More Halloween...

SLC Fire Station Trip

Tiff had a friend who really hooked us up; she knows a fireman at the SLC Fire Dept. and she arranged for us to have a group tour of the station. After we took a tour of the station we all got to go on a ride in the fire truck. For a kid who LOVES fire trucks, ambulances, helicopters, police cars, etc. etc. this was a real treat.
Thanks again, Tiff!!!

Barnyard Boo

Tiffany, Camille, and some other friends took the kids to Thanksgiving Point (Barnyard Boo); I'm really going to buy a membership next year! We just love this place.
The kids had a great time riding the pony's, "bowling", getting their faces painted, etc. etc. Fun stuff. And thanks so much Tiffany, I love that you always include me in the fun!! Love you so much! We had a great time.

Brandon's Birthday Party

Jordan has a friend in the neighborhood who just turned 4 (and they're just a few months apart so I know I'll be celebrating B-day #4 in just a few months) Ahhh!! The kids decorated cupcakes at the Crow's home and then we headed to the Kid Barn and had some fun bouncing around.

More Halloween

We just can't get enough of this fall/Halloween season. The colors outside are amazing! We have some friends who have been Halloween-enthusiasts just like us, so we all went to the Cornbellies/Pumpkin Patch Festival and the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point last week. On Saturday we all went up to Ogden and went to the Dinosaur Park and got to tour the entire place and check out all of the dinosaurs (of course with human body parts all over the park.. spooky!!). We had a great time and the kids got to dress up in their costumes for the 1st time.
Aren't they just cute??

Girls Night Out!

Yeah for GNO!! My two cousins (Tiffany and Sommer) and a lot of girls from Tiff's ward got together for dinner the other night and we had a blast. I just love hanging out with Tiff; she's such a sweetheart and she's so much fun to be around. She's a truly amazing person and all of those who know her are addicted to her sweet spirit and fun personality. Tiffany and Coby (and their precious Corbin and Angel Baby Jackie) are some of the worlds greatest gifts, and I'm so lucky to know these amazing people.

I just love my little Tiff!! Thanks for including me in the fun and I can't wait to see you again soon.

Farnsworth Farms

Our friends, the Machsons invited us to join them for some pre-Halloween fun at Farnsworth Farms Cider Mill; the kids got to go on a hay-ride, have some yummy snacks, and watch the Charlie Brown Great Pumpkin movie.

We also tried out the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point a few days ago and I had no idea there was so much to do down there. We'll be back, for sure! We're really loving this season and there really is a lot to do (whoever said Utah is a dull place???) We're loving it.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

Jared had his 29th (wink, wink) birthday this past Friday. We tried to just spoil him all day long. We all went to Park City in the morning, went shopping, had lunch at RedRock, and then came home, put the kids down for naps, etc. Then Jared and I snuck out and had a couples massage at the Sanctuary (ahhh...) and then did a little early bird Christmas shopping, just the two of us. And then to top the night off I took Jared to his all-time favorite restaurant up Millcreek Canyon, the Log Haven. Then we had some friends over the next night for cake and ice-cream.
This is the 10th birthday I've spent with Jared, and I just feel so lucky every day that I have him as a hubby. He's such a devoted husband and father and I really feel like he's my soul mate and my best friend. Coming from my completely unbiased opinion, Jared is by far the world's best daddy and husband; I'm so lucky that I have this amazing guy and I'm so in love with him. So here's to my honey: Happy Birthday and I love you babe!

Welcome Winter!

I've been really trying to think of some fun ways to spend these next several months and make sure that the kids have plenty to do over the winter months. We've spent so much time outdoors this summer and I'm going to miss those warm, sunny days. But I'm determined to make sure we still get out and play all winter long. We got a start by doing some indoor activities these past few weeks; we took the kids to Boondocks, the SkyBar arcade at the Gateway, Dino. Museum, and swimming at the Dimple Dell Rec center. I have a list of about 15 hot spots to hit this winter, and I think it would be fun to get some friends together and we can start planning some play-days with the kids. More to come.. I'll try and map out the "when's" and "where's" and post those activities soon.

The Organized Kid

I just had to post this one little thing about Jordan because one day I might forget how cute this is; Jordan likes to organize everything. He's very meticulous about having all of his toy cars in the same color groups, his clothes always have to match (down to his socks and undies) and every time we eat out he likes to organize the sugars in the color matching piles, and then count all of the sugars in each pile. It makes eating out nice on mom and dad because he's so self-entertained. I think I know where he gets this "over-organized" streak in him (yup, from his mama).

Happy Birthday to the girls

We had a 3-in-one birthday lunch for Andrea Jenkins, Kristy Rodgerson, and Jen Blaser. And I was able to meet the two newest and cutest additions to the neighborhood. Amy Crawley and Toni Nilson both adopted babies and they are so precious.

Quilting Classes

I've always been so amazed at women who have these amazing talents like crocheting and quilting. My sister-in-law, Wendy is very talented this way and for each of my boys she made these beautiful baby blankets and they are just priceless. I think it would be so fun to be able to learn how to do something like this and maybe I can set some time aside (I know, wishful thinking, right?!?) and make a quilt for each of my kids. Well, to start, my Aunt Diane invited me to take a quilting class with her so I'm at least in the process. We'll see how this all goes. But here's the work in progress.

Paranoia

I know this seems crazy and absurd, but I think I’m becoming one of those paranoid moms. I just keep having thoughts like, “what if Jordan runs out in the street” or "what if Austin chokes on a piece of a cracker”… and so on. And I just pray that tonight won’t be my last night with them, and that I’ll be able to experience every moment with them as they grow.
These past few weeks have been sort of hard on me; I’ve just seen how lives can change in just a few hours and it just takes my breath away. Life is so precious. Children are so precious. I just want to wrap my arms around every little child I see and express love to every mother I see, because I know how raw and vulnerable each mother is because of the deep love she has for her children.
I love our Gospel and is does bring such an element of peace knowing that no matter what happens on this earth, we will all be together again. Some children are asked to come home earlier than others. Sometimes I look at my life and all of the close calls I’ve had. I can think of some times when there was no way to explain why that piece of glass embedded so deep in my leg didn’t sever that major artery in my thigh, or the car accident that sent me airborn, sideswiping an 18-wheeler and skidding past that Honda accord’s roof-top, didn’t send me back home. It’s unexplainable. And the other countless accidents I had growing up (my poor mom, I think I made up for all of the accidents in my home as a kid). And I think about when Jared and I were first married, and the little kids who would wander around until we’d hear the cars lock up their breaks in front of our house to avoid hitting one of those kids.. I just think, why some kids are guarded and others are asked to come home early. I just keep playing that phone call over and over in my head, and I keep thinking, “NO”, please, this can’t be real. Not Tiffany. Not little Jackson. Please, Heavenly Father, please don’t let this be real.
And then the reality sets in that this beautiful little boy was sent home early. He must have been a very special child because I know how much he was loved here, and there must be so many other people on the other side that just couldn’t wait to greet him.
But still it hurts to know that void is there, and I just can’t help but feel a sense of fear of the unknown. And I just treasure every moment I have, Heaven help me if anything were to happen to my husband, or my kids, but I want to live each and every moment to the fullest. And I guess I do worry more now than I ever did before.
Those are my random thoughts for the day….