A quick trip to the pumpkin patch...........Or not!!!

For family night, we decided to take a trip to the pumpkin patch. I've been feeling like a lame mom since I haven't hung up any Halloween or Fall decorations. I thought it would be fun to let the kids pick out their own pumpkins and carve them. (It was actually Jill's idea, but I thought it would be fun too.) So we ate dinner early and headed out to a favorite pumpkin patch about 20 minutes away. We finally arrived at our destination and what did we find? They had just closed, it was 6:45 and they had closed at 6:30. What kind of a pumpkin patch closes at 6:30 on the last Monday before Halloween, and in Utah no less? Don't they know that procrastinating Mormon families buy their pumpkins on the last Monday before Halloween? We aren't super familiar with the pumpkin patches in Utah county, or in any county for that matter, so we decided to go to Wal-mart. What did we find at Wal-mart? They had just sold their last pumpkins for the season. Are you kidding me? At this point it was getting late and we were running out of options. We decided to stop at Smith's on our way home, as our last ditch effort. Right about this time, the pumpkin spirit was gone and the finger pointing began. "We should've...... You never....... I told you........ Who's idea was this anyway?....." We were almost to Smith's when we spotted this random pumpkin stand on Main Street and it looked open. We pulled in and this nice, nice older man came to the window. We asked if he sold pumpkins and if he took checks. He said, "Absolutely." Yea!! The hunt for the great pumpkin was over. To top it off, the pumpkins were huge and cheap. The pumpkin spirit had returned. As we were getting back in the car, all the kids said, "Let's come here every year." So, an hour and a half after our search for pumpkins began, we found them less than five miles from our house.

What an adventure!!!

My sentiments exactly! That stuff is pretty slimy!

Yummy, raw pumpkin with seeds

Whoa, don't mess with Kevin, he's a man on a mission

Careful with the knife there, buddy!


Of course, Holly found the heart shaped seeds
(they're kind of hard to see in this picture)
She was very excited!


Scary!!
If looks and knives could kill (actually knives do)
It's kind of hard to see the knife in this picture, it's in Jill's hand


I wish they looked this excited to eat my dinner


I'm not exactly sure what Megan's planning to do to the pumpkin
It looks like some sort of martial arts

Dramatic poses with the end product

I think Jill is trying to blow her head up

Megan is attempting to eat a cookie through the pumpkin's mouth

Holly is reenacting Romeo and Juliet (I think she's Juliet.)

Kevin is stabbing the pumpkin

Once again, careful with those knives, guys!!

They all did a great job with their pumpkins, very creative

They did most of the work themselves

P.S. I did finally hang up Halloween decorations tonight, after the kids went to bed.

Look out 007!!!

This post is per Jill and Erika's request. They were hanging out at our house last night and were extremely hyper and goofy. They decided to go outside and play "cops and robbers". Go figure; I didn't know 13 and 14 year olds got into that kind of stuff. Leave it to them to have a fun time together; they are hilarious when they get together.

James Bond's new girls!!!

(We tried this picture outside, but they were too embarrassed by the passing cars.)

I love these girls

Aren't they so beautiful!!!!
Shortly after cops and robbers, we got doorbell stayed by two of their friends, Cody and Josh. For those of you who don't know what doorbell staying is, I will explain. Instead of doorbell ditching, you ring the doorbell and then stay on the doorstep doing random things, such as singing, laying on the porch, looking up at the stars, telling jokes, etc. You then ask the person who answered the door to join you in the activity. Crazy kids, what will they think of next? The four of them ended the night with a few rounds of doorbell staying (only to people that they knew, of course).

A Dad With His Daughter

Last night, Megan and Zaron went to their first Daddy/Daughter activity. It was a Halloween dinner and party with trick or treating for food for the food bank (what a great idea). For the last week, Megan kept changing her mind about wanting to go to the activity; one minute she wanted to go, the next minute she didn't. Yesterday morning, before she left for school, she told me that she just didn't want to go. When she got home from school, I decided to try one last thing. I asked her why she didn't want to go. What a novel idea, I know. She said she was afraid there was going to be dancing and she was afraid that Zaron was going to embarrass her. I couldn't help it, but I started laughing. I told her that there was definitely not going to be any dancing. I then told her to call her dad at work and tell him that if he would agree not to embarrass her than she would agree to go with him to the activity. Too Funny!!!

Megan was trying to be very serious in her Gothic costume.

She was excited that she got to wear so much make-up.
What a cute dad and daughter pair!

Zaron wasn't allowed to dress up,

Megan said it would embarrass her.

They really did have a great time and

Megan was glad that she went.

Good job Activity Day Leaders!!

The reasons for my weirdness

My sister-in-law Krissi tagged me. I'm supposed to list my 6 quirks. I know, it's going to be hard to limit it to six, I'm pretty quirky!!

Quirk #1

I am deathly afraid of crowds, a crowd meaning more than about 8 people. Okay, maybe not deathly afraid, but it does cause me anxiety and feelings of panic in my stomach. I try to avoid them at all cost. Ward parties are definitely out!

Quirk #2

I am completely obsessed with mysteries, whether it's books, t.v. shows, or movies. They absolutely fascinate me. I could read them or watch them over and over again, and I do.

Quirk #3

I love to sleep with the window open, but I can't sleep with anyone touching me. I need my space. I know, so sad for Zaron.
Quirk #4

I am extremely afraid of the dark. I don't know, maybe it's from all the scary movies that I watched as a kid at our cousin slumber parties. (Watcher in the woods, Changeling, Wait until dark, Something wicked this way comes - total classics, but totally scary.)

Quirk #5

I am a freak about conserving electricity and water, as I'm sure my family will tell you. I hate it when the lights are left on and no one is in the room or water is left running unnecessarily.

Quirk #6

Actually this isn't a quirk anymore, but I used to have to have the kitchen spotless before I went to bed. It's no longer the case. I can totally go to bed with the table full of dinner dishes and the counters cluttered with who knows what.

And the list could go on and on and on, but I think that's enough for now!!

The bittersweet end to football

Last night was Kevin's final game of the football season. It was a happy/sad game. It would have been great if they could have won their last game, but it was still fun. I will miss watching the games and the socializing; we really did have a great time at the games. But I won't miss driving to practice 3-4 times a week and driving all over Utah for games. Kevin had a great time and he really improved his game. So, I guess that makes it all worth it! He even wants to play again next season. Yea!!!

This was taken right as they were kicking off. One of the positions Kevin played, was on the kick off return team. It's kind of hard to see him, but he was #51 (in the middle).

Jill, Megan, and Shaelee (Kevin's biggest fans)
We made two banners for the team to run through after half-time. We wanted to make sure that more of the guys had a chance to break the banner on their last game.
Such a cutie pie!!!
Our great friends, the Whitings, came to support Kevin on his last game. Yes, that really is Melanie on Jill's shoulders. They made their own pyramid.
Now, on to Dance, but let's wait til January!!!

My Sister, My Hero!!!

This past weekend, my sister Amy ran in the St. George Marathon, in the rain. She is so incredible!! She and I started training for this marathon almost a year and a half ago. Because of some medical issues that were out of my control, I had to drop out of the training and was not able to return to it. Amy continued the training by herself and she made it all the way to the finish line. She is amazing!! It was an awesome and at times emotional experience, as we stood near the finish line waiting for her. It was neat to see the expressions on the runner's faces as they neared the finish line. Some had the look of pain, some had the look of joy, some had the look of wanting to die, and some had tears streaming down their faces as they neared the end of what I'm sure at times seemed like an unattainable goal. I stood and watched in utter amazement anxiously awaiting to see a glimpse of Amy coming down the home stretch. As we saw her coming, through our tears, we started yelling her name. She had finished the race. All her hard work had paid off.

Good job Amy! We are so proud of you! We love you!!

She makes it look too easy. I guess it was only 26.2 miles.

I ran a block and a half to meet her at the finish line and I was totally dying.
Amy's cute family: Ty, Sydney, Ambri, Troy, and Amy
Holly with her Aunt Amy
Very cool women!!
Fun times with cousins
What a handsome guy!
Sydney was trying really hard not to smile
What awesome parents!
Crazy times in the hotel room playing sick; the suckers were their thermometers. I love the mask.
This trip was just me and my three girls, Jill, Megan, and Holly. I am so glad that I got to spend some quality time with them and I am also glad that I got to be a part of this amazing experience. Great memories that will be remembered forever!

Go Spartans!!!!!

After playing five games, the Spartans, Kevin's football team, finally won their first game. Yea!!! It was very exciting for all of us, even in the rain.

Kevin doesn't look very excited in this picture, but he was. We had to travel about 30 minutes to get to the field and then his game didn't start until 8:45 p.m. Needless to say, we didn't get home until around 11:00 p.m. We were all exhausted, but excited.
After the very first game, Jill and her friend Shaelee, who also has a brother on the team, decided to start their own Spartan Cheer Squad, complete with homemade Spartan cheer shirts, peppy cheers, and banners that the players run through after half-time. They really get the team pumped up.
Megan and Holly love the games because they get to run around and play crazy with their friends and "second cousins through marriage". (My sister Amy is married to Troy who has a brother named Trent who is married to Anna, and their son Hayden is on the team. Did you get all that?)

Even though this football season has been intense and at times a bit much, it has been fun to watch Kevin play and really get into the game. He has turned into a really good football player. Who knows, maybe he will end up on the NFL and on a box of Wheaties, just like his dream. Or was that my dream?