devin and katie: Zoo take 2 + conference weekend

i have totally been neglecting my blog. but for a good purpose: online shopping.

i'm lucky to have a husband that understands how necessary it is to obtain new, and more apparel with every changing season (even if he's just pretending to understand).

so i've put the blogging aside to acquire some Autumn essentials. they're so awesome, that I may even do an outfit post. if i'm that brave. the ever-growling list includes things like several pairs of tights and boot socks (my favorite boot socks so far have been the lace ones and the cable-knit ones), the boots (already seen. i've already worn them plenty), some knit beanies, some more jewelry (mostly earrings), shirts adorned with lots of lace in creams, whites and browns, and my favorite: an awesome knit sweater that i can't WAIT for.

SO. i think i can be forgiven.

but all of this has lead to a little game of catch-up that we're about to play.

mostly just of the weekend.

and i may or may not cover things i already have. just to keep this all straight.

like Friday, for example. I totally skipped over Friday with that last post.

I took the babies to the zoo! Makayla had piano lessons, so she couldn't come. It was just Kaden and Addison. I decided that Devin and I will just have to take Makayla on a little date for ice cream to make up for it. She's so awesome. And quite honestly, the smartest 9 year old I've ever met!

My sister, Kayla came though, to help out. Plus, who says no to a free trip to the zoo? Nobody.

Kaden was so awesome! I am so glad that he was good and stayed by me and behaved, and Addison was adorable and hilarious as always. On the way up to the zoo, she kept saying "Devin? Devin?" I think she just expects to see both of us at the same time. She pronounces his name so well! It was the cutest.

We got to see everything Kaden wanted and even rode the Train (Kade LOVES trains!) and Mom and Grandma said he gushed about it the whole rest of the night after we got home, so I'd say it was a success!

Addi had a full-on conversation with this weird bunny looking creature. She was yelling at it, telling it what to do, hahaha.

the tiger was actually there this time! I wish I would have got a picture of it swimming in the water right by the glass, but there were too many people.

Addison copying Kaden, haha

all she wants is the camera.

choo choo!!!

insisting on sitting by herself on the train.

As for conference weekend: we had a great time! On Saturday, we watched the morning session while we cleaned the house and then headed up to Salt Lake during the 2nd sessions to shoot some bridals. We shot at Garden Park Ward. It's absolutely beautiful up there! The grounds are so pretty and there were so many great options for pictures. I love looking through all the photos after the shoot as we drive home, and this is going to be one of Devin's best, I think! He has a preview on his blog (one of my favorite shots from the day) and will be adding more really soon! So go here and then click BLOG.

On our way home from the shoot, we went to Ashley and Ikea for fun. This is when we bought our awesome chair that matched our living room exactly!

I didn't want to get a picture of the whole room, because it was a mess from my ornament making.

On Sunday, we slept in right up until 10:00 and watched the first session. I made tons of Christmas ornaments! Maybe I already said that I was making all of our ornaments for Christmas this year. It's going to be awesome. They all turned out cuter than I thought, and I won't even complain about the bad burns I got on my fingers and toes (it was an unfortunate spill of burning hot glue) from my glue gun. anyway. I've only made a few, and have plenty more to do. I'm considering making a tutorial if there's some interest... they're just so easy and SO cute!

also on Sunday? TONS of snacking. On all our great conference treats. We had so much good food but I only got pictures of our fresh homemade salsa that Devin and I made together (onion tears. so romantic.), and the oreo truffles I attempted! They are hideous, but they taste SO good. We have to refrain from eating too many at once! We also had really tasty pulled pork for dinner with zucchini and corn bread with honey butter. SO good! Spent the rest of the night watching The Office, because Season 7 is FINALLY on instant netflix!

For the 2nd session on Sunday, we headed up AF canyon to Silver Lake Flat! It was super busy, but it was worth it to be up there. The drive was beautiful! The leaves were the brightest red i've ever seen, and the yellow leaves on the aspens looked neon! SO pretty. I took pictures, but it didn't do it much justice. I think Devin mostly wanted to go so he could do some 4-wheel driving in the Frontier, haha.