A very Happy Halloween

Now this is my kind of Halloween!

Mom and dad as Popeye and Olive Oil.

The Toy Story clan. Danny as Woody, Jess as Bo Peep, Madison as an alien, Taylor as Jessie and Reece the birthday boy as Buzz Light year.

Ryan and Nikki as Napoleon Dynamite and Deb.

Oliver as his grandpa Woodhouse.

The twins Ty and Tanner as pirates.

Jeff and I as Carl and Ellie Fredrickson from 'UP'.

It is Halloween today and I am still waiting for the first trick-or-treaters to knock on our door. I am excited to tell the kids how cute they are! I learned a lesson today though-next year we are going to have to get candy we do not like. I am afraid that we don't have much left since we loaded up on vanilla tootsie rolls and twix. One of our home teachers just visited us, and after his lesson about the importance of the temple, he left us with sugar cookies. Mmm, 'tis the season! The house smells like our favorite pork chops and fall candles. I love the spirit Sundays bring to our house, the chance they give us to relax, go to church and spend time together.

These pictures are from last weekend at Reece's 1st birthday party. Dad ran around doing Popeye impressions reminding me of the Robin Williams version we used to watch- the one where Olive Oil's big boyfriend sings that song "I'm mean, I'm mean...".

Jess, Danny and the kids were so cute! Taylor looked just like Jessie, especially since she got braces earlier that week. Our little Taylor is a big girl now! (sniffle) We love you all- to infinity and beyond.

The image of Nikki and Ryan still makes me laugh out loud. They could not have done it better. At one point, Ryan must have been looking for something and shuffled through the living room in his moon boots with his head held down, stumbled once and blamed it on the magnified glasses. It was hilarious.

Oliver was great. Just like we usually find Grandpa, he wore his Carharts and crocs and had a pencil and some gum handy in his pockets. I saw him reach for Grandpa several times during the party, it was sweet.

Ty and Tanner BOTH got the night off work, which doesn't happen very often, so that was a bonus! And I haven't seen them dress alike in lots of years! Good job mateys...

'UP' is one of our favorite movies ever. The costume was all Jeff's idea. We had a blast and are very glad the gray hair spray washed out easily!

The only people missing were my big brother Aaron and his family. Miss and love you and hope to see you soon!

It has been a very HAPPY Halloween indeed.

Winner, winner

I am a proud wife! Jeff played in a small tournament this weekend and took the singles title today! He is pretty humble and tends to downplay it, but I am excited for him. It is so fun sitting there cheering him on and listening to how many other people are there cheering for him too. He's a pretty good guy. People like him. :)

I didn't want to forget to tell him some things after his final match today, so I wrote them down. Here they are (under some of my notes from church).

(This may make no sense if you don't know tennis...sorry!)

Hunter's Pumpkin Patch

I drive by Hunter's Pumpkin Patch everyday on my way to work and have been as excited as a kindergartner to get there and pick my pumpkin! So, we made a morning date of it. I was a very happy girl. The heat was cranked up, the house smelled like my new favorite Caramel Apple candle and I was in fall mode. Then off we went!

:)

(The happy kindergartner in me)

("Piggley." Don't ya want one?!)

(Jeff carrying the winner!)

Projects

I decided to use a Target gift card I got for my birthday to decorate the downstairs bathroom. Any decorating I am involved in usually takes at least half a dozen purchases and returns, a bunch of questioning as to whether or not I really like it, and then I usually get sick of it before the project is done. I can't tell you how many bedding sets I have bought since we have been married. Sorry Jeff, I love you. It is just not my thing- usually. But the bathroom turned out to be a different story! I only added a few little things, but I am so happy with it. Maybe it's silly, but it is a little joy of mine and it makes me grin when Jeff says things to me like "that is one staged bathroom" or "you did a really great job Lindsey."

Another recent project was that of the backyard. Before we knew it we found ourselves in the middle of September thinking we better get on it. Uncle Bill came over with his truck one day and off the guys went to rent a tiller from Home Depot. I can't believe I didn't get a picture of Jeff working that thing! He had a blast and even said later, "well, if the lawn doesn't turn out good this year, we'll just rent a tiller again and do it over." While I was at work one day Joanne and Mick came over and worked like crazy with Jeff picking up rocks, raking, and laying seed. And now look- we have grass!

Before:

After:

It grew quite a bit before getting too cold. With a little more TLC in the spring it should be good to go! On to our next project!...

Jeff's Birthday Fiesta!

In August we celebrated Jeff's 30th Birthday. Evites were sent out inviting family to "help us celebrate in his favorite way- low key with a taco dinner!" Joanne created this fun cake for him! It was so perfect. Everyone loved it and we felt bad cutting it up to eat it. (Only until it was in our mouths of course). :)

(Jeff's Mom and Nonie)

Friends and family put together scrapbook pages of good stuff like their favorite memories and reasons why they appreciate him. It turned out so great and he loves it. I love the idea that he can pick that up anytime and be reminded of how much we all love him.

(Oliver hangin' out with Grandpa)

Oliver decided he wanted to tinkle mid-diaper change! So he got a warm bath in Auntie and Uncle's sink. He is a pretty cute little naked baby!

Happy Birthday sweetheart!

Life as we know it

(I started writing this at 11:28 pm last night. We had just enjoyed a slice of yellow cake topped with chocolate frosting along with some creamy vanilla ice cream. Sometimes in the middle of the grocery store, you just get the urge to make a cake. So we did. It was silly, but I did enjoy mixing up a cake in my PJs with my honey. Besides, life just gets busier from here, so why not take these opportunities while we can?)

I have really come to love this time I get to sit and write a little about life. I have so much fun and am grateful for the small handful of people that read it. I have a lot to catch up on,

but for now, here are a few simple happenings that make me smile when I think of them:

1. Laying in bed some time ago, we talked about how we would need to switch sides of the bed eventually...so I won't have to climb over Jeff to get to a future little one several times in the night. Looking forward to it. :)

2. We recently celebrated Dad's 55th Birthday. I love him. I thank my Heavenly Father all the time for good parents.

3. Our first decorating project is complete! The downstairs bathroom is done and we LOVE it! (Pictures to come.)

Life as we currently know it: I am still working at Coldwater Creek, loving everything about it except for the drive. I am almost done with a Medical Transcript program and am looking forward to a change and a challenge. Jeff is working at Ballys teaching tennis lessons, running tournaments and keeping busy. We have been talking a lot about him being next to go back to school. Baby time is approaching. :) Our plan is to wait until after I am done with my program. We'll see!