pumpkins, and Halloween. We got some fun new Halloween decorations this year and have them up all over the house. Last week my sister came up and we made these cute spooky treats. They were so much fun to make and tasty too! I love Halloween!



Last night we had some friends over for a Murder Mystery dinner. It was set in a New York Italian Restaurant so we decorated the dining room and everyone dressed up as their characters. Brandon was an Italian soccer player / waiter, and I was a psychic gypsy. It was a blast. Thanks to everyone for coming and playing your parts so well.

Adventures with Baby food and Hairdos

So I decided I would be adventurous and try making some homemade baby food for Brenna. I found a good deal on peaches and pears at the supermarket and wanted to give a go at the puree button on my blender. I did some research on the internet and found a good website www.wholesomebabyfood.com that had some tips and methods. I made cubes of peaches, pears, carrots, and peas. I was very happy with my creations, until I put them in Brenna's mouth. She wouldn't have anything to do with half of what I made. Funny huh? I guess I need some more practice. It was a lot of work, but it really turns out to be cheaper and seems healthier too. Eventually Brenna did like the peaches and the carrots so my efforts were not totally in vain. One thing is for sure...you never know what to expect when feeding a baby anything new.


Ever since she was born Brenna has had quite a head of hair. After eight months it is getting quite long on top. After her bath the other day we had some fun with different hairdos. Whooh! Whooh! What style!

Summer Days Drifting Away!

August is almost over and I can't believe fall is almost here. This past month has been very busy and full of lots of big decisions. Brandon has been getting ready to teach seminary at Logan High as well as job searching for some other part time work. Even with all the craziness, we have enjoyed spending time together with family and friends before the start of the school year. We had Grandma Nilson here for a visit a little over a week ago. She came down to help Aunt Kate move and to spend some time hanging out with us. Grandma and Brenna had a blast playing with a box of bows and ribbons. It sure is true that the simple things can bring the greatest joy. Kati has left Logan and moved to Twin Falls. We will miss having her around.












Brenna is growing up so fast and it is so fun to see what she discovers and what new funny things she learns to do. Every week Brenna has some funny quirk she does all the time. One week she was making low grunting noises at everything, another week she was constantly making a fish face, and recently she has been sticking out her tongue all the time. She is getting more and more mobile. She hasn't started crawling, but she can roll across the room in a flash. Now you see her, now you don't. She is the happiest baby, always laughing and smiling at everything. She is such a joy!

A First Time for Everything!

This month has been a month of firsts for our little Brenna. It is so fun to see her take in the world around her with so much curiosity and excitement. So to update the past month here are some firsts that we have enjoyed!

Brenna's First Swim

We took Brenna to the Logan Aquatic Center for her first swim. She was a little upset at first but once she got used to the water she was laughing and kicking like crazy. She is a little fish!

Monson Family Reunion to Lagoon and Mirror Lake

We took Brenna to Lagoon for the first time with Brandon's family for our annual reunion. We had a lot of fun on the carousel and trying out the new Wicked roller coaster. Brenna and her cousin Rachel were so cute in their little hats and strollers. The next day we took a drive up to Mirror Lake for a picnic. We saw some beautiful waterfalls and enjoyed a walk around the lake.

Brenna's First Temple Visit and First Rodeo!

We took a trip up to visit Mandee's family in Twin Falls, Idaho this past week. We had the privilege of attending the open house for the new Twin Falls LDS Temple. It was beautiful! Each room was incredible especially the mural of the Shoshone Falls. We loved the feeling of peace we always feel in the temple and loved being there with our family. We also went to the Oakley Idaho Pioneer Day Rodeo. It was Brenna's first rodeo. We had a good time together with Aunt Kati, Grandma Nilson, Great Grandma Barton, and Grandpa Nilson! We also got to see Brenna's great Aunt Bonnie and her family and her great Aunt Peg who she met for the first time.

Brenna's Other Firsts
Brenna has also discovering all kinds of new foods this month. She loves eating all kinds of fruits and veggies. She doesn't like bananas yet, but she is eating most things like a pro. She also sat on her own for the first time earlier this month and now she sits on the floor to play and is getting close to crawling.

God Bless America!

Happy 4th of July! We had fun celebrating our country's freedom this weekend. We went to the fireworks show at the USU stadium. We sat up on the hill on our little blanket and enjoyed the show toegther. Brenna was a little scared of the fireworks at first, but she couldn't keep her eyes off of them by the end. She was very tired, but we were impressed with how well she handled her first fireworks show. On Friday we made homemade apple and cherry pie. It just felt like the perfect treat to celebrate. We lit some sparklers and flew our flag proudly. We had a great holiday!

Girls Camp 2008

Mandee spent the past week having a blast at our ward's Girls Camp. The theme was B.O.O.T Camp (Building On Our Testimonies) so everything had kind of an army theme. We camped up Logan Canyon and enjoyed hiking, playing games, making crafts, obstacle courses, giggling and sharing the gospel with each other. Brenna spent most of the time up there with us too. She loved being outside. Brandon even got to come up for a few days to help out. It was a wonderful week for our whole family!