Let's start at the very beginning...

...a very good place to start!

If you know that musical reference you get 5 cool points.  I would award you awesome points, but that was a pretty easy one.

OK, so lets face it.  I lost my post.  I am not looking forward to typing the whole thing again, but here goes!

The last real post I wrote left off with the whole family sick.  We spent 3 full weeks flat on our back.  It was awful.  By Saturday the 11th everyone was FINALLY starting to feel better, though I was still coughing and feeling absolutely exhausted.  What I REALLY (with all my heart) wanted to do was spend a few more days in my PJs resting and trying to get better.  BUT because everyone else was feeling better and I was on the upswing, the obsessive compulsive side of my personality was in overdrive.  I wanted to get the house clean.  Like I said we had been flat on our backs, SUPER sick and so there was lots of laundry and scrubbing of bathrooms/mopping/vacuuming/bleach wiping down/spraying with Lysol disinfectant spray that I felt needed to be done to get the germs OUT and get the house ready for the baby to come.  I thought I still had a week or so left before the baby came and in my mind I thought, "OK, I will try and get everything off my 'to do list' this weekend and THEN I can spend a few days relaxing/getting well and rested before the baby comes, without the dreaded list hanging over my head".

So we spent all morning and most of the afternoon cleaning. A pretty major cleaning overhaul. Probably way more physical labor than I should have put my body through. The girls were really good while Matt and I were busy wiping down fan blades and disinfecting door handles (etc) so as soon as the cleaning was done that late afternoon we decided to make gingerbread houses with them. I will also admit that this was something that had been on my holiday 'list' and I was really tired (understatement) and didn't necessarily feel like doing it, but I wanted to cross it off my list. Yes, not very 'super mom' of me to admit, but its true. And actually the girls had SO much fun, and so did we. I wasn't up for making gingerbread, so we just used graham crackers.

 

As soon as we were done we got the girls dressed (like we'd let them near all that frosting dressed!) and headed to our church Christmas party.  Once again I will admit that I really didn't want to go (at all-see the previous comments re; tired, sick, pregnant), but I went.  We didn't get home and get the girls down until after 9, and then Matt and I were up pretty late finishing putting away laundry, etc.

The next day we got up, got every member of the family showered, fed, dressed and got to church (albeit 15 minutes late) at 9 am.  I was really worn out and had mild contractions all night long and all throughout the day.  I didn't get much sleep due to said contractions, which I attributed to completely overdoing it the day before.  What I really wanted to do after feeding the girls and getting them down for naps after church was take a nap myself, I felt kinda like the walking dead at this point, however, we were having a big family party at our house that night and my mother in law asked me to help her set stuff up and also make dessert for the get together. 

So after I did that I headed upstairs. At this point Matt had been trying to sleep because he had to work that night, but I came in and decided I had better pack up my hospital bag. It was the last thing on the 'list' for the week. So Matt got up and helped me pack up most of my bag (except the last minute things), while packing I got a text from my brother saying that he was only a few minutes away (he normally is more than an half hour's drive across the city), so he stopped by to hang out for a while and I didn't get a nap. He didn't stay very long, but by the time he left the girls were up and within 15 minutes of him being gone Matt's family members started showing up.

We had a pretty good family party, though we had some people unable to come last minute, which was sad. I still felt pretty bad and was having lots of contractions, but was trying really hard to act upbeat and normal and kind of forcing myself to be involved, since we hardly ever see some of Matt's cousins and I really love them. Though I was secretly lusting after the thought of my bed upstairs.

At about a quarter to 7, I felt a change in my contractions.  The kind that stop feeling like they are "practice" ones that aren't doing much and start feeling like they could be the real thing.  After a couple of those I excused myself to go to the bathroom and snuck upstairs.  I sent a text to Matt letting him know what was up and I called my mom and told her to pack a bag, because it was possibly going to happen tonight.  The contractions were coming about every 2-4 minutes, but they were only lasting about 40 seconds, so I wanted to wait and see if they would get stronger/longer and make sure they didn't end up going away.  Also, I REALLY didn't want to have to announce to all the people at the party that I might be in labor in case I was wrong.

After being upstairs for about 20 minutes I knew that I needed to get the girls upstairs and in bed ASAP, but there was NO way I was going to be able to climb down the stairs, chase them down and haul them back up.  So I yelled down and Matt's brother Barry rounded them up and lifted them over the gate and sent them up to me.  I was SOOOO grateful for this.  THANKS BARRY (although I don't think you read this...).  At this point I was was 75% sure that I was in labor, but wasn't ready to announce it to a whole house full of guests!

I got the girls down and then packed up the rest of my last minute hospital stuff, then laid down to see if the contractions would go away.  A little after 9, I decided that I probably ought to let my mother in law know that I was probably going to need her to drive me to the hospital in the next hour or 2.  A few families had left the party and there were only a couple left, so though I still felt silly hollering down form the landing..."Ummm, just so you know I might be in labor, so Martha, if you could just be aware and ready to take me to the hospital if the contractions get stronger, or don't go away after another hour, that would be great".  Well, that of course generated a lot of excitement, and after a few minutes all the remaining guests cleared out so that we could leave to go to the hospital if necessary.

A little after 10, I decided (and really Matt demanded) that since the contractions were still about 2-3 minutes apart we should leave for the hospital (where he already was, since he was working).

Well, this blog is long enough for now, I will save the hospital side of the story for the next post!  At least now, it won't seem so overwhelming.  Last time I blogged all this, plus the birth, hospital, and first few days home before it was lost.  Now I am breaking it up so that it doesn't seem like such a daunting task to cover it all.  Especially now that I have Christmas to post about too!  Anyway, I will type that post up within the next day or so probably!  I am going to try and get all caught up over the next week or so!  So if you cared enough to read this whole boring 'catch-up' post, you probably care enough to check back soon!  Thanks for reading!  I hope you had a happy holiday!

SWEAR WORDS!!!

I just spent 2 hours typing a HUGE blog of everything leading up to the birth and then the whole birth story and then everything since we have been home.

I did this on Matt's laptop so I could do it in bed.  I hate typing on Matt's laptop because I always accidently hit buttons that open new tabs and do who knows what.  Can you see where this is going?  I was literally finishing the last sentence of a huge blog when all of the sudden all my text disappeared and in it's place was just the letter C.  I freaked out.  Then I tried to close out the window, but too late.  Blogger had already auto saved the lone "c" that now stood in the place of my time consuming, soul spilling, articulate blog.

So naturally I am homrmonal post pardum and did as anyone would do.  I threw a huge fit, punched a bunch of pillows, said a swear word...then bawled like a baby.  And Matt just watched, overwhelmed, then tried to recover the old, now saved over blog, while I sobbed that I will never be able to write it the same and that I wrote it for Kate and now when I re-write it, it will never be as good, and it will certainly not be as long or as detail ordiented.

Sad Day.

Oh, but by the way, I HAD A BABY!!  :)  Here is her info and you will have to wait for details and all that until I get over the frustration I feel at losing that post.

Kathryn LouAnne

Dec 13, 2010

2:33 am

6lbs 5oz

18"

She suprised us by coming 3 weeks early and by being BLONDE!  She is going to keep us on our toes!

Middle Names Poll

OK, so I know that this could be opening up a whole can of worms, but whatever.

We STILL haven't decided on a name, even remotely...but we are, obviously, having lots of discussions about it.  It will either be Jane or Kathryn.  I don't need your input here :)

BUUUUT, I could take some input on middle names.  For this baby we really like the idea of using sentimental, meaningful names as opposed to something we just like the sound of, even if it means using a name we aren't particularly crazy about in order to honor or preserve something important.  I mean who uses their middle name all that much?  Especially girls.  Anyway.  We'd really like to name her after our Grandmas.  We both have fantastic grandmas who are big parts of our lives.  Matt's Grandma's name is Anna Rose, my GG's name is EvaLou, which her parents came up as a combination of HER grandma's names, Evelyn and Lucy.  So we are thinking about doing something similar with the combo thing, even if the result is unusual.  Anyway, we were thinking maybe LouAnn or AnnaLou ??  Anyway though I am not super crazy about either of these names (and Matt is being great and humoring me...though not giving me much feedback) I feel like it would be a great legacy to give this little girl.  Both of the women whose name she would bear are extraordinary beyond measure and I think that is a great heritage for her.  Anyway, thoughts?  Do you have a better combo?  Which one do you like.

December Randomness

Well, there hasn't been too much going on since my last post.  We have still been sick, which is awful.  I thought about sugar coating that and trying not to sound like a whiner, but then decided against it.  I am shooting for honest.  :)

We are finally on the upswing, though still coughing some and still exhausted (or at least I am)!!  But Lily went back to school today (she was SO excited to go back, she hasn't been since before Thanksgiving).  She is the most well of all of us, then probably Matt and Isabel.  I am still dragging on, due to lack of sleep and the fact that my body is working harder to grow this baby than it is to fight this virus. 

Speaking of baby, I am SUPER uncomfortable and having mild contractions CONSTANTLY.  I was at a 1.5 last appointment, at 36 weeks, though I really think I was actually several days shy of 36 weeks, since I am still convinced my due date is wrong.  I think I probably have around 2 weeks left before she arrives.  Which is a good timeline.  She needs a little more time to cook I think and I am SUPER impatient, but I can do anything for 2 weeks right??

Anyway, we have spent the past 3 weeks just lying around for the most part.  Here is what our days have looked like

Though I did make a much needed trip to the store, and also picked up a few things that I didn't need.

Have you had these before?  At Easter they look like this:

They are only available at Easter and Christmas and I am ADDICTED to them.  It is almost disgusting.  But they are SOOOOOO good.  If you like chocolate AT ALL, pick up some of these bad boys if you see them at the store.  They are my favorite.  And it you don't like chocolate, pick them up anyway and gift them to me :)  And yes, this is important enough to make it into my december blog.

We made candy cane reindeer for FHE one night and the girls had a blast.

I have several other Christmas treat/craft type things that I want to do with them, but we have just been feeling too crummy.

I am blown away by how much the kids are growing up and I am sure that when the new baby gets here they will seem even bigger.  Here is something particularly that Lily, my 3 year old, said this week that made me feel like she is getting SO big.  She did something naughty (I can't remember what) and Matt scolded her.  She then had a complete melt down, so I made her stand in the corner until she could calm down.  This is all relatively normal.  Anyway after she stopped freaking out she came over to talk about it (which is what we always do after the corner) and she tells me "I was really upset because I thought Daddy was mad at me".  First off, to me at least, this was heartbreaking and adorable at the same time (picture her with tears still on her cheeks) and secondly I was really impressed that she was able to express what she was feeling so well.  Especially the term "really upset".  She sure is growing up!

Christmas Traditions

(yep, I am still pretty sick so you get more rambling blogs!  Yippee!)

What did your family do growing up around Christmas time?  Are there specific things that you did each December to spread the spirit of Christmas?  Things that you still do every year to help you feel like it's Christmas?  Growing up my family did LOTS of things every year.  Some things I have done well with continuing every year and others I have slacked off on.

Growing up my family was pretty poor.  In fact we were extremely poor.  Like single mother of 4, living on her, own making less than 10 grand a year a lot of the time, with no government assistance, type of poor.  My mother did an incredibly wonderful job of making Christmas time about SO much more than presents every year.  I can honestly say that I never once felt sorry for myself for not getting enough for Christmas, and we had some pretty meager ones.  This is certainly NOT because I am so humble and was beyond the trivial desire for materialistic things.  Not at all.  But like I said, it was because of the many things that my mom did to spread happiness and love and service at Christmas time that always seemed to make Christmas so wonderful.  Here are a few of our annual traditions:

Decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving

Watching "White Christmas"

The twelve days of Christmas:

 This was one of my favorites and unfortunately we haven't kept it up as much as I would like, but I am planning on doing this as a family every year, though it is hard with a baby due right in the midst of it.  Each year we would all submit names of families that we thought could use some Christmas service and then we would pray about/vote on which family/families we would do the "12 days of Christmas" for.  The 12 days leading up to Christmas we would leave gifts anonymously on their doorstep, my mom would write little poems making whatever gift we gave fit into the traditional song and make it cute and catchy.  These were usually homemade or very cheap gifts, and making them each year was one of my favorite parts of Christmas.  There were some we did every year, like marshmallow snowmen villages, or pine cone reindeer ornaments, home made popcorn balls or crispy treats died red or green.  We would leave the gifts on the doorstep and "doorbell ditch".  It was so fun to see people's reactions as we hid in the bushes.  Some years we knew the families well and they would tell us all about it, all the while we pretended to have no idea, and other years we did it for families we didn't know, some years we even did multiple families.  I loved this part of Christmas each year.  It really helped us set the tone throughout December.  One year we even did Christmas for another family, we didn't know them hardly at all, but had heard about their misfortunes and we snuck into their house while they were out (we lived in a small town where people didn't lock doors) and left food and a tree and gifts.  They had all girls so the gifts that would have worked for my family transferred over well for them.  We decorated their house and left everything for them there.  We had less that year but that was one of my favorite Christmas'.

Making treats and Caroling:

Each year we would make treats for our neighbors and Carol to them on Christmas Eve and bring goodies.  Some of our neighbors even had special requests for songs each year.

Mom reading Luke: 2, while we dressed up and acted it out on Christmas Eve each year, even as adults :)

 pictured here are a few years from childhood days (I called my mom and asked her to send me "A" picture to represent this tradition...she sent me all these and asked me if I wanted more recent ones too...I decided to throw these all in a slide show since my siblings might want to see them, but I declined getting sent anymore for now, since I could never choose which ones to use and this is already overload) ***Disclaimer: we had to choose out of a hat each year which part we played and we HAD to play that part :)***

Opening one gift on Christmas Eve just before bed (always pajamas)

And my favorite Christmas Tradition...

The Jesus Stocking:

At our house Santa didn't bring gifts, he filled our stocking each year and this is where we received most of our "frivolous" gifts, like candy and chap stick or jewelry, makeup as we got older, etc.  Then my mom gave us gifts under the tree, which were usually practical gifts that we were in need of.  Anyway, our stockings were always the "funnest" part of Christmas morning.  So in other words, stockings are a big deal for my family.  Each year we also hung a pure white stocking up with our family stockings.  This was Jesus' stocking.  Every Christmas Eve after reading the Christmas story we would take a few minutes individually and think about what we could give Jesus as a gift for the next year.  These were kind of like New Year's Resolutions, things we could do to better ourselves that would bring us closer to Christ.  We would read our slips privately, think about how we did in our goals/gifts and then write out new ones fold them up, and put them in the stocking as our gifts to Christ.  No one ever read anyone else's (at least I never peeked at anyone's, who knows if any of my siblings ever did).  It was just a nice way to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas before the less spiritual traditions kicked in.

This year I am already thinking about what gifts I can give to Christ and I thought I would share one of them.  Clearly, most of these goals are really personal, but here is one that is share-able.  I want to really study His words in the scriptures so that I can know Him even better.  This is going to be a challenge for me.  I have almost made it though this year and completed my goal of not missing a single day of scripture study but my goal for 2011 is going to be a much bigger challenge.  I am really intimidated by it, but also really excited for it.  I want to read through the entire standard works (Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, D&C and Pearl of Great Price) in one year.  In order to do this I will have to read more than 6 pages a day.  Split over 365 days it equals like 6.7 pages or something, so what I am going to do is read 6 pages and then finish off at the next chapter.  Hopefully by doing this I will finish a little early and be able to complete it by Christmas (starting at New Years).  I have always wanted to have a more thorough knowledge of the scriptures and I figure the only way I am going to is by putting in the work.  I am also hoping that by putting it on here that I will be held more accountable.  I will let you know next Christmas if I made it, for me it is a big challenge.  Anybody want to join me in my standard works challenge??

Anyway, I am SO grateful for the traditions I grew up with, even the less Christ-centered ones, like getting a new movie each year and watching it on Christmas afternoon.  They make Christmas a season and not just a one day thing.  I love Christmas time and all the things that go with it!...Except maybe the crowds.

So what about you?  What makes your Christmas every year?

 

More random pictures of traditional things that my sweet mom sent me when I asked for "a" picture of our Christmas pageant.  I love that she is an overachiever and I am glad to have scanned copies of these.  THANKS MOM!

November 2010

Catchy title right?  Are you impressed by my creativity and witty-ness?  Does the title of this blog just lure you in and cause you to thirst for more?

NO??  What do you mean no?

I am offended. 

Ok, not really.  The truth is that I have a mega cold and am exhausted and just trying to stay awake.  Matt's working the next couple of days and it is all that I can do to keep myself awake while my also sick girls are zoned out watching movies.  It wouldn't be very responsible to sleep while they are awake, but if I sit still too long I fade out.  So I am trying to do things that I can do without expending much energy, in my jammies with a tissue in my nose to keep myself awake.  Yeah, my life is glamorous.  Sorry if it makes you feel bad about yourself.  :)

So anyway, this blog will probably be incredibly lacking in any sparkling entertainment because my brain is BARELY functioning at this point.  So here is the rundown on our month of November, which I can't BELIEVE is already over (almost)!

The first 2 weeks of November Matt was crazy busy with school, it was the last 2 weeks of his RN-BSN program at ASU, so he was finishing up his last few program classes, which of course included major time-consuming 'end of the program' type projects.  It was rough.  The girls and I came home from Thatch and he was busy like a mad-man and had to be at a lot of extra meetings/presentations, etc.  He even had one of those lovely days where he left on Sunday for work and didn't come home until Tuesday, because he had school and work straight through.  He literally didn't go to sleep at all and just survived on energy drinks, drove straight from work to school & straight back to work.  I am SO glad that those days are behind us.  Now he just needs to finish up his much less demanding electives and we are ready to start applying to CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist) programs in the spring.  One day all of this school will just be a stressful memory :)

After Matt's school was over we tried to get some much needed projects done.  Poor guy never gets a break.  He has been super great in helping me get all those things done that we needed to do before Thanksgiving, and now get done before Christmas/baby.

We also had a little over a week where we couldn't use either of our bathrooms upstairs due to mysterious leaks.  That was exciting.

We went to a preview day at Midwestern University and learned all about their CRNA program.  Which was good.  A huge shout out to our good friends Josh and Jess for babysitting last minute for us when our original arrangements fell through.

Mostly we have spent alot of November at home but incredibly busy.  If I felt up to patting myself on the back I would list off all of the things I have accomplished, so that you could all marvel in my productivity, but it would be boring and I am too tired to even try and remember it all.

We had Thanksgiving here at the house and it was nice/lots of work.  We then woke up the day after and both the girls and I were sick.  We have been sick the whole long weekend and today I feel worse than ever.  And now Matt is feeling sick as well.  So that stinks.

I was originally going to post a big long list of all the things I am Thankful for this month.  But now I am too worn out.  But you should know that my heart has been incredibly full with gratitude for all my blessings.  At the top of the list are my faith, the opportunity we have to learn as much as we can about the nature of God and feel his love for us and all man and the ability that love has to truly change us, to make us better, to allow us to love more and forgive completely when normally our hurt pride wouldn't allow us and to gradually shed our flaws.  And of course my family.  The amount of gratitude I feel for the blessing of my family, is overwhelming.  I will never be able to be worthy of or grateful enough for, the blessings of my sweet family.  And the list goes on and on; friends, health, all the physical and financial blessings and all the small things that I am blessed with.  I just don't have the stamina and energy to elaborate on them, but this year has truly been one of perspective for me, and I feel more gratitude in my heart than ever before.

Now we are up to today, which happens to be my GG's birthday.  Happy birthday GG, I love you with all my being.  She is another one of my blessings that I will never be able to be grateful enough for.

November is drawing to a close and we are at the start of the Christmas Season.  All my shopping is done and I am going to try and focus on the real reason for the season.  I just need one more trip to the store to stock up on all the necessities for the new baby/postpartum mommy.  Plus the regular other stuff for the girls that I won't want to go out for once the baby comes.  

I realistically feel like I have 3, maybe 4 (tops) weeks before the baby comes.  I am to the point where I am constantly having contractions.  They are mostly just annoying.  I will get checked at my appointment next Monday and then I will know how much preliminary work they are actually doing.  I am far enough along that they won't stop me should I go into labor, so it technically doesn't matter if I am "progressing" or not.  It is just a, 'go to the hospital when you think you are in labor', type thing.  But it is still nice to know, and will also help me gage better how much time is really left.

Most women will agree (some are crazy and never have any pregnancy complaints) that the last month of pregnancy is no fun.  I am trying not to whine or complain too much.  Since this is my 3rd "final month" I expect the back pain/rib pain/reflux/contractions/sleepless nights that come standard at this point.  But I am anxiously anticipating the arrival of this little girl and I just keep wondering who is in there!  I am glad that December has so many things going on to distract me from constant baby thoughts.  But I am sure alots of my December posts will involve baby things.

Anyway, I am losing my steam MAJOR, and I have no idea how ramble-ee this post is.  I have the zoned out/head cold thing going full steam, so I apologize for that. I'll just wrap it up.  If you made it through this post, you deserve a cookie!  So go eat one!  And bring me one while you are at it :)

Here are some pics from this month

The girls snuggling with Grandpa Ben

 Thanksgiving morning

 Typical Tommy covered in kids on T-day

 Here is Izzie admiring baby Davin, the newest addition to our family.  She is OBSESSED with babies.  And I am pretty sure that once our baby comes out she will CONSTANTLY be in her face/fawning over her/climbing all over me to get to her.

Halloween 2010

So for Halloween this year Matt got tricked instead of treated, he had to work 5 nights in a row all surrounding Halloween.  Matt's parent's were still out of town (they spent 2 weeks at the beach house) and I knew it would be just me and the girls!  So my family convinced me to come home for the holiday weekend.  Not only would there be LOTS going on to celebrate Halloween, but my nephews would be there visiting their mom and we would be having Riley(my oldest nephew)'s 10th Birthday party!  He was born on Halloween.  *Interesting side note, his mom-my sis- was born on Christmas Day, he was then Halloween and his brother was then April Fool's day and the next brother was on MLK Jr day.  It makes them easy to remember!*  So my brother Charlie was going to go home for Riley's birthday and also to celebrate Dia de los Muertos (mostly going out to my Grandpa's grave and bringing some of his favorite things and listening to his favorite music, to remember him) on Monday.

So I decided since I would be lonely here and since all my family was actually going to be together for the first time in over a year, I would go home.  Plus it would be great to have the extra help with the girls for all the Halloween stuff.

The Thursday before Halloween was Lily's Halloween party at school.  She was also in charge of being the helper that day, which includes bringing snacks.  She was super excited to be able to pick out special Halloween treats to bring, so we brought popcorn balls and frosted sugar cookies.  The last half hour of school the kids all did a costume parade and sang us a couple of songs, it was so cute and fun and she had a great time!

Right after school we came home, dropped off Dad had a quick lunch and the girls and I left for Thatcher!  We got to my mom's around 3:30 and spent the afternoon hanging out there. That night my sister and I went to "Fall Sing" which is EAC's Choir Department's fall performance, for all you non-EA'ers out there.  Then I went back to my mom's and stayed up chatting with her until past 1am, which was SO nice, but incredibly dumb as we were both exhausted!

On Friday I went to lunch with my sisters and then spent some time that afternoon at GG(my grandma)'s house.  That night the girls, my mom and I met up with Andrea and her family at the Thatcher Middle School's Halloween carnival.  It was lots of fun, the girls had a great time and we supported a good cause!  I love attending these kinds of things when I am home, I really miss the small town street fairs and the county fair and all those community get togethers that are pretty safe and wholesome in the Gila Valley.

Since we are church going folk and a huge portion of the Gila Valley community is also we actually celebrated Halloween on Saturday the 30th.  I spent the morning in my jammies feeling kind of crummy and letting the girls run wild at my mom's while I tried (a very little contribution) to help her get ready for the party that night.  Then after lunch I went out to spend a little time with some of my favorite friends Tavia and Courtney while the girls were having quiet time.  I just love them to death and could spend countless hours just chatting them up!  The time always flies when I am with that girl, so I had to rush home and get the girls (and myself) dressed in our costumes so that we could hit up a few friends and family for the trick or treating experience before we headed over to my mom's dinner/trunk or treat/carnival at the church at 5pm.

My mom helped me feed the girls their hot dog dinner and then went inside to set up for the carnival. *side note: my mom can never say no to anything and therefore ALWAYS ends up doing WAY more than is necessary, so she of course was responsible for like 4 different booths including a cake walk for which she made ALL the cupcakes herself, she was like a crazy person getting everything ready that day*  So I took the girls around to a few cars in the parking lot to trunk or treat and my sister Emily and her whole family met up with us.  Then we all went inside to the carnival for a little while.

 Here is me and Em and all our kids (plus one, she had Kaiden with them he is a boy that she watches alot of the time)

This is my youngest nephew Carter, his super tight costume cracked me up, I had to get a pic!

My mom turned the booths over to my step dad and sister Beth and her boyfriend and to the young women for a while and helped me take the girls to a few booths, which they of course loved.  Then Charlie showed up (he got to town that night) and he helped me with the girls so my mom could go back to the booths.

Isabel showing me her loot, she just wanted to eat a piece of candy every time one was handed to her.

 Izzie and Ava doing the bean bag toss

 Here is Lily with John, he is teaching her how to be a "real" cowgirl!

It was a great night and I think that Lily now thinks that Halloween is really 3 days long and that there should be fun activities the whole week!  I don't know if we will keep up that standard, but it sure was fun (and exhausting!).

The next day I went to church with my mom and then we went out to my sister Emily's for Riley's party.  It was lots of fun, and for a while all my blood/non-step siblings were there so we of course had to get a picture, because it unfortunately doesn't happen often enough.  Also unfortunately my sister Andrea left after being there for less than 5 minutes to go out to lunch... because she is an idiot.  But I am not bitter... :)

 Lily after her pin the tail on the donkey turn, her face cracks me up

Anyway, the party was great and I really wish that we could spend more time with my family.  Especially my 3 nephews that live with their Dad in Florence.  They are such good kids and I love and miss them like crazy, I am so glad that I was able to see them a little that weekend!

Monday, mom and I (and the girls) hit up the 50% off Halloween sale, which is always a good time, afterwards my mom took the girls out to show them the cotton.  Lily as soon as we got close to town when first driving in on Thursday asked what the cotton was, so I explained to her about how cotton grows and is harvested and all the different things that cotton is used for.  She followed along really well, until I told her about how clothes are made out of it.  She just couldn't believe that, so I wanted to take her out and let her feel it.  She had spent the weekend pointing out every field of cotton she saw (which is ALOT in the gila valley!)  Here they are showing me the cotton they got!

  Then we went out to Grandpa's grave to celebrate the day of the dead, we brought some of his favorite things and I made him some flowers (his favorite-purple).  It was nice.  I still miss my Grandpa constantly and also miss my GG with my whole heart and wish that I lived closer to her!

 After that Charlie left and my mom, the girls, and I went out to visit GG for a couple of hours.  We had been planning on leaving around 11, but that is when my niece and nephew, Ava & Carter, showed up for GG to watch for an hour or so we stayed for an extra 20 minutes so that the kids could play.  They had a great time.

 Pretending to start up the mower and mow the lawn

 Mom and Izzie sitting on the wall to check out neighbor's chickens and Turkey

 Lily and I checking out the chickens

One of my favorite sights in the world, GG siting on the back porch. ** Side note the door in the background of this picture is the entrance to the guest house/apartment where Matt and I lived for the first 3 years of our marriage (before kids!), it brings back happy memories!

 GG has these cool hanging spin-ny things (I don't know how to describe them), but they were SO cool to watch!  Really, I was entranced.  She hooked them on to her dining room light and let the kids stand on the table and spin them, what a great GG!

Then we headed back to my mom's.  She fed the kids lunch while I packed the car up, after lunch we jumped on the road and headed home so that we could see Daddy before he left for work that night.  And boy, it was great to see him.  I won't be up for any more trips without him soon, I just missed him too much!

It was a super busy and fun filled trip and we had such a good time.  I am glad we went, but I sure came home wiped out!

 And now, at last, my blogging is caught up to November!  Now I should be able to do one blog that will capture the first 2 weeks of November (which should be small) and be all caught up!  Woohoo!  I figure that I need to stay up to date during the Holiday season, because if this baby comes out and I am behind a month or 2, which includes Holidays, I may just quit!  So I will do my best to keep this bad boy current and up-to-date, so that when the baby comes it is not as daunting of a task!

Oh, another random side activity from the month of October was that Matt and I decided we wanted to get a trailer hitch put on our car so that we could take bikes on trips, and so I ordered one and we installed it!  :)  Isn't it sexy?  I must admit that I love it and was proud of my 7.5 month pregnant self (at the time) crawling under the car to mount it :)  Thanks to Matt for putting up with my "do it yourself" cheapness and taking the time to make it a team effort and get it done!  You are a champ!