Matt and Bug's Halloween Party...

There was a Ward Youth Costume party Halloween night.  Matt and Bug WERE going to go as Obama and McCain, but decided at the last minute that they really didn't want to do that.  So we were scrambling for costumes an hour before the party started.  

I went through the costume box, and Matt decided to be a grim reaper, or scary person, or whatever you want to call a guy in black robes wielding a sword.

Bug tried on Del's "rice farmer" costume from a few years ago, but it was too big.  So I pulled out my Geisha costume instead.  

Bug - "NO WAY - I'm not going as a GIRL!"

Mom - "I'll give you $20 bucks."

Bug - "Done."

Mom - "Seriously?"

Bug - "Yeah, but only if you give me $20."

Mom - "OK!"  (I really didn't think he'd do it.)

He doesn't look too bad!  They hated trying to get the makeup off though.  

Photography 101...

Today my friend Betsy came over to teach me how to use my own camera (sad, I know.)  I attempted the owner's manual, but it's all Swahili to me.  One-on-one help was awesome.  She's a FABULOUS photographer, so I asked if she would mind showing me some basics besides point-and-click.  The first thing I learned was that I need a new camera, new lenses, filters, and carrying case.  OK fine... I'll settle for a new lens for now.  I need a full-time job to support this habit - I'm seriously thinking about getting one until my hair clientele builds up to where I want it.  We'll see....

So - I started practicing as soon as my favorite subjects got home from school.  They were thrilled!   NOT.  Some are better sports than others though.  I played around with the shutter speed, aperture and depth of field.  (I'm now down with the lingo)  in the house and out.  

Sydney and Rylee got a plant from the Pfall Pfreak-Out (instead of a cake walk, they had a plant walk).  So I snapped pics as they were planting their new weed-like plants in the front yard.  Travis was helping with a shovel, and "supervising."

Matt walked in the door red-cheeked from athletics class last period.

Bug - most like his father when it comes to wanting his pic taken.

Travis who looks the MOST like his dad.

Syd - You can see the scar above her left eye from jumping off the top bunk.

Rylee - see the white scar on her bottom lip from chasing a balloon under the kitchen table in Utah, and slipping on the hardwood floor.  

Sydney's Baptism...

Little Miss Sydney Ruth was baptized this last July before we moved. This is the first time I sent out invitations (hadn't even thought about it before, but a girlfriend gave me the idea - THANKS Julie - you rock! ) She also let me copy her idea of doing a video in between the baptism and confirmation instead of a special number. (We weren't in the same Stake, so it was good.) Plus, nobody else was getting baptized in our ward that month, so we could make it more personal - Yay!

We were very excited to have Grandma Ruth there (her namesake) and Grandma Karen. It was a fun day for all of us. It was a crazy weekend though - she got baptized on Saturday, and the movers came Monday to box everything up. Poor Grandma Ruth didn't know what she was in for when she agreed to come, but we're thankful we got to spend time with her. My kids adore her as do I - she's the best giggler. She also plays a mean game of ROOK (Arizona rules.)

Many friends also took time out of their busy day to attend, and we're thankful they could spend the day with us before we moved. AND - we had the most fabulous cakes after the baptism. Sherry, Brittany, and Suzi are awesome, and everybody LOVED the yummy cakes. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Some have already seen the video at her baptism, or the copies I sent for the Grandparents who weren't able to attend, but there were so many who couldn't come that DIDN'T get to see it, I thought I'd share. (Plus I really want to figure out how to input a video on this thing.)

Answers to questions I've been asked: I got the two songs from iTunes. The first is I Am a Child of God/I Have a Savior by Ryan Maag for EFY, and the second is What Heaven Sees In You by Doug Walker. Love BOTH songs. I took most of the photos, except for a couple school pics, and I put it together using iMovie on my trusty iMAC. The font on the invitation is Zapfino (came on the Mac, but you can also buy it online.)  Sydney's dress - we got at Dressed In White.

I have to say - the video was much better at the baptism in HD on a big screen.

Halloween Fun...

Yesterday was the Elementary school's Pfall Pfreak-Out, and then last night was Trunk-or-Treat at the church. It's always fun for me to get the girls dressed up and makeup done, but I was grateful both events were on the same day. And even MORE fun for me is watching others' reactions when they see the girls. Especially their classmates who don't recognize them right away. Travis' makeup rubbed off after a little while, which made him look like he had leprosy, which just added to the affect! Matt and Bug have a Halloween party to go to next week, and I can't wait to see them in their costumes. They haven't dressed up for a couple years (they're too cool) so they usually just pass out the candy while the others go trick-or-treating.

The Grim Reaper, The Pirate, and the Witch

Rylee Girl

Serious Syd

Wicked Trav

Plain Blog...

I used to have a prettier blog, but I found that with the fancy background and family picture in the title, it loaded soooo slowww. So now I'm just keeping this plain old black one. Loads faster on phones too - I likey. OK? Everybody down with that? Judging my blog cuz it's not as cute and creative as yours? Aaaaaah... who cares what you think anyway. Yeah.... I'm talkin' to YOU. Dude, it's late - talking to the screen in my best Dinero.

Del's on his way to pick up the car in El Paso. (5 minutes after he left he called and said his butt was already numb, and "am I there yet?") He left this afternoon and drove by himself. He's staying in a hotel so he can be there first thing in the morning to turn in the rental car and then pick up our car and drive right back home. Poor guy - WAY TO TAKE ONE FOR THE TEAM! (You rock, babe!) I wish I could've gone with him, but alas, Travis had a baseball tournament tonight and tomorrow, and the boys have to go to the church in the morning to help set up for the Halloween Haunted Hall, which the young men are in charge of.

Plus tomorrow is the Pfall PfreakOut - AKA Halloween Carnival. (Don't ask - it's a Pf'ville play-on-words thing that they do with everything. When we came here in July, there was a banner on main street that said, "July Pfourth Pfirework Pfestival!)

And tomorrow night is the Ward Trunk-or-Treat. Del said he's hoping to make it back in time for the church Halloween party, but I'm not holding my breath. Bet he drives slow on purpose. Nooooooooo - he would never do THAAAAAAT.

TTFN.

New House ...

I finally took a few pics of our new house for my Mom and MIL and friends who have asked for them. I only have a small window of opportunity - when the kids are at school and I don't have clients in my chair, and when the house is CLEAN. Who wants to look at somebody's messy house?

After waiting a YEAR for our empty house in Utah to sell, we're very grateful to even HAVE a house - especially with the economy right now, and all the mortgage problems. We are blessed.

So - for now, this is downstairs - minus my bedroom and the laundry room. (Too ugly to go public!) Whenever we get the crown moulding done in our bedroom, I promise I'll post a pic of that. Oh, and when the kids clean their rooms, I MIGHT post of those too. We'll see....

Front of the house - on the corner of a cul-de-sac.

Walking in the front door.

Living Room on the right.

Study/Office on Left

Study/Office

Hallway Nook and Stairs

Kitchen Table Area

Family Room

Standing in Family Room towards Kitchen and Stairs

Kitchen

Other side Kitchen

Eyelash emergency.....

Last night at exactly 11:45 pm - house is quiet, all lights are off, Del is snoring softly in the background, I'm getting ready for bed. I sat my phone next to the sink to start the routine - ya'll know what I'm talking about - wash face, lean in nose-to-nose in the mirror to inspect flaws, perform minor surgery on "flaws" etc. Right as I start to lean in, my phone vibrates, chimes and falls in the sink, shattering the silence in the house.

SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME! It was Kim texting to see if I was awake. I immediately responded telling her she scared me to death. The phone rang a second later - Kim, laughing. My breathing slowed back down to normal.

She was at the store (we're on different time-zones) wondering which kind of false eyelashes to get for the Halloween costume I sent her and Danny to borrow for her party this year. After we had a good laugh, I gave her the very important information.

Here's the costume she's borrowing, that I can't wait to see her in!

Del's Reunion Trip....

We went to Del's 20-year reunion this last weekend - it was very interesting! We're glad we went - it was fun seeing everybody and their families. They threw out candy from the back of the truck. The parade lasted a whole 5 minutes - AND they went up AND back - LOL.

We just got home last night - but our car is still in El Paso! As we were headed east out of Demming, we ran over a small object in the road. (didn't see it till we were on top of it!) It kicked up and hit the undercarriage. We couldn't feel or see anything wrong with it as we kept driving (although it smelled a little like gas) so we kept going until we reached El Paso. There was an accident up ahead about a mile or two, so we were at a stand-still. As we're stopped on the freeway - we noticed our gas gauge was falling faster than normal. We didn't think we'd make it off the road in time before we ran out completely! Finally we got off the road and pulled up to a gas station next to the pump. We got out, looked underneath, and sure enough - there was a HOLE in our gas tank!

So we called Ford Roadside Assistance, to see if they could help us. They told us we had to call the fire department, to make sure it didn't blow up while a tow truck took it to the nearest dealership. So - lights and sirens, the fire truck pulled up. EMBARRASSING! They tried to put some kind of putty on the hole so it would hold long enough to get us to the dealership, but it didn't work. So we waited for the tow truck to get there for about an hour (the dealership was only on the other side of the freeway, less than a freaking mile away!) As we were waiting, all the gas left in our tank drained out in a bucket that the fire department put under there, but since the fire truck and the tow truck only use DIESEL gas, we didn't know what to do with it. So the next person who pulled up to the pump, I asked if they wanted some free gas - she looked like at me like I was drunk, but happily agreed to take the gas off our hands.

We made it to the dealership (thank goodness they were still open) in time to fill out the paperwork to get it fixed, but because it was Saturday night, the service department already closed and was also closed Sundays, so they wouldn't be able to help us until Monday morning. So we got a hotel close by and started thinking about our options. We could hang out in the very "happening" city of El Paso all day Sunday, and hopefully Monday they'd be able to fix it, or we could get a rental car and drive home and then come back and pick it up later in the week. (7-hour drive one way!) So - that's what we did. After getting a rental car from the airport, we went back to the dealership Sunday morning and got all our stuff out (guns, cameras, etc.) and left for home.

This morning, the dealership called and said they didn't have a spare tank, so it wouldn't be fixed until Thursday or Friday - Phewwww! We chose wisely!

Drama, drama, drama!! That drive sucks! And we'll be doing it again next month for Thanksgiving - Oh boy!

Good times, good times.