Halloween 2011

Halloween was disappointing for me this year.

Usually, I really enjoy HALLOWEEN but due to some unforeseen circumstances my Halloween didn't go according to plan.

I have certain expectations for Halloween day or the days leading up to it. Things like carving pumpkins (we even grew our own pumpkins this year), getting a good and/or fun dinner in their tummies before tricks or treats, and getting a group picture and pictures done before dark.

Needless to say NONE of these things happened on Halloween night and it was disappointing, to me. The kids still enjoyed Halloween, just as it came and went. In fact, this year the older three all went out with friends and really enjoyed their time trick-or-treating. So with that in mind I will share with you what pictures I did get.

Garmadon (a character from Ninjago)


Savage Opress (some Star Wars character)


A Princess


and Napoleon Dynamite (my personal favorite).

And missing from this group is the Nerd, who I didn't even get a picture of. Maybe next year I will do a better job organizing my time, or not have so many unexpected things happening or maybe I will just lower my expectations!

Young Men

Yesterday was a celebration of sorts.

We celebrated these two boys, or maybe I should say Young Men, because that is what they are now. How did I become a mother to two young men? When did they transform into young men from boys. How can I keep them from getting so old that they leave my home and begin their own journey in life?

These are the questions to which I have NO answers. I only know that time goes by much faster than I anticipated it would. Especially in these last few years.

One is now officially old enough to attend youth dances ( a fave of mine at that age) and is in well control of his own future by the wise choices he is making and goals he is accomplishing.

The other is now officially old enough to hold the priesthood. A big responsibility and honorable calling in and of itself. He still seems to be in his own world most of the time but I do see him starting to blossom out of it from time to time and I am grateful for the different perspective of living in this world that he shows me.

They are both very different from each other. They share a fondness of LEGOS and a last name but that is about where the similarities end. I am trying to enjoy what is unique about each of them and trying to show my love for them in the way they are most likely to hear it. Which of course is a completely different style for each too.

I love my boys, I mean young men, and was priviledged to honor their request of Ice Cream Cakes (another fave of mine) for this celebration. YUM.

Happy Birthday!

Weekends

Last weekend we escaped to the Cabin. It was very relaxing. I wish we were there again this weekend, but alas we are not.

Too many things going on this weekend like:

Soccer games
Primary Program Practice
Ward Party
Attend RSL Playoff Game
WC Meeting
Primary Program
Ordination
Family Bday Party for two oldest

So instead of being at the cabin, where I got to relax and do nothing, I will just dream of being back there and not having to worry about all this other stuff.

Okay, so we didn't just do nothing last weekend. We finished putting together this puzzle,

and we went to the Corn Maze in Bluebell

where we got LOST in the corn, not really

and the boys took turns shooting pumpkins out of a blaster

and we played around on the equipment.

We also spent an afternoon at the LAKE where these two got the greatest pleasure of throwing endless amounts of rocks into the water.


So I guess I can't say we did nothing last weekend, it was just less stressful and more relaxing than the before mentioned list of things we have to do this weekend.

Out and About

Our Joy School group took a field trip to Wheeler Farm a few weeks ago. It was nice. The weather was nice, the kids were nice and the animals were relatively nice-except for those geese who are the same size as the kids when they stand tall and stretch out their necks AND who chased after and scared our 3-year-olds to try and get the bread they were feeding to the ducks.

Miss M wasn't as interested in looking at and/or touching the animals as she was climbing up and jumping down. This girl is an adventurous climber and jumper. If it looks like something she can climb she will and then she will try to jump off of it.

And speaking of jumping. Look who has started putting on dance attire and slipping on pretend ballet shoes. When I ask her to show me what she does at her dance class, she jumps.