Autumn Checklist

Do any of you get the list in your head? The one of all the cool things that make each season perfect, and you want to go down it and check them all off?



Some of the things on my Fall list:



1) Play volleyball (check. Still sore.)

2) Eat pomegranates

3) Read a really tame ghost story. I am a big chicken at heart. Last year I read Legend of Sleepy Hollow. This year, I want to read the rest of The Woman in White. I started this summer, but didn't get more than a couple of chapters in before I had to return it to the library. Now, I have my OWN copy. :)

4) Walk on lots of crunchy leaves. I have stomped a few already, but I am waiting for the trees up the street a ways, they dump huge piles, and it is so fun to slosh through the leaves, almost to my knees!

5) Go to a football game and YELL really loud! (I haven't done this in years, but Jake may look around and find me at his high school game in the near future. He probably won't claim me :).)

6) Watch "Meet Me in St. Louis", which you maybe think of at Christmas time, but my favorite scenes are the Halloween scenes.

7) Eat doughnuts and cider. Well, really and truly, it is my mom's doughnuts that I crave, so to officially check it off the list, I'd better make her recipe.

8) Break out the sweaters.

9) Watch "Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" with my kids.

10) Harvest the garden, can and freeze the food. Stock the storage room. (check)

11) Read the cookbooks and start baking again! :)

12) Starting my Christmas planning and shopping.

13) Read "The Little Broomstick" with my kids, and "The Oxcart Man".

14) Get out my adorable fall rubber stamps and make cards. Send them to people, just to spread the joy of autumn.

And last, but not least.....Celebrate my Birthday. Then we can officially get on with winter.

Alas, October has been flying by!! Halloween is upon us. Some of the list can carry on to November, but I must prioritize, for I am just not in the mood for ghost stories after Halloween is over! One cannot attend the football game if the season is gone. Carpe Diem! Get out of my way, stuff of little consequence (anything not on the list), I am on a mission!

Good News!

Nathan took my camera to use it for work, and I just barely got it back. Sorry for the delay. We have SUCH NEWS! Seth has finally done it! We are wearing our underwear and feeling so big!!! I am rejoicing. He still has a few accidents, but I cannot complain, because he is staying dry all night, he is doing all the poos in the potty and it is only the occcasional, "Oh, I forgot to stop playing and come tinkle" accidents. And they are the easiest to clean. So HOORAY!

I spent last week trying to restore some order to my house. It was so yucky! Mom shouldn't get sick, it isn't pretty. But now, I am down to 4 bathrooms that need some solid attention, and here I am, hiding out on my computer. :)

I can't get enough of the weather right now. It has been warm and nice here. Today it is gray, but what a nice backdrop for all the fall colors. I have tried several new recipes this week, but none of them have been very exciting, so I am posting an old standby today, that we love! It came from a neighbor of mine who grew up in New Orleans.

So, now I guess it is off to clean those potties.

Bleah!

I stole this line from Snoopy, one of my heros. Sigh. (and this one.) I spent several days trying really hard not to be sick, so now I've made it worse, and I have to stay down for a few days. At least I have sweet family and friends that check on me, and bring my family food and clean up after them. (Thanks, Grandma!)

Our weekend to Idaho (me and 7 kids--always an adventure) was great. We enjoyed conference with my parents and Natalie, Arnica and Shane's families. It is so funny to have wall-to-wall children, TV blaring to drown out the buzz, conference bingo etc. It made me think back to conference at my grandparents as a child. I used to play the game to jump the peg into the holes and try to just end up with one. We were wall to wall back then too--what a blessing.

Mom and Dad are in the middle of the moving process and are digging through years worth of life to sift and sort and only save what will fit in their new, smaller home. Alot of that stuff belongs to their kids, so we tried to help. It is a little sad, to think of them in a new place, but exciting too. They have been painting and building shelves at the new house, and it looks fresh and expectant. Soon.

While I was there, I inherited my great grandmother, Josephine Murdock's jewelry box. It is a sweet box, but mostly because it is evident that her hands cared for it. It is painted creamy white and has oriental pictures on it, and only a few costume pieces inside. One entire compartment is dedicated to holding her curlers, metal style with a hinged clamp. Practical. Two of the compartments were sealed forever when she mended the box after the Teton Dam Flood caused water damage. My great grandma was a tall lady, and her watch is there, reminding me of her big hands. There are a couple of the brooches I always remember pinned to her sweater. There is nothing of worldly value here, but as I opened the box, and viewed its contents, I was reminded of a woman who had been content with what she had. Who had found joy despite a tiny income for the majority of her life. It brought back memories of her wide smile and big hugs. That was the precious part of the inheritance. To look into the shabby little box, and be given eyes to see the real "jewels" my great grandmother adorned herself with. May I emulate this in some small way. Thanks Grandma Josie, for the legacy.

Happy Fall Y'all!

I have a stamp that says that. :) The weather is PERFECT!!! There are pears in my dehydrator, and I will be making my once-a-year pie today. It is a beautiful, delicious pie, but my husband and children don't appreciate it like they should, so I make it once a year, and eat it basically alone over the course of a couple of days. That is fine with me. I don't mind a bit. :) Pears and plums and grapes are my favorite fruits, all fall friends. Volleyball, football games, sweaters and pomegranates. Cool temperatures, interesting weather and all the trees putting on their favorite colors. Doughnuts and cider. What's not to love?

Seth is potty training right now.... Sigh. It is always a bit of a chore, but worth it in the end. I am just stoked that this is my LAST ONE! Come on, buddy! You can do it! I am hoping that the kids being home all weekend will help. A little positive peer pressure.

So, I want to take a vacation. Not one to go see something or do something, but one where I go away and do nothing. :) Or at least nothing that involves anyone else's opinions or needs. I want to read a book all the way through, and watch a movie without consulting anyone else's time table or tastes. I want to lay around under a tree in the gorgeous fall sunshine. Maybe I'll buy some pretty yarn and crochet an afgan. The funny thing about me and vacations is, I am happiest at home. Maybe what I really want is for my family to take a vacation and leave me here! :)

I am just grateful it is the first day of a long weekend. At least the school bell won't be one of my voices for a few days. Teachers, don't expect us to open the backpacks this weekend. It is just too nice outside to not savor the last of the weather! And it is women's conference this weekend! I have a ticket to go to the conference center. Wa-Hoo!

Nathan is getting his feet under him at work. It has been crazy, but what a blessing! He is over 4 projects now. There is a lot of work to be done! Another good thing to celebrate, so "Bring on the Pie!"

Catch a Wave

Last Saturday, I was sitting in my kitchen, having just finished a do-it-yourself assessment for depression. I was reading up on what my "borderline clinical" score meant, when water started to pour from one of the kitchen light fixtures. I hurtled up the stairs, yelling, and bust open the bathroom door to find Caleb, naked, standing in an inch of water and bubbles on the bathroom floor. He had given in to his inner Big Kahuna, and was making some waves. "Towels!", I yell, "Bring me towels!" "Turn off those lights!" Children rush to obey. (Wish I could bottle whatever it is that gets them to cooperate in emergencies, so I could spray it around once in a while.)

There were some frantic moments. We did get it all soaked up, and fans turned on to all the right spots. These things almost never happen when Nate is home. At this point, I decide to congratulate myself that my depression is only borderline clinical, and move on. :)

Nathan got a job on Wednesday. I applied for it last week. (Yes, truly.) They called for an interview on Tuesday, offered him the job Wednesday morning and he started work Wednesday afternoon! They thought he might want to get a bit familiar with the project before heading up the pre-construction meeting on Thursday! :) We feel like it is a miracle. We are just so grateful and blessed. Thanks for all the prayers in our behalf! I think it will help with the rash of depression too. :)

"So smile every mile, for wherever you roam, it will brighten your road, it will lighten your load, if you sing your way home."

Talent Show

One of our favorite annual traditions in this ward is the Primary Talent Show. It is always fun to see the children perform, and the audience is always so positive and cheers them on.

This year, Camille played "Sweet Hour of Prayer" on the piano.

She also acted as the MC for the show.
Ethan had a light saber duel with Justin, our neighbor.

Miriam sang the "Connected" song from Barbie Diamond Castle.

Caleb did a vegetable comedy act, in which he sawed off the arm of a volunteer from the audience with an oversized cucumber, but the photos didn't turn out and they may have been considered graphic material. :)

After the talent show, we went to the McAllsiter's house to celebrate Paul's birthday Nascar style. Complete with mullet wigs, which were, of course, the favorite things. :)

Paul and his mini self, Caleb.

Finally, meet Monstro. He is our garden giant, tipping the scale at over 1 lb. !!

Double Whammy

Nathan and Seth celebrate their birthdays back to back. Nathan really wanted Seth to be his birthday present three years ago, but Seth wanted his own birthday. Nathan is 40 this year! He wanted black balloons, because, as he said, when you are older than 40, you don't enjoy them as much. Sadly, I couldn't track down any black balloons at 10 on Saturday night, so, I just bought one, that said "Over the Hill". Ironically, before the party could start on Sunday, Ethan had let the balloon free into the wild, and it floated off, over the hill. Sigh.

This is Nate, basking in the glow of his many candles. There aren't 40 of them, just enough to roughly make a 4 and a 0 on his favorite, standard coconut pecan frosting. :)
Nate's favorite gift was a book (fancy that :), by Natl. Geographic called 500 Trips. Note Seth, carefully studying the gift opening, because he would have to take it on the next day....

Wa-Hoo! Seth turns 3! We have been anticipating the family sharing of popcorn and the soon to be potty-trained last McAllister. :)

Seth loves his new kitty pillow. Happy birthday, my birthday boys!