Who Is In Our Trunk?

Justin and I dug up our dead great, great grandparents from the back yard to bring to the party. The crazy part is that we ended up winning 1st place, a Texas roadhouse gift card!

Oh, What Do You Do In The Winter Time?

You have the "Do or Die" girls aka:Aunt Pam, Aunt Cindi, mom, Debbie, Tanna, Aunt Allison, Jen, and Natalie, brave the icy roads and meet at Chili's for a celebration- Nat's birthday.

I have actually LOVED the snow! It's because there has been so much to do with all the cousins. Natalie and her family came at the perfect time. School had been canceled so we had a crepe breakfast and after bundled up the kids to play for hours in the snow. That afternoon we took all of them to the movies: G-force.

We have been building snowmen, drinking hot chocolate by the gallons, having potlucks, sledding, making pumpkin sugar cookies, and my new favotie workout: shoveling sidewalks. (My muffin top is sore! Yipee!)
This is Debbie's car. You could barely recognize it. I think there is at least 24 inches of snow out there.

Our New Favorite!

Aunt Pam's Halloween PAR-TAY!!!

(She seriously looks like she is 18 years old!)

Wow, talk about a treat! Aunt Pam had her anual Halloween party for her grands and had invited Nathan and Kendall. There were 18 cousins all together along with Tanna and Natalie. The parents got to leave for two hours to get a bite to eat:).

The downstairs was glowing orange. Pumpkins, all sorts of Halloween decorations and orange lights were strewn as far as the eye could see. A station with a huge witch was set up with a cauldron full of apples. All the kids sat in the middle of the floor on the "pizza blanket" and ate.

Root beer floats, prizes, gooey goblins, games, bobbing for apples, and a Halloween movie. When I asked Nathan what his favorite part was, he told me , "Every PART. It was so much fun!"

I'm One of Those.....

Today was Nathan's first sacrament meeting primary program. He arrived wearing his Sunday best, polished shoes, freshly pressed shirt, and socks that matched his tie.

His turn arrived and he delivered beyond my expectations, "My dad protects my family."

I then turned into one of those mom's I've made fun of my whole life. I just about jumped out of the pew- trying to contain myself, I regained my composure, gave him an air high five, thumbs up signal about three times, and sang every song right along with him mouthing it extra big so that he could remember the words.

I then proceeded to think about how the last 4 and a half years I have been so richly blessed because of him. People have often told me that their kids teach them so much and it's so true. This short little time I have with him I will cherish forever. If I could freeze time, I would do it now.

There is nothing quite like a little guy wrapping his arms around you and telling you that he loves you. There is nothing like the pure sound of a giggle echoing through the walls of your home. Or an act of kindness that melts away the cold. There is nothing like witnessing all the "firsts" and the feeling that you get so deeply rooted in your soul. Or getting to know his personality beyond your wildest dreams.

He has the ability to lighten my load, to make me laugh, and strive to be the best mom I can be.

I love him.

Little Town of BOO!

It was a perfect day to head up to the mountains and take advantage of weather in the low 70's. Mammy showed the boys "how it's done" as they spun around and around on the tilt-a-whirl. I think they were about to kick us out for our out-of-control laughter!

Papa braved the Safari ride and helped Nathan conquer heights as they looked out over the lake and watched the swan paddle boats. The scenery was breathtaking, but then again I'm a sucker for fall.

We painted pumpkins, ate hot dogs, got lost in the hay maze, watched Justin's head ferociously bobble back and forth HARD on the roller coaster (almost ruined my pants laughing so hard- almost got kicked out again), jumped in the giant jumper, took in the warm breeze, and my favorite, just hung out together.

Popovers?

What ever happened to them? I'm not talking about a delicious flaky pastry filled with a sweet apple or cherry filling, I'm talking about popping over to a friends house for a chat, apple cider, or some hot chocolate.

Is it just me or has our society lost our sense of community? It seems that no one's pace of life lets you drop by a friends home for tea and cookies and then sit for an afternoon of talking about everything and nothing.

I know that to some a few hours of an afternoon is precious time and not a luxury that we all have (I've been there) but why and when all of the sudden did we get to busy for the person living and breathing next to us?

My home is open all hours of the day and night. It may not be sparkly clean, but I have a feeling we could conjure up a good treat and some much needed laughs!

Bat Cave!

It's getting SPOOKY little by little over here!

We LOVE October...

Warm pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting
Turning our fireplace into a bat cave
Spooky stories before bed
Stuffing "grandpa" into a scare crow
Goblin pizzas and corndog mummies
Watching general conference and helping the boys with their packets
Vegetable stew and pomegranates
The Paris street market
Steamy apple cider on the stove after coming in from playing in the leaves
The nip in the air and the breeze blowing through out jackets
Drives trough the mountain canyons
The beautiful eye candy as the leaves change colors
The "leaves" candle that simmers throughout the house
Halloween parties
Corn Mazes
Taking classes at ACC
Picking out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch aka:Mammy and Papa's garden
Breaking out all the warm quilts during family movie night
Dressing the boys in sweatsuits and sweaters
Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven

My Little Monsters!

I think we are a teeny bit excited for one of our favorite holidays!