Pumpkins, Choir & Snow...Yep, Snow!

After my last post I had a few phone calls and emails asking if I was okay...I was really just in a ornery mood that night but everything is good!! :) Maybe the key learning there is not to do a "Thankful Thursday" post when I'm in a bad mood. :) But we had a great weekend and I'm starting this week renewed! :)

Yesterday I took the kids to pick out their pumpkins that we were going to carve last night when Brian got home. But I got a text from Bryson at 3:30 telling us he had a choir concert at the school that night. So instead of waiting for Brian we threw down the newspaper and I let the kids do it all...usually Brian helps them actually carve. But this year they got all the guts out, drew out their faces and carved it all themselves...they were pretty excited about that.

Bryson's choir concert was awesome. He tried out for Concert Choir this year and made it. And he looked so handsome up there!! :)

What I'm not so excited about is that we've had our first snow of the season! I am NOT ready for winter yet...it is WAY too cold and windy out there. But Rocko got to play in snow for the first time and he loved it!! At first he kept lifting up his hind legs as he was walking around in it, but then he realized he could eat it and that made him forget about his little paws getting cold and wet. :) He has gone to the door constantly this afternoon to go out and play in it...at least someone likes it. :)

Thankful Thursday

I'm not in a very "Thankful" mood tonight...just ask my family, I've been pretty cranky, but maybe thinking of something to be thankful for is just what I need to do to help my mood. The first thing that comes to mind is that I'm thankful it's Friday tomorrow. It's been another busy week and I'm really looking forward to the weekend. I'm also thankful Nick is feeling a little better tonight after coming home from school not feeling well. I'm thankful I have a nice warm bed to sleep in tonight and I'm looking forward to crawling under those covers! I'm thankful for a mom who is such a great example of selflessness! And I'm especially grateful my family still loves me after I have nights like I did tonight! :) Yep, I feel much better now!

Fun Fall Break & a Little Sadness

The kids had fun doing their projects over the break and we had some fun family time. On Thursday they painted their plaster of paris pumpkins and had a lot of fun doing it. They love projects like that and I will be sad when they outgrow doing them!

Of course I don't have a picture of their finished products to post here, but you get the idea. :)

Brian had the day off Friday and I had to go into work for a meeting so he took them bowling and they all had a blast. I kept getting emails from Brian during my meeting telling me he had a "me-he-heeen bowling game" going on. :) He definitely had as much fun as the kids. Then he and Hailey went up to have dinner with Bryson and Nick went to a birthday party. I was sad to miss dinner with Bryson since we haven't seen him in a little while but I had one more phone interview to do before my day was over. That night Hailey, Brian and I watched Napoleon Dynamite...again. Such a silly show but it makes us giggle!!

Saturday morning Nick & Brian went out shooting guns with Grandpa Walker. Nick saved his money to buy his own .22 so he loves going out and shooting at targets. Hailey and I got to hang out and do a little Christmas catalog shopping with Grandma...so fun to hang out with her! Then in the afternoon we made homemade salsa and the whole family helped. Hailey found a creative way to protect her eyes from the onion burn (as you see in the picture below) but the goggles didn't help quite as much as you'd think. :)

Nick sauteed the jalapenos and said he was feeling like quite the chef but said it was hard on the eyes as well! It turned out pretty darn yummy though!!!

We finished the weekend with Nick being set apart as the secretary in the Deacon's Quorum Presidency at church and that was a neat experience as well. Nick loves his teacher so much at school that he's very excited to get back to school tomorrow and I think we're all ready to get back into the normal routine even though breaks are fun!

We did have a sad note over the break and that was that our bunny Nibbles died. We've had him for 6 years and Nick went out to feed him and he was not moving. So we're hoping he's found Squirt the Snake up there in heaven (and Libby's cat too Pam) so he has some friends up there! It's going to take Nick a little while to get out of the habit of going out there each morning to give him food and water. He's been doing that faithfully for all 6 years...we originally bought it for the "family" pet but it quickly became Nick's since he was the most loyal in taking care of it each day! We'll miss him!!!

Thankful Thursday

Well...it's ALMOST Thursday...just 55 minutes away. But today I am thankful for a couple things. One...that it is Fall Break and I get to spend the next couple of days with my kids. We have a couple of projects planned that the kids are excited to do...especially since one includes plaster of paris and painting. :) We'll see if they turn out. It's always nice to have a couple days out of the normal routine just to hang out with each other....especially since life has been so crazy lately!
The other thing I'm thankful for are blogs that show video of how to do hair on little girls. Many of you know I'm a little "challenged" in this area and it is often a source of tension between me and Hailey. :) But I came across some video blogs that show hair styles and how to do them that are easy enough for even ME! :) We've tried them in Hailey's hair and she loves the different styles and has been so grateful that I can actually do them! I posted some pictures of her cute new dos...

This one we've actually done before but it actually turned out a little cuter than normal that day...the braids were actually fairly even. :)

Thankful Thursday

Today I've decided that I'm thankful for being busy. Yesterday I was just trying to figure out how to get through the day with my sanity intact...I started going at 6:30 am and didn't stop till about 10:30 last night. The saving grace was a fun lunch with a couple of my wonderful friends. Other than that I spent the day getting the kids ready for picture day (luckily Hailey & I agreed on her outfit and hair pretty quickly), taking the kids to school, going to the grocery store, to get the things Brian needed for his fishing trip he was leaving on with his buddy, returning some things at Home Depot, 3 hours at the office working, picking up the kids from school, taking Nick to get his allergy shots, getting a bid for blinds for Nick's room, conference call for a consulting job I'm doing, parent/teacher conference with both the kids teachers, getting dinner, helping with homework, getting Nick to scouts, then a couple hours of reading resumes for positions I'm recruiting for at work. Brian was out of town so I was on my own and exhausted by the end of the day.

But today I've decided to be thankful for my schedule because it means I have people in my life that need me and I am gainfully employed. What more could I ask for? I am thankful for the hectic schedule that reminds me I'm needed, loved and productive.

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for nice people. In today's world we tend to talk mostly about the mean people or bad customer service, etc. But recently I have been much more aware of the nice ones in my daily life or the ones that offer great service when we're out. The kids and I were at Subway a few weeks ago and this particular Subway has never been very efficient at getting people through the line very quickly. But this time I noticed they were efficient, friendly and we got through very quickly. On the wall was a number you can call to report any problems or offer compliments. So as soon as we sat down I pulled out my cell phone and left my message on the recording about our experience. That was not a normal thing for me to do...sadly, I'm usually much more apt to log in my complaints.

Also I appreciate the people that helped us with our basement project out of the goodness of their hearts. Between helping with the electrical part, getting us good deals on carpet and donating a counter top for the bathroom, we appreciate being surrounded by such nice people!