Oktoberfest

     October just seemed like one nonstop celebration. Julian and I started off by going to the zoo with our friends Lindsey and Adelyn. It had been one year since we went to the zoo in the Quad Cities so I was really excited for Julian to be awake this time and be up close with the animals. Much to my surprise Julian decided to fall asleep as soon as we got there...something he hadn't done in months. He eventually woke up but missed some of the better animals. Oh well there is always next time!

Counter-Clockwise: Julian asleep at the giraffes...again. Even lioness' like to spoon ! The mama's :) The monkey was born a few days before this picture was taken. It was so sweet to see the mama monkey take care of her newborn.

     Next, was a visit from my mom! She just came for a quick weekend visit but we were excited nonetheless. While Mario was at work we decided to go to the local Family Museum. I had heard about it but had never gone because I wasn't quite sure what it was and if Julian would like it. Silly choice. Julian absolutely LOVED it! The museum has almost everything a toddler could possibly want to do. The main portion is a little community with multiple store fronts where the kids can just pretend and be kids! It is absolutely amazing. There is also a farm (of course) with a barn and a tree house, a water table, train sets, blocks, books, art rooms, dance classes, outdoor play equipment. I could go on. It is amazing. Anyway, my mom graciously purchased a yearly pass for us which has already gotten plenty of use. The best part is that the membership is affiliated with the Association of Science and Technology Centers, which has museums all over the U.S. so we can use it when we visit our families stretched all across this beautiful country! While my mom was in town, we also took a day trip up to Waterloo, IA to see the sites and explore. It was a fun visit but we're looking forward to Christmas where we will have some more time together!

Family Museum Fun!

A stroll in downtown Waterloo :) Julian was sad to see Nona go :(

     Our next mini trip was to Nauvoo to visit the temple. The colors were changing so it was absolutely gorgeous there!! Also, Our landlord's from our first apartment in Utah are now serving their mission in Nauvoo so Julian and I went to visit them while Mario was in the temple. Last time we saw them, I was pregnant. It's crazy how life changes so fast!

Rocks, Leaves, and Mom. He was a happy boy.

Have I mentioned I love Autumn?

Visiting Sister Udall in the old bakery! She stuffed him full of gingerbread cookies!

Yay for the temple!

     After that, we had a bit larger road trip to Indianapolis, Indiana and then to Chicago, Illinios. What brought us to Indianapolis you say? Well, the Indy 500 of course! Just kidding, I don't know how people can watch the the first 495 laps...Although it was not a race car, we were there to buy a car. One in Indianapolis and another in Chicago. Mario has a hobby for buying and selling things and he found a good deal so off we went! Julian did really well in the car this time, thank goodness. Julian LOVED! the hotel room. He just kept running laps he was so excited. Then he would take a break to hide in the closet and play with the air conditioning unit...oh the simple pleasures in life. All in all it was a fabulous Dealba outing.

For those unfamiliar with the Midwest...probably everyone reading this.
Here is a little map of our trip :)

A road trip wouldn't be complete without stopping for some fireworks!

Julian living it up at the hotel!

Our Feast! We tried a local chain called McCallister's Deli while we
were in Indianapolis...It hit the spot but we ordered way too much food!

     Lastly, was Halloween...which we celebrated four times with two different costumes. Julian is really good at spotting candy now. Even candy he has never eaten before...we're in trouble. Our first round of trick-or-treating was at the mall. Sounds weird, I know but it is completely normal here. It was a good warm up for Julian. He fist started to grasp the idea of free candy. The second, exposure was at our church trunk-or-treating. Also may sound weird but is growing in popularity! Here, Julian learned how to pick out candy from a bowl. Although he also would give it right back to the person handing it out. Third, was actual Halloween where he mastered the process of trick-or-treating. Allow parents to put you in a ridiculous costume, knock on door, smile, grab candy, put it in your own bucket and/or start sucking on wrapper immediately. And lastly, we went to our friends' trunk-or-treat at their church the day after Halloween where we didn't allow Julian to get anymore candy...but we did dress him up again :) Now that I am writing this all out, I feel I have made a terrible mistake. Julian has progressed too rapidly at the art of trick-or-treating! We launched him from his first trick-or-treating experience to his fourth in a matter of two weeks rather than four years! Next year, he will probably be taking a spare bag to dump his candy into in between houses so home owners we give him extra pity candy...we created a candy monster!!! Well, on the bright side, I guess that just means more for mommy :)

My yummy pumpkin! Julian was eating candy while we were taking these pictures.
We didn't realized he had sucked away the seal and broken through to the goodness.

My little cowboy was complete with a hat, handkerchief, boots, lasso, and sheriff's badge :)

     Wow, that was a long rant about candy. Well enjoy the pictures. I know I have been going a little over-kill on the collages lately but there have just been so many pictures! I hope you enjoy them. And hopefully I can whip out November's blog pretty fast...there will be a lot of pictures for that post too since we visited Mario's family for Thanksgiving.  Well, take care all and stay warm!