The Cathedral of the Madeleine

This is a Catholic cathedral in Salt Lake City. I went here while taking part in an art travel class. This was one of my favorite stops on this 3-day-long art tour. This cathedral had the most amazing architecture and ornate artwork inside. Unfortunately I wasn't able to take photographs of the interior because there were several people inside worshipping. I didn't think they would appreciate me snapping pictures while they were trying to pray. We were only there for about 5 minutes when a priest came out and announced that Mass was about to begin, so our tour was cut short.

Payton's 1st Jazz Game

Saturday November 6th, 2010 was Payton's first Jazz Game. Well, sort of. Payton usually goes to bed around 7:30, and the game didn't start until 7, so she made it about half way through. Well, sort of. You see, the Jazz decided to be stupid and come back from 18 pts behind and go into double overtime to win the game. Sounds like an exciting game right? Well I'm sure it was for all of the fans that didn't spend an hour and a half walking around with a tired and delirious 13-month-old.

So Payton didn't enjoy watching giant sweaty boys throw around a ball, but she really liked the play area inside the stadium. There was a play area with an airplane, helicopter and a few slides that Payton had all to herself. I think I only saw 1 or 2 kids come over there the entire time we were playing... so that was the highlight of our evening.

Sad story: I can't even remember who the Jazz were playing.

Lesson learned: 13-month-olds like toys, not basketball games.

The Spiral Jetty

The Spiral Jetty. Every time I think of environmental art (which probably won't be very often) I will remember the wonderous drive to the Spiral Jetty on the north side of the Great Salt Lake. Blogging about this drive will never do it justice, so I urge you to go out and experience it for yourself. If you would like some interesting (yet slightly offensive) commentary, take Gregg with you.

My camera battery died while we were actually at the Spiral Jetty, so you'll have to Google pics if you really want to know what it looks like. This photo is of the 30 mile dirt road that gets you there... although it doesn't really show the jagged boulders or mud puddles you have to battle to get there.

Crashin the Cake Walk

I took Payton to the BYU-Idaho Kiddie Carnival on October 30th. I don't think I've ever seen her have so much fun. The first thing she did when we got there was trot out into the middle of the gym and start dancing (bobbing up and down) with the biggest grin you have ever seen.

Then she spotted a bunch of kids walking in circles and just had to join them. She walked right into the middle of the cake walk and started dancing some more. Consequently, I was standing in the middle of the cake walk too and started getting questions from the mothers... they thought I was running it.

Then... she found the hula hoops. She pushed them around the gym floor for about 30 minutes before the dads started having a hula hoop rolling contest.

It was so much fun to see her have so much fun... I was starting to think she wasn't old enough to enjoy Halloween... glad I was wrong. =D

Trick-or-Treating at Broulims

Okay, I know I already posted pictures of Payton in her giraffe costume, but she looked so stinkin cute so what's a few more, right? We went trick-or-treating at Broulims, but Payton didn't bring in a good haul for us. They probably knew it would be Gregg and I eating all the candy... =( I also threw in a picture of Payton sitting in the yard... I thought giraffes were supposed to be tall and skinny???

Fall Photoshoot

We've had the most beautiful fall in Rexburg this year. I just had to get some pictures of Payton in all of the leaves before winter hits. My friend Jen Wilkes took these photos. She's a fellow art ed student, but she is taking some photography classes right now. Payton and I willingly offered our modeling skills. Payton was so cute except the only way we could get her to smile was to let her walk by herself. She seems happiest when she is showing off how "advanced she is." =)

Fall Photoshoot