Should I Be Flattered?

Alright, so the other day I walked out to get our mail, which also happens to be by the bus stop for the elementary school kids. The kids were being dropped off from school at the same time I was pulling the mail out of the mailbox. A boy from the back of the bus yelled, "You're hot!". I thought for sure that I had heard him wrong. I looked that way, but didn't see the brave or silly boy. So, I go on with my business, when he yells it again. I laughed to myself, was he trying to make a mom feel special or was he making fun of me? I wasn't sure...and then a girl yells, "he's just a stupid 6th grader." Then the boy yells it again as the bus is driving away. I'm not sure his intention, but it gave me a good laugh on my way inside. Just thought I'd share...for some reason.

Boys & their fun

My cute hubby just got back from a weekend with his brothers and some friends in Moab. He had a blast. However, now he's pushing to have our family reunion there next summer (which Ben & I are in charge of) I'm not so sure that it would be my 1st choice or even on my list for that matter (shh...don't tell), but I'm lacking a good alternative. Any suggestions?

Fabulous Fall Crafts

Alright so some of you may notice that I've been a little post happy today, however I was just so proud of how my crafts turned out from our "Fabulous Friday" craft night, that I just couldn't resist. This actually has been one of the busiest weeks EVER for me, but blogging just seems to be a nice stress reducer sometimes. So, here is the cute craft I made for Maddie's room. I wish you could see it in person, it's even cuter (believe it or not).

The recipe holder and turkey man, which....OK I didn't do a lot to. I pretty much just painted the wood and tied the ribbon around his neck. However, I did use the electric drill (is that what it's called?) on both. I was impressed with myself.

Halloween Party!

We got to do a little trial run with our costumes last night b/c our friends had a Halloween party. It was so much fun! Thanks Steph & Brigham! We all had a good time dressing up (although some of us were more willing than others)! I won't mention any names.....Ben! So, here is Dorothy & the Lion from The Wizard of Oz.

I was Glinda, the good witch, and Ben was reluctantly, the Tin Man.

Ben (Tin Man) and Brigham (Man in the yellow hat) seemed to be the most dressed up, so here they are together...how cute!

Cam and his girlfriend, Libbi...although they wouldn't pose together very well.

Most of the children at the party (minus a few sleeping siblings) with or without their costumes.

An Obsession with Windows

On Sunday we woke up to lots of snow! I'm not sure exactly how much we got, but it definitely seemed like too much for October! My kids were both so excited to see the snow. I'm not sure if Cam even remembers it from last winter. He wanted to just sit right by the window and press his face against the glass. He was just mesmerized.

The other day I was folding laundry on my bed, so I let the kids go play in the back yard while I watched from the window. Although, they thought it would be more fun to watch me from the window, instead of playing.

The one little lonely patch of snow that they did played with.

This is how I found Maddie, while watching some cartoons. All dressed up, with nowhere to go! I thought she was just too cutely posed, I had to capture it on film.

Dex Knows...

Oh, my little Maddie is getting quite the imagination. I wondered when the day would come that she would just want to pretend all day in her room (well, that day hasn't quite arrived). However, today she was having a long conversation on her new cell phone (from $1 store!) to a girl named Mallsy. I've never heard this name before, so I'm guessing it is a made-up friend. She also sometimes mentions a girl named Jana, which I know nothing of, other than the fact that she is friends with Mallsy. Oh, the fun!

Today, we also were getting back into the car from the grocery store and she was having a somewhat quiet conversation with herself and at the end she said, "Dex Knows." Ha ha...I thought that was pretty funny. So, with her interest in pretending I decided we should make some scary masks, which she loved (thanks for the idea Debbie). Camden just learned how to say "roooarrrr"...so it's fun to have a sound to go along with the mask & it will be perfect for his Halloween costume (the roar that is). I love how Maddie is sort of peering over top of the mask in the picture, in kinda a creepy way :)


Also, it hailed the other day! Crazy...I had to get a pic of it. There would have been more, but they kept bouncing out of my bowl!

Say "Cheese"

I've been wanting to post these pics for a couple of weeks now, but I could never figure out where they would go once I scanned them. Anyways, I got my computer-literate hubby to do it for me. So, here are the kids. It was by far the BEST they have ever done getting their pics taken. They both got up there like they were pros and smiled on cue. Usually I drag my feet to get their pics taken b/c it's always such a hassle to get them to look as perfect as possible, when they are clearly not and then they don't always cooperate. It's a little like trying to go to the temple actually--a hassle to get there, but once it's over, it was well worth the effort. I hope that wasn't a lame analogy. We did have pre-shoot drama though, like Maddie falling and hitting her neck on our kitchen table, which left a nasty cut/bruise, just minutes before we walked out the door! But, luckily it didn't even show in the pic. Long story short, the photographer had little to do...it was great!

Cookie Monsters

Halloween is on it's way, so we decided to make some sugar cookies to celebrate. I got everything made and ready for when Ben got home, so we could decorate them together...

However, we only got to the cooking part and they took so long to cool down, that we had to wait till the next day to frost them. So, guess what Maddie insisted on doing at 7:30am the next morning??

Mmm...what a great breakfast! Here is the recipe, if anyone is interested. They are the most moist, yummy sugar cookie that I know of:

Soft Sugar Cookies

1 c. butter or margarine

8 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 t. almond extract

1 t. vanilla

3 1/2 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

Mix butter/margarine, cream cheese, and sugar. Add egg, extracts and baking powder and mix. Stir in flour. Chill until dough is firm. Roll out on a lightly floured surface and cut with shapes. Bake at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Do not over bake!! (won't look done when they come out)

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 oz. cream cheese (softened)

1/2 c. butter or margarine (softened)

2 t. vanilla

4 1/2-5 c. powdered sugar

Beat together cream cheese and butter or margarine. Add vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add two cups powdered sugar and mix. Add remaining powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.

The Park

The weather has been so nice here in UT! So, I've been taking my kids to the park nearby rather frequently. Maddie has finally decided that the swings are cool (she used to scream when you would put her on one). And Camden feels the same, he loves them. So, gone are the days when I could go sit on a blanket with Cam and read a book, while Maddie played. Now that she likes to swing, I have to keep pushing her b/c she likes to go really fast. Darn exercise! No, really I do enjoy it.

Cam also loves the biggest slide there-an enclosed one that I have to go on with him. Then when he gets to the bottom, he tries to climb back up to no avail.

Speaking of reading...I came across some lovely graffiti that made me smile. I'll try no to feel too pathetic, since most of you are addicted to the Twilight series books just as much as I am! (Yes, I did finish them all, if any of you were wondering--I can't wait for the next one!) But, I laughed at myself when I realized that I could identify with this grade-school girl (I'm assuming)....I thought it was so funny, I had to get it on film...a girl after my own heart (and NO, I am not the one who wrote it :)

Blame it on the rain!

The other day it was raining outside while we were eating dinner. I was feeling a little crazy, so I asked Maddie if she wanted to go run in the rain. I remember playing in the rain when I was a kid, and thought maybe she would think it was fun too. She wasn't sure I was serious at first, but when she realized I was actually gonna let her run outside in the rain, she was pretty excited!

Making several laps around our backyard.
( She is without pants b/c I didn't want her to get them wet. I had just washed them and wanted her to get another wear out of them before washing them again...dumb, I know!)

Conference!

Coloring to keep entertained.

Camden even enjoyed some coloring too. He thought he was pretty cool to do what Maddie was doing.

It was a great conference, as always. I'm excited to read back over many of the talks, to get a little more out of them...since I had two lovely distractions!

Some updates

Ben had his 27th b-day on the 27th of September...I just noticed the irony as I typed it. Guess I'm a little slow! Anyways, we went up to Idaho for the weekend to celebrate, see our new niece, and for Ben to finally finish the Jeep doors, so we don't have to freeze when we drive it. It's getting cold here! However, I forgot the camera on our trip :( So, this is a pic of Ben and his buddies, Jordan and Joe, a week or so before his birthday, it's the best I could do!

Maddie loves to help her Daddy. She was outside helping him put a new bumper on the Jeep(one of Ben's b-day presents). They both came back inside giggling. They both had their hoods on and Maddie said excidely, "We're hoodie people Mom!" I don't know what that means exactly, but she thought it was funny.

Camden's latest trick is that if you hold him facing you, holding both legs and start counting to 3, he will automatically start throwing himself backwards to dangle. I'm actually the one who started doing it with him, not Ben! I was a little surprised how daring I could be with him. He loves it!

Maddie wanted to capture it on camera (well really I did, but she was way excited to help). She kept cutting off his head or mine in the picture. She was pretty proud of herself though.

After doing his trick several times...here's me and Cam.