Happy Halloween

Family 'Home' Evening

Fia talked Cannon into dressing up with her.
Sage, Alexa and Brylin being silly.

Tonight, we took the kids over to Grandma and Grandpa Skidmore's house for "family home evening", aka, the Broncos were playing the Packers. It is always lots of fun over there and, I don't know about your kids, but mine are in heaven when they're running around with their cousins. We now have 13 kids on the Skidmore side of our family. Good thing Grandma and Grandpa built such a big house!

Funny Baby Shirts!

I found a new website this week that has really cute baby shirts and onesies. There is a black one that has a big green frog and says 'Oh, snap'. And another that says 'Old School' next to a big diaper pin. Super Cute! The web address is trendytadpole.com. Check it out.

It's Almost Zoo Weather.

Lila loves Oreos!

Today, my sister, Sara, and I took Sofia, Lila, Cal, and Elle to the zoo. We were anticipating it being pleasant, but, if you've stepped outside today you know that it's already 90 degrees and full sunshine. That's not bad weather normally, to me, but, it always seems so much hotter at the zoo.

But, enough complaining from me. The kids had lots of fun. Sofia especially liked the baby orangutan. He's very cute. The first time my nephew, Cal, saw the baby orang, he said, "that monkey looks like me,". He's right. It does look a lot like him.

We Got Boo-d!

Sunday night, we got Boo-d. I love getting Boo-d because it provides me with an opportunity to "create" treats. And notice, I said me. I let the kids think that they're making the treats, but I maintain full control. I'm not one of those moms who can just allow my kids to be creative. That means the project will turn out messy and I have issues with that.

So when it's time to make something like these Halloween treats, my kids say, "Can I help?" And I say, "Sure" then I stall until they ask again.

But, in my defense, I am getting better. The kids did the gummies, and candies all by themselves. They did a good job, huh?

PUMPKIN THIEVES!

I hate carving pumpkins anyway, but for two years now, our pumpkins have been stolen. What's up with that? It's really our fault because of where we built our house. I love being up against state land, but out here there is a reality of wild animals. We have seen coyotes, javalina families, raccoons, hawks, mice, rats, rattlesnakes, and even a bobcat all in our neighborhood.

Last year I tried to be Martha Stewart and stack a bunch of big, cool pumpkins by my front door. Within a week, they were devoured, huge mess of pumpkin guts all over my walkway. But this year, the culprits were much cleaner. The pumpkin was just gone, no longer where it had been next to my tin ghost. So I wandered into the yard a little and saw paw prints. Then, I looked down into our wash and saw the remains of a coyote that had apparently lost in the battle over the stupid pumpkin.

I swear, this is the last year I put out a pumpkin.

Lila

This is my first post about Lila. She is 9 months now. I can't believe how time flies. Lila is finally almost fully recovered from her surgery. She was born with a cleft pallette and just had her surgery to close it. The surgery was completely successfull and her mouth looks awesome. Thankfully, all of the work was on the inside of her mouth and she should be completely normal from here on out.

She is the most wonderful and sweet baby, truely. We are blessed with an easy one pulling up the rear of our little family.

DISCO FEVER

Since I just started my blog, I have to go back a little bit. Sometimes life doesn't just have bright lights at the end of dark tunnels, but lamps or torches along the way. My mom had been bedridden since early summer with an advanced stage of pancreatic cancer, so Casey's 30th birthday was a welcome event in our family. I threw him a surprise disco party. (Get it? He was born in '78, the year Saturday Night Fever came out.) He totally knew what I was doing, but he played dumb. THANKS, BABE. I had a blast, mainly shopping for the outfits (thanks to Marissa and Dori). But, tha party was awesome, too. We karaoked all night and Best costume went to my sis-in-law, Brittny. She looked pretty hot in her red vinyl jumpsuit , (pretty racey for the wife of a bishop!)

Casey would call this " one more thing to spend $ on".

Does anybody else love Department 56's Halloween Village? Each year we add a piece to our collection. This year we added Dead Creek Mill. It's just one of life's little enjoyments for me.

How do I love fall... let me count the ways.

Today feels like fall. When we were driving to church this morning, my car read the outside temp to be in the 70's. The fall has a certain smell that permeates the air. I don't know what it is, but, it's that smell that makes me want to be outside all day long.
Last night was my 10 year high school reunion. Crazy! I'm officially an old lady. It was fun to see people that I've lost touch with over the years, but even more fun to hang out with all of the people that still mean so much to me, today. My mom's passing has really brought to light the importance of good friends. For a while, I thought that friends were so much less important once you were married and had children that took up all of your time. Now I recognize that it is my friends that I NEED right now. It was my friends that brought me meals when I hadn't the strength to be a mom. It was my friends who took my babies for the days when I needed a break. And it is my friends who still are asking me on a daily basis if I'm alright and what they can do to help me. My point is, a good husband, like I've got, and wonderful kids, like I've got, can't be beat. But, friends are awesome. Thank you to everyone who has loved me and my family over the last couple of months.