Halloween 2011

Better late than never... This year we celebrated Halloween 3 times: at the ward Halloween party, the actual night of Halloween and again at Grandma Lunt's house. Yes we just can't get enough of this holiday around here.

These pictures of the kids were taken the night of our Ward Halloween party.

Melia was a hippie

Taylor was a dead bride.

Jenna a princess.

Devin a pirate...He loved saying ARRRRRR!

At the party they got to trunk or treat and came home with more that enough candy to last for a while (but Devin ate it all in a day).

The night before halloween we carved pumpkins...always lots of fun.





After trick or treating we had our traditional sorting of the candy...
This is fun for the kids to compare all the good candy they got and also necessary since we have kids who can't eat nuts.

Two weeks after all of this Halloween fun we took a trip to Loren's parent's house and his mom threw a party for the kids. They all got back into their costumes and played games. There was even a pinata for them to hit and a fish pond with great prizes. Unfortunately...no good pictures.

Catch up time

Alrighty.

It's officially Catch up time. Life got insanely busy around here around about the end of October. Yeah...that's a lot of catching up! And while I toyed with the idea of skipping all of that and just starting with January 2012, there were just so many fun things that we did. I couldn't bear the thought of not recording it.

SO...

We're going to start with Halloween.
Then we'll do Taylor's birthday.
Followed by Thanksgiving (maybe...not sure I have any pictures)
They we'll take a look at our trip to Disneyland.
And finish up with Christmas.

These will all be in separate posts folks! So check back soon and perhaps I will get it all done by the time the next big event rolls around. That would be Devin's birthday which is in just one short week. I can't believe my baby is almost 4!

Blessings

While the blessings I see daily in my life are too numerous to count, I thought I would point out a few biggies that have happened in the last few days:

1. we found a renter for our house. This is a big deal for us. Last time it took us 6 weeks (and numerous showings) to find a renter. This time it took 3 days, one showing, and not too much stress. I hope he is everything the old renter isn't (quiet, and on time with the rent). Most importantly, we won't have to dig into our savings to pay even one mortgage payment. He moves in right after the old renter moves out.

2. I was really sad to find out that our piano teacher had decided to quit teaching. Then I started looking for a new teacher...I found that others in the are charge ALOT more for lessons. I was beginning to wonder what I was going to have to cut from the budget in order to pay for lessons for 3 kids. And then I found someone in our ward who was willing to teach for exactly the same amount as I have been paying. It will put a lot less stress on our finances and the girls will really enjoy learning from her.

3. We finally got all of the rent money from our renter. Now we can afford to clean the carpets and repaint all the room where her kids wrote on the walls (no, I'm not kidding about that.) I truely never knew that renting a home could be so stressful. I hope the new guy doesn't trash the place. At least he doesn't have any kids who will write on the walls with sharpie markers and nail polish (no, I'm not kidding.)

Things that are bugging me right now

Loren is out of town so I have nothing to distract me from the things that are bugging me and yet are out of my control to change... Here is a little list so you can see the things in my life that are annoying me right now.

#1 Our renter is now 10 days late paying the rent. This is causing stress in my life and in my bank account. You can imagine, right?

#2 The renter has informed us that she will be leaving at the end of the month (she better pay us for this month before she leaves!), so now I get the chore of posting the house on craig's list several times a day in hopes that we can get a new renter that can move in on the first of October...please let us find somone who will pay the rent ON TIME!

#3 The kids are bored, the kids are bored, THE KIDS ARE BORED!

#4 When they're bored, they want to eat. How much can they eat in one day?

#5 Can't keep the house picked up no matter how hard I try...of course, I'm not the one making the mess-it's them. So why should I have to pick it up? Why can't I get this principle though their heads?

Thank goodness Loren comes home tomorrow! I'm tired of being a single mom! I'm way to out numbered.

We'll call it a success

Melia did leave the orthodontist's office with braces on her top teeth today.

So we'll call today successful
and
We'll ignore the following facts:
*The office opened 30 minutes late
*Melia freaked out so it took forever to get the bands on her molars
*those two things combined caused me to be late dropping Devin off at preschool
*All of these facts caused me to be stressed out!

On the positive side:
*Melia did go to school without too much fuss(that alone is reason to call this a successful day.) We even got her there early enough that she was only marked tardy instead of absent for half the day
*the orthodontist gave us a $25 gift card since we had to wait so long. That almost made the wait worth it...almost.

If Melia will allow me to take a picture of her with her new colorful braces I will post it here:

If she won't let me take one, then I will tell you this...she picked bright green and purple rubberbands. And I think she looks cute with braces on her teeth.

Thursday thoughts

* Thank goodness August is over. It know it is still ridiculously hot, but at least we are a little closer to cooler weather. September just sounds better that August...I'll try to block out the fact that it is over 110 degrees today.

* Speaking of the heat...the AC in my car has been having troubles since APRIL. Last week we took it in AGAIN, and they supposedly fixed it. We dropped some major cash this time and guess what...it STILL isn't working. I'm sure glad I paid them all that money to have it still blow hot air on me everytime I drive it. It is going back on Saturday and if they don't fix it this time I just might kill them. And might I add...we have been having record breaking heat for the past 2 weeks!!! What a time to have AC troubles.

*My hot car is actually saving me some money. I have no desire to drive it anywhere, so I haven't been spending much money at the store. That's me trying to find something positive about this miserable situation.

* The girls are all doing well in school so far. We got progress reports at the end of last week, and I was happy with what I saw.

* Devin is loving having the house to himself while his sisters are away at school. He gets to play with what ever her wants with out his bossy sister's butting in.

*Melia is getting braces next week. I can honestly say that her mouth is a complete disaster and I was't a bit surprised when they told us she might have them on for 2 1/2 years. She is not happy. So far she is the only one in her group of friends to get braces and I think she is a bit self conscious about that. Also she thinks her mouth is gonna hurt like crazy and she should therefore be allowed to stay home from school. I told her that she likely won't be missing school due to braces.

*Taylor also had a consult with the orthodontist and we learned that she will be getting 3 more teeth pulled at some point in the future. Braces will be used to close the gaps. Luckily they said at least a year before we are ready for that. Thank goodness...how will I pay for 2 kids in braces at once?

*Piano lessons for the girls today. They are really looking forward to it since there has been a gap between lessons due to sickness. They seem to really enjoy playing so far and all of them have worked ahead in their books.

*Three day weekend coming up! Everyone has Monday off. I only enjoy three day weekends when Loren gets to help me entertain the kids. I hope we actually get to spend some time relaxing. The pool has been calling out to all of us, but with homework and other activites, we don't have as much time to be out in it as we used to. Plus the water is like 90 degrees...a little to warm to be enjoyable.

TWELVE

I've been thinking about this post for a while...
a little over a week to be exact.
On August 24, Melia turned 12.
I know that to most, 12 isn't a big deal...
it's thirteen-the year they become a teenager-
that's a big deal.
But in our world- 12 is a big deal.
It’s the year that they get to leave primary
And go to Young Women’s.
It’s the year they are considered
Old enough to babysit
(although Melia has already had a little practice at that!)
In a way…it seems to be the year that they grow up.

So we allowed Melia the chance to do something
really special for her birthday.
Usually birthday's are celebrated at our house,
with a few friends.
Cake, ice cream, swimming for those who have
summer birthdays.
This year we let Melia invite her friends to
a movie (the Smurfs) and lunch (at native New Yorker).

No little siblings were there.
I think she had fun.
And I hope she appreciated the chance to feel
just a little bit grown up.
She even managed to negotiate swimming time
after the movie and lunch.
She very effectively stretched the length of her
party to 7 hours, not bad for a 12 year old.

Over the years, we have spoiled our children
on their birthdays.
They get a party with their friends,
and on their actual birthday,
we take them out to dinner.
I also make them whatever they request
for breakfast- Melia chose biscuits and gravy.
That evening we went to Olive Garden for dinner
And then came home to a special Treat from
Melia’s primary teacher:
Ice cream cupcakes (delicious!)

Her final surprise for the day
was given by the Young Women in our ward.
Melia's birthday happened to fall on the
day of their weekly activity.
They contacted me a few weeks in advance
and asked if we would mind if they
"Kidnapped" Melia that night
and give her a little surprise party.
They showed up here at a little after 7
and dragged her off for treats and games
at one of the home of one of the leaders.
I think she loved it!

I can't believe she is 12...
she is getting so grown up.
It's a little scary to think of
some of the things that she'll be
facing in the next few years of her
life.
Growing up is hard.
The challenges she will face
will be difficult.
And for Loren and I
letting go, and letting her walk
towards those challenges
is the hardest thing to do.
We want to keep her safe.
We want to protect her from everything
"out there".
I want to rewind back to when she was
small
and just push the pause button.
I see her growing into an
amazing Young Woman.
I hope she can hold on to all
that we have taught her,
and remember who she is.