BLACK FRIDAY

I've read stories from friends of how crazy and wonderful this day is. I just want to pay tribute to all those crazy people out there who not only brave the day but actually ENJOY doing it. I love Thanksgiving, and part of that is that my mother-in-law and I get to go shopping. We LOVE it!! Some years are better than others, some years we don't have to wait in lines and we get just what we want, some years things just aren't anywhere and the lines are unbelievably long, and some years we just go for the craziness of it. This year was great- at least on my part. Emily and I hit several stores with no lines and good gifts while Dayle got stuck at Wal-mart, they were less than helpful. All in all, we got some good deals, we had a good time, we are extremely tired and we're that much closer to being done with our Christmas shopping.
I LOVE BLACK FRIDAY-
and even better, no one was out today, I probably should have waited--NAH!!!!!

Say Thanks to our troops

Take a minute to say thank you to the servicemen that are fighting for us, and countless others. It only takes a minute and its free.

"FALL"ing leaves

It's the perfect time of year. The weather has turned chilly and the leaves are turning beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow, and then they fall... Which means two things. 1- we have to rake the leaves and 2- we get to jump in the leave (then we go back to number one). It's a never ending circle. Tommy and I got our rakes and gathered up most of the leaves in our backyard and had the most wonderful time. Once we were finished raking we all, yes I was included in that, had a great time jumping in the HUGE pile. Timothy wasn't sure at first, but he ended up having a good time.

What a goofy kid?

Birthday Boy

It was a dark and stormy October night when Tomas Joshua joined our family. That was SEVEN years ago, and the days and years have just flown by. I see him growing everyday and I am so grateful that he is mine. He is a wonderful son, brother, and friend. Tommy has a kind spirit, he makes friends easily, he has a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he acts as a perfect example of that testimony. He is helpful and kind, and he has the cutest smile- especially with the missing tooth. I am proud to be his mother. So Happy Birthday Tommy- We love you!!!

Boys and their toys. Tommy loves to ride bikes so it was the perfect idea to invite friends over to ride bikes then the traditional cake, ice cream, presents and then play with the toys. They had so much fun. We all had a grand time- and thank you to those family and friends that sent birthday cards to hime. He wanted to say a special thank you since he couldn't send a hug.

And this is just cuz he's just so darned cute!!!!

Happy Halloween

Well, its Halloween time, one of our favorite holidays. We love to celebrate, dress up and get loads of candy. Having kids in school is tons of fun and there's lots to do. The Elementary School puts on a costume parade every year, so this is the first year we went. Almost all the kids dressed up and rampaged through the school. They were so cute, and so many cute costumes.

After the parade each class had parties. There is never a bad time for a party and Halloween is almost required to have a party. And so we partied on. I helped out in Tommy's classroom. I was in charge of the limbo. We had some great classic tunes such as The Adamm's Family, Ghostbusters, Monster Mash, Flying Purple People Eater, and Boris the Spider. The kids had a great time, and I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time. It was a success.

Now, the kids have shown off their costumes AND come home with loads of candy and treats already (Siera and Savan had parties too, but I don't have pictures), and trick-or-treating hasn't even started yet!!

We all got dressed up in our family costumes and headed for the mall. The local police sponsored a mall trick-or-treat-- very awesome. There was a lot of people there. So for a second time, the kids came home loaded with treats. We finally went around the neighborhood to a few must-visit homes, and had the time of our lives. Zoey came with us, costume and all. At the end of the night we brought home 4 gallon sized bags FULL of candy. I had to go through and get rid of the gum, jawbreakers, unwanted and unsage candy and we still have 3 huge bags. I really don't want that much candy in my house- I just eat it. But good news- STOCKING STUFFERS!!!! reduce, reuse and recycle!!!!!!

Anyways, we all had so much fun and we hope that everyone had a great, fun and safe Halloween.

Are we scary or what? I'll break it down for you. ALL of us girls, including the dog, dressed up as witches. We had to be pretty witches of course, Savana wouldn't have it any other way. Since the girls all matched the boys had to match. So they came up with their own idea. Tommy dressed as DOCTOR FRANKENSTEIN, Timothy dressed as FRANKENSTEIN, the little monster, and Josh was IGOR.

my boys...

fly, fly witchy witchy fly....

And last but not least-- Zoey, the good witch dog!!!!