And then it was gone...

That's his costume at his ankles. Those are tears coming down his cheeks. That is a kid who does not want to trick or treat or even give candy now.

Talan was very quick to be done with Halloween. He didn't care about the candy and decided to be done with his costume. He pulled off his very cute "kelton" and wanted his stroller & baby to push around. So he took his baby trick or treating. He is going to be a great "little daddy".

It finally came!

We have been looking forward to Halloween night for the last month. Tonight it finally came. We dressed in our costumes and headed to the church for traditional trunk or treating. Braeden, Lexee & Talan treated for about 20 minutes and then boredom struck. They wanted to hand out candy. So Lexee & Talan handed out candy, while Braeden rode his rip stick up and down the parking lot.

Trick or Treating @ Highland Care Center

For the past 8 years we trick or treat at Highland Care Center. I was the Recreation Director for many of those years. It has been nice the last two years to just participate and then go home.

The kids have grown up around the patients of Highland, so they are very comfortable around the elderly.

They look forward to trick or treating to each room and then gathering in the Family Room for games & caramel apples.

This man LOVED Talan he thought Talan was the cutest little boy he had seen. He let him pick out as many treats as he wanted.

Cornbelly's

We spent Friday night with Sandy, Krista, Kaitlin & Braxton at Cornbelly's. It was such a fun night filled with a haunted hayride, slides, bounce houses, a corn maze, bull rides & hot chocolate.
Krista is definitely a great babysitter, she kept an eye on Talan the entire night!

Meeting at Thanksgiving Point is the half-way point between Sandy's home and ours. It was a great excuse to get together. The kids get along so well!

Best Friends! At least for the night! It's amazing what these "men" come up with. Braxton said he was a man until the hayride. As he fled across the hay hiding, his mom asked him, "Aren't you a man?" To which he replied, "Not anymore!"

Are you eating...

Are you eating when you are not FEELING hungry. Today we talked about emotional eating. So many attribute this to being sad, stressed or bored. However, often times, we eat when we are happy, celebrating, and confident. It's important to realize and understand our feelings in order to prevent eating emotionally. This is an important lesson for me. I eat more when I feel secure, happy and when I celebrate. I eat less when I am stressed, insecure and unhappy. (Obviously I spend much more time celebrating :) Understanding what you are feeling and releasing endorphines in a healthy way will prevent unnecessary eating. We are coming into the Holiday Season and more often then not menus are being planned. I am encouraged after today's Weight Watcher's meeting to be more mindful about how I am feeling and eat only when I am hungry and not to appease a FEELING.
Another plug for exercise...I have finally hit the point where I don't hate every minute of it. I look forward to it and make time for it. I used to think...I don't have any extra time to do it and now I find the extra time...my laundry is not folded but hey you can't have everything!
Ellen Degeneres said, "You have to stay in shape. My grandmother, she started walking five miles a day when she was 60. She's 97 today and we don't know where she is."

2nd Place

Braeden's first year of scouting has been really interesting. Being a girl, I always thought all they did was spit and camp. I was mistaken, in addition to that they have to memorize a ton of stuff to earn the Bobcat, which Braeden (and I) earned, and learn actual life skills. The most recent scouting event included a Rocket Derby, they made rockets and Thanks to Uncle Richard and Uncle Jake, he was able to come in 2nd place. This is awesome because he competed with really big 11 year olds! I coated the rubber bands in olive oil and we wound and wound and wound some more. In the 3rd round he even made it the farthest to the SUN! It was really exciting! I am proud of Braeden, he was really apprehensive, as he has never done anything like this before and was really nervous.

Tagged by Kelley

A-Attached or Single: Attached

B-Best Friend: Cody

C-Cake or Pie: Pumpkin Pie

D-Day of Choice: Friday

E-Essential Item: 72 hour kit

F-Favorite Color: Red

G-Greatest Accomplishment: My kids fold their arms for prayers...for the most part.

H-Hometown: about 8 houses to the west

I-Indulgences: Pumpkin shakes

J-January or July: July - my birthday, and beside January there's nothing to look forward to and it's really cold.

K-Kids: Braeden, Lexee & Talan

L-Life is incomplete without: family, friends, and a Pumpkin shake

M-Marriage Date: March 10, 1998

N-Number of Siblings: 2 sisters Jaymi & Steph 4 brothers-in-law Jake, Adam, Dan & Richard 2 sisters-in-law Vinessa & Marci

O-Oranges or Apples: Oranges - would be my all time favorite except I hate peeling them - I'm so lazy I know! (me too Kelley)

P-Phobias or Fears: the dark, unintentionally neglecting my children

Q-Quotes: "No greater success can compensate for failure in the home."

R-Reason to Smile: When Cody ends up being right, it's really the only thing I can do.

S-Season: Spring, Fall, Winter & Summer. I love every one of them & I am always ready for a change.

T-Tag 5 Friends: Stephanie, Vinessa, Jaymi, Sandy & Claudia

U-Unknown Fact about Me: I tell everyone, everything.

V-Very Favorite Store: Ross

W-Worst Habit: Blogging before homework, doing my makeup when in the car...yes @ stoplights not actually driving...for the most part.

X-X-ray or Ultrasound: Ultrasound

Y-Your Favorite Food: Spaghetti (hence...:)

Z-Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Love Fall?

A nice warm day at the park is a great transition into the next season.

Fall is one of my favorites, the smells, colors & traditions!

The leaves falling, cider mulling and pumpkin picking...

I really enjoy everything about fall.

My Favorite Room

About a week before Braeden's baptism, leaving for Rough Camp, Primary Quarterly Activity and my week for Sharing time, I decided to make a big change. So I started by pulling off the previous owner's tapestry they had so eloquently placed as a lovely border around our family room. One thing led to another and by 2:30am on a random Tuesday, I had painted the previously maroon room with a coat of primer and 2 coats of white. This was just to get us through the very busy next week. Then I called my very good friend Kelley and asked her if she had any ideas for this room. We had previously discussed some wants, however, I thought it was just casual conversation. I was happily wrong. She arrived the next morning, blueprint and nailgun in hand. She had done a tad bit of homework and compared paint samples and decor! In one day, she transformed this room. Unfortunately, I didn't take a before picture. Picture this: marroon/red walls with an oak chair rail, beige tapestry framed nicely with marroon/red border wood. I have to give complete credit to Kelley because I was really busy with camp stuff, a CTR shield and babysitting neices and nephews. I can't thank Kelley enough for the gift she gave. And now this is my favorite room!

Go left? Go right?

Mom and Dad are great examples of deciding to make a change and really sticking to it. They are diligent about their points, their healthy guidelines and continue make great strides towards a healthy lifestyle. This is a dramatic change as their lifestyle has always been packed of skipping meals and eating late at night because of their crazy schedules. I am proud to be on this incredible rollar coaster with them. Mom said she bought a pair of pants that were two sizes smaller than she had worn in years! Yeah! A few months ago we would have all chosen to go to the left and now we are all staying to the right!

Caramel Apples

I made caramel apples for the Highland Care Center Bake Sale. These apples were hand picked just this week. I bought a bushel of them from Schmidt's Farm. They are amazing, crisp apples. Add them with a bit of caramel, chocolate and peanuts and really...how wrong can you go?

They sold for $3.00 each. At that rate I could start a new job. There really are crisp apples underneath all the goodness. You will or should be proud of me...I didn't eat one!

YAY! My first Tag

I am...a mommy, a wife, a daughter, a sister, a friend and paranoid.
I want... the earthquake to happen, already.
I wish... there were less worries in the world.
I hear... a child's laughter.
I search... for new ideas on being thrifty and weight watcher recipes.
I wonder... where I really stand in the real scheme of things.
I always... leave lights on, I am totally afraid of the dark.
I am not... ready to let go of hope.
I sing... every time I hear my favorites on my playlist, scroll down you might find something you like.
I never...lock my car doors. I figure if someone breaks a window it is more expensive than anything I am keeping. Though, I hear Cheerios are going at a great rate!
I rarely...go to sleep without the TV on.
I cry...rarely when I need to and always when I don't want to.
I am not always...consistent at my goals.
I lose... everything. Cody finds everything.
I'm confused... about how to handle sibling rivelry.
I need... to relax, simplify and enjoy.
I should... go to bed with the lights out and TV off.
I dream... of resolution between family members.
I TAG... anyone reading this.

San, Steph & Nessa- a tag is where you take this idea and implement by cutting & pasting with your own answers in your own blog and then you tag someone else...:)

Boys will be boys

Cody is planning to elk hunt next week. He saved his pennies (literally), turned in his loose change and purchased a tag. He is heading up with some buddies from work. Until next week he is practicing by aiming at water bottles. He hit his targets. Here's hoping the elk run fast and a little to the left...I really just hope he finds a good time and not an elk :)

Cody called me at work in the Spring and asked a simple question. "Hi hunny, Um...how long will I get the silent treatment when I pull in with a small motorcycle?"

My only concern is that he always wears a helmet. He bought me a very cute pink helmet as well as a "sissy bar" which translates into a nice backrest.

Isn't he cute? I always wanted to marry a biker!

It's that time again

Every General Conference weekend, we update our 72 hour kits. I feel VERY strongly about the need to keep these updated. I pull out the food and check dates. This time around we replaced fruit snacks, trail mix and crackers. (You'd be surprised at how long tuna stays good.) I urge anyone and everyone to keep these kits ready to roll in case something happens. You will notice there is a 2L of water, this is not quite enough but I want to keep the kits functional in case we have to carry them. They are kept in our luggage, with wheels on the suitcases for easy transport if we are walking somewhere. When we travel we just keep the kit stuff on our bed and when we unpack we repack our emergency kits. They are stored in our coat closet for easy access to both exits. For the kids I added extra comfort items, some coloring books and a stuffed animal.

Success...not yet

Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in & day out.
Life gets so busy it is hard to keep consistent. We started the week out really strong with exercise and then starting the work week, it was less motivating to keep moving. I stayed within my points each and everyday. Yet, I gained .6. I think the meetings are great and motivating. Today we talked about LEARNing from old habits. There were many attending today who had lost all their weight but gained it back quickly. They talked about not reverting back to old habits. It's hard not to want what you had. For me a relaxing evening with a movie, curled up on the couch with my sweetheart, with popcorn and a coke was an old habit. The small up and downs can really be discouraging, however, success is overcoming the person inside who wants to quit!

Last year for Christmas, Santa brought Talan a 3-wheeled scooter. He wanted nothing to do with it. He picked up Braeden's razor this Spring and has loved every minute of it. We were all shocked at how quickly he was able to balance and ride this scooter. He now takes it everywhere we go. I love to watch him, he really has no fear.

Too big

Braeden beginning his 2nd grade year grew up over the summer. He expresses his desire to "work-out" and to wear "boxers" now. He has decided that he will not leave the house without his hair done and deodorant on. He is very health conscious. He enjoys riding his rip-stick, scouting and playing with his friends. I asked him if he would watch Talan for an hour while Cody was sleeping. He replied, "How much?" I replied, "5 bucks" he then said, "10" to which I replied, "7" and then he finished up with "DONE!" He and his "dude" Braden were jumping fire hydrants when Jenifer said they needed to stop, to which my Braeden tilted his head and replied to Jen, "We are just being boys!" Yep, he is way too big!

School bag in hand

Lexee started 1st grade this year. She is loving every minute of it. She comes home and can't wait to do her spelling words and read. Her teacher, Mrs. Soelberg is amazing! We feel so blessed to have her as Lexee's teacher. Lexee is making new friends really easily and is growing up so fast. She especially loves dictating what she will eat for lunch. I almost have it down. Ham only on bread with the crust cut off and then cut into squares, mandarin oranges, juice, and a treat (either smarties or jello). She will vary sometimes, with speghettios or a PB sandwich prepared as above. I can pack a variety of yummy things and she will not touch them. Someday her husband will need a manual to know exactly what makes her happy. I hope to have that ready for him.

One of a kind

Talan is so funny. He makes everyone who knows him laugh. Once he feels comfortable he breaks out of his shell and strives to get everyone's attention. He talks very distinctly and extremely talented at such a young age. He can two-wheel scooter with the best of them. He also flips on the tramp, like you wouldn't believe. He has sort-of an old soul. He loves to ride the "markle" or motorcycle as those of us like to call it. He rides on the front with a helmet and loves every minute of it. He is so sweet!

Here is dressed for church. You may think this is staged, but it really isn't. He put the sun glasses on himself and tucked his cute little hands in his pockets with absolutely no parental direction.