Happy Halloween

So glad I found my wallet

I just had the best weekend with all my siblings. We flew into Provo where Spencer graciously let us all crash at his house. I think that the last time all the siblings stayed together was Christmas 2001. I was still just dating Jeremy. There was only one grandchild and he was 6 months old. We've for sure spent time together, but it was fun to be there all night and not have someone go home to tuck in children.

We all love football so the main event of the weekend was the BYU-TCU game. In case you are wondering who is far left that is Ashley, Spencer's fiancee. We are all going back to Utah in about six weeks to see them wed.


It's been about five years since I've watched a football game in person. This was a big deal. And then...


This was at the beginning of the third quarter. Things weren't looking good, but it's been so long since I've been at a game, I had a great time.

But not so much everyone else. Those mostly empty seats that spell BYU? Well, those are the legacy seats for the big donors. That's probably not a good thing to have those mostly empty before the third quarter is over. Second year in a row that TCU wallops BYU. We stayed until the end, but there weren't a ton of people there anymore. It made post-game traffic a breeze.

We had a great time. Blake did well besides not wanting any of my brothers to look at him. He warmed up a little bit, but not much. I have some wonderful friends in Spanish Fork who took Blake for the game, and he was mostly happy. That was a blessing. I enjoyed being back in my old stomping grounds, eating some delicious food (especially since our Costa Vida closed about a year ago), and playing MarioKart any time we were all sitting around at Spencer's.

So, what game are we going to next year? I'll be able to leave Blake by then!!

Two things I haven't seen in years!

A "cougar tail" also known as a 2-foot maple bar doughnut! Mmm, delicious.

But much cooler, was running into my freshman and sophomore year roommate, Lisa. I haven't talked to her since we left Provo, and our seats at the football game were just 2 rows apart.

More football pictures to come.

It takes a village...

to carry a baby a quarter of the way up Y Mountain. That's right. Just a quarter of the way.

I'm not quite strong enough to hike the Y holding a 20-pound baby, and Blake's not such a fan of anyone but Mom these days.

Oh joy oh joy oh joy

The details are numerous, but suffice it to say I spent all morning on the phone with numerous people looking for my wallet. Jeremy even walked over to the parking garage I was at last night to check there. I had no luck. Because of my flight leaving tomorrow, I was a step away from heading to the DMV to get a new license.

Last night when we noticed my wallet missing, we searched my car and my sister's because I had been in both, retraced my steps, and started monitoring my bank accounts. When I got home I took a flashlight and thoroughly checked my car again. When all my phone calls were fruitless, I decided to take the flashlight to my sister's car (it was pitch black the first time around) and then, if unsuccessful, head to the DMV. Hallelujah, it was in her car. I feel ten times lighter than I did earlier in the day. It's so nice to be able to look forward to this weekend without all the added stress.

Seriously?

So what does a person do who bought a ticket to the TCU-BYU game in Provo, plans to have a fun weekend with all her siblings and Blake, and has looked forward to this for months?

Well, lose her wallet, of course. With her driver's license and credit cards 40 hours before her plane takes off.

Today will be a busy busy day.

Best. Game. Ever.

This makes my heart warm.

Watch me.

Pumpkins galore

Everything fell in place for us to really enjoy the pumpkin patch this year--Blake took an early nap, the pouring rain at my house was magically not present at the farm, and my children behaved well. It was wonderful.

Carolyn was quite timid on the large hay bales. She probably enjoyed the jump off the best.
We tried for a picture of all the cousins.

It didn't work so well.

First Emilee decided it was the last thing she wanted to do.

Then Blake had erupted, seemingly out of nowhere. Ethan, who was holding him, looked at me and asked, "Um, why is he crying?" Well, because he's a little slow and he just figured out that his mom was not holding him. Blake gripped me for dear life once I picked him up again.


Unlike last year, Carolyn picked out her pumpkin in record time. It was quite the balancing act carrying a pumpkin and a baby, especially a baby who really wanted to go crawl around in the mud.


Getting her pumpkin early meant Carolyn had a lot of time to run around. This might be the first time she's ever beat Chandler in a race. I'm not saying whether or not she got a massive head start.

First day of preschool

We've heard about preschool ever since we took Carolyn to an open house back in May. Her first real, drop-off day was today. I'll let the picture tell you how she felt about it.


There was no crying. Thank goodness. But she definitely looked scared as she was walking into class with her teacher. I know that she'll love it. I never captured this on video, but she sang a song for the past week that goes "I'm going to preschool. I'm going to preschool. Yes, yes, yes!" It's adorable with her little lisp. You'll have to take my word for it.

Mess #23 for the day

What Carolyn WON'T be for Halloween

Carolyn asked to be a lollipop for Halloween, but when she saw Blake's cow costume, she said she wanted to be a sheep. Perfect. Her friend's grandma just brought an adorable costume over that their family wasn't using. This grandma also made the lady bug costume that Carolyn used last year. We got the sheep costume on her, and immediately she said she wanted to be a lollipop. There is no convincing her. This adorable costume will be folded up and stored because of two silly girls who refuse to be sheep.

More family pictures

You might think that all we do is make our children pose for pictures, and it sure feels that way. We needed a family picture and pictures of Blake at 9 months.

I am so glad fall is here. I love the cooler weather. We were able to be outside for pictures and play afterward without melting.

Zing Zang Zoom

Jeremy got four tickets for the circus from work. We did a kid swap and traded Blake for one of Carolyn's most favorite friends. Carolyn and Mason were enthralled with the show. Mason more than Carolyn because she only really enjoyed the animals. She wasn't very impressed with the acrobats or anything else. We had a great time.

After the circus, we went to Mason's house for dinner and to watch BYU-Florida St. Our evening went downhill very quickly. Thank goodness for good food and good company!

The lying starts...

One of our biggest challenges right now is getting Carolyn to give Blake some much needed space. Since she views herself as his second mommy, she is always trying to "help" him.

Blake pulls himself to standing now, so we have a lot of falls and head bonks. If Carolyn sees Blake pulling up she freaks out and rushes over to help him down, usually causing a much more painful head bonk than if she just left him alone. She's been in time out over and over again for knocking her brother over and just generally being all over him.

This morning, I hear Blake start growling and then a loud crash, quickly followed by Carolyn running away from him, looking at me with wide eyes, saying "maybe Blake bonked himself."

Sure, Carolyn, that's why you tried to run for cover before I got there.

Since Philadelphia

Carolyn has worked her way through a second session of swim lessons. Her favorite part of class is gliding in and out from the steps to her teacher, also her new best friend.

Case in point, Carolyn is over my shoulder right now protesting that this picture has the teacher's assistant in it instead of Curtis himself.