Halloween 2010

We had a very eventful Halloween! This is by far my FAVORITE holiday. We did the Halloween train in Lindon with some friends which is always an exciting tradition.We had Uncle Jason come to visit and he brought his lady friend who is now our good friend, Jenna. They were terrific sports about Halloween. They bought some costumes and took our kids trick or treating!
We did Frightmares at Lagoon and we also went to Nightmare on !3th in SLC. Very scary. I almost peed my pants. And apparently i just scream "stop it!!stop it!!!" in a very high pitch tone to which ever creature is scaring me the most.
AND, AND i spent way too much $ on my costume this year. But it was worth EVERY PENNY.
You see, I am known in these parts as "the witch". I am burned into the memories of several small children who have knocked on my door in previous years and this year was certainly unforgettable.
And now i am asking myself "why do i find such enjoyment in channeling my inner witch and scaring the crap out of kids (and teenagers) while the parents are off to the side giggling?"
Who knows. But know this..I am committed to being the hag on Halloween!
Matt was the scarecrow, Leah the unicorn (im afraid she does not share my zeal for dressing up), Hayley was a coffin bride (aka scary chick from the ring), Reese was a witch, Jenna was a vampire and Jason was a coffin groom.

Meet Jax #2

This is our new lizard. I never thought i would say this, but he is so adorable. He is really little and crazy-eyed, but he is fascinating. Way more exciting than the snake. You would'nt think so at first, but then you see his lightening speed tongue (that is longer than his entire body) snatch up a worthless cricket and you are SMITTEN. At least I am. And our whole family. And all of the neighbor kids. But especially Matt.

FREAK OUT

Okay, so i must explain why this post is titled "freak out". A few weeks ago my friend was visiting from CA for a photography workshop with an amazing photographer (Wendy with Blue Lily Photography). I received a message late Friday night asking if my little fam could "model" (when can I ever use this word seriously?) for this photography class THE NEXT MORNING. Are you KIDDING ME? AND my friend said "wear bright colors and look TRENDY. Umm, FYI to those who may think they know me..I wear black 4 days out of 7 any time of the year AND i am NOT trendy. I am typically a couple years behind the trends.
So, i took what we had and realized i had to be at Target ASAP the next day because Hayley has grown out of all of her clothes. And YES, i buy 90% of everything from Target.
The last family picture we did took me 3 days and 4 trips to different stores to get he right look. So it is a miracle we pulled it off. So, if you have done family portraits, you understand WHY i was freaking out.
But the BIG freak out came tonight when i was finally able to see our edited pictures. Oh. My. Gosh. Really, this is MY family. I made and birthed these fabulous offspring?? It helps that i have a hottie hubby, thats for sure!
It just makes me HAPPY. So very HAPPY. And to any stranger, we are just your typical family..but to me, i know the laughter and the love , AND CHAOS, that exists within the 5 of us. I love us. Truly, I do.
PS..u can see more on FB

I can BLOG again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FYI : Do NOT use K9 Web protection for your MAC if you have one. It has SCREWED up my life!!!!! It would not let me upload photos of anything anywhere. I spent 1 1/2 hours in the MAC store yesterday and we came to that conclusion. Anyways, so i will be doing a little catch up and now i want to start taking pics again. So now i just have to find some free time..uhh...or sacrifice the cleanliness of my house..or stop reading to my kids at night so i can BLOG again. YAY FOR ME.

Utah Lake

Hiking Doughnut Falls

On the Farm

Matt and I were able to take our girls back to Illinois to see my Grandma and her beautiful farm. My Grandma is the most impressive 92 year old you can find. She still lives in the house where my mom was raised and just a few blocks from where my Grandma was born. She is surrounded by wide open spaces and she gives a wave to every person who drives by because most likely she knows everyone who does. She has kept many of the toys my mom played with as a little girl which my girls enjoyed playing with also.
We were able to tour Nauvoo and Carthage but when we were on her farm and in her company, i wanted to freeze time. I wanted to catch the moments which are so fleeting. There will never be a time like that again. It was truly something that was sweet and magical. my heart will always long to be in those moments.

Great Grandma Catherine

The cemetery, cousins and the successful wedgie.

Marching to the Flag

There were terrible storms while we were there. We even had to hunker down in Grandma's cold, wet, dark basement because of a tornado, or tormato as Leah called it, which was quite memorable. So the flag was taken down and Matt had the girls march out to raise the flag when better weather arrived.

Fun in Saint Louis

Matt and i went back to the Midwest and we first stopped in St Louis where we toured the infamous Arch and went to the city's museum. I must say that going up in the arch was one of the craziest things I have done considering i dislike small spaces and i have a fear of heights. I did not even look out the viewing area when i got to the top. Pathetic, i know. But we had a great time. (The picture of me and Hayley is in the enclosed contraption that takes you to the top.)

Dancing Queens Part II

Dancing Queens

Hayley and Leah had their first ever recital tonight! It was quite a proud moment for Matt and i. Reese could have cared less. Just the fact that they had bright pink lipstick on with MASCARA made them incredibly happy and me incredibly scared for my soon to be teenage beauties. I might be praying for a pimple or two to keep them humble. Anyways, it was a momentous occasion.

Photo shoot in Boston, uh, i mean WITH Boston and brother