Monster Mash

Tonight was our return to the annual Monster Mash party hosted by none other than our good friend Brent Peterson. I do have to admit Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and I love dressing up! Lucky for me I have a wonderfully supportive husband who allows me to drag him along for the fun. This year we went as a zombie bride and groom couple. We took 2nd place in the costume contest...feeling a little robbed seeing as how we lost to Dog the bounty hunter! Oh well, the silver skeleton trophy goes much better than the gold with my Halloween decor!

BOO at the ZOO!

Today was our 2nd annual trip to Boo at the Zoo with the Spencer's. To say the zoo is a little crowded on this day is an understatement, but it's fun and all about having an excuse to dress the kids in their costumes for an extra day. It's also not so much about looking at the animals as it is trick or treating for candy...I mean who really wants to look at animals when there is candy to stand in line for.

We did however have a 10 minute period of time (which seemed like a lifetime) that we lost none other than Kaden. We were about ready to leave standing by the apes house and he decided he needed to see the elephants. Unfortunately he did not tell anyone his plan and got a little lost. This just about sent me over the edge. I must have looked crazy running around screaming his name at the top of my lungs and believe me it was at the top of my lungs, but the moment I felt his little arms around my legs brought instant tears to both of us. All I could do was to hold him hug him and cry with him. (This wouldn't have been so horrible if the zoo wasn't so insanely crowded.) Unfortunately this is not the first time one of my children has escaped me and I'm sure not the last.

Despite our little scare the kids loved it and we all had a great time!

Pumpkin Picking

Tonight we took the kids to Pack's Pumpkin Patch. They love to go and pick their own pumpkin from the field. Of course we probably spend twice as much this way but it is all about the experience. We got three big pumpkins to carve and three small pumpkins to put their Mr. Potato Head Halloween pieces in. We had to hunt for a green pumpkin for Abbi's witch and then we found a white pumpkin for Kaden's vampire. We had lots of fun. The night was a success!

What happens in Vegas...

This last weekend was UEA so that meant no school on Thursday and Friday. Of course our spot to vacation and visit is now Vegas, so we left Thursday night and came back Sunday morning. We had a couple of reasons to go down, Nathan had tickets to the Justin Timberlake Shriner's Open and I wanted to have my friend Karen take our family pictures. We stayed at our friend Bob's house...he is our new hotel in Vegas, seeing as how this is the third time we have barged in on him! (I'm sure he loves it though especially because our kids are so quiet and well behaved at all times!) Thanks Bob we really appreciate your hospitality!

So Friday we had Karen take our pictures. I cannot even say how happy I am that we did this. Pictures are always a stress for me, but Karen is so talented and she spent so much time with us that we actually had a lot of fun! She is so creative and did such a good job. Thank you so much Karen!!!

The rest of the trip consisted of In-N-Out Burger, shopping at the outlets, golfing, golf tournaments which consisted of hanging out in very close proximity to Justin Timberlake (dang where was the camera for that one), playing with friends, and more shopping at the outlets. Oh and of course just hanging out at "Uncle Bobs" house (this is Ellie's nickname for Bob).

Good times in Vegas!

What snow in October?

Ok so I know we only spent a couple of years in Las Vegas without snow but in that time I guess we got used to the warmer fall weather. Fall is seriously my favorite time of year, shouldn't it last a little longer than one week? Today we woke up to a white winter wonderland, which is always fun but the kids are already thinking it should be Christmas time. Abbi even asked if we would be singing Christmas songs in church today. After church the kids came home and played in the snow and made their first snowman of the year. They did a darn good job all by themselves. Nathan, Ellie and I watched from the front window lending our moral support. It was much warmer inside. These pictures are for you grandma and grandpa Richter...I know you're enjoying the warm weather back east, but you're missing out on our snow!!!

House update

What a beautiful photo of our home! We are really hoping they will leave us the portapotty in the front yard, it's such a nice addition! (OK, but seriously it has come in handy for the kids a couple of times which I know is gross but don't judge me until you have a son that has to pee every 15 minutes and a three year old who has been potty training and actually thinks it is fun to go in the big green potty!)

So yes it has been over one month since I have last posted on the house, or for that matter anything else. In that time we have seen some action, Yeah! The windows were installed, the insulation went in, the walls were sheet rocked, taped and mudded, (And can I just say I watched the guys hanging this stuff and holy cow are they fast! I hope the walls don't fall down on us!) the driveway was poured, the tile has gone in and they have started to brick. I can't forget to mention we did a little work ourselves running some cable lines to a few walls that did not have it already ran by the electrician. (Just for the record the superintendent on the house ok'd this.) It's crappy that we can't do anything ourselves! Oh well.

Here's a few pictures of the last month.

Betty Crocker here I come!

A little over one week ago I had a cousin give me a new bread recipe. Let me just say I love this recipe, for the pure fact that it only takes one hour from start to finish! How great is that! I have never been one to make a lot of homemade bread but in the last week I have made bread four times! That is fourteen loaves of bread, dough for one pizza, and a batch of sweet rolls. Yes that is carb overload. I've decided I can save some money by making homemade bread...I guess we'll see how long this lasts.




Tonight I tried the recipe substituting half the white flour for wheat flour. It turned out great. Who knows how much healthier it really is, but we can pretend! Side note, Ellie calls this "mommy bread" and the kids all love it so if anyone wants the recipe just let me know.