Halloween!

We had such a great Halloween! We had two awesome school parties for the kids. On the way home from school I asked them what their favorite part of the party was and Chase answered "You!" So that made all of the work worth it! Then we had trunk-or-treating at the church. I got Geoff a "G Money" costume and he handed out $1 to all the kids. He was a big hit - a little embarrassed - but a big hit nonetheless. Then it was off to Jane's for her traditional Halloween party with soup in pumpkin bread bowls. Last, Geoff took the boys and some friends trick-or-treating on the Rhino (4-wheeler). Now they're counting their candy. How much fun is it to be a little kid on holidays?! I hope they make memories that will always stay with them! Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday, Shannon!

To my Best Friend in the World - I love you because.....
you are ALWAYS in a good mood.
you're so fun to be around.
you always play with me.
we share so many of the same interests.
you are such a good mom, wife, friend, etc.
you stand by and stand up for your beliefs.
you always try to keep the peace and make everyone happy.
you'll always try new things.
you enjoy the outdoors and sports.
and many, many other reasons!
Happy Birthday, Shannon!

Haunted Forest!

OK - I feel a bit guilty about this, but it was really fun! Chase wanted to go to the Haunted Forest SO bad. We warned him over and over again that it was really scary, but he insisted on going. So we got a babysitter for Caden and Crew and we took him, along with Cory, Shannon, and Boston. He was a little freaked out but was doing ok UNTIL we actually walked into the forest and the first scary guy popped out at us. He had an absolute panic attack! He was crying, yelling, etc. He was so worked up that he actually puked - twice! I didn't know what to do with him but finally he calmed down and came through - hiding behind me the ENTIRE time. It REALLY scared him. Needless to say, I had all three boys in bed with me last night - we kicked daddy out to the guest bedroom. But guess where Chase wants to go tonight? That's right! The Haunted Forest! He wants to bring Caden and the Mortons. He is so funny! I think we will forgo the Haunted Forest for a few years!


This was the pumpkin smash! You had to hit the small metal pumpkin and then the hammer would come down and SMASH a pumpkin. To my surprise, both Chase and Boston nailed the target and smashed their pumpkins!


Notice that Chase is missing from the picture! He would NOT leave me for a second!

Man VS Wild!

Last week, Chase and I got in a bit of an "argument" which resulted in him going in the backyard and building himself a shelter. It was perfect because it kept him outside of 2 hours creating and getting some energy out and I couldn't help but laugh at him, even though I was mad. He started with an A-frame shelter ancored in a hole in one of our trees. That was just going OK, then daddy came home and helped him with this teepee shelter. He collected leaves for bedding and came in so excited to show me. Now he says he has a place to "be by himself" when he's in a bad mood. He is so cute and creative - I can never stay mad at him for very long.

Becki's Pics

My sweet, talented friend, Becki took these pictures for me at Chase's baptism. Becki, you should turn your passion into a business. She is so good and crafty at everything she does. That day was so busy for me, I was grateful to just enjoy the experience and not have to worry about taking pictures. Thanks again, Becki! I owe you BIG time - and don't think I'm not paying you for these!
As a little side note, I almost killed myself trying to look at these pictures. Becki dropped them off the day before we left for San Fran. I was going crazy trying to get everyone packed and I ran upstairs to load the CD onto my computer. As soon as I got up there I heard Crew crying in his room (he had gotten stuck behind his toilet!) so I went to run downstairs and totally missed the first stair and fell HARD. For those of you who don't know, we have hardwood stairs, which made the fall SO painful. I just layed there for about 20 seconds trying to regain my composure and assess if I had broken anything. I thankfully hadn't, but I had a football sized bruise and lump sticking out of the side of my upper leg - as if my thighs needed to look any uglier! The bruise is finally starting to lighten (10 days later) but I still have like a tennis sized hard lump under the bruise - anything to be concerned about? Or will it just heal eventually? It has gotten considerably smaller.

Fall!

I love the fall! Our yard looks gorgeous for a few weeks with all the leaves everywhere. Yesterday we raked the leaves into piles to play in. The kids had so much fun. Today we are enjoying high 70 degrees. So much fun to be outside!

More San Fran

My computer is still being difficult and taking WAY too much time. Anyway, here's our top 10 from our San Fransisco Trip.

10. Boudin Bakery - awesome bread, soups and salads. My kids particularly enjoyed their loaf of Sourdough shaped as an alligator.

9. The Metreon - the Sony store was the best! We got to try out all the new games for the PlayStation3 and the PSPs

8. Pier 39 - always fun to walk the Pier and see the Sea Lions squabble at each other - a favorite for Crew.

7. Union Square - we love all the action and shopping.

6. People Watching - boy are there some wierdos in the city!

5. Exploratorium - a HUGE hands on Science center for kids. The boys LOVED this, especially Chase because being a scientist is one of his "fall back" options in case professional basket player doesn't work out for him.

4. Alcatraz - this was probably Geoff's favorite - even though we weren't able to go to the prison, he teased the kids relentlessly that he was going to take them there and lock them in solitary!

3. Ghiradelli - great ice cream sundaes!

2. Walking the Golden Gate Bridge - for some reason the boys were REALLY excited to do this - despite some tears from Caden because Geoff kept telling him he had to jump over into the Bay.

1. Cheesecake Factory - we ate here 3 times! The best part was the location of the restaurant - outdoor balcony patio seating on the 9th floor of the Macys building overlooking Union Square.

The City By the Bay!

OK - I was trying to post all of our San Fran pics and I was only able to download one. I uploaded 1 image at a time and it still froze up on me. I waited like 10 minutes for 1 pic to upload and then I just gave up. Does anyone else have issues with theirs? What do you do?

Creepy, Crawly Treats!

Here's a picture of one of our Halloween caterpillar - not the best picture but it was fun to make and eat. Crew was so excited - can't you tell?

We Thank Thee For A Prophet!

Yet another wonderful conference this weekend. All the talks were great but my favorites came from Monson (yesterday morning) and President Hinkley today. How lucky are we to live in the fullness of times - when we can relax in our beautiful homes and listen to the words of our phrophet and other leaders in the Church? I am so grateful to be a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! Most of the talks seemed to be about very simple, basic truths. Geoff thought that maybe that was due to Romney and all the interest he has brought to the Church. Hopefully a lot of curious people were watching and learned about our religion. The kids tried to be good and listen to conference but it is still hard for them to focus. They were in the kitchen coloring and during President Hinkley's talk Chase asked "mom, is Jesus coming again?" I did not think he had really been paying attention but obviously he was cause I was thinking the exact same thing! Who knows when that time will be, but He will come again! Also, I loved how President Hinkleys talk centered around his testimony of Joseph Smith. I couldn't agree with him more. I would exhort all my friends and family members to STUDY the short life of Joseph Smith. It is remarkable and will be such a testimony builder for all those who do. The only explanation for all the miracles, events, visions, translating of the Book of Mormon, his many prophesies at a very young age, everything in his life is that THE CHURCH IS TRUE!

Early Halloween Fun!

Today when the boys were at school I surprised them by decorating their room for Halloween. I hung orange lights on their bunk bed and put a scary witch and skeleton that scream and shake whenever you pass on their houses. I also put together goody baskets filled with Halloween toys, blankets, soap, etc. They were SO excited! We are now officially ready for Halloween. The front porch is decorated, all the Halloween books, movies, and music are out of storage, and I have a bunch of stuff to make cute Halloween goodies this weekend. Happy Halloween!

Goodbye, Peanut

Our dear, sweet Peanut died yesterday. We will miss him SO much! He was the best bird EVER! Here are some of the things we will miss the most about Peanut.

His sweet kisses on our neck and cheeks.

Him chasing the boys down the hallway.

Taking him in the yard and watching him fly all over (that is until he would get stuck in one of the high trees and take about 1/2 hour to work up his nerve to fly back down to us)!

His whistles every time we were in the garage (He would totally go through all the whistles he knew in hopes that we would think he was just precious and take him out of his cage).

Him jumping on Caden's bowl of Fruity Pebbles and flipping the entire bowl over onto himself!

Him falling into Chase's bowl of cereal and getting himself covered in milk!

Him freaking Kelli out every time he flew by her (you have never seen 6 feet hit the floor so fast!)

Most of all, we will miss his sweet personality and all the love he brought to our family. He truly was one of a kind!