My husband's mind

So, people always post cute and silly little things their kids say...well, here is one from Chris. This is an email he sent me from work....

I just had a hangnail that was bugging me, so I grabbed my fingernail clippers and took care of it. Fascinating I know. Then as I was putting it away, my mind wandered to flight regulations and improvised weapons, and then it jumped to Samson killing 1,000 people with the jawbone of an ass (yes it literally jumped from killing people with fingernail clippers to killing people with the jawbone of an ass).

Which of course derailed for a minute when I had to ask myself again, “how the Hell (or maybe Heaven in this case) could the jawbone of an ass last long enough to kill 1,000 warriors that were armed and presumably armored?”, and, “Did he just carry one around knowing that it wouldn’t be viewed as a weapon?”.

So anyhow, back on topic, I know of 1,000 people that have been killed with the jawbone of an ass, but I know of zero people that have been killed with fingernail clippers (though I have to assume that there has been at least one). So if I went to board a plane with the jawbone of an ass in my bag, (which as we now know has more deaths attributed to it) would they confiscate it as an improvised weapon?

What if you were an ass farmer (ass rancher? Whatever it is called, I don’t want to have it as my title)? Would it make you less likely to have the jawbone confiscated?

Just thought I would share my thoughts and musings with you.

First Snow and Halloween

We had our first snow the other day, and the girls were very excited to go play in it. How cute are they?!



Not long after that, Katie spent a few days sick...fever, throwing up...overall not feeling well. She had slept all morning on my lap, so during her regular naptime, I didn't figure she would sleep, so I put her in front of a movie...where she fell asleep, poor thing. but I got a cute sleeping baby picture out of it :)Tonight was Halloween. The girls had SOOOO much fun. We are used to having a Church party sometime before, then not doing much on Halloween itself..well, we didn't do anything big, but we did trick-or-treat around our neighborhood. This is the first time we've lived in a neighborhood where we could do that. It was great fun, and we all enjoyed the brief socializing we got to do with our neighbors. Aimee wanted to be a fairy, Betty a cheerleader. My sister-in-law, who is the most amazing shopper, went out and hunted down costumes for them...even came back with that adorable chicken outfit for Katie. I was so grateful for her help (especially because with Katie sick, I had been less then motivated to get stuff together).

Katie is really hard to get a picture of right now...you turn the camera her way, and she charges for it to see herself on the screen.
The first house...Katie's first time trick-or-treating...She really was confused about the whole thing for a while. Before long she figured out that people would come to the door and put stuff in her bag. She'd push though her sisters to help knock on the door...then she was very "businesslike" about the whole thing. By the time we were done she was trying to say "Trick-or-treat" (which sounded a bit like "Eeee-eee") and "bye-bye" when we were done.

At the end, I had them knock at our door so I could get a good picture. Overall, it was a fun night, and they pulled in a good haul...I made them put all the candy in one bowl that we will all share. (notice the bags? I think next year I may make some halloween themed ones just for trick-or-treating...they were perfect for it!)

Pumpkin patch festival

So, I've been bad with pictures mostly because my camera had been broken. Then my dad got me a new one for my birthday! Yay Dad! Then, I got sick, so I haven't taken many pictures...but now I'll do better...

So last night, we went with Chris' sisters and their family to a pumpkin patch. We had a great time and were so glad they called us to join them!
They have evenings were there are booths and hay rides and they play Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin in a big field. We had dinner while we watched.

Then we went on a hay ride. Not a lot of great pictures because it was pretty dark by then.
At the end, the girls got their faces painted. Betty wanted a black cat...Aimee wanted to be pink lol.

It was a really fun night. We didn't get pumpkins last night because there were so many other things to do.

Pictures of the bags

So here are the pictures of my new grocery bags. I must say, I've discovered that having pretty grocery bags is truly one of life's simple pleasures. I love little things like that that make me smile...and it's so much better having made them myself! I've used them 3 times now (yeah, I forgot things that many times...good thing we have stores that are close...) They guy at wal-mart said he liked them cause they fit really well in the loading area, unlike the ones that you can buy at wal-mart. (he just slid the handles right where the holders were for the plastic ones). The lady at the store tonight asked if I'd made them and said they'd turned out really nice. I also like how sturdy they feel when they are loaded with groceries. And, I keep them in a little stack (gotta find a good place to keep it) and then I can slide my ongoing shopping list inside the pocket of one...that way I'm less likely to forget them when I go to the store and I have a place to keep a list of things we need. Oh, I'm so going to have to make more of these, so I can get a whole week's worth of groceries in them. And I was thinking they'd make great bags for the girls for Sacrament meeting...maybe with slightly longer handles....hmmmm...now where did that stash of fabric go??? :)

Yay me!

So, for a while now I've been wanting some good reusable grocery bags...and I've secretly been coveting really pretty ones(like these maybe or These...). But so many are so expensive, and I couldn't see spending a ton on grocery bags. So, I looked up a pattern and found this one. I've made 3 now. Mine are a little...lumpier, then the one here, but they are so pretty, and I'm so proud of myself for how they turned out. Especially since I don't sew very much. Plus, I spent only $9, and have lining for 3 more(and fabric for more if I could find it...), so I think I did pretty good. And I think mine are prettier then the other ones. Of course now Chris has put in a request for some that are a little less..."girlie". we're going to take them out shopping and see how we like them today, then maybe I'll throw some more together...

I'd post a picture, but my camera is broken, so I'll see if I can get Grady to take one for me later.

Are you ready for General Conference?

So, I've started thinking about what we are going to do for Conference this year...this will be our first one with just our little family...no planned trips, or friends, or family staying with us. I really am wanting to form some great traditions surrounding this so it can be a weekend to look forward to twice a year...so here is my game plan. Feel free to share any other ideas anyone may have.

First, we don't get TV signal (I know, dad that you gave us the money to get the signal box thingie...just haven't done it yet, and I'm actually kinda liking not having TV on all the time). So the computer will be on, but ONLY to watch conference...no games, or Facebook, or surfing. All weekend.

I will be printing out Conference packets (this is April's, but it looks like fun, and I'll watch for an October one on Sugardoodle.net over the next few days....there may be one on there that I'm missing) These worked great for at least one session in April.

Another part of my plan has to do with food. Smell is a big trigger for memory or whatever, so I'm planning a really fun menu for the weekend. Bacon and Egg Pie, Roast and potatoes, french onion soup, pumpkin pie, cookies, muffins...I'll make a big batch of bread dough to turn into cinnamon rolls, scones, and dinner rolls....basically we're going to try to focus on filling the house with yummy smells all weekend...and keep the sugar content down as much as possible...plus the girls can help with the bread dough during one session of conference! Keeping hands busy will hopefully help keep mouths quiet.

Along with keeping hands busy...Chris and I will play quiet games with the girls when we are not doing conference packets...pulling out Katie's toys, coloring with them, checkers, etc. I'm going to order some Chinese jump ropes for cat's cradle and get some fuzzy posters for them to color.

I'm really excited for this next weekend and hope it will be great. Aimee told me today that she doesn't like Conference...I really hope I can change her mind about it.

Catching up

So I've been kinda lazy this summer, and haven't blogged much...honestly, not much has happened. Everytime we wanted to camp, it rained....when we planned to hike, we got sick. We actually spent a good deal of our summer sick. Between getting hit with swine flu and tummy bugs...yeah, didn't think most people wanted to read about those....So, I just haven't written much because "we sat at home today" doesn't make for the most thrilling of blogs.

Now, that should all change. School has started, so I may be getting some quiet time during the day.

School started for Aimee on Monday. Her first grade teacher seems really nice. Yesterday, when we asked how her day was, her response was "long." lol. I talked to her teacher today (taking in some supplies) and she said they are doing things like lots of recesses and snacks the first week or so to help the kids adjust to full days. I think Aimee will do really well once she adjusts to it all.

Betty had an orientation on Monday, then they are doing individual testing this week for kindergartners. We'll go in tomorrow afternoon. Then she actually starts class on Monday. She will be with the same teacher we had with Aimee last year. We really liked her, and I think she will be good for Betty too. She is so excited. She even has her best friend from church in her class.

I know I'm a looser and have no pictures of the first day of school..the batteries in my camera are dead and I didn't think of it until Monday morning. I'll try to get some start of school pictures taken soon.

Katie is doing normal Katie stuff....she likes to scream as her sole means of communication, which makes for a noisy house. I'm hoping that phase passes soon. Last night, she slept all the way though the night for the first time...I could live with that becoming a habit :) Of course, I kept coming out of sleep around the time she normal wakes up, and then slept lightly the rest of the night waiting for her to cry. She is a climber, so we have to keep the kitchen chairs on their side to keep her from sitting on the table.