Normal Friday

Today was more back to normal--Eliza went to school, Libby went to preschool. While they were gone, Ellie, Hattie and I were home. I got ready, gave Ellie a bath, tried to keep Ellie out of the pantry and fridge. I've had to rig a "lock" on the pantry. We have a child lock thing, but that little stinker found that if she wiggled the handle up and down really fast, it would open the door (even when the guard was in the lock position!). So now I have a book wedged underneath so she can't open it. We'll see how long that takes her to figure it out.

We picked up Libby from school, took Carson home, then went to Eliza's school to give her drops. Then we made a trip to Costco for formula, plates for the retreat, chicken nuggets, and to pick up some pictures. It went smoothly!

We came home, ate lunch and played out front until it was time to get Eliza. When we came home, Ellie took a nap and Eliza and Lib did their chores and helped me fold laundry. Brian came home early so I could have a little "me" time. I didn't have much time, but I got a chance to see my sister-in-law and Amy at the hospital. They decided on Gwen for her middle name. LOVE that! She is a doll.

I raced to pick up Sarah, then I came home and got ready. Our date night included L and E tonight. We went to dinner, then went to the musical that our stake put on at church. It was called Another Witness, which was about the Book of Mormon as being another witness of Jesus Christ. It was great. The talent in our stake is just amazing! On the way home we got ice cream cones at McDonald's. I think they had a fun time with us.

I did some work, and now I am staying up WAY too late watching the Osmond Reunion on Oprah. It's so fun. I just saw this on Donny's website--nice that it's all on one page! I'm not like crazy over them, but I do enjoy them and liked their talk show when it was on. I also love their BIG family reunion. They got over 100 of them to Chicago from Salt Lake. There were strollers and car seats everywhere!

Tomorrow starts early at Super Saturday, so I'd better head to bed!

Past Few Days

I don't like to wait so long in between posts because then I have too much to catch up on. So let me start catching up.

Monday:
Preschool. School. Played outside. Brian had a bike here that they had fixed for Kiwanis club. So I hopped on and rode some with Libby. They thought it was so funny! I guess the fact that it was an old lady bike with a basket on the front might make it pretty funny! It was fun though. I miss riding a bike. And no--you don't forget how to ride!

My mom picked Eliza up from school and they went to Target together. Eliza loved it. That night was family home evening and Eliza taught a lesson about kindness and she compared it to a flower.

Tuesday:
My mom's birthday!!! Happy birthday mom!!

Karolyn's birthday, too. Some of us went to Becky's for soup and rolls to celebrate with her. It was a fun time.

Made roast for dinner.

After dinner we went to Cold Stone to celebrate my mom's birthday. Nothing like ice cream to celebrate!

My visiting teachers came over at about 8:45 and helped me tie tags on the girls' welcome gift for the retreat. It was such a sweet gesture for them. It really meant a lot that they would come over late (when they aren't really late night people like me!) to help me with my big week ahead! Thanks Leslie and Lisa!

Wednesday:
Preschool. School. Outside a lot (again!). I had mutual at night. It was a combined young men/young women activity. We went around collecting canned food. After I got home I worked a bunch on Heidi's class.

Eliza has pink eye AGAIN. So we've been doing drops again.

Thursday:
Eliza stayed home because she hadn't been on medicine for 24 hours. Eliza, Libby and Ellie played a lot this morning. After lunch we went to my parents' house to see their home remodel. It looks great!!! There is so much more room after taking down just one wall. They also got an awesome table from Potato Barn. It's huge and will seat us all when we come over.

This afternoon we went out front again. I've been sitting out there ready A Thousand Splendid Suns. It's the first book of the BPS Reading Room next year. It's a really good book; hard to put down!

Tonight I made Quick Stroganoff out of our new ward cookbook. It was pretty good. I took Eliza and Libby to Kirkland's. I found a green tin thing that I am going to try in our kitchen. It'll add a splash of color I think.

This morning Ellie climbed out of her crib. She fell out pretty hard and I think it scared her, so hopefully she doesn't try it again. I can't deal with that right now!! Her naps are my saving grace during the day.

My sister-in-law Laura had her baby today. Amy is her name. She is the same size as Hattie was: 7 lb. 7 oz. I want to try to see her tomorrow.

I'll end with a picture I snapped on our family picture night. And one that Terri took--I love it!

Are You Listening?

It's November--are you listening to Christmas music yet? I am!! My girls are!(Brian's not!) We kicked off the music mania by downloading one of our favorite Christmas CD--Stevie Wonder's Someday At Christmas (Brian was excited about that). It's been a favorite for a long time. Years (and years) ago, my mom and I would shop for me at the Esprit store at Biltmore Fashion Park. One time we were there, they were playing that CD and loved it. We asked what it was and went and got it. We've been listening ever since! Check it out. So that CD along with others have been playing in the car and in the house! I love it!!

Friday and Saturday Brian was gone at a fall regional meeting for work, so it was a girls weekend. Friday Eliza and Libby went to school and that evening I took pictures of a good friend and her family. How cute are they?!



Then we came home, had scrambled eggs for dinner and went to bed. I was up early Saturday morning getting ready to go to the youth conference. My babysitter's mom was nice enough to drop her off so I wouldn't have to load everyone up. So I went to that in the morning and got to hear Larry Chesley speak. Ah-ma-zing. ...all he has been through is just crazy! He was a POW in Vietnam for 7 years! Plus he has been through so much more! When my brother received his eagle scout award, they had him come present it to him. But I had never heard him speak before. After his long talk, we colored some pictures for books that will be donate to the humanitarian efforts.

After that, Brian came home and we picked his car up from the mechanic and getting the oil changed. He went to his parents while I did a few errands, then I went to the church to set up for the open house for our new church building. The YW president from Lake Pleasant Ward and I set up the YW room with big flags in the 7 YW value colors, and we set up a couple of tables with various items related to YW. It looked nice and so did all the other displays. But NO ONE came!!!! Well--one family from our ward came, but that is it!!!! That's not what we expected, but oh well! We were prepared. After the open house we went to dinner with our Bishop and his wife. I felt like I was getting another headache, so I didn't feel like eating too much. I came home, took some medicine and went straight to bed. I felt fine this morning. Weird! This morning we went to church. Eliza gave a talk in primary and did a great job. In YW Jessie gave a great lesson about making wise choices. She had Monica Fawson sing "When All is Said and Done." Beautiful! Jessie always brings in music like that and I love it. I need to do better at that. After church we hung out together. Hattie slept for a bit. We put Ellie down but she never slept. Eliza even took a nap. At 4 I went back to the church to practice for the sacrament meeting program we are doing next Sunday. We had dinner at my brother's house after.

Here are some pictures from Eliza's field trip last week.

Halloween

Looks like I have a couple of days to recap again before I post about Halloween.

Monday (in fragments):
School, preschool. Picked Libby up. Dropped Carson off. Terri ended up watching Libby for a little bit. I cruised out to PB Kids at Chandler Mall. I had been meaning to order two quilts for E & L's room, but little miss cheap-o (me) kept putting it off, so I waited. I looked again Sunday night and they were there for the same price ($59.99). I was secretly waiting for them to go a little lower. Monday morning--looked again and swore I would order then. SOLD OUT!!! Just my luck. So I called customer service and yes, they were sold out, but she looked and Chandler mall had 2 left! One was $39.99 and one was a "floor model" (just displayed on a rack) and I got that one for $19.99. Sweet! Guess it pays to be cheap.

Zoomed home, grabbed Libby and went home and waited for Eliza to get home. My parents and brother and his family came over for pizza and playing.

Tuesday: Took Eliza to school. Came home and Libby and Ellie played outside. Then IT HIT ME. I got a migraine. I was letting them play outside before we went to my visiting teaching appointment, then I started getting it. I HATE them!!! I brought them inside and wasn't sure what to do. I thought I could handle it since I had just put Hattie down. But Libby and Ellie weren't wanting me to "take it easy." Brian was out in Tempe at training. I called a couple friends and no one was home. Not to mention I really don't like calling people to help. I don't want to inconvenience them. But after a couple of trips to the bathroom, I decided I'd get some help. Brian ended up calling Julie Peugnet from our ward who lives in our neighborhood and before I knew it she was at my door wondering if three little girls wanted to play. So she watched them until Brian could get home at about 2. What a blessing that was! They had fun over there and I could rest in peace. I ended up laying on my bathroom floor because I needed to be right there more than normal. Yuck, huh?!?! It took all day and last night to shake it. Today has been better--I just can't be crazy and go too fast.

Today: Took Eliza to school. Sent Libby (in her costume) to preschool with Terri. Today was Eliza's field trip that I had volunteered to go on. I was so worried I wouldn't be able to go because of yesterday, but I did go. And I survived. No migraine again, thank goodness!!! And we had a fun time. I was "in charge" of Eliza and another little girl from her class. When we got to Tolmachoff Farms, we went straight to "picking" vegetables. You got to go in the field and see where it's growing, but the produce is just laying on the ground and not attached to any vines/plants. But each person got to "pick" 2 zucchini and 2 cucumbers. Maybe someone should have told the grandma/parent helper next to me. She got her 4 pieces, then proceeded to get more and to really "pick" some squash! I was like--hello?!?!!? They said 4. After a little farming, we went in the corn maze and learned about corn. They said corn is in candy and soda. I guess that makes it healthy. I was happy to learn that! :) Then the kids got to ride the little ladybug "train." Eliza enjoyed that. From there it was lunch time. We brought sack lunches and ate those. Brian had gotten Eliza a tuna salad lunch and she loved it! The farm provided ice cream sandwiches, too. After lunch for about an hour was free time. Eliza and our other girl did more train rides, tried to climb the rope (Eliza actually made it pretty far up!), played in the dry corn, pet the goats, etc. Then it was home! I took Eliza home with me a little early so we could pick up Ellie and Hattie from Brian's mom and Libby from my parents. We came home, tried to catch up from being incapacitated yesterday and played out front. At about 5, we came inside and got ready for Halloween. They looked so cute! We went to a few houses on our street, then went to our Trunk or Treat at church. First was chili dinner and hot dogs for the kids. They played some games, then trick-or-treated around to all the cars. They got so much candy. Ellie loved it, too. By the end, her pumpkin was as heavy as her! We handed out all our candy, too! Tons of kids and tons of fun!







When we got home we tried to curb the candy intake before bed. I think tomorrow I'll be doling it out as a reward for various tasks. I told Libby we'll practice writing her letters and when she does it correctly, she'll get a piece of candy. :) We'll see how it works.

Ok--hopefully I'll be headache free for a few months (years!!)

Full Weekend

Where do I start? Friday would be a good place. Friday was school, preschool, and the regular daily stuff. After preschool, we went to the mall, mainly to go to Bath and Body Works. I was "craving" some of the spicy gingerbread 3-in-1 that I loved last year. They repackaged it as "Sugar and Spice," and I don't think it smells that same. Oh well. I also bought some of the coolest stuff. It's called "Whipped Topping" I think--but it dispenses like Cool Whip, but it's lotion. Libby loved it. After the store, I let Ellie and Libby play in the play center, then we went home. That evening we did our family pictures. I even got to curl Libby (and Ellie's)hair. Libby didn't even complain too much. I told her--this is one time a year when I get to do her hair how I want. She can pick all the other days! She seemed fine with it and I think she really liked having her hair all fancy! I took some at the beginning, then Terri came over and did some family ones. Now I have to decide what will go in the Christmas card!







After pictures we grabbed McDs for the girls, then grabbed Sarah to babysit. For our date we ate at Chevy's. We like the food--especially LOVE the salsa--plus there is never a wait and they bring the food SO fast. Then we went to a couple places in the mall. I need some new jeans for the upcoming winter. I think I have one pair that fits me/that I like, so I knew I couldn't wear them every day. So I tempted myself and went to Buckle, but I didn't cave in. Then we went over to Aeropostale and found some there for 1/4 of the price at the previously mentioned store. I like how they fit, too. After the mall, we went to Target and started thinking about our Christmas shopping and what we are going to get everyone.

On Saturday, Brian took Libby and Eliza for a drive on the Harquahala Mtn. Trail. They drove, hiked, looked at the observatory, ate Lunchables, etc. Mainly, they had a really great time. That left me with Ellie and Hattie, so I got to do some cleaning, baking, playing with Ellie, and going to the mall. I decided to go back to get a few drawing prizes for the retreat.

Saturday night was a lot of fun. We went to my brother's for our annual family Halloween party. It was such a great time! First we met at the park and took pictures of my brother and his family, then we tried to get one of all the grandkids.



From there we went to my brother's and ate dinner--soups, salad, rolls, soda. Yum! Then we did activities for the kids. Kamille did little footprint ghosts with the kids and Dan and Chris brought a pumpkin pinata. That is also a crazy, wild time! Then my parents did the fishpond. The kids got candy bags, sticker book and the cutest PJs. Last was our activity of decorating cupcakes. It was such a great time and all the kids seemed to have a blast! We came home (Libby and Eliza scarfing down candy most of the way!), then it was bed.

This morning I had an early meeting, the Brian brought the girls in time for church. It was a great day at church. Marcy gave the lesson in laurels. It was her first time teaching our class and she did a great job. She said she was so nervous but she had no reason to be!

Tonight we had the Headricks over for dinner. I want to do better about having people over, but it makes me nervous because I feel like I am not an "entertainer" and I worry about everyone liking the food. It went well tonight though. Dinner turned out and everyone liked it. And we had a great time visiting while the kids played. From there, Kari and I left to go to our fireside. Adam Carlini spoke to the youth about preparedness and how we can prepare ourselfes spiritually. He used the Gatorade ad "Is it in you?" to refer to the gospel--Is it in you? How can someone tell that the gospel is "in you." I also loved what he said at the end. For people who lift weights, it's the last few reps that make a difference and make you stronger. Then he related that to it's the last few things we do when we are so tired and just want to go to bed or rest. Do we just go to bed or do we take time to say our prayers and read our scriptures. I really loved that analogy and will work to do those last few "reps."

This week ought to be fun with Eliza's field trip, Halloween, etc! Halloween party pictures will have to come tomorrow--it's not letting me post right now!

Productive Thursday

First--a recap of Wednesday. Libby had preschool. Eliza went to school. She had to have drops but didn't want the nurse to do it. So I stopped by at noon and gave her the drops in the nurses office. In the afternoon we played, went outside, did some grocery shopping at Fry's. Ellie can start going in the play center there in 2 weeks!!!!!!!! Wow. I think Fry's will win over Target for a while. We had a pizza for dinner, then I went off to mutual. The girls made personal progress binders, then we played a get-to-know-you game. It was a blast to play.

Today started early. I had to go to school with Eliza and watch a short volunteer video so I can "volunteer" and go on her field trip next week. Then I came home right after so Brian could go to work. The past couple of days Hattie hasn't been napping too well, so she had to cry a little bit for her morning nap. But the rest of the day has been a dream with her. While she was sleeping, we went out front, then we decided to go to the park. There was supposed to be a park day at Vistancia, but only us and one other mom showed up. But my girls had a great time. Ellie is finally at an age where the park is fun (for me). She can pretty much do everything by herself and I don't have to climb up on the equipment and rescue her. We ate our lunch there, too. Libby really had a great time on one of the "rides". You hang on and it slides back and forth. She LOVED it! From there we came home, gave Hattie another nap and played inside for a bit, then outside of course. Eliza came home and practiced piano, then Ellie took a nap.

My friend Leslie came over with her two kids and I helped Maggie learn how to ride a bike without training wheels. I am happy to report after about 15 minutes, we have another bike rider!!! She was so thrilled and pleased with herself.

We came inside and ate dinner. Yum! I love when it turns out. I made Cafe Rio Pork from our new ward cookbook. It's so easy and turned out delicious!! We had it with rice in a tortilla with cheese, but you could put it on a salad or just on a tortilla, etc. But you put pork in the crockpot and fill it up about 1/2 way with water. Cook on high for 5 hours, then drain out the water. (The recipe calls for 6 lbs of pork--I only used 1!). After it has cooked for 5 hours, mix together a little bit of caffeine free diet coke, brown sugar and some salsa (any kind and I used about a 1/2 a jar). Mix that up, then pour over the pork. Cook on high for 3 more hours. Shred, then eat!!

After dinner, we played, danced, did puzzles, baths and bed.
I wonder what tomorrow will be like!!!

Hard Tuesday

I guess we have to have balance, right?! Today was hard! My prediction was right and Eliza did have pink eye, so that meant she was home from school. Maybe that is what made it hard, but she and Libby were a bit rambunctious and were actually not very well behaved today. Now that they are sleeping and looking so cute all snugly in their beds, I feel bad for getting after them so much today. But in the "moment," I was not thrilled with how today played out. Right at 8, I was on the phone with the doctor's office and they called in a prescription for drops, which we promptly picked up. After deciding to put a drop in the corner of her eye, then having her open and blink a lot, it wasn't too bad. She would not hear of keeping her eye open for the drops. She takes after me and my mom! So we did that 4 times today. Pink eye is a hard "sickness" because she isn't feeling sick, but I want to be cautious not to spread it! So there has been A LOT of hand washing around here! We also folded laundry and put it away and Eliza made my bed and cleaned my bathroom. Eliza and Libby also convinced me to paint their toenails and fingernails. They always want me to put a flower or a heart on them, too. On their thumbs I tried my hand at doing a pumpkin. It turned out ok!

After a day which totally wore me out and after Brian came home, we ate dinner, then the girls played outside. Then it was baths and bed. After they were in bed, I went to a scrapbook store and bought some cardstock for the young woman retreat. On my way there, I felt impressed to go see one of our Mia Maids (the 13-14 year old class in young womens) who hasn't been coming lately. So I rushed to the scrapbook store, then stopped at Fry's to grab a treat to take over when I went to her house. I thought with a treat, it wouldn't be so awkward for just showing up! In the bakery they had a giant cupcake decorated Halloween-ish. So I bought that and a card and headed to her house. It went well and am happy I went. Then I stopped at Home Depot to get some paint chips for the retreat and came home.

A little bit ago, Jessie and Barry Purtymun stopped by with some Halloween cupcakes. What a great treat for a long day!

I hope it's a "good" Wednesday tomorrow!

Good Monday

Today was actually a good Monday. Not that they never are, but it's always full of recovering from the weekend and getting the week started, which can sometimes be tiring and gloomy! But today didn't seem like it. It was productive and went fairly fast. We woke up and hurried to get everyone up and ready for school. Today was the big day for my dad to visit Eliza's class and all the kindergartners. It's red-ribbon week, so my dad came to talk to the kids about strangers and "it's okay to say no." He talked about his uniform and let all the kids hit his chest to feel his vest. He "handcuffed" the kids and they slip out easily. They all think that is so funny. Then he took them outside to look at his truck. Each child got a little foam police car. When I picked Eliza up, all the kids had their cars! So Eliza and Libby rode to school with my dad. And Eliza got to eat hot lunch with my dad. She loved it although her teacher said she was a little "shy" about it. I don't know that she liked of all the attention. So like me!

This morning I had one visiting teaching appointment which went well. We came home for a little bit, then did the preschool pick up. That was followed by lunch, then lots of playing out front. After Hattie woke up from her nap, we took a trip to Target to get some milk (and other items), then we picked up Eliza. Katie came over after school and played, too. Ellie took and nap and so did Hattie. We went out front for a while, then they went out back while I made dinner. We had pizza rice. My parents came over for dinner, so that was fun. After dinner and some playing/visiting, my parents left and we had family home evening. I did a lesson about families and our home. We talked about what we could do to make our home a place to feel peace and like a temple. I wanted to end playing the song "My Holy House," but things were a little crazy and their attention span was over, so that didn't happen. While Brian got Ellie and Hattie to bed, Eliza and Libby helped me make hot fudge sauce for our ice cream dessert. Libby helped make it, but she didn't want to eat it. She just had ice cream. Then it was bed!

Now let's back up for a recap of the past couple of days.
Sunday: Went to church; Rachel gave a great lesson. She always does a great job and really puts a lot of time into her lessons. It was a sensitive topic but she handled it wonderfully and I think all the girls felt her love and felt the spirit for sure. After church we came home and fed the girls lunch and Brian and I got ready to leave to Sedona. One of my laurels came over and watched our girls until about 4:30 when my cousin came over and babysat until we got home. We got to Sedona for Aleeda's wedding (she is Brian's secretary at work). The wedding was at L'Auberge, where Brian and I love to stay! It was a pretty setting and nice ceremony. It was really cold though! Brrr! From there we went to Sedona Golf Resort for the dinner/reception. We sat with Arlene and her husband--Brian's on-call secretary--the Radleys--Aleeda's friend and realtor and Brian's clients, and Bishop Mariner--who performed the ceremony--and his wife. It was great company! Dinner was delicious--steak, chicken, veggies, potatoes, croissants, etc. The cake was very yummy and moist! We both really enjoyed it. We left Sedona at about 8 and got home by 9:15, so that wasn't too bad.






Saturday:
We left early to make it to Casa Grande to my nephew Matthew's baptism. It was nice. After we went to my brother and family's house for lunch.


From there we came home and I had a family photo shoot that evening. I was so nervous about this one since they have 6 kids. I think it went well though.




While I was gone, Brian took our girls to the resort for hot dog dinner, then I met up with them. Brian went home with the youngest two, and Eliza, Libby and I looked for a dress at Kohl's.

I think Eliza has pink eye, so that means no school tomorrow if she does. We'll know for sure in the morning! I had some drops left over from previous bouts with that, so we did gave her a dose tonight.

Now I am off to edit photos from the past couple of sessions. These are from Friday night. They are such a cute family. Baby number 3 is on the way (although you can't tell yet!)! So excited!

Friday!

I have a few days to catch up on!
Wednesday:
All I remember is that I had mutual. We practiced the sacrament meeting program we are doing. It went so great! It went so much better than I was expecting. The girls did such a great job.

Thursday:
The day started with Eliza's parent-teacher conference. My first one ever! It went great though. She is doing very well and knows everything she needs to know so far. Her teacher said she is very impressed wtih Eliza's writing and how detail-oriented she is, so she sent me home with a writing journal for her. Two of her strengths are listening attentively and demonstrating responsibility. Her teacher told me about something that happened in class--there was a boy who couldn't find his crayons, so she (the teacher) told the other kids about it, and Eliza was the only one who was scrounging around and gave him some of hers to have. I guess Mrs. A. made a huge deal about it to the other kids because they were all just hoarding theirs and Eliza was the only one sweet enough to share. It warmed her heart she said! One more great thing from the conference is that Eliza was chosen to go to "Search" which is for students who are a little more advanced and excelling and ready for more challenge. So she'll go on day 3. Eliza will LOVE that!

That afternoon it seems we were outside a ton! Eliza got out at 10:40, so she loved that. That afternoon, Brian came home a little early so I could meet a deadline for BPS. I was able to finish, thank goodness! That night I went to Enrichment. It was an "out of the box" theme and each person was supposed to bring three things in a box to describe herself. I brought a candle--it was a Christmas scent (love candles and Christmas), a film canister to represent photography and a journal because I enjoy keeping, reading and buying cute journals! It was a fun night and fun to get to know some people in the ward.

Today was busy--go, go, go! Eliza had school and so did Libby. I picked Eliza up at 10:40, then I met Kristi to pick up some sample t-shirts for the retreat, then I zoomed back to pick up Libby. Then we picked up Libby's friend for a playdate and came home for play! It was a little of everything this afternoon: inside, out back, out front, eating Otter Pops, eating Halloween candy, etc.

This evening I took pictures of my good friend and her family. From there, Brian and I went on our date. We went to Best Buy to get an external hard drive to store all these pictures and back everything up. I also got a new mouse. Mine has been dropped so many times I am surprised it lasted this long, but it totally died today. We grabbed dinner at Baja Fresh. They have a new mango salsa that was yummy. We stopped at the mall to look for clothes for our Christmas pictures. I found green shirts for Ellie and Hattie. I also got a caramel apple from Rocky Mtn. Chocolate. Thanks for the heads up on that, Leslie! Yum!! We stopped at Target on the way home. I found some shirts for Eliza and Libby for pictures. I hope it all comes together nicely. We shall see! We also got a wedding gift for Brian's secretary--a big area rug off their registry.

That's about it!!

Crawling

Hattie is officially crawling. She has been so so close lately taking one "knee" (step?--I don't know what to call it) but then she'll put her leg up and sit back up on her bottom. Last night she moved pretty far. It's cute while she is slow and not getting into anything yet! I know that will change soon.

Yesterday Libby had preschool, so while she was gone Hattie napped and Ellie played. We also did a couple errands. I needed to get some pink M&Ms and kisses for a baby shower tomorrow and I needed to go to Target for baby wipes.

Then we picked up Libby and Carson and dropped him off. We came home, ate lunch, then went out front for a while before Ellie went down for a nap. While she was sleeping, Libby played out front a little more, then we came in and she helped me make our treats for family home evening. We made Peanut Butter Smore Brownies. I got the recipe from a little card they had at the Halloween display at Target. They turned out sooooo rich and yum!

Here is the recipe:
Make a pan of brownies and let cool. Spoon marshmallow cream on top. Melt 1 cup of cream chocolate frosting (from a tub) in the microwave for 30 seconds. Pour over the brownies and marshmallow cream. Melt 1 cup of peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds. Pour over the top. Swirl with a knife. Let cool completely, then eat!


NOTE: Items in picture taste better than they appear.

After Eliza got home from school, we got in the car and went to a friend's son's birthday party. Eliza was so helpful--helping me get everything and everyone gathered and in the car. It was at the park and they painted little pumpkins, ate Otter Pops, played on the equipment and frosted and decorated cookies. They also got darling favor "cups" filled with fun goodies. Great job Kar! My girls had a fun time.

After the party we came home and ate dinner. I had invited my parents over to eat with us, so they came over. I had made crockpot enchiladas. My parents had found a little receipt book at a thrift shop, so they picked it up for Eliza. She loved it! She was taking our orders for dinner. She is taking after me--I loved doing that when I was little. After dinner and after my parents left, we had home evening and Eliza had the lesson. She did such a great job and was so creative. When we came into the living room, she had drawn a picture on the Magna-doodle and it said, "I love at home." She said the picture was of someone serving another person. She talked about how important service was and how being a friend and making new friends is service. Then she gave everyone two Polly Pockets. We were supposed to use them and act out an act of service. So we each did that, then she had us role play service with another person. I thought it was so cute. Then she shared her testimony. Home evening ended with Eliza, Libby and Ellie dog-piling on Brian. They had a blast with that. Next was baths and bed!



This morning Brian went in a little late while I was on another conference call getting some class details ironed out. As soon as I got off the phone, we loaded up and went to Kristi's baby shower. This is her 5th baby and it's a girl. They are naming her Averi. So cute! The food was excellent and it was fun. I was a little harried having Libby, Ellie and Hattie, but we managed! I had made Kristi some burp cloths, which she loved. I am all out now! I'll have to get busy if I have another shower! After the shower, Hattie took a long nap (until we had to pick up Eliza) and the rest of us ate lunch and played outside. This afternoon it's been...pick up from school, piano and outside (again).

Here are a few random pictures:

...a couple from the last engagement session.











Flip flops anyone? At our house we are a little obsessed with flip flops. We were needing some new ones, so we looked all over and couldn't find any!!! Old Navy stopped selling them (for kids) because it's fall. But on-line they were clearancing them out, so we stocked up.











What happens when I let Libby serve her own Cheetos! (She didn't end up eating them all though!)

Note to Self:

Don't buy the Halloween candy to hand out three weeks before the holiday. It won't last. Looks like we'll be buying another bag--unless we want to give out all the Jolly Ranchers that are left!

In other news:
Yesterday it felt like we were all in and out all day! It was so weird! In the morning I got ready and Eliza wanted me to paint her toe nails. Her teacher got a French manicure, so she wanted me to do it with pink instead of white. So I did my best on that one! Ellie wanted to join in, so she got her toes and fingers done, too. It's so cute after she gets them painted, she walks with on her heels with her toes up. Cute!

After beauty shop, I worked a little while Brian was in and out playing inside and watching our girls ride bikes out front. In the late morning, I went to Target with Eliza, Libby and Ellie and did some grocery shopping. We zipped home and I was literally in and out and zipped over to Cibola Vista. We had a credit to use over there so Brian set up a facial and pedicure for me. The facial was heaven! I think I dozed off a couple of times, but I love facials. I seriously wish I could have one really often! And my feet feel great and toes look nice. The spa there opened a couple months ago--it's so nice inside. I think I need to go back and check out the massages. After a little pampering, I came home and we played for a while before I had to head back out to take some engagement pictures. When I was done, Brian brought our girls over and they checked out the little western town at Cibola Vista and got so dirty! They were so filthy from all their playing all day...can you see the layer of dirt?!







Then it was baths, dinner and bed! I stayed up too late editing the photos, so I could get them their CD.

This morning I was up early for a meeting before church, then church was great. In young women's our lesson was about the importance of life and Kari brought up the importance of motherhood and how important that role is. It was great.

We didn't have dinner with family today, so we played it cool at home. We filled it with games, dancing (Eliza), coloring, making dinner and laughing. I don't know what it was today, but we had the laughing bug today. I think it started in Sunday school when I got tickled by a comment a friend's husband said. It wasn't really that funny, but it just made me laugh. Then after church I was telling Brian about it and I could hardly tell him because I was laughing and crying so hard. Libby also had the laughing bug and seemed to giggle all day about anything and everything.

Brian had a training meeting tonight, so he went to that and my girls and I delivered some invitations to the young women for the retreat next month. Then it was home and bed!!

Catch Up

Yesterday I...
--swept, mopped and vacuumed. Three (un)glorious hours later and I have clean floors.
--went outside about three times to watch Libby and Ellie ride bikes.
--went to Paradise Bakery for dinner with Eliza, then on to a volleyball game to watch one of my young women play.
--worked a while on the new big class for Big Picture. It's going to be fun--check it out! The first quarter is with Wendy Smedley, so I'm working closely with her to get her class launched.
--went to bed too late.

Today I...
--took Eliza to school and dropped Libby off with Terri for preschool.
--went to the post office to pick up another donation for the retreat! People are so kind!
--looked all over for pink M&Ms and Hershey kisses. Only select Safeways got them in and the two I tried weren't the lucky ones!
--dropped off a friend's birthday gift
--picked up Libby and Carson from preschool
--came home...did lunches, went outside for the first of three times today!
--got locked out of the house...After about 5 minutes of panic, I had remembered that I might have left the back door open. We were so lucky!!! Brian was in meetings all day in Tempe, so I would have been way out of luck!
--got another great donation in the mail from Funky Frum. Check them out!
--getting ready to go to the temple with Brian...then hopefully to Cafe Rio after!

Libby's Big Day

Libby had a proud moment day. She learned how to ride a bike without training wheels! She was so tickled and pleased with herself. Today I convinced her to get on the little bike we bought over the weekend. She got on and I held on to the back and ran around with her for about 5 minutes, then she was off and riding! When Brian came home, he took the training wheels off her regular bike, so she rode that around like she'd been riding forever. She's even starting off much better, too! Go Libby!!!

Eliza's proud moment is that she can finally do the splits. She was quite excited.


(she was on the phone sharing her news with Grandma!)

This morning Libby had her last gymnastics class, then we stopped at Costco for diapers (and dinners and stuff for Eliza's lunches and Halloween candy). We played outside for a while, then had to pick Eliza up from school. It was piano lesson day, so we did that, then did more bike riding until Brian came home. Oh yea, I grabbed one of the yummy rotisserie chickens from Costco, so we had that for dinner with biscuits, green beans and scalloped potatoes. Yum! Then it was back outside for more riding!

Picture Update

I downloaded some pictures from my camera...
The first three are the invites for the retreat (sorry about the sideways one). But they are done!!! This morning we went over to my parents' house and my girls helped my dad plant flowers. After that they went to Mesa with them and I came home and worked on them during nap time.

The other pictures are just some miscellaneous cute ones.

And here is a peek at the engagement shoot from Saturday night.