Halloween Celebrations

This year we had a skeleton zombie, a zookeeper, and a pirate.

I was able to meet KISS at our ward tunk-or-treat this year. They were kind enough to let me get a picture with them too!

Jason and I on our way to an adult Halloween party. We got this idea from a few years back in Utah, when our Bishop and his family dressed up as Blue Man Group. We showed up to the party and it nobody knew who we were!

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Getting ready to go trick-or-treating. Ryan didn't go with us this year. Instead, he ran around the neighborhood with a bunch of boys trying to scare the "teenagers". I'm not really sure what costume I was going for, but I was really into dressing up this year I guess!

BYU vs. SDSU

We had such a great time at the BYU game a few weeks ago. A great football game at the Qualcomm Stadium with hot dogs and popcorn. Good times!

A tribute to our armed forces.

Goofy kid!

So sweet!

Arrow of Light

In October, our Stake put on such an awesome Arrow of Light Ceremony. It was such a neat night for all the boys. I was especially proud of my 5 Webelos who all earned their Arrow of Light, though only 4 could be there that night.

I have to admit that even though working with this group of boys was a lot of fun, and all the others I've worked with over the last 3 years, I am excited that I am done with Cub Scouts too! I have to say though, it was a fun calling!

Proud parents!

Congratulations Ryan!

2 Proud Sisters!

16 kids + 2 cameras + 8 pizzas + 1 mammoth cake = FUN!

The past 2 years, Ryan and Brynn have had a "family party" instead of a "friend party" so I told them we could have a joint birthday party for them. We had 16 kids come over and I sent them around our neighborhood on a photo scavenger hunt. Brynn's team against Ryan's team. They had a fun group of friends and had a great time!

One clue told them to open a brown sack I sent with them and they had to use some instruments and perform for a neighbor.

For this clue, they had to find something round and get a picture.

The story behind this gorgeous cake is a funny one, especially when you know my background on birthday cakes. I don't have great luck with them! Jason stepped in while I had a nervous breakdown and quickly ran to the store to just buy a cake. The kids liked Jason's creation better than the store-bought cake, so that's what we used.

All my kids love being with each other and get along so well, but Ryan and Brynn were absolutely inseparable when they were little. I remember those days so well, and can't believe how quickly they have grown.

I love you two so much and am so proud of you both. I love the friendship and bond that you both still share.

Happy 11th!

Jason was excited to take Ryan paintballing. It was Ryan's first time and they went with Ryan's good friend and his dad. They had a blast despite the 100 degree weather and a pointblank hit to Ryan's arm! They are already talking about going again.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Another school year

The new school year seemed to come so fast, and here we are...halfway through our first trimester. Time is flyin' by! The kids love their school and have great teachers yet again! We're looking forward to a fun year with them involved in drama and band.

Just can't believe she's in FIRST GRADE!

Happy 9th!

Brynn and Dad after dinner at Pat & Oscar's

Brynn wanted to go horseback riding for her birthday. It was gorgeous riding through the wine country. The horses would stop every once in a while to eat grapes right off the vines!

A visit from Meester Bletttt

We met up with Bret at the hotel he had been staying at for his business meetings. The kids enjoyed playing in the pools, on the waterslides, and in the fountains.

After the kids swam, we headed up to Newport Beach.

At Newport Beach on the pier. They spotted a seal playing nearby.

KING OF THE LIFEGUARD STAND! What memories. These looked so much smaller than I remembered, but Bret jumped off of it and is positive they are still the same!

Bowling

Looking at the hospital Jason is working on. (Sorry Mom, I ended my sentence with a preposition!)

They are ready to get to work.

The girls sitting out in the backyard enjoying the firepit.

We went down to San Diego to Coronado. We checked out the cool hotel, looked for crabs, and played on the beach.

This was hilarious. Bret caught this crab and went to show the kids and it clamped down on his thumb and would not let go!

Dad and Emily with the cool hotel in the background.

This tree is called a "Dragon Tree"

We love you Uncle Bret! Thanks again.

Saturday Is A Special Day

Since we have been playing so much lately, I was excited to get some stuff done around the house. I am posting this mostly so my Mom can enjoy what I accomplished on Saturday and for Megan who will tease me a little about my OCD tendancies! I don't understand why she teases me...doesn't everyone organize their closets in color order??? Anyway, since we have seen a few mice in our garage and since I really, really, REALLY HATE mice, I asked Jason to hang more shelves in the garage so there are no boxes, or rubbermaid tubs stacked on the ground. I am trying to eliminate places for those little, dirty, rodents to hide. Jason was kind enough to amuse me and I am SOOO happy. As we stood there looking at the end result, I again thanked him for helping me because I know he didn't care about boxes on the ground. He told me I'm a bit of a fanatic! I should have taken 'before' and 'after' pictures of that, but I will just tell you how awesome it looks!

The other problem I had to fix was our canned foods. The shelf where I keep them is way too big, so I kept stacking up cans on top of each other and then could not find what I needed easily or tell what I had. So I found a shoe shelf at the store and grabbed my beloved label maker. Again, I should have a 'before' picture, but here is the finished product.

I don't think I'm a fanatic, do you??

Happy Birthday Jason

Thirteen years ago, I hired a lady dressed up in a gorilla suit to come to JB's Restaurant on Jason's birthday to deliver a birthday wish from me in the form of a singing telegram. He and a bunch of guys from work always went to JB's for lunch, so it worked out perfectly! I successfully embarrassed him for his birthday.

Every year we laugh about that birthday and I almost did something like that this year, but I let him off the hook and we had "low-key" birthday instead. I feel awful because I didn't take any pictures this year. That is so unlike me. We did take a bunch of donuts and balloons to his work just to make sure they all knew it was his birthday. We went to Pat and Oscars for dinner where we enjoyed some magic tricks and balloon animals while we ate and then went home for some cake. We love you SO much Jason and hope it was truly a "happy" birthday!

Spring Break Whirlwind

The awesome thing about living where we do is that we are really close to many fun places, so for spring break we took advantage of some of the fun things to do within an hour of our home. Our first couple of days of spring break we got to spend with the cousins at Disneyland. Then the kids and I went to spend a few days with my Mom in Palm Desert. We came back and had a nice Easter weekend, then the kids and I hit the Children's Museum here in town. We went back out to the desert and this time Jason was able to come with us. We said goodbye to my parents who were headed back home for the summer and then the kids had the last day of their break, which was a Monday, so I decided last minute to run back out to Disneyland! I talked my awesome friend Megan into pulling her kids out of school and getting out of work so that they could come play with us too. Again...Disneyland never disappoints (although I will be okay having a little break for a couple of weeks!). Here's a recap of our events from those weeks!