HOMEWARD BOUND

So I'm getting ready to go home to Utah today. I have quite a bit of things on my "to do" list to get done. Dave can never understand why it takes me so long to get ready to go out of town. I'm sure you other mothers reading this can understand. Husband's just don't really understand all of the behind the scenes stuff that goes on. For example, today I need to:

Get the laundry done
Finish packing
Get my kids rooms in order, yes just so they can destroy them again.
Hide all markers, crayons, scissors, etc.
Hide all knives, apple cutters, cheese graters, etc.
Hide all cleaning supplies
Hide mommies make-up
(those of you who know my girl's, know it's a must to hide EVERYTHING!)
Cover my nice furniture with blankets
Switch out car seats
Grocery shop
Get kids clothes ready for weekend-football games, Primary program, playgroup
Get someone to do Cara and Ryleigh's hair for Primary program
Straighten my hair, sounds silly but it takes me forever

and the list goes on.......................................

This is definitely all worth it though. I get to see my family, Dave's parents, my brother Reiley's homecoming, and have a little R&R time without the kids. Thank you Dave for being such a wonderful husband and giving me the opportunity to be on my own for the weekend. I must go before my motivation runs out and my "to do" list get longer.

PLAYGROUP AND SUGAR COOKIES

Today was playgroup at our house. The girls have their playgroup every Monday. We switch off with three other moms. It's a great time for me to get out and get errands done while at the same time the girl's get some play time in. Today we decided we would make sugar cookies. I love making sugar cookies around Halloween. It always brings back some fun child hood memories. We made pumpkins and ghosts. I did the baking and let the girls frost and pour sprinkles. I was sweeping for hours and still am finding the sprinkles on the floor today, but it was worth it. The girls had a good time and I hope their little friends did too.

UNCLE RYAN COMES FOR A VISIT

Dave's brother Ryan came out for a visit over the weekend. The reason for his coming was to get out to one of Carson's football games, but Mother Nature had other things in mind. We were pretty bummed that he made the 11 hour drive from Houston and all games were cancelled due to the rain. I hope we still showed him a good time though. He is so good with my kids. He played ball with Carson, let the girl's crawl all over him, and treated them all to a gift the last day. We ate tons while he was in town too. How do you have company in Memphis without treating them to BBQ. Ryan is a good guy. He teaches ninth grade Geography to inner-city students in Houston. He has a very interesting job with exciting stories to share. Ryan, we hope you had a good break from school and we'll see you at Thanksgiving.

LOOK WHAT I CAN DO MOM!

Crazy, my daughter can stand on her toes. As many of you know, Cara loves to dance. I knew she was somewhat talented but when she started doing this little trick I was shocked. The first time she stood on her toes Dave and I were like "Oh my gosh, how does she do that?" We got cold chills down our spines and were pretty grossed out. It's funny though, she does this all the time now. So if anyone asks if she has a special human trick, she can now get up on her toes and impress her audience. Maybe I should give Letterman a call................!!!!

GRANDMA ELENE AND ALY COME FOR A VISIT

We were lucky enough to have Grandma Elene and Alyson come visit us this last week. They arrived last Wednesday night and just departed this morning at 7am. It was good to have some Utah blood in our home for a while. Alyson and I kept Grandma busy. We ate, watched, movies, did the tourist thing, and shopped til' she dropped! I was telling Dave that I'm pretty lucky to be able to have my 76 year old grandmother get on a plane and come visit me miles away. I did realize this week that my grandma is getting older and that her mind and body are starting to slow down. I'm grateful for our friendship and hope that she remains to be blessed with health and happiness.

Not only was it good to have my grandma here, but I love having my sisters in town. Those of you who have sisters just get that! There's nothing like the bond between sisters. When grandma was getting a little "high maintenance" Alyson and I could just give each other the look and we knew what the other was thinking. Alyson is due with her second child in April and looks really good. Alyson- just ignore the big butt comment from Grandma. I think your butt looks good!!!!HEEHEE......Thanks for the visit Alyson, we'll see you soon.

Grandma Elene and Cara-We shopped at The Avenues and enjoyed a burrito at Blue Coast.

We went to see the ducks march at the Peabody. I had to post this picture of the flower arrangement. I'm always so impressed with this arrangement every time I visit. The concierge told me that this is changed out weekly with fresh flowers and it averages $5000 a week. Hmmmm......maybe I need to be a floral designer!

Cara and Ryleigh checking out the ducks after they marched their way down the red carpet in to the pond.

Grandma isms-

Oh Gad!

If I had to visit Memphis or Billings, I would choose Billings any day. What a crappy city!

(Natalie you're next)

When we lived in Indiana.............................

Hey Alyson, how bout' getting me a glass of water.

Just tell the neighbor kids to take a hike!

OH....my hair just looks awful!

We couldn't have had better weather.

Over at Cottonwood.........

Come on girls, no crying.

Oh, now that's tacky.

What are you eating?

Your Grandpa..........

These are not meant to be rude, I had to list them for myself and for my family. I knew they would get all of them. Sound familiar family?

TOM'S FARM

Cara thought she would try to fit in with the teenage girls and show her booty!
Cara loved the pumpkin patch. I think we ended up leaving with 8 pumpkins she picked.

Ryleigh's favorite activity was throwing the corn kernels out of the play box, whoops!

Carson had fun playing, yep you guessed it....football.




These pics were taken last week when we were invited from some of our friends in the ward, the Cameron's, to participate in their family fun FHE night. We drove out to Tom's Farm where they have pumpkins galore, a hayride, a corn maze, farm animals, and lots of other fun stuff to do. The only problem was once we arrived the rain arrived with us. Unfortunately we weren't able to participate in any of these activities but we still had a ton of fun eating and getting to know some of our ward family a little better. The kids had a blast playing in the mud and water while Mommy put up with her AWFUL allergies. My allergies are bad as it is, but to be around animals and corn mazes just really did me in. It was time for Benadryl for Mommy and soaking in the bath tub for the kids. Thanks Cameron's for inviting us. Despite the weather we had a really good time!

GRANDPA JIM

THANK YOU FOR YOUR POSTS GRANDPA JIM, WE MISS YOU TOO!