Halloween Hoopla

It has been a long time coming, but finally-a post. Oh how it would be to actually be on top of things and post regularly, but clearly, that plan is not going so hot. I think I must be starting to get old-things like sleeping and eating right, and energy are becoming rare commodities with 3 crazies running around and another one coming shortly! Enough complaining, on to the partying! Our family decided to reincarnate the family Halloween party-Halloween has always been one of my mom's favorite holidays, and we always have big plans which never come to fruition. Until this year. It was a blast. Thanks everyone for all the help! We donut bobbed, pumpkin bowled, pinned the nose on the witch, enjoyed some good grub and some ghoulish company. What could be better!

Woody, Jessie, Slinky Dog, a blue princess and a pirate

The 2 Good WitchesThing 1 and Thing 2, an adorable turtle, and 2 mean hulks!

Princess Leia, Hans Solo, an adorable ballerina and a fierce pirate!The hippies

Miss Elizabeth Bennett

A pilgrim granny?

Father Time? (can you tell grandma and grandpa rummaged in mom's costume bin)

The flapper and the project manager

The Elves--Zelda?

The Bohemian pilate?The fairy princess

Grandma getting down with the pumpkin bowling! Go Grandma!

Oh the great outdoors!

Jared and I ran away for a little 3-day trip with our good friends, the Fetters, to the Wind Rivers a couple weeks ago. People, if you have never experienced this beautiful country, it is time. It was magnificent! The scenery was to die for and the weather was great. The boys could have wished for a bit better fishing where we went, and I think Amber and I could have done with a few less mosquitoes, but it was great other than that. The place where we went was the upper Wind Rivers...So fun. It was amazing.

A view of Fremont Peak and the area we hiked into called Titcomb Basin.Looking over Seneca Lake where we made our base camp.Our little home for the 2 nights we spent. It was up behind the rocks on the north side of the lake.

Almost to the top of Titcomb Basin. Still lots of snow!

Upper Titcomb BasinOur good buddies, Amber & Evan Fetters. Thanks for the great time guys. If only we lived closer!
Lots of fishing along the way. There are lakes about every mile or so. Evan and one of the only fish caught on the trip. Golden Trout-we really wanted to eat you (too bad we were 7 miles from camp and didn't really want to smell fish the whole way).

I am back on the radar

But hopelessly flawed. Bear with me people. So between my computer crashing months ago, and the lack of pictures on my computer (they were backed up, just not loaded on the new one), I have been REALLY putting off updating this little puppy. Because the small Chihuahua sized tasked turned into a Great Dane or a St. Bernard! And I couldn't even walk one of those things by myself if I wanted to. So I let it get away from me. But I am going to be better. I have to be for posterity sake. Because it seems this was the only thing I kept updated in terms of current events in our family, and it is pretty darn sad that I fell off the wagon! So here is a little peak of the cumquats and what we have been up to. Watch the blog for more current updates as I get my life back under control.One of our latest outings up Blacksmith Fork Canyon. The girls are champion hikers and love to be outdoors. Sam is one of the best marshmallow roasters ever! She has only caught her mallow on fire once that I can recall.
The gals on July 4th at my grandparents. Rees is with my Grandpa Dale who is going to be 91 in August. Love them. The girls have been super busy with swim lessons and lots of outside play time, trips to the pool, and going to bed super late every night. Sam's dream come true. Rees is now one. Man how time flies. She is one of the happiest kids I know. She has 4 little teeth, super curly hair, and has finally really started to walk. She has been able to stand and take a few steps for a while now, but who cares about really walking when your sisters will tote you around? But she has finally taken the plunge and will walk pretty well once she pulls herself up. She blows lots of kisses, loves to dance, and clap, and can throw down as much food as the girls at a meal. And she loves her dad-the kid about jumps out of her skin when he comes home from work. She just can't contain her excitement. The big dog has been running his little guts out. A bunch of his coworkers put together a Ragnar team at work and he has had a blast running. He did really well at the race. We are sure proud of him. He has been scouting it up as usual, biking, and doing my bidding in the yard-bless his heart.
As for me, I am just trying to keep up with it all! The garden, the yard, the kids' activities. And my kids aren't even that old yet! Plus, we are having another baby in January. Yay. Number 4 here we come. Don't know the flavor yet, but we will be super happy whatever we get! We are just so excited!

It's great to be a mom

I have this darling friend (that is about the cutest mom I know). OK-I have a lot of good friends that are the cutest moms ever and that I completely admire for their talents as mothers. I hope you all know who you are. You all keep me afloat! I have a long way to go in being one of those super patient, super talented, super savvy in everything (sewing, cooking, playing with your kids), crafty-in-both-word-and-deed-to-mold-my-kids-into-perfect-little-people moms that you all are! Anywho-back to the friend-she always posts cool quotes on her family blog about motherhood and does so many darling things with her kiddos to help them build a testimony and to know the gospel is true and that subtly uplift the rest of us trying to do the same thing. You can feel her conviction to be a good mom in every word of every one of her posts! I love it! So here are a couple she posted just recently. And if you are wondering what the heck I am talking about or who these random people are that said these great words,-you can go here to find out more about our faith-The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Have a fantastic day! (I'm still putting off the whole Christmas post thing-eek).

"You have nothing in this world more precious than your children. When you grow old, when your hair turns white and your body grows weary, when you are prone to sit in a rocker and meditate on the things of your life, nothing will be so important as the question of how your children have turned out ... Do not trade your birthright as a mother for some bauble of passing value ... The baby you hold in your arms will grow quickly as the sunrise and the sunset of the rushing days."

President Gordon B. Hinckley

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will—to your surprise—miss them profoundly.

Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows.

President Thomas S. Monson (Oct 08)

Oh Blessed Life

Well-I'm thinking about posting about Christmas. But alas-that would require me to actually put my life into some semblance of order and actually download my pictures and actually verbalize our craziness...which is just beyond me at the moment. So I'll just sit here and complain about it, and blog hop looking at everyone elses' wonderful Christmas celebrations. Can't somebody divine a way to just 'poof' things done? Sometimes I wish I were David Copperfield.