My Best Friend...

Happy Birthday, Shannon!

I love her because...

she always plays with me, even when she's 8 months pregnant and it's 107 degrees outside!

we share our talents with eachother and learn from eachother. We traded tennis for mountain biking, computer skills for sewing skills, and many other things.

she is always in a good mood.

she makes me pee my pants laughing at least once a year! (Unfortunately, this is usually at her expense - like her tumbling down a hill on her mountain bike as she is trying to teach me to "trust my bike" or her skipping across the water like 15 times while waterskiing)

she is an awesome mother and wife. I adore her family.

we support each other, encourage each other, help each other, teach each other and always have fun doing it!

Happy Birthday!

This year we tried to go country for our pumpkin picking. We went to a farm and took a tractor ride out the the pumpkin fields. It was sort of cute and had it been a few weeks ago it may have been really cute. But with all the gorgeous weather we have been having this month we were pretty much scavengering through a field full of rotten pumpkins with just a few left for the picking.

Seriously, these were the best of the bunch. Pretty slim pickings!

It was pretty!

And here are the finished products!
Frankenstein - Crew
Skeleton - Caden
Dracula - Chase

I am SO glad pumpking carving day is done! What a disaster!

Growing Up

My little baby is growing up! Yesterday he came running upstairs, soaking wet (he was just in the shower), mouth full of blood, screaming (with excitement, not terror) "I lost my tooth, I lost my tooth"! This is his first tooth he has ever lost so it was quite the event. The tooth fairy brought him 5 dollars! So much for the days of being excited to get a shiny quarter under your pillow. The most exciting part - he finally gets to be put on the "who lost a tooth" chart in his classroom!

Haunted Forest

This year, the daddy's took the kids to the Haunted Forest for their annual freak out. This was Caden's first year so we were a bit nervous about how he would handle it. He was scared, but did fine.
Chase, on the other hand, got himself so worked up that he puked a bunch of times before they went in. This is starting to become a tradition for him. He talks it up for weeks before, only to absolutely freak out once he's there and then he says he loves it once its over.
Geoff said there was a bunch of fog in the air so it was hard to take pictures.
I wish Myla's face didn't get cut off. I think this shows the kids reactions pretty good. Boston and Myla seem fine, Caden is a little nervous, and Chase just looks out of it!
I was SO bummed I couldn't go with them! There's always next year to traumatize them again!

Thanksgiving Point

We had such a fun day at Thanksgiving Point yesterday. Well, the kids did at least. I think my mind is ready to do things but my body is not quite cooperating yet. I was exhausted by the end of the day and in need of a hot shower. But I love to see my boys running around, having a blast with their friends. I just wish I could run with them.

The slide was Crew's favorite. He must have done it 20 times!

Bri and Myla

Dub and Caden

Chase and Crew 

Hayes, Olivia, and Crew

KJ's favorite was the water pumps

KJ and Caden bouncing

Caden Flipping

Crew and Chase on the Cow Train

Chase was pretty mortified to have to go this but Crew LOVED it!

The Bull Riding (and the Corn Maze) was the Favorite of the Big Kids

Chase

Caden

Dub

Bri

Myla

Pumpkin Tower

I love girls!

My Sweet Caden!

My Caden was the sweetest, easiest baby in the world.....

He was the most angelic looking and acting toddler......

Recently he has been, hum, how can I put this kindly........
crazy

with attitude!

But yesterday he reminded me of the Caden of old. He had a hole in his tooth from a filling that had popped out. I took him to the dentist but the dentist was behind schedule (surprise, surprise). I was a little stressed because I thought we were going to be late to pick up Chase from scouts. He told the dentist not to numb him or give him gas. The dentist looked at me kind of shocked and I told him it was ok to try it and see how he would handle it. The sweet thing stayed there so still for 15 minutes and didn't complain or shed even one tear. When we got in the car he asked if we could go home and get his wallet and go to the mall. I said sure, thinking he wanted to reward himself with a little toy. But he surprised me when he said he wanted to get Chase these football shoes he has been wanting and surprise him with the present by the time he got home from scouts.

That child has a heart as pure as gold! That made up for all (well, most) of the things he does that drive me crazy! Love him dearly .... so glad he's mine!

Fall

I LOVE this time of year! The change of seasons, the bright colors in the mountains, the beginning of the holidays.... What a great time to live in Utah and enjoy the outdoors. It's just killing me that I can't go biking right now!

Nip and Tuck - One Week Later

So, as most of you know, I had a tummy tuck last week. I had finally lost all of my chubby baby weight and Geoff and I have decided that 3 boys is enough so it was time to have the "stretchy skin" (as my children have so lovingly named it) removed. A few days before the surgery I totally started freaking out but still wanted to go through with it. Tuesday morning I had the procedure done. It is about a 3 hour surgery that requires an overnight stay. After the surgery, I felt like death. I was like "I can't believe I did this to myself willingly!" But by that night I was getting up to go to the bathroom myself and even took some short walks. I came home on Wednesday all jacked up - a pain pump around my neck with 2 tubes feeding down from my chest to my stomach, 2 large drains with bags that needed to be stripped and cleaned every 4 hours, breathing exercises, oxygen monitor, and about 4 different pills. The first few days were rough, but I did everything they told me. I even woke up every 2 hours through the night to walk around a little bit (I was paranoid of blood clots). One of the worst pains has been my back. I made the last minute decision to let him lipo my flanks (think love handles) even though I didn't really need it. My doctor said it was free with the surgery and gives a great overall look and he barely needed to do any. I found out yesterday that the reason it is so painful was because I didn't need it done. My doctor said if you have a lot of fat, the needle just slides in and out. But with me he had to squeeze my back really hard to create a pocket of fat to lipo. So lesson learned, the less lipo you need, the more painful it is. In hindsight, I would not have had this done. My lower back looks like someone beat me severely with a baseball bat! By the weekend I was functioning much better. I had the pain pack and tubes removed which took a lot of pressure off my neck and I was even able to shower and shave my legs. Monday, I went into the office and had my drains removed and the stitches around my new cute bellybutton. I am back to somewhat functioning (cooking, cleaning, getting myself and the kids ready). The pain is manageable, I only need one pain pill a day around 3 when I am just so exhausted. I still couldn't do it without help because of all the attention Crew needs and it is still impossible for me to lift him. Thankfully I have Kara and McCall who come everyday to help my keep my sanity. Geoffrey has been a great help throughout and has really stepped up taking care of Crew. My mother in law, Kay, was such a blessing to me the day of my surgery and my mom came for the weekend to take care of me and the boys. I think she might sleep for a week straight now!
Now I would definitely say it is worth it. Only one week of down time and actually it was only about 3 days of misery. I am still hunched over a bit and I have to sit and sleep a little awkward. I have to wear a girdle for 6 weeks. Good thing its fall so I can get away with sweats every day!
Thanks to all of my friends who have lifted my spirits, brought me meals, and taken care of my boys. If anyone is thinking of having this done I would highly recommend my doctor, Dr Rose, and I would say to make sure you are in shape before the surgery and keep a positive attitude throughout.

Getting Ready For Halloween

I love this time of year! Last week, before my surgery, I decorated the kids room for Halloween and set out their costumes, treat bags, and some Halloween goodies. They were so excited when they got home from school! Their bunk beds are always so fun to decorate because they are like little house. You can't tell in the picture, but I strung orange lights around their beds and the crazy skeleton and witch scream and light up as you pass.