So much for Autumn?

The mountains outside my front door this afternoon


A tree in my backyard had a really pretty sky as a backdrop...


Actually, I love these early snowstorms that bring a snap of cold, snow on the benches, and stunning mix of textures in the sky....light and air, storm and shadow.

It strikes a chord with my heart...

Wow....

What a week. Quite a lot happening around here....When I came home from work last Sunday morning, this is what I found...

From September 2009

It's so sweet to see them like this...Cosette typically tolerates Indy's wild antics...until she's had enough, and then the hissing starts. They get along pretty well, though.

Sunday night, on our walk with my parents, we walked up to the little town cemetery.
Talia and Alec enjoyed the change of scenery...

From September 2009

And Talia especially enjoyed the fact that she didn't have to stay in the stroller the whole time..
On our way home, we stopped by my aunt and uncle's so my dad could see if there were any veggies left in the garden...and then we relaxed in my cousin's backyard for awhile.

From September 2009

Heidi and Adam enjoyed showing the kids how to roll down a hill properly.

On Monday, Ironman and Spiderman saved the world at our house...

From September 2009

On Wednesday, I had an important meeting at work. I got all dressed up, and couldn't resist taking my own picture (Cole laughs at me, but I LOVE to do that!)

From September 2009

Apparently, the mirror behind me isn't as clean to a camera flash as it appears to the naked eye...

Thursday and Friday were busy nights at work for me. Saturday was what we've been looking forward to all season...

FRIGHTMARES!

Now, Cole couldn't wait (circumstances made it so I couldn't request Friday night off), and took the boys down for opening night on Friday while I worked. The pics he took are on his blog. However, I really wanted to go opening weekend, so we headed back down last night. It was really fun...and we discovered something pretty funny.

From September 2009

Talia ENOYS being scared! It was so funny...it was obvious she was scared of all the "scary monsters". She kept on asking us to go back for more, though.
We went through the Haunted Fun House (which was basically a lot of really freaky clowns), and she whimpered and shook through the whole thing (yes, we enjoy traumatizing our children from a young age) but about a half hour later, wanted to go back. Unfortunately, they only let you go through each haunted house (there are 3, and a kiddie "trick or treat" one too)once per night.
Before any trauma

From September 2009

Waiting for "trick or treat"

From September 2009

From September 2009

There was a laboratory in the kiddie trick or treat. It was not nearly as good as Cole's version...but there was a hanging skeleton. The "mad scientist" was doing a great job. She called the skeleton Henry, and Talia kept saying "No, Bob! Bob, right there, Bob!) I was totally cracking up.

Alec and I right as the Roller Coaster went down the first big hill...

From September 2009

and the view at the top when we came back up from the big hill...

From September 2009

Me and Kyle on the Colossas

From September 2009

And finally, me and Alec with one of the "Chainsaw" guys.

From September 2009

These guys are GREAT, they actually perform dance numbers with their chainsaws, then wander the park in-between performances, chasing squealing girls and other kids. I felt a little bad for them, though, when I realized how hot they must be since the weather was pretty warm last night.

We had a great time. About halfway home, though, Talia got quiet. I said "Talia, are you awake?" She answered, "No, asleep". It made me laugh so hard.

It made for a late night, and a cranky early morning today to get up and to 9am church. It was worth it, though.

Technical Difficulties...

Lots seems to be going on around here...but we haven't had internet access. Our DSL went down on Tuesday. It's fixed now... hopefully I'll have time to post in the next couple of days.

Between the Virus that tried to eat our computer, and the intermittent power outages at the worst possible times, I feel lucky to even have a connection right now. At least I finally got the bills paid this morning.

Stay tuned!

My kids still surprise me...

In both good and bad ways. I had a really good surprise last night...

Alec has been bringing home a daily journal-type page. He's supposed to write 3 sentences and draw a picture about the sentences. This is what he brought home yestserday...

From September 2009

(since he doesn't have the best handwriting---and yes, we're working on that---i'll tell you what it says)

My best friend is Kyle. He is my best friend because he is nise. He is my best friend because he makes me my diner (second grade spelling...)

The picture is a pretty decent interpretation of our kitchen layout, with Kyle at the counter making "diner" and Alec sitting at the table. Now, Cole tells me that Kyle makes lunch quite a bit when I'm not home, but hardly ever makes dinner. That's beside the point, though....I read this...and got all teary. Despite all the fighting and arguments, Alec still considers Kyle his best friend. It completely touched my heart (and made me feel like we're probably doing something right!).
I made sure Kyle read it as well, so he would know...hopefully next time he wants to beat on his brother, he'll remember this and think twice!

Now for the not so fun surprises...I've been on a purge and organizing kick. I had spent about 45 minutes in Talia's room, picking up, organizing her bins, pulling all the toys out from under the furniture, and collecting the toys she'd scattered around the house. Not 10 minutes after I left her room, I went back to find she dumped out EVERY SINGLE BIN! She's 2, so I can't say it was a total surprise, but I wasn't very happy...luckily, she didn't scatter the toys too, so it only took me about 5 minutes to put it all back. After I was done, however, I closed her closet so she couldn't get back in there.

During my organizing processes, we've been going through Alec's old toys. It's been a slow process. However, I remembered that he'd had some Dora and Diego toys from when he was about 3-4 years old. The boys found Swiper and Boots, and Talia was having so much fun with them, that I went searching through all the old toys in the toy room.
(a little background on the toy room...we really haven't used it much since we moved the boys downstairs. We used it when they were still upstairs, and I didn't want all their toys upstairs in their room. Since they got their own rooms downstairs, they have been allowed to have their toys in their rooms. The toy room has been relegated to storage of old, unused toys and furniture.)

I was able to find most of the Dora and Diego toys in the old toy bins. Talia has been THRILLED! I think we may have found a new set of toys that travel everywhere with us...

From September 2009

One more thing...our laptop, of course, chooses today, the day I'm going to sit down and pay bills, to have some kind of crazy pop-up that is interferring with every time I try to click on any web site...and we've run our antivirus twice with no luck...

Time Marches on...(a bit too quickly it seems).

Is it really September 15th? I'm still having trouble believing that it's already halfway through the month. Where has the time gone?

Our house has been filled with preparations for my mom's school's Fall Carnival. Cole was doing the Laboratory for her, and he's been working like crazy to make sure everything went like he wanted....Of course, it didn't, it never does. Overall, however, we were pleased with the result. My mom beat her $ made by about $35, so she made good money for her class and we had a good time.

While we were madly rushing around, setting things up (and having things go wrong, as they sometimes do), we were letting Talia color. Kyle was supposed to be watching her, but as you can see, he wasn't really vigilant...

From September 2009

We broke one of the lamps Cole built, the jacob's ladder didn't work because it got wet in the storm, and we had to do an emergency "re-makeup" job on Cole in the middle of the carnival, but otherwise things went pretty good.

Kyle played "lab assistant", with his "burned" skin...

From September 2009

The monster

From September 2009

The "Experiment"

From September 2009

The younger kids and I wandered the carnival, I took them home and fed them McDonalds, then went back to help clean up. During this process, I got these pretty cool pics...

From September 2009

(this one's for you, Min, I'm hoping it's a good sign :))

From September 2009

From September 2009

And this cool pic I snapped on my Sunday night walk with my parents....

From September 2009

I'm thinking of blowing this one up a little and hanging it in my house....

Now I have 2 weeks of relative calm before Cole starts stressing about Halloween. If you want to see the videos I took of the Laboratory, Cole will have them posted on his blog later on. anunorthodoxhalloween.blogspot.com (linked to the side also)

Wasted time....

I've wasted so much time on the internet this morning, that now I don't have time to post about what I originally intended to post about. The internet, while wonderful, really can be a time drain.

I'm off to work out, hopefully I'll have time to post during lunch and "The Dora/Diego hour". I also have to call and find out why I haven't gotten a Sunday paper the last 2 weeks. I mean, come on, I only have a subscription for the weekend as it is...

Mommy's Turn...

Well, a Mommy has to have her shows too! I'm way excited for the Fall TV...but in the interim...



I just got this in the mail. It's Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip...The complete series. I LOVED this series the season it was on. It only lasted one season...it was right after "The West Wing" ended, and I think people were expecting it to be the same. It wasn't. It's more along the lines of "Sports Night", another smart, funny, and highly under appreciated dramedy. I was never much a fan of "Friends", but in this show, Matthew Perry completely won me over. Along with the rest of the cast. I wanted to buy it right when I saw that it had come out on DVD..but it was more money than I wanted to spend. I was ordering some books from Amazon the other day, and on a whim typed in Studio 60 to see how much it was now...and for $14.57, I had to scoop it up (and good thing too, I noticed when I borrowed the pic to post, it's back up to $24.00 and only 4 copies left)...

I've spent the last couple of days watching episodes and laughing, laughing, laughing. I really like this show...and now I can watch it whenever I need a good laugh. Cole just rolled his eyes at me...he thinks it's funny that I own an entire series on DVD. (Just because I've never watched the OTHER series I own on DVD...But I will. Someday when I'm in the mood ;))

I can hardly wait for Dora to be over, so I can put Talia down for a nap, drag out my craft stuff, and watch episode 6 while stringing my new watchband....

The Dora Hour

I've been trying for awhile to get Talia interested in "Dora the Explorer". Of all the toddler cartoons, it's my favorite. Relatively educational, without being totally annoying. It's something that doesn't drive the whole family crazy...even the boys can tolerate it.

Well, over the last couple of weeks, she finally took interest...and in the fashion of toddlers, Dora has become an obsession...so in limited fashion, we have our daily Dora hour...

Riveted...

I've been recording it onto our DVR so that we can watch at our convenience. Especially since an hour is all she gets...

I used the newly discovered "infinity" mode on my camera to get this pic of the full moon from my front porch...I didn't want to drag out the tripod, so it's a bit blurry, but still pretty...


Nothing else much going on at our house...Kyle and Talia have had a small cold, but are both recovering quickly. The boys seem to be adjusting to school well, and it's actually been easier for me this year than before. Mornings haven't been quite so hard for me, or anyone else for that matter. Our school year routine is working quite well. I may have finally figured out a solution for all the schoolwork and papers that seem to clutter up my kitchen...we'll see.

Halloween is also coming along well...check out Cole's Blog for more info on that...

Happy Labor Day!

Back to Basics...

The Christmas I was 11 1/2 was an important one. It was the day I took a few of those first, wonderful, magical steps toward womanhood. It was the day I started being allowed to wear MAKEUP.

6th grade had been a rough year for me. New School, new people, and groups already formed. Girls start to figure out how to be mean to each other at that age. One day you're best buds, the next your being ostracized and don't really even know why. Power struggles back and forth between cliques. Boys thinking that they should put there 2 cents in, and quite honestly, I was at a really awkward stage. (I like to joke now that my awkward stage started in 5th grade and lasted until 10th grade...thats when I really started to appreciate my unique form of beauty). Add all that on top of a brainy, somewhat nerdy personality...talk about a combination for 6th grade heartache. My mom had watched me struggle (painfully, I'm sure, as I know from watching my own kids struggle with things I can't fix!) and had done everthing in her power to help me get through it...even to buying me new, trendier clothes to help me "fit in". But most the girls were wearing makeup, and I wasn't allowed...yet. On Christmas, that all changed...

Santa brought me this...

From Product Review Pics

I have never forgotten the confidence it instilled in me, those few swipes of mascara. How it made me feel older and beautiful. Though I've experimented with many different makeup products through the years, there's nothing like a few swipes of mascara to make you feel put together.

So, I've been on the hunt for a good mascara that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I have....expensive tastes in makeup, and I've really been trying to tone down that habit a bit. There are a few things I can't compromise on because of my sensitive skin. So, I've been out of my main mascara for awhile now (Sephora Lash Plumper). I've been trying a few samples that I have, but nothing special. I was at Target Wednesday, and I like to wander the cosmetic section every so often. I had an idea...I liked Great Lash back then, it still gets rave reviews as the best "drugstore" brand of mascara, and at $4.50...I decided it's worth another try. After all, it gave me such a sense of beauty and confidence at 11 1/2 years old. I have since built my own confidence, and grown to love and accept my own brand of beauty. I am comfortable in my own skin...literally, as I am never unafraid to go out in public with out "putting on my face". However, I love makeup, so there's no way I'm giving it up.

So it's back to basics for awhile....

Crisis

So, as I walked into the hospital where I work today, I was swamped with an overwhelming wave of sadness. It's been a rough summer on my extended family...

My Grandfather has had a debilitating illness for a number of years now. We've actually been really lucky. Despite his illness, he's been able to triumph over most of his issues. This summer, however, his health has declined rapidly. My Grandmother has been expending massive amounts of energy to care for him, and it's taking it's toll. She's to the point where she can't do it anymore. My mom and her siblings were forced to tell my grandfather that changes were going to have to be made. That he can't safely drive anymore. That because of circumstances, he will need to move into an assisted living facility.

This has been traumatic for everyone, but today as I came to work....
Part of the reason I work here is because my Grandfather wanted me to. In his youth and middle age, he's been on the hospital's board of trustees, been very involved. I have never had to deal with this before...all of the other grandparents I've lost have gone quickly and relatively painlessly. To see my brillant, wonderful grandfather, trapped in a body that will no longer let him do the things he wants, is so very painful.

My Grandfather is everything a man should be. Wonderful husband and father. Provider. Generous. Loving. Always, always honored his priesthood. Taught me what that meant. Served without reservation or complaint. Encouraged me to get my education. Helped me along the way, both intellectually and financially. Witnessed the birth of 2 of my 3 children. Has supported me in every aspect of my life. I love and respect him so much. I feel both blessed and cursed...blessed to have had the time and memories that I have had, and cursed to watch the physical and mental pain that he's now in.