Meow, woof, purr!

The dog catcher was about to snatch up these cute little cats and dog, but I, the benevolent veterinarian that I am, rescued them and took them into my home forever.

We had lots of fun brainstorming ideas and then making our costumes this year. Lily and Hazy were perfect little cats and Carter was a ferocious dog.

Lily chose 11 sparkly jewels to adorn her collar. And she loved wearing makeup for the big night.

Carter is scared to death of real dogs but made a fabulous one himself! His little face was so cute all painted up!

What can I say, this little darling is adorable! When I painted her face she thought I was trying to feed her. She kept trying to eat the brush!

We had lots of fun at our church Halloween party, a friends' party, and then trick-or-treating on Halloween night. We have way too much candy. I've got to find a way to get rid of some (a lot!) of it without the kids knowing. If you have any sneaky tips you'd like to share, let me know!

Awesome October

October was an awesome month. It started with Hazel's first ever pony tail! You have to look closely but it's there...behind the flower. Isn't she beautiful?!

During General Conference, the kids played in their cool forts. They used a ladder and some strong clips to hold up their blankets. Lily's face is peaking out between Carter and Hazel. Can you spot her?

Jas

I've got to put out a big old *woot woot* for my big brother. He is so incredible! He's participating in a sport called Cycle Cross. Its a cross between road bicycling, mountain biking, and running.

I wanted to put his photo right in my blog, but I couldn't get it to work. So follow this link and check him out!!

Saturday fun: work and play

Now that the weather is cooling down we can play outside! Saturday morning we got up and went for a hike. We went to see an old rusted out vehicle on the trail Aaron rides. We ended up going a lot further than we anticipated and had a great time!

Yesterday after church Lily headed up our effort to create the following list.

Things We Saw On Our Last Saturday Hike
1. a little town
2. rusty old car
3. jumping cholla garden
4. blocked-off trail
5. 5 hot air balloons
6. small fast running lizard
7. cottontail bunny
8. big black flying bug (a tarantula hawk??)
9. king Saguaro cactus
10. hummingbird
11. green, fully-leaved Ocotillo (these are usually bare and look like skeletons)
12. new Gore buildings where Aaron will work
13. blackish yellow butterfly
14. safety green moss on rocks
15. colored shadows (hot pink and turquoise) made by our water bottles
16. Arizona Coral Snake! (these things are bright! and poisonous!)

The rusted out vehicle. Carter thought it was very cool.

Although the vehicle was cool, he did not want to fall into the ditch with it. Since Saturday he's been telling me that the bad guys drove it into the ditch.

This "little town" is actually a community just north of us where some of our friends live. Lily captured this photo, actually.

And this one, budding little photographer that she is! (Yeah, Jas, this one might bring back some uncomfortable memories!)

Lil also took this one of the jumping cholla garden. Don't brush agains these guys, their pokies jump out at you!

Ocotillo

The Arizona Coral Snake. Very cool. We researched it when we got home and learned some neat things about it.

I love being outside, especially with my family. Hooray for comfortable weather! Today Carter, Hazel and I hung our hummingbird feeder, played on our grass, and laid in the shade of a palm tree in the back yard. Aahhhhhh, it's so nice to be outdoors!


P.S. I had a moment of personal growth on Saturday. I learned to mow the lawn! In my family growing up, that was the boys' job. (Don't worry, I had specific jobs they didn't do, like cleaning out the fridge.) I wanted to learn to mow the lawn so I could help keep our backyard lovely. So Aaron taught me to use the weed eater and the lawn mower. It was fun to do something new! The rest of the family sat on the patio and fixed Sherman (as in, P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sidney). He's the little vacuum-filter guy that crawls around the bottom of our pool and sucks up the debris. [Yes, Raschell, Sherman moved to our house. He says he misses you and wants you to come over for a swim. ;) ]

How do you?

Hi gals. I love learning from other people who've been there and done that. So I'm putting out some questions and would love to learn from you. What organization tools, tips, processes do you use to keep your household running smoothly? I'm brainstorming how to organize my new house and would love to get ideas from friends. What works for you??

Right now I'm particularly wondering:

1. How/where do you store your family's shoes when they enter the house?

2. If you have a pool, how/where do you store pool toys, swim suits, and beach towels so they don't end up all over the house?

3. How do you organize all those papers that come into the household and clutter up the counters?

4. If you have tile floors, do you sweep or vacuum? What kind of vacuum do you use? How do you clean or mop your tile?

5. Where do you keep all your bags, backpacks, and purses that get used daily?

Please, please, please share!! Thank you!

Julie and Kurt's wedding day

Julie and Kurt are married!

Their wedding ceremony was lovely. They were married in the Portland, Oregon temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

These two lovebirds are extremely happy!


She was so beautiful!!

Julie and Kurt both love China. They each served missions for our church in Taiwan, then met afterward in a Chinese class at BYU. During their engagement they spent the summer apart...doing study-abroad in China. He went for the first half of summer and she went for the second half. Fortunately, they overlapped a week together in Beijing. The reception (which I'll post about later) had a Chinese theme. It was really gorgeous.

Julie's dress was custom made by a famous Chinese tailor. Chinese brides wear red. White is reserved for funerals. So the tailor was a little confused when she requested a white dress. The silk fabric is beautiful...it has dragons and flowers on it. Kurt's suit was also custom made.

I loved the time I spent with my family!! I loved laughing with my siblings and their kids. I really missed my siblings and nieces and nephews that weren't able to be there.

Are these not the cutest little Asian bridesmaids you've ever seen?! Lily loved being a bridesmaid! She adored her turquoise chi pao. She wanted to wear it constantly. Little Hazel was so cute (and so slippery!) in her pink silk dress.

Pretty blues.

I love when she loves on me! I can't get enough loves and snuggles from my kids!

Kurt's parents hosted a fabulous lunch on Lake Oswego. The food was delicious, the view was refreshing, and the company was completely enjoyable.

Grandma shared her chocolate cake with Carter. He didn't eat the cake, wouldn't touch the berries, but loved the whipped cream!

It was a wonderful day for the bride and groom and us.

I'm in love with their photographer!

What the kids do while I'm unpacking

Goof balls!

Yes, she's a little angel.

Actually, I'm kind of surprised it took three and a half years before the big sister dressed the little brother up in her dress-ups.