Tricks and Treats

We had the best October and Halloween this year! Gabriella and Hyrum really loved getting dressed up and trotting around the neighborhood once they understood candy was involved.

Gabriella couldn't decide until the last minute what to be. "At our first party I am going to be a cheerleader, then at our next party I'll be...." She finally settled on a fairy princess.


Hyrum wanted to be buzzlightyear. Yeah, we had a hard time with that one, so he settled for Woody. I love his oversized hat and his mustache.


LaurieAnn makes the cutest little bug. I cannot take ANY credit for this costume. My friend Ericka made one for her daugher and I wanted one so bad I kept thinking about it all day. She had offered me all her stuff. Doug finally said, go get everything and make it. This was 8pm Oct 30th. Ericka is the queen when it comes to sewing stuff and she was so sweet to cut everything out for me, so I whipped the cape out in 20 minutes. The tutu took a little longer but it turned out so darling. And when you took her cape off, she reminded me of Renesmee (all you twilight fans) with her black and red tutu!


Nobody would pose for the kid photo. I got a crier and a booger picker! AHHH!

Get your mouth off the plunger!

Conversations you never imagine yourself having before you are a mom, but actually have daily when you are a mom.

Response to a brown smudge on the toilet lid.

Rebecca: What is that?
Gabby: I dunno.
R: Did you do it?
G: mmmmmm....no.
R: Who did that?
G: Not me.
R: Is it poop?
G: I dunno.
(silence)
R: I think it is poop.
G: Maybe it's poop.
R: Are you sure you didn't do that?
G: (silence)
R: Are you sure you didn't do that?
G: It wasn't me...I promise.
R: IS. THAT. POOP?
G: I. DONT. KNOW.
R: Smell and see if it is poop.
G: I don't want to. You.
R: I don't want to either.
G: I think it was LaurieAnn. (who wears a diaper)
R: Maybe, but I don't think so.


While bending down to get something to clean up the mess. I found my brown eyeliner pencil. Colored all the way down. It WAS LaurieAnn.

Pumpkins

I LOVE everything about Halloween including carving pumpkins. It is my chance to be artsy and create something fun. Gabby did a great job scooping and separating her seeds from the pulp so we could bake the seeds later. She chose a "happy" pumpkin. Hyrum wanted nothing to do with the project and rode his bike around the garage while we worked. He wanted a "scary" pumpkin. And I did a silly for Lulu.



Afterwards, we enjoyed some hot wassail....a fall favorite.

1 gallon apple cider
1 can (6 oz) orange juice concentrate
1 can (6 oz) lemonade concentrate
1 cup brown sugar
1-2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp nutmeg
12 whole cloves
4-6 tsp allspice or 12 whole allspice if you have it
1 tsp zest of one orange
3-5 orange slices

Mix and serve hot with whip cream and caramel sauce on top! Yummy!

Here are some photos from our trip to the pumpkin patch with Gabriella's preschool class.

1 year ago

My baby is one, and I can't believe how the time has flown. LaurieAnn is such a blessing and brings a happy and sweet presence into our home.



Things I just can't enough of:

Her adorable pig tails today
When she starts dancing the second she hears a beat
Her jack-o-lantern teeth when she smiles
Baby kisses from her perfect little lips



Happy Birthday Lulu. We love you.

The truth about being a Jedi

Doug and I spent a short weekend in Utah celebrating the well-lived life of a beloved Grandpa. On our way home, we decided to detour and go see my brother in Rexburg. Weather was fall-ish there, and even started snowing while driving back through Pocatello. It was so beautiful and Doug said, "I just love driving in the snow because I feel like I'm in Star Wars." I totally agreed knowing that the flakes falling seem to pass you like stars in space.


Well, the snow kept falling and got pretty nasty. After driving FOREVER in horrible conditions and spinning off the road into a snow drift (thankfully it was just that) we decided it best to stay over night. It was the Bates Motel, but neither of us cared, we were so tired. As we were laying down to sleep Doug says to me, "I don't want to be a Jedi Knight anymore." Apparently, being a Jedi isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Have you ever seen a mantis?

Well, I haven't...that is until today. Gabby, my mom and I discovered this unwelcome guest hanging out by my entry window trying to find a way inside. I got news for you sucka: that window doesn't open! Sorry about the picture quality, I don't like bugs particularly. But for the kids sake, we kept him in a jar so we can study him all afternoon. Then we'll let him go "home to his family" tonight. And for all of you wondering, yes, it is that big!