A haunting we will go

The boys are off of school after their Halloween parties on Wednesday.

Thursday.

Friday.

Saturday.

Pumpkin festival, carmel apples, carving pumpkins, spooky movies, lots of art projects to do.

It's going to be a fun weekend.

Tomorrow we are going to make this snack for Andy's preschool class. I am going to try to track down some spider rings to put on one of the fingers.

Lunch idea for Thursday , day one of Russell Halloween Extravaganza

And movie night Friday night.

And hot chocolate after walking home from the pumpkin festival //idea from here//

Life with kids is so much fun!

And a few Andabear pictures, because I love him so.

Pumpkin Patch

We spent the weekend in Iowa City with Chris's parents (who celebrate their birthday tomorrow!)

It was wonderful.

(more to come)

Lately

Ugh. I can't believe I left that lame post up for so long.

Sorry about that.

I haven't been blogging because after Trudy's visit, I was in the final days of preparation for a big dinner I was asked to cater/decorate for. Our stake (group of congregations in the area) hosts a dinner before the Relief Society broadcast each fall, for 220+ women.

That was this past Saturday. As you can see, I am just getting back on top of things.

Thanks in large part to my mom and a few really good friends, I survived. (I didn't take any pictures, but have heard many people did and have asked a few to email them to me...if I get some I will post them). I learned a lot. I had so much fun with my mom doing all of the prep work: watching super lame movies at night (and commentating/ predicting what new lameness would happen next), chucking berries (that we accidentally pulled off the branches- you will understand when you see the pictures) at each other, picking leaves off of branches for hours and hours as we sat and talked, and when it was all over shopping on Monday at our favorite Milwaukee stores. I really wish she lived here....

For the days leading up to the big event I put everything off. The boys would ask, "can we bake cookies?" and I would say, "on Monday". I mentally could not take on anything more than this dinner, even making cookies. So, needless to say, Monday- Wednesday have been filled with things I put off.

Last night we went to the Brewers game (they were not the firm's tickets. They were up in section 400, which we have found is our favorite place to sit because then we don't have to worry about the boys goofing around and ruining the game for people who paid mega bucks for their tickets).

It was a great night and now it's 8:30 in the morning and the boys are still asleep. Chris is off to work and I am ironing while listening to this soundtrack

which I could listen to all day. Only, I was listening to in on playlist.com (because I was too lazy to get the cd out of the kitchen cd player which has not been uploaded onto the computer because.. well... I am too lazy) and I found list playlist

http://www.playlist.com/playlist/7758599179

which I am 1/2 way though and feel this person is a kindred spirit to put this combination of songs together. P&P, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Nat "King" Cole, Debussy, Ella Fitzgerald's "At Last" (my wedding dance song, which, btw, is pretty unfitting, saying I married Chris at 19 Can't really say I waited for it and could say, "at last". Except maybe for the fact that I had been ready to marry him since age 16:) ) and "Come Thou Fount" (my favorite hymn). I seriously had to double check to make sure I did not make this playlist. Kinda creepy.

Also, I love playlist.com because 1) I can share my playlists with Brian (and he with me). It makes us feel closer. 2) I can listen to that catchy song I heard on the radio without having to buy it (because I know I will be sick of it in a week). It's like Pandora with more control. I can listen to free music all day, but I get to pick the songs.

Anyway,

I took a minute to stop and blog because I was standing there ironing, listening to music I love, thinking of people I love, thinking how wonderful life is. How lucky I am. Which is really saying something, as I was ironing at the time that I had this thought. I am so blessed.

BTW, any of you who are wondering how things are going with big law struggles... I have realized that 2 constants in life, family and faith, are the most important things in life and those things I do have control over. To strengthen. To improve. There are so many things in life that are out of my control, and as a control freak, it's hard to let those things go. But by focusing on the two most important things in life that I do have control over, they will carry me through the bumps in the road caused by all the things I don't have control over. So my perspective continues to be changed. I continue to focus on the good in my life. Life continues to be cherished.

And some link-love

http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com

http://www.sayyestohoboken.com

Oregon trip Day 6

Today is the big day!

The reason we all we crazy enough to road trip cross country.

Brynn-bear's baptism.

In our faith, Latter Day Saints follow Christ's example by being baptized by immersion in water and then receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost. We also believe children are unable to commit sin (are born pure) and are redeemed through Christ's mercy should they die before they are baptized- which, in our religion, is the age of 8.

“Listen to the words of Christ, your Redeemer, your Lord and your God. Behold, I came into the world not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance; the whole need no physician, but they that are sick; wherefore, little children are whole, for they are not capable of committing sin” (Moro. 8:8).

We believe that by the age of 8, children can understand the difference between right and wrong, become accountable for their choices, and therefore have need for repentance. Or in other words, we are baptized in the name if Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins.

(picture pulled from the web so you get an idea)

Those who are baptized enter into a covenant with God to take upon themselves the name of Jesus Christ, keep His commandments, and serve Him to the end. We remember and recommit to this covenant every Sunday when we take the sacrament during our church service.

I didn't take any pictures of the event, or at the family get together afterward.

I was feeling really overwhelmed.

I was so proud of Brynn for making the choice to be baptized, so there's those emotions.

I had been traveling for a week with little kids and no husband and missing him, so there's those emotions.

It was so touching to have my entire family there to show our love and support to this little girl on her special day.

But really it was an overwhelming feeling of gratitude for Preston (Brynn's step dad, married Rochelle last year) and his family who stepped in to this little girl's life and loved her completely. If a father is a worthy, active member of the church and has been ordained with the priesthood (the power and authority of God), he is able to baptize his child. So on this Saturday, it was Preston baptizing Brynn. A mix of emotions that it wasn't Mike up there baptizing his daughter, but again, so much gratitude that Preston was. That Rochelle and Preston have continue strong in their faith, and helped my sweet niece's faith to grow.

Divorce is hard.

Even for aunts.

I gave Preston and Rochelle teary hugs afterward and tried to express my gratitude to Preston and his parents individually, but I have never been good at expressing the truest feelings of my heart.

I am grateful that Brynn (and Caden) have a dad in their life every day.

Of course, I am sad that isn't Mike with them every day.

Of course.

But I am so glad that Preston loves these kids and has happily taken on this responsibility.

I make it sound so formal, and, again, am botching an effort to express how I really feel- just know that I love my family. And that has grown to include Preston and his family now.

After a fun cupcake family get together with those closest to Preston and Rochelle at a local park (again, no pictures! ah! My brain was on another planet.) We drove over to the coast to spend the next 3 days together.

We arrived.

Claimed bedrooms.

Changed clothes.

And hit the beach.

The water was cold.

Colder than Lake Michigan.

(that's sayin' something)

But a few still braved the cold

There was a lot of this...

and this...

and this...

this...

Family- a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children,

considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not: the traditional family.

Family.... so much more than that

updates

I have not been able to upload pictures from the fair last weekend. Whenever I have tried, the computer freezes up.

SOmething to deal with tomorrow.

Not at 10 o'clock at night.

Here are some photos not blogged yet:

We went to the Bristol Renaissance Fair. (waiting for the joust in picture above)

It was magical.

And then it got hot.

And the kids were tired (we did the outdoor movie the night before)

so then they were hot and tired.

We did not get to explore as much as we hoped, but most of it was PG-13 rated anyway.

Such as this guy below.

You pay to throw tomatoes at him while he insults you.

I was so embarrassed for the people playing because of his creative jabs.

All were offensive.

Most were inappropriate. Funny, but inappropriate.

Definitely PG-13.

We came across it while sitting on a hill for the joust.

Things were so "colorful" I questioned if we should move so the kids could not overhear it.

We have been out catching fireflies.

Chris has been between projects at work recently.

He is being "loaned out" to a company his firm represents and until that started, he wasn't taking on any big projects. So we had a lag time from when things wrapped up at the firm until things started at the company. We cherished so many nights with him home. Catching fireflies. Watching movies. Going for walks. It was heavenly.

Other updates: Reading Challenge guess what I found out. If your child can't read on his own yet, and you do a reading challenge for him to read 100 books- that means you have to stop and sit down and read those 100 books to him. Not just that, but you actually have to remember to mark them on the chart. Otherwise, it's pointless! So we are reading lots of books, but you sure couldn't tell from our chart! That's okay, I guess. It did it's job by raising awareness and reminding us we need to get our books in during the daytime so we can read chapter books at night.

Andy peeing the bed at night. No change there either. After those two weeks of nonsense and constantly changing the sheets I just bought pull ups. Who cares if he had been night time potty trained for 6 months beforehand. He's stinkin' two years old. He's got some time for a little regression.

This guy had a birthday

so did this guy

I stayed up all night making decorations and baking cupcakes, cake balls, cookie cake... but I have nothing to show for it. We had just decided to do a party 24 hours earlier. I called his friends and threw this thing together ... well... overnight. I was so fried by the time the party arrived it was all I could do to host the party, I did not take a single picture of decorations (sorry Bri!) I did, however, get a picture of the door, as that got left up for weeks (out of sight, out of mind. I kept forgetting it was on there!) Inspiration found here. I had planned for mine to be two-toned as well. But I was too dang tired by this point.

Ideas for your next Lego party:

Plates like these (but I did all different mini fig faces)

Cake pops and cupcake toppers idea inspiration

Super cute invitations I would have used if we had planned this more than 24 hrs in advance

How to make cakepops

For cupcake topers

gift boxes (I also really liked her idea to order minifigs to look just like each guest- again, something that needs to be done more than 24 hrs in advance ;)

cute ideas I didn't use:

http://www.tipjunkie.com/lego-birthday-cakes/

http://ashleyannphotography.com/blog/2010/03/09/hes-six-lego-birthday-party/

http://deliacreates.blogspot.com/2011/01/lego-birthday-party.htm

http://cleof.blogspot.com/2010/07/lego-birthday-party.html

LOVE THIS DIY shirt. Started to make one at midnight and realized I only had wax paper not freezer paper. They are not the same thing. http://party.tipjunkie.com/go/?id=135