Happy Halloween!

We had a pretty good Halloween. The kids all had specific ideas of what to be, of course. And thank goodness for Grandma Henke this year. She was a lifesaver with costume help. She had Alyssa's costume in a big box of stuff she was getting rid of. And lucky for us she was here the night of our ward party (the night before Halloween) and pointed out that Alyssa's costume was on backwards. The smaller picture shows how I was dressing her. The only thing I got right was the apron. I was having her put the shirt, dress and hat all on backwards! So she wore it backwards, unbeknownst to us, to school and a stake carnival. Ah me. Like I said...thank goodness for Grandma. When people would ask what he wanted to be, Brady kept saying he was going to be "a golf guy." It sort of drove me crazy because I wasn't in the frame of mind to let him choose this year. I was just going to have him wear an old one we had saved. But he was quite persistent so grandma helped me pull together this old-fashioned golf outfit. We thought he was pretty darn cute. Chayse's costume was the drama of the year (at least for me). His friend and his mom showed Chayse a cool costume idea online that he could not get over. (Thanks a bunch Bryant and Marilee! Oh and sorry some of that sarcasm dripped on you.) He so wanted to make it and I guess I am so a gluten for punishment. Granted part of me, a very small part of me, actually wanted to make it. You know I love a creative project. But not while every moment I have is spent laboring on our house and tryng to maintain a household in the middle of construction. Just not right now.

But I gave in. So we paper-mached an alien head, built a crazy contraption/harness thing, painted, glued, pinned, taped, stuffed hands and legs, and gathered all the materials to pull this pretty awesome costume together. And it actually was pretty awesome. We were happy with how it turned out, and Chayse was a big hit wherever he went. In fact, his principal loved it so much he told Chayse he should have entered it in the Reflections contest. But it is not all a happy ending. During trick-or-treating Chayse found his costume quite awkward and cumbersome. Hmmm. I should have warned him it would be that way and try to use that to talk him out of making it. Oh wait, I did. The costume started falling apart after a while and he couldn't keep up with all the running kids, so he mumbled and gripped that it was the worst Halloween ever, which, lets just say, did not make me very happy. But I know deep down, he was grateful we made him a memorable costume.Some other highlights of the holiday where going to a stake carnival. Some friends were staying with us and we completely last minute pulled together costumes for everyone. Brady got to wear the dragon I made for Chayse years ago. He loved it. Even more so when we got there and his little buddy, Jeremy, was also a dragon. They did a three legged race together and it was the cutest thing. The kids tried to eat a donut on a string and Brady was so good about following the rules and keeping his hands behind his back, so I wanted to include pictures of those fun moments.As I mentioned before, we had a ward dinner and quite contrary to history, Bryce and I actually dressed up this year. The kids really wanted me to dress up when I got some costumes from my mom so I actually had something to wear. And Bryce was a good sport and threw together his costume right when we were ready to leave. I sure thought he was hot in his high school football jersey! And I got lots of compliments, even one saying I looked so good I had missed my era. It was pretty fun.The kids carved their own pumpkins this year. Alyssa created her own face and Chayse made, you guessed it, an alien. Can I just tell you what a pain it is to carve pumpkins and do paper-mache without a sink nearby?! Please be grateful for your kitchen sink for me!

A Walk in the Park...

I really enjoy the city's main park, particularly during autumn with the beautiful colors and falling leaves. It has a sidewalk that winds through trees, has bridges, ups and downs, and follows a stream. Every once in a while we enjoy beautiful Sunday afternoons there armed with bags of Cheerios to feed the ducks. We've actually seen quite a sampling of wildlife including eggs, baby fowl, and a muskrat one time that was so much fun to follow. We loved trying to find where he'd pop up next and seeing him startle the ducks when he swam underneath them. This last walk we saw a huge beehive and a cute black bunny. The ducks were hungry this time, which makes it so much more fun than trying to feed nonresponsive ones. On our most recent walk, as usual, the kids entertained us with their antics and funny comments. We love our little monkeys.We enjoyed the warm sun, knowing all too well that it might be the last time for a long time that we could soak it in. And we were right, because it has quickly turned bitter cold here. There are some interesting tree trunks throughout the park. The kids were walking on a trunk and I had a flashback to an experience years ago when Bryce helped a two-year-old Chayse walk on the great Angel Oak trunk in North Carolina. Then Chayse climbed a tree while Alyssa looked up at him and I was reminded of them as youngsters doing the same thing. Boy, how time has flown! And boy, how they have grown. Isn't it interesting how time changes things? And yet, at the same time, some things stay the same. My kids have definitely picked up some not-so-great behavior and attitudes as they have aged, but they are still a highlight of my life. They don't have cute, kissable baby cheeks any more, but the beauty of who they are still brings a smile to my face. Family feuds are now about fairness, teasing, and mean words instead of not being able to share toys. Perhaps the slightly chaotic living conditions we've endured the past few months haven't helped, but lately it seems there are way too many arguments, unnecessary comments, short tempers, and unkind words and deeds. All too often I've thought lately "How do I get my kids to remember that they really do love each other...or even like each other?" They used to be great playmates. Now those times seem fewer and far between. But when those moments do happen, like on a walk in the park, it makes them all the sweeter.Looking back, there were a few times when life really has been a "walk in the park." And while I'm on those "walks" it seems I savored life a little bit more. I can look back at the times I trudged, shuffled, limped, crawled, or even sprinted through life and be grateful for the variety of ways my life has traveled. I might not be exactly grateful during those trudging times. But the walks...I love the walks.

When walking, I can look up and see everything I'm passing through and even take time to examine a few things in greater detail along the way. I can breathe deeply and am more aware of myself and others. And the great thing about walking, even though it's "just" walking, is that it is progress. I'm still moving forward, getting somewhere, using my body, not standing still. It's possible to even work up a sweat walking! The pace can really vary, and it's all called walking.

There is no doubt in my mind that life is busy. Crazy and busy. It is for pretty much everyone I know, including myself. But sometimes all it takes is a little walk in the park to remind me of all the wonderful things in my crazy, busy life. Meandering through nature and experiencing God's artistry and imagination, seeing curiosity and excitement in my kids, holding my husband's hand...

It all reminds me how much I love this world and my life.

I am so blessed.

Pumpkin Patch

Last weekend I felt compelled to try and fit some semblance of normalcy into our lives. I have been realizing lately that maybe too much of "normal" life is getting left out. It's just way too hard right now to "do it all," even though I completely wish I could. So when the kids brought home an invitation from school for a hayride at the local nursery, I felt like I should take the opportunity. That probably sounds like a simple enough task for most people. But it was so hard battling the guilt of wanting to get more done with the house, feeling like I need to make the most of a Saturday working with those who are at the house to help, and feeling anxious about our not-yet-completed project and the changing weather, versus the guilt of feeling like a bad mom for ignoring my kids lately and not participating in any seasonal fun yet. I would have loved it to be a family outing, and I would have loved it to be warm, or even pleasant outside. But just the kids and I went, and it was stinkin' cold. (But at least we were better prepared for the cold this time than we were at the morning soccer game where we almost literally froze.) It was pretty fun though. Brady was so cute about the ride out to the field and we saw lots of plants and different tractors. We even walked around the nursery a bit and looked at trees and saw the koi pond. And we now have four festive pumpkins sitting on our porch in our construction zone. Including one shriveling, teeny green one that became the perfect pumpkin for Brady to take home. And I can feel like just a little bit better of a mom for a moment. Even though it wasn't a perfect pumpkin patch day.

Antelope Island & Cell Phones

We've lived in Layton just over 10 years now and I have never been to Antelope Island...until a few weeks ago. I've driven on Antelope Dr., oh, probably a good million times by now! But I've never stayed on it far enough west to go all the way out to the island. The end of September held a beautiful Sunday so we decided to go for a drive and check it out. Bryce has been there several times with scouts and such, but it was a first for both the kids and I. At first they weren't extremely excited that we were going for a drive and that we wouldn't let them watch a movie and made them look outside and talk to us. (Yes, we know we are cruel parents.) But it ended up being a fun little outing. It was just a quick trip near the end of the day, so we didn't get to see much. We didn't even get out of the car. But we did see quite a few buffalo (or buffalope as Brady would call them) and had fun watching them standing through the sun roof.Besides all the nasty bugs, it was a beautiful evening. I should have taken a picture of the front of the van when we got home. It was grotesquely, entirely covered by bugs. It was so strange looking. (And sooo hard to wash off!) I did take a picture looking back on the beautiful mountains and Layton. It was fun to see it from a different perspective.And we caught the tail end of a gorgeous sunset. We got involved watching the buffalo so we barely make it back around the other side of the island to see the last part of the sunset. Alyssa was a little saddened by that (as was I), and the fact that we didn't get to go down on the beach. But now that we know what it's like, it would be fun to go out there again when we could spend more time.That same weekend Bryce and I got new phones. Bryce got an iPhone that is just way too much fun to be a phone. And we kept my old phone to send with the kids to use when they go places. For days the kids were infatuated with playing with the ring tones and taking pictures. I thought this picture was just too cute when it was Brady's turn with the phone. Boys and their toys.