Grandpa's Visit

Grandpa Whitley came to visit us a week or so ago from Illinois.  He got in very late on a Sunday night and stayed until Thursday afternoon.  On Monday, since the kids had school, we went to get the big kids and take them to lunch since they had already left before Grandpa woke up.  We went to Arby's and then a quick stop at Costco before taking them back.  That night we all went to see the kids do their final performance of Camp Rock.

The next day the kids had the play during the day for field trip kids to come watch so Glade took Grandpa golfing.  I don't know exactly how it went but they came home in one piece!  That night Glade and I had our final marriage class so Granpa got left for dinner duty.  He made his famous Maid Rite sandwiches.  I wolfed one down as I went out the door and it was delicious!

On Wednesday we let the kids play hookie from school and went for a hike in the San Tans.  It was a really pretty day to be out and we were able to make it up and back with only one skinned knee.  That night we went to the pumpkin patch farm and corn maze.  It rained on us just enough to get everyone wet.  I think everyone had a really good  time though. 

Thursday we mostly just kind of hung out till it was time to take him to the airport.  It wasn't terribly exciting and adventurous, but it was really nice to see him and have him with us for a short time.  Unfortunately he just got to join in to our crazy daily lives for a bit.  We sure wish Grandma could have made it with him!!

Halloween 2011

Halloween was cheap and easy this year.  I'm not sure I really bought anything.  The kids did great at coming up with their own things or buying it themselves from the dollar store.  We had our Ward Trunk or Treat on the Saturday before.  Some of the big kids left to go help with a haunted house their friends were putting on, while Nick was our diligent candy passer outer.  The little ones ran with their friends and collected goodies.  Always a family favorite event.

Stephen

Nick wasn't going to really wear anything and I found this shirt one day so I bought it.  It bugs the crap out of me that he uses the phrase "I'm too lazy" for just about everything, but I couldn't resist. 

Brooklyn

Rhett and his newfound love for the fedora. (I guess the girls like it )

Katy

Boldon

Dalin's costume just never really came together. I felt bad for him.  We ended up putting a blindfold over his eyes (with cutouts) so to be like zorro but that only lasted a short while.  Lucky for me he can be pretty laid back.

On actual Halloween we had some friends over on a last minute decision to not go trick or treating.  Instead, we ordered pizza, decorated cookies and played a few games.  It was a hit and there wasn't a single complaint about being home.  The big kids all jumped in the van to go visit a couple of haunted houses close by.

Whitley dressed up like a nerd. 

No shortage of children here!

Nick, and Whitley with one of their friends

Kenna and Katy decorating cookies

Tanner and Bo

Stephen and Cole

I didn't see much of Chelsey this Halloween, she's all big now.  This is a picture of her and Spencer at their ward's Halloween party.  Too cute! 

It Makes Scents

Glade says I have an overactive sense of smell.  I smell everything.  I'm pretty sure it's a girl thing.  I buy most of my beauty products based on smell alone. (Now you know why I look like I do!)  Yesterday I got the job privilege of babysitting for Chelsey while she was supposed to be babysitting so she could go the Temple with Spensy-poo.  Since I was required to stay out in the living room the whole time to make sure the nine year old didn't sled down my stairs again, I decided to get out my fall decorations.  Fall is definitely my favorite season!  Well it would be if we had one.  So I lit my pumpkin pie candle and outed all the orange and yellow fun stuff.  It was perfect that the high that day was only about 74 so having the door open was pleasant and I didn't sweat even once. 

Later that evening, my friend Jenny and I were able to have a girls night out.  Her husband was out of town and mine was happy to stay at work so I could do some girl stuff.  (Which was highly needed, but that's a whole nother crybaby post)  BUT, thank you Glade! ♥ We went to dinner at SomBurro and then went over to walk around the mall.  I haven't done that without a man or child in tow for a really long time!  It's just different without someone pulling on your pantleg or waiting outside tapping their toe.  We didn't need anything in particular, just to look at stuff with no restraints.  I was fortunate enough to have just gotten a $10 off  $30 in the mail for Bath and Body Works.  I haven't gotten anything there in a really long time!  We were able to browse and smell and chat and smell some more without any hesitation.  I walked out with a really cute little bag of good smelling hand soap and a few other cute things.  I get in trouble in that store.  I want to buy things just on the cute packaging alone!  While in a store, it rained... for a minute or two... but enough to wet the ground, send up the smell of dirt (rain), and chill the air.  Perfect!! 

Since the mall was closing, we decided to run over to Kohl's and roam around there.  It was so nice to just wander.  Although, by the time I was done with the night I really just wanted to go home and put up my Christmas tree!  I don't care that Christmas is not for another 6 weeks, I can thoroughly enjoy it that long.  While we were in Kohl's, we heard a really loud noise and stopped to listen.  Is that rain??  Rain so hard we can hear it inside a big store??  We went to the door to check and sure enough.  Only for a minute or two, but it was glorious.  Rain, cold weather, good smelly stuff, Christmas everywhere and a good friend.  Absolutely, positively, perfectly what the Doctor ordered!!

The Holiday Season

It's here, it's finally here!  While scanning FB earlier I came across an e-book about making this season simple.  Of course, that appealed to my very fried brain.  As I read it, it occurred to me.  It's actually here.  The season that is.  I'm so glad someone reminded me of it so I can enjoy every single day of it.  All year I look forward to these couple of months for so many reasons.  As my family gets busier (and it seems to every year) these months sneak up, fly by and are barely enjoyed. 

Last year I remember re-evaluating Christmas and thought "there just wasn't anything special about it".  It was fine and I got everything done and had some fun times, but nothing "special".  That's because I spent my time making sure I checked everything off, got it done, made the memories.  Only, I think I missed the last part by hurriedly doing the first two.  I swore that this year I would slow it down and do it right.  Well here it is November 1st and I haven't really taken even one minute to figure out HOW I was going to do that.  This little pamphlet asks some very pointed questions and helps to put a plan in order.  Not a "get it done" plan, but a "how's it gonna be" plan.  With everything else going on in everyday life, I am busy and sometimes even a little overwhelmed, but I'm not letting this Holiday Season pass by me and not suck every bit of enjoyment out of it I can.  And that includes a lot of slowing down. 

You can find the pamphlet HERE .  It's not the pamphlet that was so eye opening and inspirational, but the realization that I might have missed it and how sad that would have been.  I possibly could have gone through the next 60 days in a flurry of "get it done" and missed the good stuff.  Having wonderful and memorable holidays is intentional, it doesn't just happen.  Thankfully I'm now on my way to an intentionally fabulous Holiday Season!!

the Dream that Sticks

I had the kind of dream that sticks with you all day last night.  Lots of times these kinds of dreams are ones that hurt your feeling ie; cheating spouse, death of a child, etc.  This was just plain weird and for some reason has stayed with me all day.  Bear with me in my attempts to describe a dream that is probably  not accurately describable. 

In the dream I had just realized I was pregnant.  About 4 months or so and the baby was really moving and kicking me.  So much so that it was painful.  I was pushing on my tummy trying to get it to reposition but it would just kick back.  It was kicking so much that you could actually see the imprint of it's tiny little foot on my belly.  Toes and all! Then, as it moved around, the shape of a flashlight also was visible on my tummy.  A little bit later, there came the outline of a remote.  I was very worried about having these objects in the womb with my baby but didn't know what to do about it.  Since we didn't have insurance I couldn't go get an ultrasound to make sure everything was ok. 

That's the point where I woke up to a twitching in my belly right where the baby had been kicking.  Weird.  So what I wonder now is this: was this one of those dreams where everything has a significance?  Like that maybe I'm longing for a baby, some light and a little TV time?  OR, is it just the product of too many Reese's Peanut Butter Cups?  One has to wonder.

For fall break this year we headed to the beach!!  We (I) decided on Sunday morning to pack up and go that afternoon.  Luckily I had just gotten groceries so we packed up whatever we had, hooked up the camper and took off.  Glade, Whitley, Stephen and Rhett stayed home.  Glade had to work and the other kids couldn't miss Camp Rock rehearsals.  We arrived without much incident (ticket for no registration on the camper).  We got there so late we just slept in the van the first night and set up camp the next day.  Last time we went, we had to switch spots every day and it sucked but this time we were able to stay in the same spot the whole time.  Nice!!  We went with our good friends, the Johnson's and their family. 

The first day we just got settled and hung out at the beach.  Surprisingly it didn't feel much different than it did when we were there in July.  That night when we wanted to roast marshmallows, we realized the roasters never made it in the camper,  We (Nick) tore apart a broken chair and we used those for poles.  It was a little precarious but we managed. 

The second day we went to San Diego to see the Temple.  It's so beautiful!!  It's like a big castle.  We walked around the gardens and took a few pictures and then headed to the Mormon Battalion Museum.  So fun!  It was much more than we expected.  The kids got to pan for gold and dress up and do all sorts of fun things.  Then we went to Seaport Village, a long time favorite.  None of the kids could really remember being there, they just knew they like it.  What they really meant was that they liked the pizza there!  They have a seriously awesome pizza place where the pizza is like 2 in thick.  After we ate, the kids all shopped for a small souvenir.  We were back in camp just in time for a small nap and dinner.

The next day was just more chilling at the beach.  The kids played with friends, rode scooters, played games and mostly just hung out with each other.  A very relaxing time.  The last day we packed up first thing and headed back.  It was a great vacation!  The pictures are all in a crazy random order. 

Carousel at Seaport Village

Panning for gold

This was a pretend brick oven.

San Diego Temple

The infamous pizza!

These cheeseballs were the favorite of the whole trip.  I kept having to hide them so kids wouldn't sneak them.

Cheesy sand hands...yum!

Dalin using a chair leg to roast his marshmallow

These are great camp grounds.. toilets, showers and outlets for flat irons !

This picture doesn't exactly do it justice but that is Chelsey trying to teach Dalin to swing dance.  I think she is just torturing him right here.

Wow, I look tired.  This is how Bo and Katy fell asleep almost every night.. on my lap by the fire.

At the Mormon Battalion museum they dressed Nick up like a soldier and Katy like a laundress.

Whitley's Homecoming 2011

Whitley went to Homecoming with a boy named Cody.  She didn't really know him that well but was pleasantly surprised at how much fun she had.  He asked her while I was in Cali.  He left a note and an adorable little puppy in her room and she had to figure out the clues to find it's owner.  He was waiting outside for her when she figured it out.  They spent the day picnicing and shooting guns.  She got home JUST in enough time to head to our friends house to get her hair done.  She arrived home about 15 minutes before Cody arrived. 

When she wasn't coming down, I went up to check on her and she said she couldn't find her shrug that went with her dress.  If you have ever seen her room that wouldn't surprise you.  We looked and looked and looked and couldn't find it.  I had a thought... an unpleasant one... but a pretty realistic one.  Chelsey had taken it with her to Utah for the weekend.  Whitley was in tears and so was Chelsey once she realized what she had done.  Luckily I had gotten a shrug for my cruise.  I know what you're thinking... Whitley and I are NOT the same size.  Good thing they are really stretchy!!  It wasn't as cute as hers, but it worked.  She dried her eyes and reapplied her makeup and had a really fun time at the dance. 

I don't think I'm prejudice here, but she is so stinkin gorgeous!!