brief update

As I sit here feeding little William, I figured I could at least give a short run down of what we've been up to.

Halloween Party Planning is under way: We used to do an open-house-type party every year before we moved here...well, it's been 3 years now, and we figured it was time to start the tradition again! Yea! so, we are baking, simmering cider, and making chili all while planning and prepping games and other activities for Halloween night. So, if you are around, come on by anytime after 6:30 on Halloween night. (sorry for the plug).

This last week we had a ward Halloween party, with a chili cook-off, games and trunk or treat. We all had a blast! Too bad, "family theme" costumes are a thing of the past now, but we all got a little dressed up.

William is growing like a weed! He's in the 49th % on the charts at the DR's. office. None of my kids have ever been over the 35th%. He's such a great eater and sleeper. He still loves to nap out in the family room with all the ruckus around him. He was "Little Super Man" the other night, but the kids all agreed he should have been called "Little Super Pooper"...that he is.

The older kids are loving the Halloween excitement that surrounds us this time of year. Their "Indiana Jones" themed costumes look pretty great when they are all together.

Ryan's busy as ever, working too hard to not get paid what he deserves...ha ha ! he's such a great man!

I just had my life changed by ordering my groceries at Vons.com and having them delivered to my kitchen (free for the first order). It was AWESOME!

Other things keeping us BUSY:
laundry
homework
yard work
laundry
cleaning up after the 3 year old
meals
laundry
an occasional movie night with my husband
feeding the baby
laundry
and Young Women events

Phew!

Brave or Crazy?

How about a little of both!?

I just returned from Thousand Oaks. It was my first time taking all 5 of my children on a "road trip" by myself! It is a 130 mile trip. With 5 little ones in the back of the car, that can either feel like 6 hours, or it can go by really fast. This time, it happened to go by really fast...phew!

We visited with G'ma and G'pa! We saw family and cousins!
We met up with wonderful friends we haven't seen for some time! We tried to get all caught up in a short period of time. It was great.

We played at the park, and we played in friends' homes. We played in G'ma and G'pa's back yard and on their computer. We played their piano and watched a movie or two. We watched G'ma sew, and learned a thing or two about her fabulous talent.

We went HERE.


It is the annual Harvest Festival right now. Little did I know it would be $10.00 per person to get in! and that does NOT include food or activities. oops.
We made the most of our $10.00 admission and did all the free activities we could .
Just me and 5 kids.

(Will's too little for his head to show)

They had a free tractor hay ride
Pig races
all kinds or picture op. wooden-face-cut-out places
a pyramid of hay to climb
a fantastic corn maze
tons of animals to check out
and a hill with tunnels to run through.

All of this we did for free. On a hot, hot day. In Thousand Oaks. Just me and 5 kids.


After a fabulous dinner and G'ma and G'pa's house, and ice cream with home made hot fudge, I packed up the kids gear (there's a lot of stuff with 5 kids...even for just one night) and we drove 130 miles back home.

I can't believe I did it.


And now, I'm exhausted and going to bed!

Something I Love

I'm so happy to be back to doing two things that I love. It's been months since I've really been able to cook and be in the kitchen as much as I love to.

I also haven't been able to run. I just started that too. It feels great. (a little jiggly).

There is something about Fall that makes me want to bake and cook more. I love chopping, grating, peeling, saute-ing, and tasting, of course. What I love more, is adding a little of this and a pinch of that to make something taste "just-so". Spices & herbs, are so fun to add. I love to experiment with recipes. I'm afraid I"m not much of a measurer either. Unless it's really important.

After thinking of what to make, or searching through my recipe box or on-line for whatever tempts my pallet, I love to put it all together. I enjoy the smells, the textures and colors. My favorite thing is to sit down with my family, after preparing a meal and wait for their reactions. Knowing I made it for them, and I know exactly what's in it, is so satisfying to me. I feel so good to know they are enjoying what I made. They love knowing that the majority of the ingredients came from our garden, or they helped me pick it out at the grocery store.
Fortunately, (or UNfortunately, I don't know) Emily has a sophisticated pallet and helps me in the kitchen. She loves to have meals that include different cheeses or fancy herbs & spices. She even makes up her own recipe combinations. I love when she joins me in the cooking process.

Baking is almost as enjoyable but there's so much more guilt when I have the finished product. I always want to devour the batch of cookies, or rolls or cake after I've baked. Trouble. It's a good thing my family is big, so we can share all around and keep our portions under control. (until all the kids are in bed...).

I'm so happy it's that season and I'm back on my feet in the kitchen. YUM!

which one are you?

Today we watched this movie.

I realized I used to be more like this happy-go-lucky,
fun and care-free guy!

Now, however, I am afraid I'm turning into this
much-too-practical-for-his own-good
guy.
And I'm about that exhausted too!



I need to find the happy medium.

This Little Guy

Now, I know I'm far from being a photographer...but in my defense, the only way to get this half-smile was to peek out from behind the camera...so I didn't realize I was cutting off his head!

On Sunday, William was 2 months old!
How? and Why?
As much as I'm happy the time has gone by quickly for ME,
I'm so sad it's slipping away so fast for HIM!
He is a pure joy!
I was lucky to get this little half-grin out of him...
Daddy seems to be the only one who can get a
big, dimply smile out of him!
(and he's out of town, so that pic will have to wait)
He LOVES his Daddy!
When he's around, Will smiles. He has double dimples
(they just kill me!)
He still has his super dark hair,
although it's now starting to fall out.
His eyes are getting more blue.
He loves to nap around all the commotion in the family room.
He can hardly nap when it's too quiet.
He loves to be in his swing,
or on his tummy,
with his brothers and sister,
and on the go.
He was MEANT to be child number 5!
He is sleeping 6-7 hours at night.
He lets out a really good cry before he falls asleep!
He cries so hard that he turns a shade of purple!
It has scared Emily when she's trying to console him.
Then he just stops.
Like turning off a switch.
and sleeps.


So happy he's here!