Hello My Friends

So last week we were trying to come up with a couple costume and my ideas were to be Peace and Quiet (a mime and a hippie) or static cling and laundry and then it hit me.....

Yeah, we won the costume contest if you don't mind my bragging :) Do you like my shopping bags? And no, I'm not endorsing any political party--I'm still undecided. Matt kept practicing his McCain voice, hence the title of this post.

The thing that is the most disturbing to me is that the last two costume parties we've been to I've pulled my costumes out of my own closet. Here's a picture from the last one. Yes, that's my own jacket. I got it for my tenth birthday but in my own defense, I saved because it was so vintage 80's not because I would actually wear it again. You're jealous, aren't you?

Matt at least doesn't own a skinny tie. That's just the back of one with the regular part tucked in his shirt. Pretty smart, huh. He looked hot in eyeliner too. Tee hee.

So there you have it. Happy Halloween!!!!

Are You Serious?

I was showing a series of old pictures to Lucy this morning, pointing out the different aunts and uncles along with her own mom and dad. Upon seeing the following picture she said, "Which one is Dad?".

Wee Hours

After getting the girls to bed, I decided to pull out a crossword puzzle I got from a friend's newspaper while Matt finished up with Miles. Soon he joined me. We love crossword puzzles, especially doing them together. We were about 3/4 finished when I involuntarily fell asleep. I woke up briefly to Matt saying , "We finished it". The next thing I know it's the middle of the night and half of the lights in our house are on. I decided to check up on blogs and here I am an hour later blogging in silence...ahhhhhhh.

Time Out For Women

I went to Portland last weekend to attend Time Out For Women, a travelling conference held by Deseret Book. I haven't missed it in four years. It was wonderful! Lots of laughs, feelings of normalcy, moments of inspiration. My favorite quote of the conference was by Emily Watts. She's so funny. She tells her sons, "I give you the gift of an imperfect mom so you won't enter marriage with unrealistic expectations". Don't be surprised if you see that embroidered on a pillow next time you visit.
In addition to the conference I was able to stay with a close friend of mine. Kim and I have known each other for 10 years. She's one of those friends that I can go a year without talking to (not that I'd want to) and we'll pick up right where we left off. After the conference Saturday we went to my favorite restaurant--one that I never need a menu for. The Cheesecake Factory. My lamenting over leaving half of my dulce de leche cheesecake in Kim's refrigerator monopolized my thoughts for half of my drive home Sunday. I guess I'll have to go back :)

Family Series: Part 2

My husband. I love him. He's more than I could ever ask for. He's a great listener. You know when you get so tired that you can't even focus? Your eyes roll back in your head and you repeatedly bring yourself back to life. He does that. I'll be blabbering on and on while he's fighting his need for sleep but he'll never give in until I'm finished. Sometimes he loses the battle with his body but not after a good fight. He always puts me first.

I love how hard he works. I love how seriously he takes his role as the breadwinner all while making it clear that the whole purpose for his job is to make our life possible. He tries so hard to excel in his job and does very well at it in my opinion but I know he'd drop it all in a second if it was necessary for our family.

I love his sense of humor. He can get me laughing like no one else. I'm laughing right now thinking of things he says. I love hearing him from the other room using humor to get our girls to clean. I love how sometimes he makes himself laugh harder than anyone else but he just goes on enjoying himself. I may be rolling my eyes but it's kinda cute.

I love how much he supports me. Time and time again there will be an opportunity for me to do something and he's the first one encouraging me to do it. Even if it means that he has to jump through hoops. If I'm gone longer than planned he's always happy for me that I was enjoying myself.

I'm grateful for the patience he has for me. I'm no June Cleaver and he doesn't care. He's too busy telling me how beautiful and talented I am. I know...it sounds too good to be true but it is.

I love the father he is. I love how he reads to our children even if it means I have to tell him to stop so Miles can go to sleep. I love hearing the kids beg for another Polly Pickwick story. He makes them up as he goes borrowing the characters from his own dad's stories. They never fail to get the kids rolling. They know he loves them. They know he would drop everything to give them a hug or uplifting words. (I just asked Lucy what she loves about her dad. She said, "He's always being silly and he wants to talk to me.")

So what did I do to deserve a husband like this? I don't know. I just know I'm blessed more than I deserve.

Am I Crazy?!

Yes, Miles finally talked us into it. He's wanted a pet of his own for years. Now he's got two gerbils named Sugar and Cinnamon. The thing that surprises me the most is how much Matt loves them! He's kind of a softy.
Miles holds his gerbils every day. He loves them! He thrives on responsibility. I was a little worried about our cat Zoe getting them but when Miles accidently dropped Cinnamon on Zoe's back and she didn't seem to care, I figured we're safe.

Happy Birthday Lucy!!!

Today is Lucy's birthday. The first thing she said this morning when she woke up was, "Mom, am I five now?!!" Last week Lucy was telling me her favorite color was red but it would be purple when she's five. Guess what her favorite color is now.

Today was her special day at preschool. I grabbed the cupcakes, strawberries, and grapes for her to share and we ran out the door. Ten minutes later I realized I forgot to have her bring her favorite toy. They only get to do that on their special day. I felt terrible. Then I looked around the car and saw a little bird from a kid's meal she had several months ago. Voila! Problem solved. She was thrilled.

That's Lucy for you. I could probably tell her that we cancelled her birthday this year (as my loving brothers always did to me) and after a brief moment of sadness, she'd say something like, "I know! We can pretend it's my birthday!" I love her! She's always making the best of things.

Today also happens to be my brother's birthday. Happy birthday Bret! Oh wait, they cancelled it this year. Sorry.