Halloween Fun!

Today ended up being a great day! This morning we got a call from the body shop and our van was finished. It looks wonderful! I had a little bit of a heart attack when I drove it off the lot and the check engine light came on, but it went off about half-way through the day.

The kids and I had a great time at Chuck E. Cheese this afternoon. We had some tokens left over from last week so the kids played for a couple of hours. It was a much needed break from the everyday worries for me.

Tonight Glenn got to go trick-or-treating with us! We went to my grandma's neighborhood and the kids made out like bandits! At every house I'd try to get the kids to say "Thank you" and "Happy Halloween". Maryn would not do it! All she would say was "Adios!" She said that she had all kinds of "Adios's".

The other interesting thing that happened was at an old man's house. I was the one who walked the kids up to the door while Glenn waited on the street. When I took the kids to this old man's house, he opened the door and the kids said, "Trick or treat!"

The man was so happy! When he welcomed us into his home, we hesitated. I could tell from his thick accent that he was from Germany. We stepped up into the doorway and waited for him to get the candy. He stood there and shook our hands and complimented the kids on how cute they looked but made no move to get any candy from anywhere. I realized that he had no idea what we were doing there. I think he might have had a little bit of Alzheimer's. When he motioned for us to come all the way in, I told him that we couldn't stay. He asked me why we weren't going to visit longer. I told him that we just came to wish him a "Happy Halloween" and show him the kids' costumes. As we walked away, Maryn said, "We didn't even get any candy!" at the top of her voice! I was so embarrassed, but the man didn't notice. He just stood in the doorway and said strange little cute things while waving to the kids, like, "Goody-goody!"

So, that was our Halloween! We came home and had our movie night. We watched a live version of "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride". The kids thought it was a great movie. Now they're in my bed fighting over the covers. Fun fun!

Church Halloween Party!

Tonight was our church Halloween Party. We had a great time! Charles and Maryn looked so cute in their costumes. Charles was Prince Caspian and Maryn was Vidia from the Tinkerbell movie. I was a polygamist sister wife. The kids came home with tons of junk! They're loving it!

I know that I look old and scary- but that's what happens when I have no make-up on!

Silly Kids!

The kids can do the funniest things sometimes!

Today, I woke up and Charles was on the couch watching t.v. with no shirt on. I thought it was strange because he's absolutely not one who likes to go around without a shirt on. I said "Good morning" to him. He quickly turned around and demanded to know why I took his shirt off last night! I told him that I didn't do it and asked him where his shirt was. He told me that he found it in the dirty clothes hamper. I started laughing. He must have been sleep-walking last night!

To appreciate this next story, you'd have to have spent some time with Maryn. On the way to pre-school this morning, we were in the car and Maryn said, "My voice won't always be quiet- when I grow up I will have a loud voice! Huh, mom?"

My Tragic Accident...

Yesterday I was involved in my first car accident. I had the kids in the car with me and we were on our way to the stake center for an early choir practice for stake conference. Glenn was on his way home from work.

Anyway, I was going through the intersection of Newland and Bolsa. The right lane was open and the light turned green. I was going probably 25-30mph when a man riding a bicycle rode right in front of me! There were cars in the left lane, so I couldn't even see him until he was in front of me! I braked as fast as I could but I hit him hard. He smashed into my windshield and cut his head. His bike flew across the other lanes and he rolled to the ground. He was wearing a helmet but I have no idea how badly hurt he was because he passed out from all the bleeding. I'm just fretting because there's no way for me to find out if the man is okay! There are so many laws now, that I may never know. I wish there was a way to at least write a letter or something.

The kids are fine. The police made sure that they didn't see anything. Maryn told me today, on the way to preschool, "Mom, make sure you don't hit any boys riding bikes with your car. You're not supposed to do that, Mom." So, I guess I'll be reliving the accident forever.

Halloween Crafts and Butternut Squash Soup!

Today was full of surprises! I took the kids to the Pet Smart today to buy a couple of things. We walked past Michael's craft store and I saw in the window that they had a room set up for kid's crafts. I walked in and asked the ladies what I needed to do so my kids could make a craft. They said it's open to everyone from 10am-12noon! So, I paid $5 per kid and they got to make these really cute wooden Halloween frames! They put together the kits and we got to take home the paint brushes and paint. Next week they're doing scrapbooks.

Then, this afternoon, I made butternut squash soup from scratch for the first time! I've wanted to make it forever, but I've never been brave enough. Yesterday I bought the squash and I got so excited that I had to make it for lunch today! It is so creamy and yummy! I made it with fat free half and half, so it's only about 120 calories per serving!

I also put in a picture of our room after we hung the curtains a few weeks ago.

One Super-Crazy Fabulously Wonderful Day!!

Yesterday was a wonderful day, but I'm sure you will all think that I'm a little crazy (if you don't already!).

A couple of weeks ago, our landlord came over and asked me if I would chaperon his 14 year old daughter and her friend at Knott's Scary Farm. So, Glenn traded shifts and our landlord got me a ticket so that I could go.

Then a couple of days ago, I got a call from My cousin, Darice, that she was in town from Arizona and going to Disneyland. They already had 2 people to sign them in and offered the last sign-in spot to Charles! He's been dying to go! His 2 boy cousins his age were going also and so that made it so special.

Well, these 2 activities were both yesterday! Yes, I took the kids to Disneyland all day in the heat, and then 2 teenage girls to Knott's all night long!

Disneyland was so much fun! It was my 2 cousins, Darice and Tiffany, and 7 kids! Darice left her 2 little ones home. Surprisingly, the day went very smoothly. We seemed to have great timing and really accomplished so much. Darice and her kids hadn't been in 2 years. Her little Morgan was so cute planning out each ride she wanted to go on. She had a list of 4 things she had to do. She and Maryn really got along well together. The three boys were so awesome together! They worked out ways to go on most of the rides together and really had a fun time! It was interesting to see how this combination played out, because I don't think these 3 had ever been together for any length of time. We have 5 boy cousins born the same year and they are rarely together because they live far away from each other.

I left Disneyland in time to come home and make dinner before the girls showed up at my house. The girls came over at 6pm and we were off! I was a little bit nervous about spending that much time with girls I didn't know very well, but they were so cool! They were really nice girls and didn't seem to mind me tagging along. I offered a few times for them to go do a few things without me, but they didn't really want to. So, that made it possible for me to go on so many rides I'd been dying to go on!! I played it cool and calm, but I was freaking out like a teeny-bopper inside! The rides were so awesome and all the haunted houses were really good! There are some twisted minds in this world! I don't know how they think of all the gruesome stuff I experienced last night!! The girls were not scared of anything! I was the one screaming and covering my eyes the whole time! I really tried to be nonchalant about everything but something would always surprise me and I couldn't help but scream! The night ended about 1am. I was home by 2:15am. Glenn let me sleep until 11am. What a man!

Weekly Sleepover!

Every week, the kids and I have a sleepover together. Since Glenn works over-night shifts, it gives us the opportunity to have a lot of time together. Saturday night, Glenn and I took the kids to the Cable's housewarming party and then to the dollar theater to see "Journey to the Center of the Earth". It was a fun movie!

After that, we got the kids ready for bed and Glenn took a nap before work in the living room. The kids and I got into our big bed and I brought in a couple of flashlights. That entertained them for a good hour! We played flashlight tag on the ceiling and made all sorts of shapes. The funniest one was when Maryn made a grandma alligator- it really looked like one! Then she had fun making shadows of her foot and saying, "Say hello to Mr. Footy!" about 100 times! I can't tell you how much I love those kinds of memories.

Costco Date?

Okay, today was an interesting day! Glenn surprised me in more ways than one. After I got up extremely early this morning to take Charles to school and pick up Carter for the pre-school carpool, I was kind of lethargic. I put a load of dishes in the dishwasher and plopped down on my bed. Then I realized: Glenn and I have 4 hours together! What to do? Well, I suggested to him that we should do something fun together- such as take me out somewhere. He wanted to take me out to Costco, so we went! I put on my make-up and he drove me in his truck. We just walked around for a while looking at all the Christmas stuff and electronics. Glenn says we "need" a new T.V. After all that shopping, he bought me lunch there. He did ask me for a few dollars to cover it, though.

The second surprising thing he did was go on a walk with me! It was really hot outside but I really wanted to get some exercise. So, he went with me! That is something that I've been trying to get him to do with me for years! Hopefully, he'll do it again soon. It's always fun when after 13 years, my husband can still amaze me.

Another Super-Fun Week-end!!

This past week-end was another good one!! I worked hard to clean the house because my mom and Chad came to visit. At the last minute, they decided to come down on Saturday morning instead of Friday night.

That worked out perfectly because Ronda had asked me earlier that day if I wanted to go to the movies with her. So, I called her and invited her over for brownie sundaes and a movie! We watched Cinderella Man- one of my all-time favorites! I love the family message. The brownie sundaes were so good, but almost sickeningly sweet! Neither of us could finish, although I did a lot more damage than Ronda, of course!
Saturday morning, my mom and Chad got here bright and early! They came with 2 bicycles for Charles and Maryn!! The kids were so happy!! Charles has been riding with Glenn already and Maryn will have to grow a couple of inches before she'll be able to ride hers. She talks about it everyday! Thanks mom and Chad for thinking of them!
After the kids got the bikes, we took off to the Kid's Faire at the OC Fairgrounds. We met my SIL Sara and Kaydence there. We had a great time walking around the exhibits. I think my mom signed up for everything! Chad bought tickets for Maryn to ride the ponies and Charles to ride a camel! They thought that was so awesome!
When we were done with the fair, we all went to Slade and Sara's house to take naps and have dinner. It was funny to see all the people sleeping! Charles played guitar hero and Sara made a delicious dinner. That night we all crashed out early.

The next morning, I made breakfast for my mom and Chad and they played Candyland with the kids before they had to go home to their 60 pound "baby", Emmy! All-in-all it was a fun visit!

Another Frustrating Encounter!

I know that I'm always posting about the infuriating people that I come across in my daily comings and goings. It's good to be able to express my frustration at how the general public accepts rudeness as normal! Today was another:

The past couple of months I have been going to a few different grocery stores to shop for their sale items. It has saved me money and I've been able to purchase things I'd normally walk past. Today I was at Albertsons for their 8 hour sale buying cheese and hamburger meat. The back of the store was under construction. The butchers were walking back and forth restocking the meat section but there was no one working the counter. Soon both of the butchers went to the back and started talking. I was waiting there for a minute looking for some sort of bell to ring but I couldn't find one. Both the butchers looked at me a few times while I was standing at the counter but when I tried to wave them over, they would turn around. I was starting to get frustrated waiting there when another woman walked up to the counter, too. I told her that they wouldn't come out. That's when I noticed that behind the counter on a white temporary wall, was a white button. I walked over and pressed it. I heard one of the men say to the other, "Finally! She figured it out!" And they both laughed.

Is it just me or are people just completely selfish and rude?