My favorite Halloween

I'm not sure I can pin one of these down. I agree with Julie that Halloween is so much more fun with kids! Now that my kids are a little older and understand that they can really get a lot of candy with a little bit of effort they REALLY love Halloween! I can't hardly remember Halloween as a kid. I mean I remember going and having fun. I was usually a baby once I hit my teenage years. I didn't think that scary was all that cute. I remember that old elephant costume that we used to have. I remember the clown costume that mom made Brody. It was so cute that I asked her to make one for Cedar a few years ago. The kids still wear it. I remember one from when I was in elementary school that I had said something to my teacher about the pumpkin stew that mom makes in a pumpkin and somehow I had volunteered her to make it for the whole class. Unfortunately I didn't realize that's what I did and I can't remember exactly but I remember that no one realized my mistake until that day in school where none of the kids had lunches and I had no stew to share. Maybe mom can give a better story of what happened, but whatever it is I am sure that I am TOTALLY innocent! By the way mom, will you post that recipe? So, what is my favorite? Probably last year watching the kids eyes bulged as they got 17 lbs of candy. I think that it was then that they really GOT Halloween. I too will post some Halloween Pict's sometime this weekend. These are from last year!

Happy Birthday Aspen!

Eight years ago at 3:03 pm a little miracle was brought into our family. She has beautiful steel blue eyes, an amazing brain and a very kind heart. I can't imagine my life with out her. She keeps me on my toes, makes me laugh, gives me loves, helps all she can, and like the true artist that she is, everything she sees has beauty and she helps me see it too.

I love you Aspen!

I like my birthdays

every one.

Each brings

a greater

joy to me.

But I can't wait

until I'm eight,

For then I'll be

baptized you see.

We have been having a lot of fun with grandma and grandpa here! We went for a bike ride and walk at Panther Creek State Park. As we were heading to the car at the end a deer ran right in front of Olive who was riding her bike. That was something you don't see every day. I have seen them run in front of a car (even seen one up really close...ahem...) but in front of a little girl on her bike! Pretty cool!

The fifth annual Pumpkin carving party with all of our Japanese friends was a success. We always have fun carving and eating and enjoying each other. It was a first and a last time. First time for Mrs. Kawasaki to ever carve a pumpkin and a last time for the Ebina's to be there. They are going home to Japan the first of the year.

The ward Trunk or Treat and chili cookoff was a success. Even though it rained, we went from classroom door to classroom door and everyone still ended up with full treat bags. The kids just keep going until all of the candy is gone. This year, Aspen made costumes for her and Olive. She was so proud of herself and she did a great job. Maybe I have a designer on my hands!

A warning and a teacher

First, a warning...

Some of you know that last week I had shingles. Yes, I know, that is usually a treat that dear grandma's and grandpa's get, right??? WRONG! And to prove my point I give you exhibit #2. Introducing my dear little sister Liz. She just called after getting out of the doctor with her own diagnosis of shingles. I live half way across the continent from her so even if I could have given it to her I didn't. It's just a little weird. The lady that does music for our primary had it 3 weeks ago, then I get it, now Liz has it and she said her sister in law (or was it cousin in law???) has it too. I don't know, but I would definitely be on the look out for a blistery rash on one side of your tummy and feeling sick, weird with no fever a few days before that. Stress is one of the things that can bring this baby out of hiding, so, like they say, "Don't worry, be happy!"

On to a teacher that has influenced my life.

Again, there are many. I will highlight one. When I was in High School my English teacher Ms. B. (I don't even remember her full last name. Brinkerhoff maybe?) She was the only teacher that I couldn't "float" my way through class with. Her assignments were hard and for the first time I was not just regurgitating answer es but thinking and forming opinions. It was more than "what does this teacher want me to say." and more of "How many ways can I think about this?" I think that so often we teach what to think, that we forget to teach how to think. Ms. B helped me as I began that difficult journey of the "real world" and all of the many things it would give me to think about.

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

My Week. A photo essay in reverse.

It's done. The last piece of trim went on today.

Decorated and furnished by Aspen, Cedar and Olive.

Nervous breakdown that almost happened.


We survived.

It FINALLY came out!

Haircut time.

So silly!

Entertainment for Jonathon and the kids while I went to my primary meeting.

A little bit of heaven

My storm is almost over. The hurricane of house renovation though not complete, the worst, deadlined part is over. Aspen's birthday party was a success though we were almost late to our own party due to a football game that went late. I feel like the weight is almost all off my shoulder, and things are feeling great! Today, after the party, when things had settled down we all sat down and played "Pass." It's the kids new favorite game and a cross between UNO and 21. Aspen is very good at it, Cedar has trouble holding all of the cards, and Olive prefers to play with all of her cards face up on the ground. But there we were, playing and Olive is being Olive and she gets a good card and says something like, "Oh, that is GOOD! That is really GOOD!" and she puts it in her pile, and then she puts the card down that Aspen needs and everyone is laughing because she really is cute. Then Aspen and Cedar say silly things and all I can do is look at Jonathon and think what a crazy, wonderful little family we have. Heaven.

Favorite recipe

I sit here at my computer with boxes surrounding me, dinner dishes still on the table, a big hole in my newley floored bathroom where the toilet should be, beautiful new carpet that desperately needs to be vacuumed and what am I doing? Blogging... I'm glad I have my priorities straight!

Did you catch that? My carpet is in!!! WooHoo! I will blog about that when I can take pictures I am not embarrassed to let the entire cyber world see. So on to this weeks Journal Jar question.

What is my favorite food and recipee.

That is truely tough. When I was living at home it was lasagna. I have been living in a house where we don't eat the quantity of cheese that I used to, so although I still love lasagna, if I made it my husband couldn't eat it, my son would stink for a week, my youngest would be in the hospital with croup and my oldest would refuse to eat it because it has sauce in it. So, this question has me rethinking favorites.

The truest answer is that I love dessert the best. I will second Julie and say cholcolate. I will however let her keep the dark and I will go for the milk chocolate. Whatever it is as long as it has chunks of real chocolat in it I am game!

I also love a good soup. I made some the other day and even though I know this and should never have done it I put the rice in with the soup. My advice, when you make soup that you want to put a grain like rice in, have 2 containers, one for the soup, one for the grain and then dish them up together. Rice continues to absorb water. So now I don't have leftover soup, I have leftover soggy casserole.

I also love a good chicken caesar salad. I love Olive garden salad. I love poppy seed dressing on any cheap (or expensive) salad.

I love just about anything that I don't have to cook or clean up.

I could post a lot of recipe's, but I thought I would post this because it is sooooooooooooo easy and a total crowd pleaser.

Better than _(fill in the blank)_ cake

1. Bake a regular old Chocolate Cake Mix according to the directions
2. When it comes out of the oven and is still hot pour 1/2 bottle of Carmel or Butterscotch ice cream topping and 1/2 can Sweetened Condensed Milk over the top. Take a fork and spread it around and poke holes in the top of the cake so this very high calorie stuff seeps into the cake. Do this until it is all absorbed.
3. Cool in the pan.
4. Frost with one tub of Cool Whip.
5. Take several Score bars and break them up with a hammer or rolling pin or by throwing them against the wall. Then sprinkle them on top.
6. Cut, share a piece with some one and then save the rest for yourself. That way you can honestly say that you didn't eat it all by yourself!

Update

The carpet is being put in as I type! (Everyone jump up and down and do the happy dance with me!) I have wanted to do all of this updating to our house since we moved in, so when the opportunity came, I jumped! We are on the down hill side now and it feels great! The funny thing about fixing up your house is that once you get started it's hard to stop. I look around my house and say, "Oh, I need to get to that too." Or, "That would look great if I ...." After the carpet comes the trim in the basement. I still need to paint the living room (Never, Ever use flat paint in a room that you go in more than 2 times a year!) and re paint the bathrooms. Then comes all of the extras. It is so strange walking around our upstairs. If you have ever been to our house you would remember the squeeeeks. It probably would have been great if we had a wayward teenager that we wanted to keep track of, but since I'm sure my kids would never dream of doing anything wrong, we went ahead and fixed the floor. It's so quiet it's almost scary. Here are a few pictures of what we have been doing when we haven't been working on the house.

Olive jumping.

I got Cedar the "Bob Books" set. They are all phonetic and short. Perfect for him. He really loves it because he can read all by himself. Cute little guy slept with them the first few days after he got them. We found this little guy on the swing set. I have never seen a live stick bug that wasn't behind glass.

Jonathon and the kids playing flag football between General Conference sessions on Saturday.

Cedar playing flag football

The girls with a friend "watching" the game.