Halloween, Birthday, Visit from Nana, Sunglasses Update...

So, I had the best birthday present ever about a week and 1/2 ago... mom my flew down on the morning of my birthday, and we had a blast while she was here! Steve has been in Tuscon for one of his rotations and I was getting a little lonely here at home by myself, so this present from my mom is just what Grace and I needed. We went to one of my favorite restaurants in Scottsdale: Arcadia Farms. The food is DELICIOUS and the desserts are very tasty. We then took a trip over to the MIM (musical instrument museum). This attraction is fairly new to Phoenix and if you live in the area or come to visit, it is well worth your $15. They display instruments from all over the world and you get to hear a huge variety of music and culture. One might think this museum would be very noisy, but is actually very quiet... let me explain. On the tour, you wear a headset hooked to a receiver. Each display has a TV showing people from almost every country in the world playing instruments native to where they live. As you pass in front of the TV, the transmitter picks up the signal and you are able to hear the music... it is awesome!

We also went hiking in the South Mountain park and decided to try the "Mormon" trail. Notice the sign below.I think it's about time to get a new hiking pack for Grace. The baby bjorn was too heavy to carry in front, so we managed to get it on my back...Grace enjoying her first piece of cake...We made these fun jingle sticks for a music class I teach in our ward. They were a lot of work, but I think they turned out great and the kids seemed to like them.Luckily, my mom was here for one of my most favorite holidays: Halloween. Grace was supposed to be a lion this year, but the costume was just too big for her. I made a quick trip to my favorite store ever and picked up this adorable flower costume. Grace is quite petite, and this 6-9 month outfit was the perfect size... it makes me laugh because Grace is 10 months old! We went to the trunk-or-treat at church and Midwestern also had trick-or-treating throughout the campus with some other fun activities. I felt a little silly grabbing candy for Grace, but I enjoyed it later! Right after we dropped Nana off at the airport to go home, Grace and I headed to the polls...Steve was able to come up for the weekend from Tuscon. Since he wasn't here on my birthday he said he would have a gift for me on the weekend. And he surprised me with this:
I am SO EXCITED to finally have a bike! Steve scored big when he saw this bike on Craigslist. I didn't think I would be able to get a bike this year because they are so expensive, but I am so grateful that Steve found such an awesome deal on this one. The lady that he purchased it from had ridden it only 8 times. She had all of the gear too, and amazingly it fit me perfect.... shoes, shorts, helmet, etc! The bike was purchased for about $2,000 (she even showed Steve the receipts) and he bought everything for $550!! She planned to train for a triathlon, but never really got into it. I'm just excited because now I can train for my first triathlon and not have to use spin class as training! I can't thank Steve enough for finding it!

And we had to cheer on our Utes this past weekend... unfortunately their undefeated streak is over.
And just another side note, Grace started crawling about a week ago! My mom was still here and saw her timidly creep across the floor. She doesn't like to go very far, but I'm sure that will change with time. Steve is back down in Tuscon, but I won't be lonely for very long because my sister is coming to visit this week! Soooo excited to see you Ange!

Oh, and before I forget... my sunglasses were lost once again. But this last time was quite ironic. When I went to TJ Maxx to purchase Grace's costume, I left my jinxed shades on the counter at the register. Luckily, I called and they confirmed they were still there. This makes me laugh because they got left at the place I originally purchased them at! Wow... I wonder where they will end up next!