It's a...

Dear family and friends--

Just thought you would want to know that today we had our baby. Isabella Grace Morgan, 7lb 13oz, 20 inches, born at 12:29pm. Mom and baby are both doing great. We look forward to visiting with you later, and will hopefully get some pictures out soon!

The Morgan Family

This is the email my brother, Brandon, sent out to all. Congratulations to Brandon and Amanda and kids! I wish we were there or you here.

Niece or Nephew...which is it?

So, my brother Brandon and his wife Amanda are expecting a baby (they are actually at the hospital right now). Brandon and Amanda live in Mississippi so it is hard to not be right close to them. With each of their pregnancies, they wait until the baby is delivered and the doctor to say "it's a ..." before they know what the baby is! We are all anxiously awaiting the news.
So, at 2:30 pm (mountain) time I called my mom to see if she had heard anything...YES - she knows it all. However, I didn't let her tell me ALL of the details, I just needed to know that mom and baby are OK; they are both doing fine. So, I am giving them a bit more time to make a call to me before I give up and have mom tell me.

Belle La Vie

This past week I had a little get together; you know, the home party thing! My friend Alicia has started a new business and it is jewelry. It is a bit different than your Cookie Lee and Lia Sophia, I really like a lot of the pieces.
I want to thank all of those great gals that came over - you guys are "rockin' hot"!
If anyone sees anything they like, let me know and I can get you in touch with Alicia.

M was a big help and loved everything.

Kori, one of the rockin' hot chics!

This is one of my favs!

The browns

The blacks

The colors

The turquoise

Seattle

Quick warning...this is a long post due to so much FUN!!!!

The weekend of October 10th, MJ and I flew to Seattle to attend the wedding of a lifelong childhood friend of mine, Holly Foerster. Holly moved away when we were still young, but we had always promised we would make it to each other's weddings. She kept her end of the bargain 9 plus years ago and now it was my turn.
I struggled with the decision to go simply because of the financial aspect to the trip. The economy is not in too great of a place and the home building market has been suffering for well over a year now. However, I realized that I just couldn't miss it and we sacrificed a little bit more and away MJ and I went.
Another lifelong childhood friend, Alicia (Gomez) Merrill came to the wedding as well. Her husband Scott and her parents, Dave and Vicki, were able to come too. I am fortunate enough to have my oldest sister Kristin living in Seattle so she was my taxi and my hotel! It was great to finally be able to see Kristin's home and spend time with her and her family. They were absolutely great with MJ and made us feel right at home.
On Saturday morning, Alicia and her family came to Kristin's house to pick me up to go do some sightseeing. Kristin graciously offered to keep MJ so I could enjoy the sights a bit more. It was so nice of her to do that because the Pike Market Place and the Space Needle were incredibly crowded and the stroller would have been a nightmare! So, off we went to the Pike Market Place and the Space Needle. We had a great time just being absolutely nuts! The Pike Market Place was a zoo! It was incredible though. They have a lot of different people set up to sell things and then they have a TON of fresh fruits and vegetable and flowers, they are actually really cheap too. The fresh flowers that they have are already in bouquets, different sizes, and range from $5-$30 a bouquet - they were absolutely beautiful. I kept telling Alicia that if I lived there I would go to the market every week just to have fresh flowers! After the market, we went over to the Space Needle. That was really amazing. We stayed at the top for a bit and then we had to hurry and get back to the hotel so we could get ready for the wedding.
The wedding ceremony was very nice; Holly and Randy are very happy and lucky to have each other. Holly did an absolutely AMAZING job with all of the details of her wedding - she didn't miss a thing. We were able to get some pictures of the 3 of us together so that is something that will be forever cherished. After the wedding dinner, that party began! Alicia and I had so much fun just livin' it up on the dance floor. We decided that this would be the closest thing to a dance club that we would get so we took advantage. Alicia's husband had to pretty much drag us off the dance floor! A HUGE thanks goes out to my sister Kristin would got MJ to sleep right when the party started and kept her and "made" me go and have fun. Thanks so much Kristin, you made the weekend AMAZING! Alicia and family...thanks for letting me tag along. Alicia...thank you for being a forever friend and being totally crazy with me (and thanks for being my dance partner)! Ryan...thanks for the opportunity to go to the wedding and for missing MJ and I! I had an absolutely great time; it would have been better if you would have been there with me. (I know, totally mushy, but that is seriously the only thing that would have made the weekend better).
Congratulations Holly and Randy!

Pics of weekend in Seattle

Pumpkin Patch

On Tuesday, we went to a Pumpkin Patch for a belated family night. As much as M wanted to go on Monday, we had a family baby shower to

 go to - congrats to Bonnie and Joel on your arrival and welcome of little "K." So, after work on Tuesday, we decided to run to the pumpkin patch. This pumpkin patch is very close to our house; we pass it multiple times a day. M watches the progress of the pumpkins growing, to the family getting them ready, to the pumpkin patchopening. The family does a really good job of making it a really fun atmosphere. They have a mini corn maze for kids that is free, a lot of different tractors for kids (or adults) to sit on and have pictures, they have a place set up just for pictures, and of course LOADS of pumpkins! M was very excited to pick out her pumpkin, but she first helped MJ pick out one. Then she help

ed her dad pick one out for him and then it was my turn. After all of us were done, it was M's turn; it took her a bit to decided which pumpkin was meant just for her. After the selection was done, her and her dad went through the corn maze. She came out with a huge smile and wanted to go again so it was my turn to go through the corn maze with her. We had a great time and now it is time to decorate the pumpkins for display on the front porch!

Here is dad pushing the wheelbarrow along to collect the pumpkins.

M trying to find the "perfect pumpkin"!

The LOOT!

Inside the corn maze.

This is one for Uncle Kenny!

Two sisters hanging out!

MJ not quite sure about the straw!

One half of the pumpkin patch...

The other half!

M thought this was the perfect size for little MJ.