HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

What an awesome holiday Halloween is. Hope you had as much fun as us. And if you didn't here's how Halloween should be done. First comes the more than decorated front porch.
Don't forget the Jack-o-Lanterns. We ran out of time and did them at 4:00 on Halloween.

Everyone needs a costume. Really hard to find a costume for your dog when he weighs over 100 lbs. Isn't he just the cutest Witch? He just loved trick-or-treating, lots of loving from all the neighbor kids, and every piece they may have dropped while petting him. He was even good enough to help pass out some candy later on.

Batman Phoenix in the middle, 3 years running with this costume!!

Sicily our little Pea Pod with Jared the Prisoner. Sici only wore her costume for about 10 mins, long enough for the picture then she went straight to bed. Poor little thing, too pooped out to even think about trick-or-treating.

I've had this costume for a few years now, but still get the best reactions. London was a pirate, as you can see. I think he has about 50 tattoos all over him. Thank goodness we live in Texas and it wasn't all that cold.

And most important CANDY, CANDY, CANDY, CANDY, CANDY, CANDY, CANDY, CANDY!!!!!

Hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween. Remember to check that candy, eat what you think your kids won't, make sure it's all gone by Thanksgiving and don't get SICK! ;)

Happy Birthday Aspen

Our little Aspen turned 6 on Oct. 28th. We had the funnest Halloween Party under the sun. Invited her entire Kindergarten class and kids from the neighborhood. Thankfully not everyone came, though we still had about 18 kids and 6 Moms that stuck around.

She's been wanting this Spider Cake for years. But it never quite went with the Princess and Ballerina Themes. So since it was all Halloween this year we did the cake. Only took me an hour. So much fun!

Got this Pumpkin Toss idea out of Better Homes and Gardens Halloween Magazine. We tossed in orange ping pong balls that were also decorated as Jack-o-Lanterns.

After much deliberation as to what to do with the string Jared made a HUGE spiderweb on one side of the house. About 3 ft off the ground. We gave each of the kids a bag, tossed LOADS of candy into the mix and said GO. By the end there were about 5 kids we had to do some serious de-tangling with.

So our "little" girl is 6. It happens so quick and those Birthdays roll around faster every year. We love you Aspen! You are a joy in our lives. The best big sister anyone could have, such a graceful dancer, too funny for words, still our Little Monkey and always our sweet little girl!

Time Out for Women!

Because I have the most amazing husband in the World, he took over the house for 2 days and I traveled 3 1/2 hours, to San Antonio (by myself) to go to:
For those of you who have never heard of this you MUST look it up and do the research. www.deseretbook.com/tofw
This program is wonderful. It is a Conference just for Women. Speakers at mine were Sheri Dew, Cheiko Okazaki, Jason Wright, S. Michael Wilcox, Chris Stewart, Emily Watts, Carolyn Rasmus, Hilary Weeks and of course Michael McLean.

Now you may recognize some of these names from Browsing in Deseret Book. They are all either LDS Authors, Musicians of former General Authorities. Different groups of Speakers travel together to different cities all over the USA. The theme this year was Joyful Life. And for all you other Moms like me, or single ladies, or Widowed or whatever...we all need a dose of Joyful Life in our systems every now and again. Next years theme is Sweet Assurance. They are coming UT, TX, ID, and WA to name a few. Please look this program up, sign up for the city near you, and GO!! It will make such an impact on you and your life.

San Antonio

I absolutely fell in love with San Antonio, TX. I could live there in a heartbeat. It is a beautiful city and reminded me so much of Perth, Australia that I got homesick. If you ever get a chance to travel there go Downtown and do the River Walk.




Bridges, Restaurants, Cafes galore. Live music, Shade, just beautiful!

And of course go to the Alamo. I forgot that was even there till I was on the drive over :). I love San Antonio!

Cold but Snuggly

It's finally getting colder here. 65 or so when the bus comes to get the kids in the morning. So we are freezing. :) Phoenix, Sicily, Charlie (the dog) and I go walking every morning as soon as the bus pulls away. And we're usually gone long enough that by the time we're back Sicily's ready for her nap. She's our 1st thumb sucker, but also has to snuggle something up to her nose. So this little "gingerbread man" coat did just the job. Thumb barely peaking out of the mitten, she was good to go.

For Kamaile

So my good friend Kamaile has an awesome Blog where she posts the bestest Recipes. http://kamailesfood.wordpress.com/ I was on there today and found an absolute Yum-O sounding Recipe for Salmon. Now low and behold, I had just bought some Salmon and some Feta Cheese, 2 things that are not usually found in my fridge. Best recipe ever for a family of 6, took me all of 30 mins, prep and bake time. I was so proud of myself and layed the spread before my kids (Jared's out of town with work). They were all truly excited to have the Salmon with ALL the cheese. I LOVED IT!!! But my kids were of another opinion.
After just a few bites Aspen tried to hide under the table when I told her to finish. Laughing to myself, I grabbed the camera. She shot like a bullet up the stairs and would not come down till I told her she didn't have to eat anymore. :)

Now don't get me wrong this recipe is fabulous. But apparently it was not designed for the likes of my 6 & 3 year old. They did although enjoy the rice and steamed veggies. :)

p.s. It rained today, so they were in swim suits from playing on the trampoline.

Smart Little Turd

Sicily's newest favorite toy is this stacker. I watch her struggle with it every day. She tries so hard to get those little rings in the right place. But she's only 1! I didn't think they had the hand eye coordination for that sort of thing.

In Relief Society, on Sunday, she worked for more than 20 mins. on stacking some little blocks. She'd finally get one balanced then knock it all over when she went for the 3rd. She'd get so mad, but just keep trying. When she (we) would finally get that 3rd one to stay on top she'd sit back, puff out her chest and giggle. All proud as a peacock.

My kids never cease to amaze me.

Halloween Singing

Cutest little song:

I'm a Mean Old Witch with a Hat

And I fly on a broom with my cat

My nose is pointed and my chin is too

You better watch out or I might scare you!

I'm a Mean Old Witch with a hat.

Gas is on the Down

I took this picture on the way home from Church on Sunday. I filled my tank today and payed $2.59 Let's just hope it keeps going down.

3 Year Olds!

Sometimes I wonder what they are thinking. AUGH!!!! I told Phoenix he could HELP feed the fish when the older ones got home from school. I guess he thought I meant he could do it on his own. I think he dumped half the can in. Took me an hour to clean the dumb thing out. The fish food is now locked in the medicine cabinet.

Laundry and Painting

You ever wonder when the laundry will be DONE. I mean really, there has to be an end to everything doesn't there? One thing I do enjoy when Jared is away with work is less laundry. I swear I have twice as much when he's home. :) But really I am becoming a bit too comfortable in my Laundry Room lately. My awesome friend, Mika in Hobbs, did it right. She took out the paint and paint brush and went crazy in her Laundry Room. She said, "I figure if I'm gonna spend about half of my week in here I may as well enjoy the view." And I totally agree. Now I just gotta convert Jared to the idea. :)

Pumpkin Patch #1

Our little Aspen just loves to dance. Everyday when I hear her music on, I know she's in her room dancing in front of her mirror. So of course we've got her in Tap, Ballet and Jazz. Her studio signed them up to perform at the local Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival. So much fun!! Enjoy the show, sorry the camera's a bit shaky I'm working on mastering that. Aspen starts in the back, middle. She has the Black and Orange scrunchy in her hair.

Sicily in the Pumpkins

I never knew the Stems tasted so good!!

Pumpkin Patch #2

This is our REAL Aspen. She did pose for a few shots but this captures the true spirit of our little girl.

We found some supper awesome pumpkins, big and tiny, but the coolest were these warty ones. We're gonna make some cool goblin Jack-O-Lanterns.

Phoenix did enjoy the Pumpkins, but not as much as Kicking Dads butt.

Joy School

Phoenix and I are participating in Joy School this year. http://www.valuesparenting.com/joyschool/ Basically it's Home School Pre School and we love it! The lessons are set up very similar to Primary Lessons, all drawn out and ready to go. We do it with 3 other Moms/kids and all take turns. I get the cuties every 2nd Thursday.

This month we're learning the Joy of the Earth (weather,plants, bugs, animals). My turn happened to fall on a field trip to the Farm. Only problem is, in a small town like Houston, Farms are hard to come by. But I got into contact with a local Horse Stable, so we went and fed the horses. The kids loved it! And all the horses LOVED our carrots!

The trip was ment to teach them where animals live, what they eat and how to take care of them. This was NOT the favorite part of the Field Trip.

Happy Harvest!

Big Thanx!!

I just need to post a HUGE THANX to my awesome friend Amelia Harris!! Because of her amazing technical support I (actually she) was able to change my blog to this beautiful Template. She is just the absolute best! And if you care to check out her awesome Blog click on the Fanciful Creations sight on the Left. Thanx again girl, sure do love ya!

New Shoes

My running shoes were over 3 years old and my socks were starting to show through the fabric of the shoe, plus there was no tread whatsoever, I slid in every puddle. So I finally found me a new pair at Acadamey Sports (they were having an awesome sale). I now have a blister on the back of my heel but I'm loving the padding and traction again.

So me, in my genious, decided to try my new shoes on my Eliptical. But since I now have traction my foot stuck a bit better to the base than I was used to. When I stepped off my foot did not step off with me and I bashed my knee/shin against the "pedal thing." Literally thought, "That's gonna leave a mark!" And boy did it ever. London had to have me demonstrate how I did it. My family just laughed.

ABC!

As easy as 123

A. Attached or Single? Love being attached
B. Best Friend? My Jared of course
C. Cake or Pie? Pie, I'll take pumpkin any day of the week, but I do like cake too.
D. Day of choice? Mondays, weird I know. But first day kids are back inschool after a sometimes long weekend.
E. Essential Item? Comfy Clothes
F. Favorite Color? Red
G. Gummy Bears or Worms? Bears, white and red
H. Hometown? West Bountiful, UT
I. Indulgence? Cookies and buttery popcorn
J. January or July? July, love the 4th and BBQ's
K. Kids? 2 boys, 2 girls (all crazy)
L. Life is not complete without? Kisses, Laughing, Lot's of Love
M. Marriage Date? Sept. 3, 1999
N. Number of brothers & sisters? 3 brothers, 2 sisters
O. Oranges or Apples? Kind of prefer bananas
P. Phobias? Aliens, Gremlins, "6th Sense," Ghost really. You know the usual
Q. Quotes? "He seems like a nice guy" Tommy Boy
R. Reasons to Smile? My beautiful kids, a quiet moment to Blog/Read, By sweet Jared
S. Season of Choice? Fall, love the colors and the sound of crunching leaves
T. Tag some Peeps! What? I did roast some Peeps once. Doesn't work too well, the sugar burns.
U. Unknown Fact about Me? I can fit 2 1/2 quarters in one nostril
V. Vegetable? Cauliflower, fresh, steamed, any way
W. Worst Habits? Bit lazy
X. X-Ray or Ultrasound? Lame, x-ray, you don't get that cold stuff squirted on you
Y. Your Favorite Food? Anything sweet
Z. Zodiac Sign? Aries

Toys, Toys, Toys!!

How is it that kids seem to accumulate toys even when you're not buying them? I just don't get it. I did an overhaul of my Toy Room today, literally dumped out all the toy boxes and reorganized. I know, with 4 kids, it's only gonna look good till they get home from school. But at least now I know what we own, and what I can look for for Christmas. Amazing how much crap is at the bottom of those Toy Boxes. And clean out days must occur while kids are at school. That way you can throw out whatever you want, and they'll never know the difference.

Comfy and Safe

For Sicily's Birthday I wanted to get her a NEW car seat. She was ready for the front facing but in Jared's opinion our OLD seat was doable. Old one being 8 years old (pretty sure that's how old London is). I walked into Baby's R Us and had loads of fun. Did you know Car Seat expire after 5 years? Actually EXPIRE! The constant heat and cold in your car expands and contracts the plastic and after 5 years they expire. Crazy huh? So I got a NEW one.

Jared was in absolute AAUUUGGGHHH!!! I know, that's supposed to say AH! but it doesn't. In the end he snuggled his little Sicily and said she was worth it. The instructions were crazy weird, so Jared had to install the thing. And after all the buckles and belts and whistles were in place he declared, "Family of 6 killed in a head on collision. But amazingly enough the baby, in her NEW Graco Car Seat survived with out a scratch. Due to the plush nature of the seat, she was able to sleep through the whole incident. Sad to say, she will never truly know her parents." Isn't that just the best car seat add? He's such a turd.

Come Listen to a Prophets Voice

This weekend marked the 178th Annual General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We as a world were given the opportunity to listen to a TRUE Prophet's voice.

If you are asking those vital questions we all ask: Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going? These sites can help you answer those questions:

http://www.lds.org/
http://www.mormon.org/

I have a firm testimony of the truthfullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, restored in these Latter-Days by the Prophet Joseph Smith. I know that Thomas S. Monson is the prophet today. Not only for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints but for the World. And I know if you are searching for the truth you will only find it here.

Happy 1st Birthday Sicily (Sept 27, 2008)

Lady Bug Birthday Cake

Oh Big Fat Tummy!!! Obviously shes not overly messy. Sicily was a bit sick on her 1st Birthday and really didn't want to eat her cake all that much. But she was happy to share with all of her guests and had fun patting it all over the table and her legs. Oh! And Phoenix, poor kid picked the wrong place to sit. :)

Party Games

Pin the Spot on the Ladybug
PRESENTS!!!
Gotta have the PINATA

Daddy Daughter Playday

Snack Tent

Every time I sweep and mop we put the chairs up with a few old sheets and make the best snack tent there ever was. I don't know why they have to have snacks in there but they're usually under there the whole time I'm mopping. I'm not allowed in very often. Charlie (the dog) wants the snacks but I think he's scared of the tent so he doesn't get too close.

Mushroom Umbrella

Once London and Aspen have gotten on the bus, the 3 of us go walking . About a week ago we found the biggest mushroom I've ever seen. Phoenix wanted to eat it, as did Sicily but in the end we just played with it for our whole walk. Kind of nice really, a quiet walk every now and again is never that bad.