Happy Halloween!

Cole, Cooper, Noah, Savannah, & Jenna decorating cookies at Julie & Ava's hallowwen party! Thanks for the fun!

Skeleton (aka Noah), Dead Race Car Driver (aka Cole), Minnie Mouse (aka Jenna), & a Dead Cheerleader (aka Rylee)

We had a fun Halloween this year, as usual. The fun all started on Friday: the boys had a halloween party with their primary class while the girls and I went to a family pumpkin carving party at some friends. Then on Saturday night we went to a halloween party at Julie & Ava's (Julie and Ava live in our basement). Julie made witches brew to drink, jack-o-lantern cheeseburgers to eat, and sugar cookies to decorate. Then today the kids had their harvest parties at school, no costumes or parades this year which was nice, less stress. We went "Trunk or Treating" at our church for an hour and then stopped by to trick or treat at my sister Leah's. Then as we do every Halloween, we went to Mike's sister Wendy's for hot dogs and chilli. They kids did some more trick or treating and plenty of eating their candy as well. We got home and all 4 of them crashed! They had 2 late nights in a row. Lastnight we (all 6 of us, Mike finally got home Sunday morning) went to dinner (Olive Garden, our favorite) and a movie. I won tickets to the premeire of Flushed Away (new Dreamworks movie) and we loved it! It was hilliarious! Anyway, we have defintely had a busy few days and I am looking forward to a little bit of a break. Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!

A Day of S's

Today was a day full of S's for me:

Solo parenting; Mike has been out of town for a few days and I miss him and all the help he is to me with the kids and around the house. I guess it helps me appreciate him more when I do the solo thing for a short time. Thanks, Mike!

Scrapbooking; I spent most of the day scrapbooking with my friends which I haven't done for a while and am realizing how much I need to catch up on.

Snacking; it comes with scrapbooking (of course) and solo parenting. I tend to snack a lot when I am by myself in the evenings watching t.v.

Slacking; in the meal prep. department. Jenna & I went to lunch with friends today and I didn't feel like cooking tonight so I picked up something for the kids and I.

favorite Show; LOST!!! If you don't watch it you can't understand the addiction. I can't miss an episode or I would be LOST!

Snow; yes we got our first snow in the valley today. Mostly just some flurries, but snow is snow. I am not ready for the cold yet even though I know it is coming.

Sleep; I guess I should try and get some sleep to round out my day of S's.

What a Weekend!

Well, my parents arrived late Wed. night/early Thurs. morning and my grandparents, aunt Nancy, and Sara and her kids got here on Thurs. night for our wonderful weekend. It was a quick, crazy trip for everyone, but a great time nonetheless. We ate, we laughed, we cried, and we reminiced. We had lots of family meals together, took some family pictures together, and spent an amazing 5 hours at the temple together. We did sealings for my grandparents and many other family members and of course Devin did Brandon's work. There was a very special feeling there and we all felt Brandon's presence. It was incredible! Thanks to all my awesome family for making this weekend so great!

BRANDON

My brother, Brandon, died 1 year ago today. I can't believe it has been a year, I still miss him so much. I think about him at odd times, you know, when little things remind me of him or something we did together. Sometimes I think "Oh, I have to call B and tell him that" and then it sucks because I remember I can't. Going to San Diego last week was wonderful, but wierd and a litte hard. We were there a year ago the same time to spend time with Brandon and say goodbye to him. My grandparents yard is so beautiful and quiet and it was good to be there again and remember B laying there a year ago looking so content and peaceful. I miss his little girl Kaienta a lot too. So do my kids, a ton! I am looking forward to this weekend when my parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins will all be together. We will be doing B's temple work on Saturday, what a wonderful blessing that will be. I have had a crazy, busy morning and the rest of the day looks the same, but a part of me is glad. It is easier for me to deal with "stuff" if I stay busy and keep living my life. I love Brandon and am so lucky to have him for a brother and I miss him, but I know that someday we will be together again. I love my parents and the rest of my siblings too. I am very blessed!

Bonnie Springs?

While were in Las Vegas we decided to go to this little old mining town Sara had heard about. They have a really nice website and it said they have a petting zoo, a melodrama, a restaurant, a train, etc. It was a little cold and rainy, but we decided to go anyway. The drive there was neat, red rock canyon, but we got there and it was weird, that is the only word I can think to describe it. There were hardly any people there and no workers to be found. It was dirty,old, rundown, and strange, but we had a good time. The kids liked seeing and petting the animals and feeding the ducks. Read the sign and you will get a feel of what it was like there. It was an interesting experience but great just to be with Sara, Nate, Mara, & Wyatt.

Cars

So my 3 boys, yes Mike included, are obsessed with cars. Mostly Mustangs, Corvettes, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, etc. The whole trip they would get so excited about cars they saw driving by, parked in a parking lot, or racing by. When we were in Las Vegas we took them to the Auto Collection at the Imperial Palace. They loved it, even Jenna knows which car is what. It was cool to see some old cars, one of a kinds, etc.

Rylee and Shamu

This had to be the best part of our whole vacation! We were on our way into the Shamu show and they asked us if Ry would like to be in the show. She was so excited, as were we. They put her picture up on the big screen, she got to touch Shamu, and feed him fish. It was awesome!!!! Something she will remember for the rest of her life!