Halloween 2010

I told Morgan that you can tell I've been a mom for a long time. I used to care if they had cute- coordinated costumes. Not any more! They can choose what they want and they don't have to match with each other. They trick or treated on the 30th, instead of the 31st- since it's a Sunday. The weather was overcast all day, but about 5 min. before they were going to leave to go trick or treating, or to parties, it started to pour. It rained and rained so everything got soaking wet. Lucky me, I got to stay home and pass out candy this year. :) Even with the weather, we still had lots of kids come, and of course the kids got a haul. Camden didn't want to stay out too long, which was great. Morgan went to a halloween party and had a fun time. I am always glad when halloween is over. It's not my favorite holiday, and that means it's perfectly acceptable now to decorate for Christmas, right?

Morgan's duct tape costume. Shoes, bracelet, headband, sash and dress all completely duct tape.

Camden the monkey. He loved his costume, but people kept thinking he was a bear.

He kept ducking his head like this: to prove he really was a monkey.

Dillon a Star Wars guy of course! (I think it's Arc-70, or something like that??)

Logan is a Star Wars guy too. Cad Bane from the Clone Wars.

Pumpkin Patch

The kids had the day off, since the term ended. It was a beautiful day, and we decided to go to the pumpkin patch, and play. It was so nice out! I love the sun! They went through the corn maze, slid down the huge tube slides, played in the corn box (instead of a sand box it's big kernels of corn.) rode the train, climbed bales of hay, jumped on the bouncy house, and ate kettle corn. They seemed to have a great time. There was so much to do there, and it was the perfect day to be outside.

Miscellaneous

We had a beehives party and I made some treats that were a hit. First off, we had witches hats. (So easy to make!)

Then the real hit were the cookie dough ball truffles. They are so naughty....but yummy, if I do say so myself. I have had several requests now to make them for other things. I had to give them away because I would just eat them if not.

I have wanted to decorate my lampshades for years. and finally got around to it this weekend.
They now match my bedding which I LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. Morgan says I take ruffles to an extreme. She is probably right, but what can I say? I have a house full of boys and need a little frilly to surround me. :)

Legoland

Matt took Dillon and Logan with some other Dad's and boys to Legoland for a few days. We didn't tell the boys until the night before, and they were so happy! I tell you- those boys are Lego freaks! They left late Wednesday nights, and didn't get to bed until around 1:30 am. However- Matt said by about 8:00 the next morning, they were bouncing off the hotel room walls, ready to go to Legoland.

They played there most of the day, and the next day as well. They did a little souvenir shopping, swimming,

eating, and playing at the beach, too.


On Saturday morning they were up by 5:00 a.m. for a deep sea fishing excursion they had booked. The boys LOVED this! They have not stopped talking about all the fish they caught.

My kids do not fall asleep just anywhere. This is a very rare picture, and shows how desperately he must have needed sleep. :)

Matt is such a great dad. He really doesn't like amusement parks, but for his boys- he will go to make them happy. They had such a great time. Matt liked bonding with the boys- and of course the boys loved the memories they created.

Lego mania

My boys have it. They LOVE Lego's. You can tell they love it, when for a FHE activity about temples, they build a temple and baptistery out of Lego's. :)

Excuse the poor quality photos. They are from my phone.

Sing Sing Sing...She loves to sing!

Morgan is in the school choir, and has lots of performances throughout the year. She loves singing. I think if it was socially acceptable to sing instead of talk- she would. :) She also loves that lots of her good friends are in choir with her. They get to be together more and sing- so it's all good to her. She had a choir concert this week, at the high school, and another one at Weber State University. She will also be in Guys and Dolls for her school- so she is getting her singing time in. One of my favorite things about Morgan is when she is in the shower downstairs at night. We can hear her singing her heart out with no cares and complete confidence. It seriously can bring a smile to my face anytime.

She is going to love this picture of her face. :)

Dillon & Surgery

Well, after meeting with the urologists at Primary Children's Hospital, they said Dillon absolutely needs surgery. He has already had damage to his right kidney, so they want to do it soon, to prevent further damage. They told us that damage from a UTI doesn't show up on the scans for 4-8 months afterwards, so he probably has additional damage that we can't see yet. He is on a daily, high dose of antibiotics, to prevent him from getting more uti's before his surgery. We have the surgery scheduled for Nov. 3rd. They can't do it with the laparoscope, so he will have a pretty good size incision. I just assumed they would remove his extra ureter, but since it has blood flow, they will have to fuse them both together and re-implant it in his kidney. I have to admit- I am nervous. I am sure things will be fine, but I still can't think about it without feeling a little panicky. I am grateful that we are going to Primary Children's because they undoubtedly are the best at what they do, and know just how to make kids feel comfortable. I can't wait to get this over and done with though- and I am sure Dillon feels the same way.

FHE

We did a FHE activity and went to Fat Cats to go bowling, and eat dinner. Morgan had saved a coupon and money to go do the indoor sky diving at the same time. She had SOOO much fun. It does look like an awesome couple of minutes.
Bowling is always fun for the first 6 or 7 frames, and then the kids (Camden) tires of it, and we spend the rest of the time trying to keep him from stealing other peoples balls, and running after them down the alley. They had a great time playing around, and everyone enjoyed beating me. Yes- EVERYONE beat me, including Camden!

Hawaii

Laie Temple

I have the best husband ever. Really. EVER. He always tries so hard to do things to make me happy. I tell him often that I don't need him to buy me things, or send me on trips to show me he loves me. He shows me all the time in little ways, and in big ways like this, too. A few weeks ago, we had a family night with Matt's brother and sister and our families. We talked about the creation, and each of us had a picture given to us, with a beautiful place on it. Katie, Christa and I all had places in Hawaii. We didn't think anything of it, until we looked at the back of Christa's picture, and it had an itinerary on it, with Christa's, Katie, Natalie, and my name on it. Our sweet husbands had already planned and booked this trip without any of our knowledge. We were so shocked, and so excited to go.

The night before we left, Matt and the kids had a going away to Hawaii send off party. It was complete with Hawaiian pizza, Hawaiian punch, leis. skirts and coconut tops, and a goody bag full of treats, books, and anything else needed for Hawaii. So fun!

Logan sporting the Hawaiian gear. :)

We got back yesterday. We had a great time! We were able to stay at the Ko Olina Marriott on Oahu. It is a beautiful resort. Matt and I took our kids there when I was pregnant with Camden- so I knew what to expect. It is right on the beach and has beautiful swimming pools surrounding it. The grounds are gorgeous and lush, there are Koi ponds and waterfalls, and gorgeous views. It is a little piece of heaven on earth.

Me at the Luau after almost NO sleep the night before.

While in Hawaii we went to the Polynesian Cultural Center, the Macademia Nut Plantation, Dole Plantation, the flea market, a movie, snorkeling off of a catamaran, souvenir shopping, etc. We spent lots of time on the beach, and some time at the pool as well.

Dolphin we saw while on the catamaran.

Christa's in-laws live on Oahu, so we went to their house for dinner as well. We had lots of fun talking, laughing, relaxing and bonding. We are so lucky that we all got to do this, and our husbands all stayed home, watching the kids.

When we got back, Matt had the house perfectly clean, had made a welcome home sign, and really just spoiled me rotten. It was so nice to not have to worry if the kids were being taken care of, or if I'd come home to a disaster. I know that when I am gone, Matt is going to keep things in better than I left it condition. I know I'm spoiled, and certainly don't deserve everything that he does for me, but I appreciate it so much! My ideal Heaven like place looks a lot like Hawaii, with my sweet husband there, too.

View from the hotel grounds....Beautiful!