November

So much to be grateful for!

We had SUCH a great November! I am so blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. New friends, old friends, and of course, the best family ever! =]

My Fabulous Birthday!

I have to admit I wasn't very excited about my birthday this year. My first one away from family meant no great big family dinner. No birthday lunch with my sister. No get togethers with my friends. The things I've done for, well, the majority of my life. I was feeling pretty blue but alas! The very best family surprised me with the best birthday ever! Sunday afternoon, Aaron left to go to a scout meeting. Several minutes after he got home the doorbell rang. As I rounded the corner to get the door, my sister, dad and Julie were standing there with a giant cupcake! I was so amazed and so touched that they all went through so much effort to make my birthday special. All I could do was cry. It was the next best thing to being home!

We spent a few days together eating and eating, feeding turtles and eating. It was such a great week! I think that in the past I have truly taken my family for granted. This Thanksgiving season as I ponder the blessings I have, a loving family will definately be at the top of my list!

Thanks to everyone who made it such a great day! Friends, family, Aaron, my sweet kids, my mom who I know would have been here if she could - I love you all! Thank you! =]

HaLLoWeEn!

It's come and gone and we had such a great time! Parker was a vampire and Anna was Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz - finally! She wanted to be Dorothy the last couple of years but obviously, due to cold Utah Halloweens, I wouldn't let her. Such joy springs into the heart of a little girl when she gets to wear those glittery red shoes! Parker, of course, was thrilled with the shiny cape we - I mean Aaron made him!

We set out with neighbors and friends on a hayride stopping at each street to let the kids trick or treat. There were SO many people out! It was so much fun! Houses were decorated, street parties were going on, hayrides were passing hayrides! We are lucky we ended up in such a fun neighborhood with so many kids! Oh, and in case you didn't catch it on Facebook, my kids ended up with 8.5 lbs of candy! 8.5 lbs!!

After the trick or treating ended we spent the rest of the night roasting marshmallows, making s'mores and visiting. I've been excited for Halloween but I never expected it to be as fun as it was. Of course, I still missed taking my kids to see Kristi all dressed up at work and my trick-or-treating buddies at home (you know who you are!) and my family being able to see my cute kids in their cute costumes in person! That'll never change! I'll always miss it!

Anyway, I hope you all had as happy Halloween as we did!

PS - on the right there is a little slideshow of all the fun we had. I'm working on it to see if I can't find a better way but for now, enjoy!