Halloween 2010

With October 31st falling on Sunday this year,

all things Halloween were celebrated

the days prior.

I got to visit some of the kids

pre-school parades but

my camera had been taken out of my purse

by a certain gentleman so I didn't get any shots of

Minie's parade. However....Jude's parade was

superb!

Here you see Mr. Rafael Ninja Turtle himself!

Check out that physique...

He's happy as a clam at school and loves all the songs, etc.

Greta was SOOO proud of Jude and
vice versa. Lots of love there!
Greta donned her kitty cat get up,
saving her "real"
costume for later.

Later that evening we all made our way over to
Sunrise for the Fall Festival....soup and sald bar
and trick or treating for the kids.

Here we have Rafael, a little witch, Barbie from Toy Story 3,

a birdie, a kitty cat, and a mermaid.

The kids had a blast making quite a haul without

much effort. And Granny Billie had a good time

too...in spite of herself.

Who knows, maybe we have changed her

attitude about Halloween.

We'll see.....

And Saturday for the first time in 36 years,

we left home on the night of trick or treating

and went to Kennan's for the evening.

Too bad it was raining so hard...but

the kids got out for a little bit and

me....well, I had a great time just

being around these cuties.

I guess we will see what next year

brings......maybe we will head

south where it's more inviting weather

and we can see another cute crew all decked out.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Her "GOLDEN" Birthday....

This gorgeous girl turned 28 today on the 28th...

thus her "Golden" birthday.

And let me tell you, she is worthy of

much celebration!!

Last year we visited the Cheesecake Factory on her birthday

and I blew my knee out shortly thereafter and we

all spent the rest of her birthday in the

emergency room. NOT a good birthday for her!

So, she very bravely wanted to try it

again this year....

The darling Gregory siblings all joined us...

Terri and Rog had another obligation.

Well, we weren't disappointed. It was YUUUUMMMMMY!

Mike and I pretty much feel like we hit the jackpot
with this girl. She has faced more than her
share of challenges in these 28 years and she
always comes through with flying colors.
She puts a delightful spin on all things.
She makes us laugh. She is so smart
and so savvy and so spectacular.
Kennan is expecting baby #3 and she
is glowing...even if she can't see it.
Thanks, K-dig, for choosing us.
We are so excited to see what the next
28 years brings. One thing is for sure...
it will NEVER be boring with you around.
Love you, sweet girl!

XOXOXOXO

P.S. Jude was invited to the adult only dinner
because...let's face it...he needed to be!!

Sunrise Visit and Sunday Events....

On Friday, Jeff and his three boys made a

very quick trip to visit Granny Billie in her

new home. They flew in, got the grand tour,

hung out and played Wii and visited.

It was great to see them and

we kidnapped Mom long enough to have dinner

and then they were off to the airport.

It almost felt like a dream. Hope they

can come again soon and bring Suz next time!!

Then on Sunday we had the pleasure of

having Lisa, Hayden and the twins for dinner

along with the Jacksons and Brad and Co.

Beckham had a bunch of "groupie"

toddler girls entertaining him.

Ellery was a hit with the girls.

They all wanted to hold her....

and she was quite accommodating!

And then after dinner was over,

we made caramel apples.

There were Halloween sprinkles, and
chocolate chips and nuts for
garnishing.

Delish...we all loved it!

And we loved having those two babies

for a visit too.

Pretty entertaining week-end with the

4 and under crowd!

Spooky Cookies

Sunday after dinner with Granny and the Gregory's

we were joined by Brad and Co. so we

decided to whip out some Halloween

sugar cookies.

Cute Gabi wanted to put "flowers" on the

cookies. Jude was appalled!!

Serious concentration going on here!!

Jude is ALL about Halloween....

Greta was excited to decorate the

cookies, but not excited enough

to put down her "Barbie".

Bella enjoyed the cookie dough more than the cookies.

We were so glad these cuties decided to

join us!

Love making cookies with this crew...

and they were yummy if I do say so myself.

XOXOXOX

Pumpkin Time!!

Today...after spending 4+days in bed trying to

beat this flu bug....I simply had to get out of the house.

So I ventured out with this little group to

choose some pumpkins.

We found some great pumpkins...but
none that could even compare to these
two cute little "punkins".
Thanks for inviting me along!!
Then it was back home....to take a nap. :(

Love you girls!!
XOXOXOXO

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Last week I had a "reunion" lunch with three of the

most awesome women in the world. In July, after 5 years of

service, I was released as the Stake RS President of the BYU 14th

Stake and I won't lie....it's been a tough adjustment.

Linda, Ruby and Susan served with me so faithfully and

we had the time of our life!! You know how sometimes

things just "click" and it feels perfect? Well that's what

it was like serving with these ladies. I knew I could always

count on them to come through on EVERYTHING!!

I have such wonderful memories of this time that will

always be so dear to my heart.

Every chapter of life has it's high points and

this time will always stand out as a high point

in my Church service.

We are going to make this outing a regular

part of our routine....I just can't let these

relationships fade.

(Please excuse how scary I look...I was on the

brink of coming down with a bad case of the flu

that put me in bed for the next several days!)

Moments from Midway

For several years now we have been having a fall

get-away for all the extended family that could make it.

in the past we have gone to Jackson Hole, but this year

we decided to try Midway to eleviate the longer drive.

The jury is still out on whether or not it was a good idea...

but judging from my pictures...I think it was a success.

(warning: this contains picture overload)

We rented a home by Soldier Hollow so we drove the

Alpine Loop to Cascade Springs and then took

the road to Midway. Beautiful drive that drops you

down into the Heber Valley and the house was great!

And the weather....couldn't have been better...

In betweeen Conference sessions,

there were lots of walks and hikes that took place

unfortunately my camera didn't make it on several of them!

And there was the trip into Heber for lunch at the

Dairy Keen "Home of the Train".

We won't talk about what all went on there,

but suffice it to say that it looks like we

had more fun than we did!

Adorable Greta!!

Actually, the kids had a GREAT time!

The Homestead was having a Scarecrow

Festival, so we all got to enjoy that.

So glad that Paige and Brig made the HUGE

effort to join us

(and believe me, I KNOW it is a HUGE effort on her part!)

Us girls did our annual Christmas gift project and NO...

we did not consume all that vodka!

Brig and Sully...the Newbies...worked on

solidifying their BFF status.

And it was discovered that a little fishing

truly is an activity for ALL ages!!

Check out the scenery!!

What did we do before Baby Bjorn's??

And here we are practicing a little family "togetherness".

Dustin and Abe were successful in bringing home dinner.

Sorry Abe...I didn't get a shot of your gorgeous

rainbow trout!!

And a little playground time with a

breath-taking backdrop!

The home we stayed at requested that everyone

remove their shoes before entering. This was

the pile at the back door and there was a similar

one at the front door!

We checked out on Monday and made our way down

to SLC for a quick visit to Gardner Village and the

Witch Festival. L-O-V-E this place this time of year!

And the Lamoreaux crew wanted to see it before

heading back to St. George.

Overall it was a great get-away but we learned a few

things from this experience.
Stay tuned for next year to see if we improve upon

our gathering skills.

But ask any one of the kids and they will tell you

they had the time of their lives....

So really, what else matters???

I'm gonna chalk this one up to a success!!