THANKSGIVING!!!

Okay, it's not really the turkey's butt, its where the neck goes, sicko!
Cute little Sallie!
Dad, the turkey fryer!
Gorgeous Grandma Shirley
Now, that's a dog for me (and Emily).Hunter's dream come true--Pinata!

AWW I love you Mom!

Pies Galore! The best is eating pie for breakfast the next day!

Amazing FIRE!

We had so much fun on Thanksgiving Day! It has been almost 9 years since we've been home for TG. Out of 9 of us kids, 8 were there in all our glory! I have the most entertaining siblings, so there was never a dull moment! Sallie and I helped Mom prepare Dinner. Somehow she convinced me to pose with the turkey! Dad deep fried the turkey, which was amazing!!! And. . . the very best part of Thanksgiving (my most favorite family tradition) is right after the turkey comes out of the frier, we all stand around and singe our fingers as we pick the crispy skin off and eat it!!! I have very fond memories of this as a kid, and I got to experience it again this year! I made 6 pies! They were yummy, if I do say so myself. Bliss, Jon's girlfriend, made a homemade key lime pie. It was yummy too! The kids got to do a pinata, and the grand finale was a fire show put on by my brothers Jon and Ian and Bliss. It was freezing, but so amazing to watch. James, as usual was behind the camera taking many (almost 200) photos. I can't wait to share them! Oh, I almost forgot, Sallie, Sadie, Susanna, and I went shopping in PC from midnight to 2:30 am. It was so much fun!!!

On our way home, we decided to visit Temple Square. The lights were awesome. It was really fun even though it was freeeeeezing outside and we didn't get home until after midnight! What an amazing weekend.

Our 16th Anniversary

We had so much fun on our anniversary. We had to go to Ut for a Parent's retreat, so we paid the kids to miss school and headed down. We dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa's house and headed to Salt Lake. We stayed in the Little America hotel and ate dinner in the Dining Room. It was soooo yummy, and way too expensive! The next day, we did sealings in the SL temple, which is where we were married, so it was very meaningful. Our experience was also very memorable because of some very unusual things that took place. All in all, I am convinced that I am married to the best guy in the whole world. I am the luckiest girl in the world!

Family Photo Shoot

On Oct 14 th we decided to do Thanksgiving pictures. So, you find the perfect spot, pose nicely, and smile. That's it! Easy!!! Yeah, right! We almost got the perfect shot SEVERAL times. Connor, who smiled adorably in the shot with just him in the tree, could not seem to cooperate for any other picture. Oh well, he is cute anyway and we all adore him. After a while we bagged it all and decided to just have a leaf fight in stead. It turned out being a very fun family outing!!! Maybe we should have had the leaf fight first. Maybe we'll try that next year! Thanks, Mom for all your hard photography work!!!

Connor's 4

Connor's birthday finally arrived on October 20th! We told him that when it was Halloween time, it would be his birthday. He was a little confused by this. He kept saying, "it's Halloween!" And we had to keep correcting him. Then when we were getting ready for Halloween, he couldn't be convinced that it wasn't already over! The things we do to our children!

Josh and Susanna and Grandma and Grandpa and Alex all came up for the celebration. It was so fun!

Happy Halloween!

James dressed up as Gandalf for work. His fellow employee won the $25 pot. It's understandable why!

Connor as the brave KNIGHT
Emily as Sacajewea
Could that be my Hannah? After being a pirate at school and seeing all of the pretty princesses, Hannah decided to be a princess. After going to James' work party, she changed back into a pirate. I guess she just couldn't handle the prissy stuff after all.

Hunter as the Red Ranger (thanks Whitney who always plays Power Rangers with my kids).

Can you believe it's already November first??? Halloween is over and it was great. In fact, I think this was the first year ever that I wasn't totally stressed out! I didn't even yell at the kids! I was totally laid back and easy going! I didn't even freak out when Hannah decided to change her costume 3 times yesterday! I did a veggie platter and deviled eggs and rolls for dinner. I had it on the table when the kids came home from school and I just let them eat whatever they wanted. NO STRESS!!!

Day 21--The End!

The Dunes are better than Disney!

We took the kids to the Sand Dunes in St. Anthony, ID the other day. They were so excited! The second the car stopped, they started screaming and running toward the massive mountains of sand. The only expense was the cost of cleaning the sand out of everyone and everything. Pretty goot deal, I think!

Hunter got his cast off!

After 4 weeks, Hunter finally got his cast off. He cried more at the thoughts of getting it off than he did getting it on! He was so scared. The saw they use is amazing. It only cuts through the cast--not to the skin. I felt a little sheepish taking so many photos of the tech in action, until he said that he is in more scrapbooks than I could imagine! I felt free to let the shutter fly after that. When they pulled the pins out, it bled quite a bit. I was surprised. I also mistakenly thought that once the cast was off, he'd be back to normal! I was a little wrong. Hunter still hasn't straightened his arm after 4 days. He is using it a lot more now, though. It was a painful but very effective method of breaking thumbsucking!!! He only sucked his L thumb. He tried a time or two to suck the R one, but I guess it just wasn't the same. We're so glad that it's over!

Connor being empathetic.

21 day--day 4

Today was great--due to taking my B complex vitamins yesterday! I know it sounds hokey, but I promise they help you feel calmer!!! I want to learn more about vitamins during this 21 day challenge, because I know they are key to getting healthier. I watched a show on colon health last night. Boy, was that eye opening (and disgusting)! I don't know if I'm quite ready to take on that one yet. I'll stick with baby steps this time.

I love the inspiration I'm receiving from other challenge participants. It really motivates you when you have to be bloggly accountable!

I had so much fun playing soccer with my boys tonight. Boy, they really gave me a run for the money. It was difficult to keep up with them. It's a good thing they are only 3 and 6 :) (remember, baby steps).

I gave Hunter a bath tonight. It was so much fun with a full-arm cast. Needless to say, he won't be getting as many baths as he used to until the cast is off. He should be able to get the cast off and pins out in two weeks. Last night I doodled on it for him. I have been dying to get my pens on it since he got it. Now that his arm is not so sensitive, I'm taking full advantage! I've really had to hold back and not draw flowers and vines, though. He requested stars, fire, and fall leaves. A cast is a terrific blank canvas!

Look at that cutie! Those eyes melt me! I couldn't resist posting this pic of Connor!

Rhonna's 21 day challenge

I was so amazed that some of the teachers at CE gave so much more than just their classes. They added another dimension to their classes by talking about how we can become so much more than we are. Rhonna and Heidi are both LDS and they cleverly put some LDS principles into their classes. Of course, these principles would benefit anyone in the world, it's just that I recognize them for what they truly are. This was awesome!!!

Rhonna had us create an art journal with a 21 day goal setting spin. I decided that there are some things (way too many for one journal) in my life that I want to change, so I've accepted the challenge.

My goal is to learn how to be healthier by monitoring my eating and exercising habits. Seems simple, but so many times I have started and failed this challenge.

Thanks to Rhonna, I am super motivated to get going on this. Today is day one, and here I go . . .

Amazing CREATIVE ESCAPE!!!

The moment I had been waiting for finally arrived!!! I have been waiting since January for Creative Escape, and after my disasterous week, I was definitely ready to escape! I felt VERY guilt leaving my family and poor James with everything--a kid with a broken arm, work to make up, etc. Thankfully my good friend, Susan came to the rescue. She took the boys each day and made poor Hunter as comfortable as possible! She didn't even complain when Hunter threw up in her house (twice)!

I took a shuttle back to Salt Lake (dejavew I was on that 4 hr trip the day before) and took a plane to Phoenix Arizona. I have never indulged myself like this before. I have never taken any classes or gone to any conventions before, and I feel it was long deserved. After all, James got a new TV!

I stayed with Betsy Moore the first night and Karrie and her mom picked me up the next day. Karrie is Mr. Bazzill's (Doug Jones) sister, and Millie is his mom. It was so much fun being with Bazzill family. I was treated like a VIP since I was with them. The classes were amazing and I met some of my scrappin' heros! We were pampered and primped. We met some really awesome people from Texas. It's funny how you meet some people and then keep bumping into them the entire time.

On the last night, I couldn't stop myself from being emotional. I didn't want it to end! It really was a once in a lifetime experience (unless I get to do it again next year!). I can't imagine a funner "girly" vacation.

After the convention, I stayed again with Betsy. She is one wild and crazy girl and I love her. She adds spice to my life! After church on Sunday, we went to the Mesa Temple and watched the Joseph Smith movie. It was awesome, of course, then we attended a fireside by the producer and some of the cast. It too was awesome!

What an amazing trip! It was a dream come true!

Although I had the time of my life, I can't tell you how wonderful it is to be home! I feel like I've been gone for weeks. I am totally pumped to start scrapping and creating again. It's good to be with my family again and I am fully taking the advice of one of the CE teachers and I'm being the best mommy and wife I can be so that my family will want to send me back to CE again next year because it did me so much good!