HALLOWEEN, wha ha ha ha ha!!!

Well today was a little nuts at first. I was feeling VERY tired this morning and really not in the mood to do anything but as the afternoon went on I felt a little better. Yesterday we had tried to go to Boo at the Zoo but when we drove by it was absolutely packed, way more than normal so we decided against that. The kids were sad but Maddie threw a HUGE fit so I wasn't impressed. I took pictures of them before we went there, Maddie looked pretty good I thought.

Anyway today once we got going we went out to get some bread and then went to Toys R Us for their little Halloween thing they do. The kids loved it and it was nice because Geoffrey the giraffe was there. I had wanted to take the kids to Shelley but I really didn't have the energy, maybe next year.

All Steve's family came to our house in the evening. We used to always go to Steve's parents old house but now we're more central so everyone comes here which is fun. Steve, Trish and Brad (Steve's Dad) took the kids trick or treating while we were waiting for everyone else to come. Then once they got back we ate all our goodies. We had chili, soup, rolls, pumpkin cookies, sugar cookies and doughnuts, YUMMY!

It was a great night, it's always nice to be with family. Hadley wasn't too impressed about being in her costume as you can tell by the picture but she looked so cute! I'll have to get a picture of her in it when she's happier. It was a great deal, only $5 so I couldn't resist even though she only wore it twice. The kids all had a great time and loved being with their cousins. Halloween is so much fun, I can't believe it's over now though and that tomorrow it'll be November, CRAZY!

My crazy family!

Before bed time tonight the kids were going a little bit nuts! Spencer got some orange vampire teeth at the ward party yesterday so he was wearing them and Syd found her witches nose so they were both running around trying to scare each other. Syd kept putting her nose on upside down which actually looked really funny. She even put it on Steve which was lovely of course. Poor Hadley, she doesn't know what she's got herself into, she just slept the whole time. I'm sure when she gets older she'll join in the madness which will make it even more crazy!!! I really do love my little family, they're all pretty nuts but as they say, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Pumpkins

Last night we went over to Steve's parents for FHE to carve our pumpkins. We had grown our own pumpkins this year in our family garden so it was nice to be able to use them. The kids all picked the patterns they wanted and we all got to work. The pumpkins were really thick. Sydney collected a bunch of seeds, that's her latest thing to do. I made Syd's pumpkin, she picked a pattern that was hard to do because it had skinny pieces so I decided I would just scrape it out, not cut it all the way. The first picture is her pumpkin, it was a spider web with a spider. Sherisse helped Madison, she picked a princess. Last year she did Ariel and this year she picked Cinderella. Steve helped Spencer. Spencer didn't really know what he wanted so Steve just did a face. Normally Steve does really hard ones but I think this year he wasn't really in the mood. We were going to do one for Hadley too but we didn't get round to it.

It was fun to spend the evening with Steve's family. The kids love going there so they can play with their cousins and see Grandma and Grandpa. Steve really does have a great family, it's so nice to be able to live so close them. My family carved pumpkins last night as well. Poor Ruth was due to have her baby on Sunday but there is still no baby. It's funny how I'm always early and she's always late. I hope she has her baby soon though, I can't wait to see whether she'll have a boy or a girl.

LOVELY!

Don't you wish your husband was HOT like mine???So tonight was the kids school Halloween carnival and Steve was the mad scientist there. His hair was all spiked with gel but when he got home he brushed it all out and this was the end product, how attractive? I know, I know, I'm so lucky! He was such a great sport doing this though. At first they said he was going to be Frankenstein but then we realised he would have to wear green face paint and there was no way he would do that because he can't stand lotion or anything like that. Anyway he did a great job and the kids all loved it. It was a GREAT night and everyone worked so hard so thanks everyone for putting on such a great night for all the kids and their families, we loved it. (I'll try and get some more pictures from Arin).

First smiley picture!

I took these pictures this morning, I thought they were so cute so I had post them. Also the top picture is the first picture of her smiling. She's been smiling for a little while but I've never taken a picture until now.

It's over!

This past Saturday was our wards Super Saturday. It went really well and everyone seemed to have a great time. I'm just glad it's over now. We had so much fun planning everything and the day was great but that last week was VERY exhausting but well worth it. I really wanted to take pictures at the Super Saturday but during the craziness I forgot. I didn't even get any of my projects done because I was so tired and I was happy helping everyone else. I really do love my calling, it's so much fun, especially planning the Super Saturday and seeing the sisters enjoying themselves with each other. I really am blessed to be in such an amazing ward with such great friends. Thank you to all those who helped put this great day together, you all worked so hard and I couldn't have done it without you so THANKS!!!

Also I wanted to say a BIG thank you to Steve, he really is amazing. He had already planned to watch my kids the whole day but then Trudy asked if her Grandson could come and play with Spencer so Steve watched 5 little kids from about 8.45am until around 5pm. What a great husband! We didn't get done until about 6:30pm and by that time I was wrecked so we went home and Steve went to get dinner. The house was nice and clean when I got home which was great. I'm sure the kids had made a HUGE mess while I was at church but he had cleaned everything so I was so happy about that. I really do have the most wonderful husband.

Here are some pics from Sunday that Steve took, I just thought they were pretty cute.

Spencer with his tough guy face and then showing us his giant muscles.

Hadley fell asleep on Steve, she looked so cute and chubby. Madison thinks she's a big girl holding Hadley.

Getting chubby

We took these pictures of Hadley yesterday so I thought I would put them on here. She's getting so big and pretty cute if I do say so myself. She's starting to smile a little more but still doesn't focus too well but she's getting there. The kids all still love her and are all over her all the time but I think that's great. I thought I would add this second picture even though she's crying because you can see her little chubby legs. I've never had a chubby baby before so it would be fun if she really did get nice and juicy.

My husband tag

1. Where did you meet?

Steve was serving as a missionary in my ward in England and I had just got back from being at Ricks for a year. He was almost done with his mission at that point, I think he had about 3-4 months left. My Mom had the missionaries over ALL the time so I got to know him really well.

2. How long did you date before you were married?

Not very long! He came home the beginning of Aug, we talked on the phone every day after that. Then I came here to Idaho the beginning of Sept, we got engaged 2 weeks later and married 3 months after that. So I guess it was for about 4 months altogether.

3. How long have you been married?

This Dec we will have been married for 8 years, it's gone by so fast and it's been FANTASTIC!

4. What does he do that surprises you?

I really can't think of anything. I guess one thing though is that he puts up with me, especially when I'm having a bad day, ie yesterday! I was having one of those days and I wasn't being the most pleasant person to him but he just kept being really nice to me, helping me with whatever he could. I just thought of something else too. Whenever Maddie has lost a tooth, Steve won't pull it out, I don't know if it scares him or he just doesn't want to hurt her but it's pretty funny!

5. What is your favorite feature of his?

I think Steve has great legs. When he was a missionary they came over for FHE and we were playing basketball. I remember thinking, he has nice legs! I'm not a fan of skinny legs and he had lovely muscly legs.

6. What is your favorite quality of his?

He is patient and I'm not so it really helps me.

7. Does he have a nickname for you?

I don't think so, I call him poopy though.

8. Does he have a favorite colour?

He likes blue the best.

9. What is his favorite food?

One of his favourite places to eat is mongolian grill but he loves steaks as well, he's a big meat fan.

10. What is his favorite sport?

He loves to watch football, especially BYU. We always watch college football and basketball, he's lucky I like it too otherwise I think it would drive me nuts!

11. When was your first kiss?

Well, should I lie??? It was when I came over here from England, the first day! Shocking I know, good job my girls can't read. I'm sure they'll here all these stories when they're bigger though.

12. Favorite thing to do as a couple?
Well we don't do too much alone, especially now we have 4 kids. When we are alone we like to go to the movies or eat out, very original I know. Really it's just nice to spend time together without the kids needing something or fighting, it's just nice to just be together.

13. Do you have any children?

Yes 4 lovely jubblies! Three girls and our little man.

14. Does he have a hidden talent?

He's now a master canner!? hahaha! I don't know, he's just great at everything and is always so hard working.

15. How old is he?
He just turned 29 in Aug.

16. Who said I love you first?
I'm not sure, I think it was him though.

17. What's his favorite music?
He likes older stuff, like the Beatles and I think it's Stepponwolf, I don't know how to spell that! Also he likes Michael Buble right now.

18. What do you admire most about him?
He's such a great husband and wonderful father. He is so great with children and is always willing to help me them. For example last night we had a RS recipe swap at our house so he took all 4 kids with him. He's never been one of those husbands who doesn't change diapers, he's so helpful. I really could list so many things that he does for us like last week when he took the day off and ended up canning with us girls, he really is THE BEST! He's an amazing Dad and he works so hard to take care of us.

19. Do you think that he will read this?

Yes, he likes to read every ones blogs.

I really do feel very blessed to have such an amazing husband. He really helps me be a better person and is the most amazing Dad. Thanks for being YOU, we love you!

I will tag whoever wants to do this, I'm not good at picking people, plus I figure whoever wants to do it will do it anyway.

My Parents!

Today I have been thinking a lot about my Mom and Dad so I thought I would write down a few of my thoughts.
I've always felt VERY blessed to be apart of my family, especially because I have such amazing parents. We had so many wonderful times growing up. There was always something going on at our house, always friends and family over, it was the best. I always hope that when my kids get older they will feel the same way I did about my house. I loved having parties at my house with all my friends and my parents welcomed everyone who came. I don't know how many sleep overs we had over the years and even though we were SUPER noisy and my Dad had to bang on the floor quite a bit they always let us do it again.

My Dad always worries about whether we did enough things when we were younger and I always try and tell him that I had the best times ever. We went on fun holidays all over England, they were the best. Every Sunday we would go on walks up Bilton Hall lane, that was one of my favourite things to do. We would look for all the cool little colourful snails, feed the horses, go to see the Boyces, hear scary stories about a girl being stuck in her room and having to eat wall paper, go to the witches tree, it was always an adventure. We had FHE every week which is some thing I really want to do with my family. Once a month we would have a fun FHE were we got to eat junk food, those were great! Swimming at the river nidd or at the pool, it was great. I don't know how my Dad was patient enough to teach us all to swim, I think it would have driven me in sane!

My Mom has always been one of my best friends. She was and still is a big missionary lover so we always had the missionaries over which was so much fun. We had water fights with them, food fights, trashed their cars, not the best example to my girls but oh well, we had a blast! I guess it's not really suprising that I married someone who served in my ward. My Dad wasn't always happy about some of the things we did and most of the time he didn't know everything we did but he will now I guess. Mom and I loved to go shopping together, even if it was just to Morrisons to buy the weekend shopping. We watched all sorts of movies together, I think that's why I like so many different kinds of movies now. She has always been there to help me with anything and everything I have needed. I really love my Mom and I love that I talk to her all the time and I miss when she doesn't call me.

It's hard sometimes to live so far away from my Mom and Dad but I feel so lucky that they're my parents. They have helped me and my little family so much. I don't think we would have ever been back to England since Steve and I got married if they hadn't paid for us. If there's anything we need they're always willing to help. It's fun to see my kids with them when they come here or we go there. The kids know that Nanny will get them anything, which may not be the best thing but they know that she loves them and would do anything for them. They love to see my Dad because he tells them great stories and I love that too. He is the best story teller ever, he would always tell us the greatest stories every night. I told him he needs to write some books, he would be fantastic at that.

When my Mom and Dad came over here this summer it was so much fun to spend time with them. I wasn't the kindest, happiest person the whole time though so I'm sorry about that. I was super pregnant and just tired but it's really no excuse. My Mom and Dad mean the world to me and I don't always let them know that but they really do.

Most of all I am thankful that they were members of the church and had such strong testimonies. Every Sunday we would have round robin after dinner. It didn't matter who was over for dinner, we would all get together and go around the room either saying our testimony, saying a thought or scripture, singing, anything! What an amazing way that was to strengthen each of our testimonies and to share it with our family and friends. My parents haven't had the easiest lives. Losing two of their sons has taken its tole but through all of that they have stayed strong in the gospel and have been such great examples of faith and strength to me. I am so grateful for their examples to me and for the choices they have made in their lives. All of these things have made me who I am today. I'm not perfect by any means but all the good in me is from them and how they raised me.

I really am so truly thankful for you Mom and Dad and want to let you know how much I love you. Thank you for so many wonderful memories and happy times. You are the best parents ever and I miss you all the time but I'm so grateful that I can now have my own family and hopefully I will be able to raise them as well as you raised me. YOU ARE BOTH THE BEST!!!

My first canning experience!

I'm SOOO excited! Today I canned for the first time and it was fantastic.
My mother in law Sherisse, my sister in law Trish and I had frozen some corn about a month ago but we decided we would can next year which I was okay with. Then one of my friends Susan in our ward said her parents had tons of pairs for free so I was all about getting free pears. I asked Sherisse if she would help me can them and she said yes so I was really happy.

We then decided we could probably do some peaches too so I thought GREAT! So from that one box of pears we did tons of canning. We got 3 more big boxes of pears, 3 big boxes of peaches and then we canned 12 quarts of tomatoes from our garden. We all ended up getting 18 big jars of pears and 19 big jars of peaches.

It really wasn't very hard like I had thought it would be. Mainly it was just time consuming but with all us girls and Steve bless him, it only took 4 hours to get it all canned and then the extra time to cook it all. I don't think cook is the proper term but I don't know all the canning terms yet. Steve had taken the day off work because the kids were out of school, I don't think he thought he would be canning with us but he was such a great help so we really appreciated him helping us.

Now I'm so excited to can more stuff. I think we're going to make chili sauce next and maybe apple sauce so I'm really looking forward to that. I want to go and get my own canning stuff now so I can do little bits here and there at home. I'm really looking forward to next year now too so we can do more. It was especially fun to can the tomatoes we grew so next year when we plant more beans it'll be fun to can those. It's just so great to grow your own veg's and be able to see the end product, even with the pears and peaches today, it was so fun seeing all the jars covering the counters.

Thank you Susan for offering us those free pears that motivated us to do way more and thank you Sherisse, Trish and Steve for helping me learn how to can even though we weren't going to do it this year, I'm so glad we did. YAY for canning!!!