2008 Halloween Photo Shoot!!

Halloween Time

Every year my Mother in Law buys our children the absolute best Halloween costumes ever! We love her - thank you!!! My kids look forward to it every year. Since we have never lived close to grandma, she calls and gives the kids a website that they can order their costumes from. They spend hours - HOURS - looking at which costume they like the best. Some kids use their costumes once or twice a year however my kids literally live in their costumes for weeks. They spend hours playing dress up. The boys are usually ninjas, knights the usual. Taylor - or course always a princess. This year she wanted to be Belle, but it was sold out so she became our "Southern Belle" the costume is so fun, and she is wearing it out. It has a little hoop on the bottom and she is constantly tripping, I shouldn't laugh, but it's so funny to see her dancing around and then **BAM** on the ground.

Last night we went to our first Halloween party at the church called a Trunk or Treat. Tye ran from car to car packing his bag full of candy. Taylor hit maybe 10 cars and then got to tired to walk (trick or treating should be so fun, good thing Aunt Karry will be there to carry her). Tate went to one car, got a nestle crunch bar and then came back and helped me pass out candy. I passed out 4 huge bags from Sams Club and went through everything!!! Afterwards Tate started crying because he didn't get any candy, you can never win. The only thing he kept saying was "At least I got one crunch bar." (which are his favorite) I kept telling him we will have plenty more opportunities for candy, but of course he doesn't believe me! By the time we got home Wes carried all the kids into their beds, of course we didn't bother taking off the costumes, we thought they would be fine.....until.....I found Tate's costume on the living room floor, smelling of....you guessed it... urine! Oh, it stunk so bad, but it's washed, cleaned and packed for Las Vegas! We fly out today at 3:00. Four days in CA and then 5 in LV - I'm so excited!!!!

Just Life....

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenk's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children. I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed someone's garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and the tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived. "-Marjorie Hinckley

This is my new favorite quote, I found it on my friend Mindy T. blog and loved it, anyone who knows Mindy knows she lives by this quote...love you Mindy! Anyway I just related, probably because I'm guilty of being the girl at the beginning of the quote, not not the one at the end. But I'm trying!!!!

Although our week hasn't been full of fun events or life changing moments it's been a good week. I was in charge of a carnival for mutual - which turned out awesome! We've had special guest day at the boys school, Tye did good at singing, but he's too cool to sing right now. Tate on the other hand really busted a move, he was so hilarious to watch. I need to learn how to download video - you would die laughing, he's such a character! Taylor had dance, Tye at scouts, we joined the YMCA, registered the boys for basketball, I volunteered for a day in Tye's class, worked with Wes almost everyday, have not cleaned my house for the week...its scheduled for tomorrow along with the missionaries for dinner and taking Taylor to get her pictures done. Saturday football games, scouting for food, a trunk or treat at church and the most important...packing for our trip. We are going to Newport Beach and Disneyland and Las Vegas for 10 days! I can't wait, although I wish Wes was coming with us. Unfortunately he has to stay and work, it reminds me of my Dad, always working so we could enjoy life. I wish I would have appreciated my parents more when I was younger, it's not until your a parent that you realize how hard of a job it is! Love you Mom & Dad!

Well enough rambling...I better get down and check the basement, I gave the boys permission to build a fort and haven't heard from them in about an hour, that only means one thing. I"M IN TROUBLE~ I'm just trying to remember the quote, take a deep breath before I open my eyes to the disaster and try to remember I'm trying to be the mom with peanut butter on her shirt, not the one with the clean house! Heaven help Me!

Living with Miss Taylor

As Many of you know life with Taylor can be quite comical. I started writing down all the funny things she does and says...I thought you might get a laugh. Let's start with the picture below.

At the festival last week the kids were standing in line at the Fishing booth...not to my surprise when Tye & Tate fishing line came across they both had a pair of vampire teeth. When Taylor's came across it was bubbles. Any little girl would prefer bubbles...not Taylor, you can imagine the fit she threw....needless to say we stood in line again, and mom helped the fishing booth get it right!

Taylor Loves bath...(maybe because she see's her mom all the time)..The other day I was getting ready and she was playing around, then all of the sudden stood up, put her hands on her hips and said "Get me Out of Here....I'm getting Sprinkly"

Many times when you hand some one a drink they ask..."How full is it?". Not Taylor, it's "How deep is it?"

We have a rule that the kids can't leave the table until their food is gone, (Usually they never stick to it, but it was the rule when I was little and anyone who knows my past figure growing up knows I had no problem with this rule) Anyway the other night I put dinner out, then went in my room and started something, about 10 minutes later Taylor walked in. I asked her "Did you finish your dinner?".... Response: No, but I swooshed everything around.

When my mom came to visit last week Taylor and I headed to Milwaukee to pick her up. Since it was my first time to Milwaukee and since the majority of traffic in the country are tractors and farm equipment, I'm a little out of the loop in large city traffic. I had to change freeways 3 times, and I got a little lost. Taylor started complaining and I finally told her...well mom's a little lost. She started crying so I said "Taylor what do we do when we are lost?" she answered "I don't know" then I said, "We say a prayer and ask for help"...her response..."Just CALL Jesus mommy, it's faster...I said Mommy can't call Jesus ....she said ...Yes you can your phones right there, just call him mommy...if I only could!

We were getting ready for bed and Wes told Taylor she needed to get her pajamas on, she came back out with her Scriptures instead and asked "Are we reading slippers tonight?"

Not to any one's surprise we have a new member of our family. "A new Titty" Remember when I delivered carmel corn to all my neighbors, While we were visiting one neighbor I noticed how many cats they had and politely commented on the number. THEY HAVE 18! (They are not kittens either) I had the kids with me and we told them that we left our kittens in AZ because they couldn't survive the trip. The next morning at a quarter to 7, I hear a knock at my door. You can imagine, although it was not one of their 18 cats, they found this little black one for Taylor. It is a cute kitten, that's not the problem. The problem is everywhere we go Taylor will say "I have a new Titty". The other day I let her bring it to work and one of our workers walked in, a male of course and she said. "I have a new Titty...he just looked around and asked..excuse me?...she said again..I have a new Titty...this time he looked at me and began to blush....he looked at her again and said...one more time...this time she looked right at him..raised her voice and in slow motion yelled....I.....HAVE....A.....NEW....TITTY! He finally looked at me, blushing terribly...I pointed to the cat and he about died of embarrassment. It was pretty funny.

What a Weekend

What a whirlwind of a weekend - I'll give you the breakdown.

Friday:
Wes & I went to Costco. Filled up TWO flatbed carts full of food storage. We have NEVER have had so many people staring at us! We were asked the following questions during our little jont around the store:
1. Do you own a restaurant? (no, but it feels like it...)
2. A man pulled up in a wheel chair and said "You must bake a lot, what kind of flour has the least amount of glutton? (No clue what glutton is,and if I;m spelling it right) I said honestly I don't do that much baking so I'm not sure. He said "than why do you have 150 lbs of flour in your cart?" How do you explain....in case we have a disaster and I have to make little flour cakes so my family won't starve on the prairie!
3. Do you guys have 10 Kids? my response..(although I might look like I have 10 kids because of the beautiful bags under my eyes...we really only have 3!)

The best I might add, is after we were done I needed a treat, like usual (we seriously filled Wes's entire truck bed - honestly it was unreal) We went through a drive thru, I ordered a shake, went to the pick up window and the guy took my money, looked in the back of the truck, did a double take and then opened back up the window and asked if we were preparing for the Apocalypse...I just busted up laughing. If Wes & I were in Utah, Idaho or even AZ people would know we are getting our food storage, but here we are freaks preparing for the Apocalypse.

After unloading we headed off to the Boo and the Zoo, which actually turned into BOO ZOO, until the haunted hay ride. Seriously we went to the Zoo and there were no animals, I was starting to think what a waste of money I think I can count how many animals we saw on 2 hands, and five of those were little animals in glass exhibits. Anyway afterwards we went on this hay ride. I had NO idea it was haunted, but I learned the hard way. I hate scary things....HAtE scary things, they scare me! But I was tough because my kids were scared, once I caught on I was fine...but the first couple people...weirdos! It turned out to be a really fun night.... (Notice the picture to the left...I'm wearing my brand new Parka..I look like I'm in a Fat suit, but I'm going to be warm!)

Saturday:
Of course our usual Sat. Morning Football games, the boys played great and Tate caught his first kick off return and ran it back to the 50 yard line...pretty good for little Tater bugs. Afterwards came home and Wes & the boys went Riding. Every since we got the barn done, the kids ride the horses all the time, which I 'm happy about. Around noon we had some friends over and BBQ hamburgers and then headed to a festival in Little Chutte. It was a little Danish festival. They had a little carnival, cotton candy - which we inhaled -and a bunch of little booths about the Dutch. Later that night I didn't want to cook so we headed to Texas Roadhouse for Dinner - which turned out to be a mess - our kids were tired and Tate literally fell asleep in the restaurant, probably not the best idea of the weekend -I didn't even enjoy my steak dinner that I have been craving!

Sunday - I woke up at the crack of dawn - notice the picture of the sunrise - (not sunset) and started making Carmel corn for all of our neighbors. I found these cute bowls at Target, but needed something fun to put in. I then got a whim that I wanted to make Sugar cookies and started them. Around 10 I realized I had ward council meeting, break the fast potluck dinner after church and a lesson to prepare and had 1 hour to get out the door. Big Mistake...huge....church was terrible, our kids were so bad in Sacrament meeting and everyone was in a bad mood.

The night just got worse, definitely not a Sunday "Love at Home" kind of night!

So today started....Disastrous! I got so tired of fighting the kids to get ready for school that I chased them out of the house with a broom, threw their backpacks, shoes, lunches out the door and told them to find a new ride to school that I was quitting being a Mom and they were in charge of their selves. I knew they would walk over to the ranch and Wes would take them to school so I wasn't too worried. I spent the next couple hours listening the BYU radio network putting myself back together, Wes came home for lunch....made everything better, I spent the rest of the afternoon on conference calls with our Corporate Office proposing a new payroll policies that will help our employees and still be cost effective.....(I won, it's a good thing....I might loose my mind again and pull out the old broom!!!!)

And here I am, past 10 o'clock (which is pretty amazing for me) and trying to figure out how I am possibly going to accomplish everything that I have scheduled to do in the next 48 Hours!!! Mutual, scouts, field trips, dance, presidency meetings, helping a friend and my list goes on and on, even at dinner tonight I telling everybody what we have going on as a family and Tate turned to me and said "Are we done with your schedule, I want to play!" I just looked at him and thought, so do I...so do I!