Are We There Yet?

We survived the dreaded drive to Utah yesterday, and surprisingly, the kids did GREAT! The last drive we took out here last summer was awful, but they did so good yesterday. I think Tman's attention span has grown significantly since the last trip, and that helped a ton. So now that we are here, we can relax, unpack, and enjoy the stay with Grandma Neola. The only thing to worry about now is my poor sweet kitty Milo. I hope his friends keep him company and give him the attention he needs. Isn't it amazind how we give human characteristics to animals? I've felt awful for the last week, because I was afraid that Milo might think we abandoned him , or that we didn't love him. ugh. Anyway, hopefully the drive back goes as smoothly as the drive out. Until then, we'll miss our beds, we'll miss our house, we'll miss our cat, and we'll miss our friends.

Defend Yourself!

A good friend of mine invited me to go to a self defense class last night, and WOW. It was great. I have to admit I am a "what if....." kind of girl. I always ask myself what I would do if some drastic thing happened to me like someone pulling a gun on me, or trying to take my children, and in my imagination I always end up the unconquerable hero. (Now if any of you see me spacing off, you'll know that I'm day dreaming about kicking someone's butt..haha) But in reality fear and adrenaline are debilitating sometimes. I went to this self defense class last night and learned SO much, and it made me so much more confident and empowered! So why would I keep it for myself? I think everyone should get out there and take a self defense course! If you can find one near you, the course I took last night was called "FAST Defense" and I HIGHLY recommend it. It does a great job of helping you recognize the adrenaline rush, and teaches you the easiest ways to defend yourself. You don't have to remember any type of complicated kung fu. It's plain and simple...so go find a class RIGHT NOW and learn to defend yourself!

Ahhh, the Holidays

Well, it is officially baking season in my book. Last friday some good friends from church had their 5th Annual Cookie Swap. Oh, but don't let the fun title fool you. It's a fierce competition of cookie tasting and judging. Last year we came in second with our self-standing chocolate chip turkey cookies. This year we came home with nothing for our layered sour cream cookie turkey. sad day. lol. Next year I'll plan better..ya know...before the morning of the cookie swap. It was still great to hang out with friends and put ourselves into a sugar coma though. So since I didn't have a blog last year, I'm going to post a picture of last year's entry as well.

Entry 2008

Entry 2007

I've turned into a "MOM"

Not the good kind...I mean the kind that doesn't do her hair or make up before she leaves the house...or even changes out of her pajamas for that matter. I laughed at myself this morning because I tried to look at myself in other people's views (particularly the other mom's from Bug's preschool group) and I just LAUGHED!!! No matter how empty my week is, I wake up Thursday morning only to look at the clock and realize that I have less time than I would like to get up, get the kids up, feed them, dress them, and get Bug to preschool. Usually what ends up happening is that I neglect to get myself ready. I left the house this morning in a mad dash only to realize I still had yesterday's make up on, my hair was EVERYWHERE...(luckily I had a hooded sweatshirt that I was able to partially hide it with) and I was still wearing my pajamas. I don't really view myself as a frumpy mom that doesn't take care of myself, but there are certainly days where others may see me and definately think that I'm that kind of person. Luckily I'm secure enough with my inability to go to bed early enough to wake up and get ready for the day..and I'm ok with that. Besides if I had worried so much about getting ready for the day T-Man and I wouldn't have had a great morning together. It also helped that Bug went home with a friend to play after preschool and T-man and I were able to have extra time. Thanks to Lacey! In my eyes being a mom is so much easier and SO much more fun when I'm able to let go of things like putting my make up on, or doing my hair and focus on having fun. Don't get me wrong...I'm not giving up make up or my flat iron, but love that I looked like crap today and I STILL had a great day!

Halloween

Here are a few pictures of the kids at our ward halloween party the day before Halloween. ( sorry..no pictures from Halloween day. We were too "pictured out" to take any more. We just wanted to be DONE with Halloween!) Random snap shot of the kids...that was the best

option for not getting intentionally scowled at

Can you tell Bug wasn't particularly fond of having pictures taken that night?

The stuffed scarecrow and his beloved teddy bear

Bug with her friend...and chili on her face

Carving Jacketie Lanterns

For Family Night the Monday before Halloween, we carved our "Jacketie Lanterns" as Bug likes to call them. Here are some pictures of the process. We decided since it was the kids' first time we would let them help us gut the pumpkins and make a mess. Both of them were grossed out and didn't want to do it, so J and I ended up having to help....just a little. lol It was so fun to watch the kids. Milo was tracking through the mess investigating the madness. It was a very fun night, and the kids are still talking about pumpkins and jacketie lanterns and Bug keeps asking if it's Halloween again?

The finished product

Final Display