Halloween 2013

Halloween.  My most dreaded holiday every year.  The kids LOVE the Halloween Fairy, so, the uber-practical side of me says, "why not talk them out of even dressing up and just hand over their pajamas at the beginning of October?"  But, then, I remember they are kids and they LOVE to dress up, so, I can't be a total scrooge and take all the fun away.  

So, this year (2 years in a row!), I decided to go with a family costume again.  I made the girls poodle skirts when Morgan was in Kindergarten (for 50's day), and, they are starting to get a little snug, so, we hurried up squeezed one more wear out of them!  And, with felt on sale, and 50% off coupons, I was able to make my skirt for under $10.  Add some tulle ribbon for scarves and bows, and we were good to go!  

Here we are just before the ward party.  It's a lot of fun--a chili cook-off, and the youth set up a bunch of carnival games for the kids.  Too many cupcakes, too many temporary tattoos, but, lots and lots of fun!

Morgan and her friend, Eliza, from school.

Carson was drawn to the speaker, playing (way too) loud Halloween hits!

Then, there was Daddy's work party.  We have 3 of about 25 kids in the entire office, and everyone loves to decorate and pass out candy to the trick-or-treaters, so, the kids scored way too much!

This year, they did a photo booth, and this is my favorite picture.  I wish the quality were better because I'd love to frame this!

After only 2 nights, these kids had more candy than they knew what to do with!  After all, Morgan only got 7 pieces, Sadie 5, and Carson 2.  That meant a LOT for the Halloween Fairy.

By the week BEFORE Halloween, the kids were done.  After Daddy's work party, they asked if I could call the Halloween Fairy and ask her to come early this year.  They would leave all their candy from trick-or-treating with the Hursts in Arizona.  And, since they came up with the plan all on their own, the Halloween Fairy came early, bringing new pajamas!  

And, they still went Trick-or-Treating with the Hursts when we went to Phoenix!

October in a Nutshell

We have a general rule in our house that when you turn five, you are too big to ride in the stroller.  On occasion, we let that rule slide (tantrums trump to save my sanity!).  So, we improvise, and, Carson climbs in the bottom of the stroller.  

So, are we playing basketball, baseball, or dress up??

"My Chew-yo!"  (I'm regretting ever sharing my Costco treat with this cute boy.)

When the only TV is in mommy and daddy's room, and, there's a HUGE cabinet in the living room, where you normally play...you spend a lot of time on mommy and daddy's bed watching Disney Channel.

Papa Dale and Grammy Tammy BBQ'd in Dana Point, so we went down and camped overnight.  Complete with a tent, sleeping bags, and s'mores!

Carson is always looking for an opportunity to build something!

On the first, cold, rainy day of fall, this is how I found Carson napping.  (Hey, he was asleep!)

Just doing homework.

 I've been promising the kids we can get an ice cream if we make it back to Main Street without tantrums.  After 6 months of Disney passes, I finally paid up.  And, boy, was I glad! (The trick is to leave without squeezing in one.more.ride.)

We love it when the Hursts come to town!  Disneyland fun!

Sadie has been watching a particular movie lately.

I went to a bridal shower for my cousin and had the wonderful opportunity of seeing my great-aunts! I love Aunt Barbara and Aunt Joy!

Carson decided he was too big for diapers.  So, he started potty training.  It went well for a few days, but, now, it's a struggle.  And, just for the record, I learned my lesson with the first two about potty training young.  I did NOT initiate this one!

Morgan cracks me up!  She's always curious about what it was like "way back in the nineteens!"  So, she asked her dad a few questions and wrote a little report about it.

This guy could do Thomas puzzles all day long. (And, some days, he does!)

Another Disney trip.  We will sure miss our passes!

 I just love his smile in this picture.  Love my Carson Dude!

For Halloween, we were in Arizona.  We went trick-or-treating with the Hursts.  Such a fun time!  (More on Daddy's work party, the Halloween Fairy and the ward trunk-or-treat later.)

September Happenings

Daddy happened to work late on Talk Like a Pirate Day, so we headed over to Krispy Kreme for some FREE donuts!  (After waiting in line 45 minutes, I was lucky to get this picture!)

Grammy Tammy sent the kids home with a Spooky Box.  The kids loved playing with their masks and the game!  Thanks!

I learned that Carson can now open the refrigerator, and, have relocated the milk.  :)

I FINALLY made it to the 21st century!  Brian promised (5+ years ago) when he passed his FINAL actuarial exam (results came in July!), I could get a smart phone.  Then, rumors started to spread that the new iPhone would be released in September.  So, I (im)patiently waited for its release!  I LOVE the 5s!  The finger touch feature is awesome!  (right: the evolution of cell phones in our family)

  Papa Dale loaned us his little BBQ.  On Sunday afternoons, Brian enjoys cooking a nice dinner on the grill.  We started a new tradition and, when Daddy BBQ's, we have s'mores!

Carson hasn't quite perfected the art of dressing himself, but, he's trying!

Good Breakfast Food

A few months ago, while Brian and I celebrated our 10th Anniversary with a Stay-cation, we discovered a couple of delicious breakfast joints here in OC.  I'm a BIG lover of breakfast food.  I could eat it every meal of the day.  And, then again, for dessert.

Anyway, I forgot to get pictures when we went to Stacks in Dana Point.  But, let me tell you. It was good.  Even when Brian made me go for a morning run up-hill from our hotel to get there.  It was worth the run!  They have coconut syrup.  Need I say more?

The second place we discovered is Cinnamon Productions.  They have fresh-squeezed orange juice.  Fresh-squeezed!  Of course I didn't get any pictures the first time here, but, we had to take the Jones' when they were in town, so I have a few pics to share from that trip.  

And, then, there was our most recent trip with a few of Sadie's friends from school.  Only in Southern California, will you find children playing in the splash pad in November!

A Few Takeaways from General Conference

I know these are getting posted way late, as Conference was almost 2 months ago.  But, I had made note of these and snapped a picture with my phone so I wouldn't forget the following thoughts:


"It is our duty to try to be perfect,...to improve each day, and look upon our course last week and do things better this week; do things better today than we did them yesterday." President Lorenzo Snow, quoted by Elder Ulisses Soares in his talk, Be Meek and Lowly of Heart  
click for full talk

*This thought really spoke to me, as I'm trying to find a balance between forcing Morgan to practice the piano, and encouraging her to have a desire.  She always comes home from her lesson frustrated because she can't play her new material.  And, I've started breaking the pieces down into manageable sections so she doesn't feel overwhelmed.  
*I've also been giving a lot of thought to our family motto.  And, given our personalities, I think this one seems to suit us all pretty well.  We don't need to be perfect today, just better than we were yesterday.

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"Parents today wonder if there is a safe place to raise children.  There is a safe place.  It is in a gospel-centered home.  We focus on the family in the Church, and we counsel parents everywhere to raise their children in righteousness."  President Boyd K. Packer, The Key to Spiritual Protection
click for full talk

*This one caught my attention, because, at the time, Sadie was struggling to find her place--both at school and at home.  For those of you that are the middle child, you can very well relate to the Middle Child Syndrome.  We had considered pulling her out of school and homeschooling for Kindergarten, hoping that would give her a little bit more confidence and attention that she was so desperately screaming for.  Ultimately, we decided to keep her at school, but, have created a modified homework schedule with her, so she gets daily, one-on-one attention from just mom.  And, that has helped tremendously!

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"Make scripture reading a part of your regular routine, and the blessings will follow.  There is in the scriptures a voice of warning, but there is also great nourishment....Children taught an understanding of the scriptures early in life will come to know the path they should walk and will be more inclined to remain on that path." President Boyd K. Packer, The Key to Spiritual Protection
click for full talk

*I have noticed a big difference in my life when I read my scriptures regularly and when I don't.  I'm not perfect, so, unfortunately, I have a comparison.  But, one thing Brian and I, as parents, are working really hard on is reading the scriptures with our kids every night (once again, not perfect).  I love it when we read from the scriptures and my kids then tell me the story because they are familiar with it.  It's one of those "Proud Mommy" moments.  

Sadie's First Tooth

One week into the kindergarten (September 17th), Sadie Bug lost her FIRST tooth!  She was so excited about it!  

She had remembered that we went out to dinner to celebrate Morgan's first tooth, so, of course, we went out to celebrate hers as well.  Grammy and Grandpa were already planning to come up for the evening, so, she called to invite them to a gourmet dinner at Taco Bell.  (To say this kid LOVES bean burritos is a major understatement!)

Morgan was so cute about it.  Rather than throwing a fit (which I was expecting) about the Tooth Fairy coming for Sadie and not her, she wrote a sweet note to the Tooth Fairy asking to give Sadie double money, since it was her first tooth and she's short a tooth (Sadie only had 3 baby teeth come in on the bottom).  So, of course, the Tooth Fairy obliged (after digging through the car, her wallet and the spare change jar to come up with the extra funds).

Here she is, showing off her (toothless) grin!

(And, one short week later, you will notice a drastic improvement in picture quality--my iPhone 5s arrived!)

A Not-So-Simple Home Improvement Project

As I've mentioned, once school started, things seemed to spiral out of control.  And, here we are, in November, and, I'm finally, this week, feeling like life is back to normal.  Part of it came from having 2 in school this year and a quirky Kindergarten schedule.  Part of it came from pinching my sciatic nerve 2 weeks into the school year (6 weeks later, the numbness finally dissipated).  And, part of it came from the following story:

Whenever you move into a new place, you usually bring the furniture from your old place with you.  Sometimes, you luck out, and everything fits into the new space.  Other times, not so much.  

The latter was the case with our new house.  When we moved in, we had no choice, but to arrange our furniture like this:

We still had a tiny 32" TV (which, was the perfect size for our last house!), and, now needed to use the 3rd bedroom for more than an office.  So, we stuck a bookcase and computer cabinet in the media niche, with another bookshelf along the wall, next to the couch.  {I'm taking this picture while sitting on the couch, so you can see the bookshelf in the mirror.}  TACKY.  There's really no other way to describe it.

The very first time I walked into this house, I knew it was home.  At the same time, I knew something would need to be done in the media niche space.  

Fast forward one year, and we sold our house in Colorado (yay!), and Brian passed his FINAL Actuarial Exam (bigger yay!).  Brian and I had made a deal that I could have some of the money from selling the house for a home improvement project and he could get a huge TV when he passed his exam.  

So, I started looking all over the internet to find ideas for our media niche space.  And, I decided exactly what I wanted.  

We hired someone to build our cabinet and an electrician so we could hang the TV above the fireplace.  Everything went well....for about 2 weeks.  And, then, our contractor got hurt.  At that point, we had already moved the bookshelves and cabinets in preparation for the install.  We had also purchased the new 60" TV, which, Brian had pulled in and out of the box twice now, to watch BYU Football.  

With the electrical done, we were at least able to hang the new TV.

 Lucky for us, we have LOTS of counter space in the kitchen!  Our bar became our "office" during this whole process.

 And, here, Carson is helping build the Ikea bedroom furniture, which, for almost 6 weeks, sat in boxes in our bedroom.  (We were waiting to finish the project downstairs before working on the upstairs, but, had bought the furniture when it was on sale.)

 After several weeks of putting us off, our contractor finally brought over the cabinets.  However, there was a catch--He wasn't able to do the install.  We would have to find someone else to do it.  So, we called around and found a carpenter friend to help us.  Only, he was on vacation that week and wouldn't be back until early the following week.  So, for 10 days, our custom cabinet rested in the Living Room.  (Here's where I brag that I have AWESOME kids, because they didn't touch this enticing jungle gym the entire time!!  They were fabulous!)


Here's the finished project.  This photo was taken during the day, so I don't have all the fancy lights turned on, but there are spotlights up top and an under cabinet computer light.    It turned out perfect!

Here's the whole wall, finished.   Since this project took so long, I also found lots of new homes for the toys that used to line the fireplace.  :)