Another Happy Halloween

I'm totally aware that this is a little past due but oh well! It needs to be documented!

Halloween was super fun this year! Other then Jackson's football team losing the championship game the day was perfect! We were a little nervous about the weather since it had been miserably windy and wet and cold all week but it turned out to be beautiful on Halloween!

We started our festivities by attending the annual neighborhood party at the park! Its really fun to go and see all the kids and some of the parents dressed up and ready for the night, not to mention yummy food and wonderful neighbors!

After hanging out at the park for about an hour and a half we headed home to put on some more layers, light our jack-o-lanterns and head out for trick or treating. I wanted to go this year so we left a big bowl of candy out on our porch with a sign that said "Please take Two!" Incidentally when I came home an hour later there was still candy left in the bowl! Talk about honest people hey? Anyways, TJ the kids and I headed down to our friends, the Kings, and we all went trick-or-treating together! After about 5 minutes we all (all, as in the adults) got too cold so TJ ran home to pick up the van. Then we all (all, as in 4 adults and 7 kids) piled into the van to drive around! I'm perfectly aware of the fact that it was super wimpy of us to drive but whateve! It was so fun!

All the kids were having a blast but Reece, in particular, was hilarious! I made her say trick or treat at every door and she would giggle and say thank you after candy was put in her pumpkin. She couldn't believe that people were just giving her candy and she loved every minute of it!

Poor Brady had a slight mishap when he was surprised by a dog and in his panic to get away from the "scary" dog named Sophie, who probably weighs about 10 lbs, he fell and bumped his head! Poor little guy is TERRIFIED of animals but seriously...Sophie? Who is scared of a tiny dog named Sophie?????

After the dog incident TJ drove me and the little kids home. I put them in the bath and had fun the rest of the evening handing out Candy.

A shout out to the Kings for letting us tag a long with them and then for treating Jackson to Sonic after trick or treating! We had fun with you guys!

Tuesdays, Teething Toddlers, The Gym, and Broken Appliances

Last week I signed my life away to Gold's Gym for 2 years! With the weather getting cooler I decided I needed to have an indoor facility to work out in since I'm a total WIMP about running in the cold. Besides that I also think if I get stronger then I'll be a better runner! Oh yeah, and the part about how last Oct-Dec I gained about 10 lbs that I had to go on Weight Watchers to lose! I for sure don't need that happening again, thus the choice to sign my life away! So I've been asking friends who also work out at Gold's to point me in the right direction as far as classes go and it seems that every agrees that the power pump classes are the best. I attended 2 last week and loved them! They're just what I need. So this morning I got up, got dressed in my work out clothes, got the kids off to school and headed to the gym with Reece. I figured it would be no problem for her to go to the day care because she was fine last week when she went. I figured wrong! Not 20 minutes into my class they came and pulled me out because my cute, sweet girl wouldn't stop crying. Poor baby! I went in and tried to settle her down by explaining that I would be back soon but she was having none of it. So I packed up and came home, bummed because I was missing the rest of my class and because I'd been feeling so good in class.

Now poor little Reece is having such a hard time cutting these molars. She is just not herself and we're beyond the ornery and into the multiple personality category for how she is behaving! My heart goes out to her but my patience is wearing thin! The biggest thing is that she only wants me! I have to hold her, bathe her, get her a snack, get her in and out of her booster seat, put her to bed, get her a drink and on and on and on! She won't let TJ do anything for her. This wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that she's always been a daddy's girl! Like I said yesterday, this too shall pass and in the mean time I'll just do my best to give her some extra TLC!

My washer is on the fritz! Yep! That's right. A mere 3 months after we paid to have the dryer repaired, the washer breaks. Grrrrrrrrrrrr! Nothing irritates me more then broken appliances! I'm sorry but you don't pay that kind of money for a machine that's gonna break down twice in 4 years (if you recall this same washer broke when we were in Illinios) So now we're trying to decide if we fix it or replace it. (sigh) Merry Christmas to us, I suppose! And from now on we will ALWAYS pony up the extra cash for the extended warranty on major appliances!

So today is Tuesday. Tuesday's are always hectic at our house. The kids get home from school and then its Scouts, practice and Young Women's for me! Thankfully TJ is in town and football is over so it won't be as crazy as it has been these past few weeks!

Now that football is over Jackson is playing basketball and its so fun to watch! Its just awesome to see your kids have fun and improve with the things they do. Natalie is going to start a basketball skills class in a few weeks and I think I'm gonna get Brady in swimming lessons! I want him out of water wings by the summer!

And that's it for today! Wow! 2 days in a row of posts! Hopefully I can keep it up!

Hypocrite

In Sunday School yesterday I shared my blogging experiences. I brought my published blog books, passed them around to members of my ward and talked about my LOVE for blogging and my LOVE for my blog books. I talked about how its a record of our family. About how I hope someday my great granddaughter will read it and know that even though we're generations apart we had similar lives. About how its so easy to use as a journal. Then I admitted that I wasn't as faithful in blogging the little day to day things. Then I sat down and felt like a hypocrite since my blogging has been especially abysmal lately! So here I am resolving to do better! ( I know I've said it before but I really mean it this time!) You can feel free to keep reading, but much of my posts from here on out will be more for me then for anyone else! So here are some random thoughts for the day...

1. I want to go to Hawaii! BAD! Brady is watching Lilo and Stitch and the music in it makes me want to go to Hawaii! Maybe in Feb!

2. For the first time in my life I feel a bit of a stirring in my soul to explore some family history and geneology. We'll see where this goes!

3. I got to substitute teach at my kids school today. Subbing isn't something I regularly do, in fact this is the first time I've ever done it. One of the teachers at the school had her 24 year old son pass away unexpectedly. To allow more teachers to go to the funeral the Principal asked some of us PTA moms to sub! I got to do it for Jackson's 3rd grade teacher, who I love, and I had a blast! Sometimes I think I'd like to be a teacher. But then I remember that I want to be a nurse! Ha!

4. Reece is cutting her 2 year molars. We are ALL suffering this with her. She is practically UNBEARABLE. With that said, I love her so much and I'm glad that she's here. This too shall pass and I just need to love her through her ornery-ness.

5. TJ's company was sold and he may be laid off. I'm trying really hard not to stress too much about this! He seems perfectly un-stressed by the situation and is doing his best to be prepared for whatever happens. As we all know, if we're prepared we shall not fear!

6. I'm sitting here blogging while I really need to be tidying and doing laundry. BUT, this isn't a waste of time, this is family history. Its important so my chores can wait!

7. My thoughts and prayers have been with the Hall family this past week. Joy is friend of my sister-in-law and her 8 year old daughter Amanda had surgery last week to remove a brain tumor. They are awaiting the pathology results. Please say a little prayer for cute Amanda and her family and hug your children, even the ornery ones like Reece, a little tighter today!

THE WEDDING!!!!

Phil and Alison Thompson

October 23, 2009

Draper, UT

We are so happy for Phil and Ali! Here are some pictures from their beautiful day at the Draper Temple!

The traditional jump for joy!

Yelling at the family to get over for pictures

With Dar!

The "original" Brinks!

Some of the extended fam!

He's Hot!

The Smith's

Twee...LOVE HER!

Nanny and TJ

Nanny and Papa

JB and me

Nanny and Me

Favorite Aunt Mary. Can you say deja vu?

Nanny and LouLou

Can you say chaos???

The couple with us, minus Brady and Reece

So we had a great time with all the family here. The wedding day was perfect and then the rest of the weekend was super! I always love being with family. We have so much fun together, always laughing, eating, chatting, watching sports, movies and just hanging out! It was good times and we look forward to Ali and Phil's reception sometime down the road!

Scarecrow Festival

I love the fall! I love the colors, the smell, the cool air! I love that the Holiday Season is just around the corner! I also love the annual Scarecrow Festival that is put on every year!

During Fall Break the kids and I went with some friends and my cousin Amy and had a couple of hours of face painting, bouncy houses, pumpkins, food and fun!

Even though the kids had fun I find that this type of thing is getting harder and harder to do with the kids due to the age difference! Jackson and Natalie want to go and do the "big kid" things while Brady and Reece are wanting to do the "little kid" things. That wouldn't be such a big deal but it makes me nervous to send my kids off on their own without a way to find each other. I'm considering a "family" cell phone to use in instances like this so that ALL the kids can be happy and the little ones don't have to wait for the big kids to do their stuff, and vice versa. Thank heavens for technology, even though I'm still not totally decided on the cell phone. Any thoughts?