Pics from Friday's Party

The fairy princess and Bob th Builder Wyatt and his fangs he got in the fishing game More fangs Wyatt at the party- mara refused to have any more pictures taken

Halloween Fun

This past week we did a lot of fun halloween stuff. Monday we went to the library to get more Halloween books. Tuesday we had some friends come over to decorate halloween cookies- what a mess, but what fun! Wednesday we went visiting teaching and to visit the nearby horses. Thursday my friend Emilee offered to watch the kids so Nate and I could go to the Temple. THANK YOU EMILEE!!! Thanks to Nate also for taking the morning off from work so we could go. Friday we went to the Great Harvest bread store where they hosted a fun and free halloween party. There was face painting, fishing for prizes, fortune telling, and cookie decorating. We were able to enjoy that fun with our friends Trish and Kaleb, Isaac,and Kate. Saturday we had our ward Halloween party. It was a blast. They had a chili cookoff, train rides, fun activity booths,and trunk or treating. I forgot to take pictures. Mara was a fairy princess and wyatt went as buzz light year on Saturday (friday he was bob the builder after he took off his pirate costume.) I am all halloweened out and it isn't even Halloween yet! Wyatt has also been sick. Friday and Saturday mornings he woke up with a horrible, runny diaper mess, but then was fine. But yesterday morning he woke up with the worst mess ever and it smelled so awful I am pretty sure it is rotovirus. His poor bum is raw and he now has a little fever, but he has been able to keep him hydrated which is better then last year when he had it. Yesterday morning's mess was so bad we ended up having to throw away his mattress- nothing we tried would get the smell out. Thankfully it was an older mattress and we had another one he could use. Today he is much better but I am not feeling well now. Well, that is it for us. Hope you all have a safe and fun Halloween.

Primary Program

SO this week Mara was part of her first primary program. She did great! I was very proud of her. She can be really shy someitmes (wonder where she gets that from???) but she said her part loud and clear. The program was wonderful and the spirit was strong. Nate missed it as he was called into work just as we were getting dressed for church. There was a lot of wind last night and I guess several trees fell over so he had to go get that cleaned up. Not much else has happened this week. Mara went to her friend's birthday party- it was all princess stuff which Mara can't stop talking about! (Great party Emilee!) Nate worked on the car which seems to becoming a normal part of week each week. We made and ate a few halloween treats. I have been knitting, sewing, and quilt tying this week. My hands are sore from it all but I have a lot to show for it. The only problem that I had was the pjs I was making for Mara for Christmas ended up being way too big so I packed them away for another Christmas and ended up buying her a pair at walmart when I went to get more yarn to tie Wyatt's quilt I am making for his Christmas present. The good news is I will be done with Christmas shopping once these quilts are finished- no I can just sit back and enjoy the holidays without any shopping to do!

The blessings of music

I meant to write this down last weekend but forgot and was just reminded of it. Every night I sing the kids each one song as they lay in bed going to sleep. They mostly have been choosing music from the primary songbook lately. I am grateful for how it quiets them down and for how they love to hear words of praise to our Father in Heaven. Wyatt, who is not quite 2, even sings along with the words he remembers which amazes me. One of their favorites is A Child's Prayer and I am a child of God. Wyatt's new favorite is Army of Helaman which we sang for the first time during FHE last week. Anyway, so general conference was starting and the kids were playing in the other room when the choir started singing. Mara came running in and said, "I know this song- it is my favorite!" It was I am a Child of God. Later the choir sang A Child's Prayer and again she came running in and was touch by the music. What sweet spirits these children have. I know these songs are the seedlings of their testimonies for which I am so grateful. I know that those in charge of the music for general conference were inspired to sing those children's hymns. They touched my children's heart and mine as well. What a sweet message to us all that the gospel is true and relevant to all from the youngest of children to the most experienced adult (both physically as well as spiritually speaking.) I am grateful for the tender mercies of our Lord and for the countless blessings He has given me and my family. I hope that you all may find the blessing of good music in your lives.

Devin and Karissa Visited

This weekend we had my brother, Devin, and his wife, Karissa, visit us. We had a great time getting to spend time with them. She had never been to Vegas before so we spent the day Friday on the Strip. The kids and I took them to see the Lions at the MGM, the New York New York for the roller coaster, the Bellagio for the atrium (it was beautifully decorated for fall), the tallest chocolate fountain, the dancing water display out front, the Mirage to see the aquarium my Grandpa built (but it was under renovation), the tiger, then we went to lunch at Planet Hollywood, over to the M&M factory, and finally to the Bass Pro shop and Silverton Casino to see the Mermaid swim with the sting rays. It was an eventful day, but my kids were troopers and were so good I couldn't believe it. Mara walked almost the entire time (over 7 hours!) Wyatt sat quietly in his stroller and enjoyed the ride. Saturday we went to lunch at a fun Mexican restaurant and then to see The Game Plan at the new movie theaters at the Red Rock Casino. I hope we get to see them again soon. This past week or so we have been listening to some fun new cds I bought for the kids. Mara has been singing along but puts her own twist on it. She doesn't have the lyrics quite right for some of the songs. For example: Animal crackers in my soup is Aminal tractors in my suit. Supercalifragilisticexpialdocious is supercalifragisikCRISPYallatoastish. That is just a couple of examples I will add more as I think of them.

Our lives the past couple of weeks

So, it has been a very busy and fun couple of weeks. I won't bore you with all the details just a few highlights and a slide show of all the pictures. My mom flew in from Utah on Thursday the 28th of Sept and the next morning the kids and I drove to San Diego with her. We stayed at my grandparents home for five days and had a wonderful time with them. My grandma planned a party for all the cousins, aunts, and uncles that live there. It was a lot of fun to see everyone and to have my kids get to know my cousins kids (their second cousins???) The had fun driving around in Granny and Grandpa's red converable and I had fun trying to keep Wyatt from jumping into the swimming pool. Wyatt also enjoyed his first toasted marshmellow. Monday we took the kids to the beach. Wyatt went crazy and loved every second of it. That night we went to my aunt Nancy's for dinner. Tuesday we drove back to Las Vegas. We stopped and visited with my mom's friend she met in the fourth grade that she hasn't seen in 30 years. Nate called while we were driving home to let me know that he was leaving town until Friday and would be gone before we got home. (He had been in Idaho for work while we were in San Diego.) I was sad we were going to miss him again, but Wednesday after taking my mom to the airport we drove up to St. George, UT where Nate was working. We stayed up there with him until Friday. I took the kids to a wildlife museum and a dinosaur museum that didn't have any dinosaurs! It just had impressions of dinosaur footprints that were found in the area. We also spent some time at the St. George Temple's visitor's center. They had some really need exhibits- if you haven't been and have the chance you should go. Since we got home Friday I have been trying to relax and rest up from all the traveling but Mara and Wyatt don't like to rest. Wyatt is sick, but still has more energy than I know what to do with. We let the kids paint some pumpkins yesterday. They can't wait for Halloween. I spent the day today making and canning salsa- I hope it turns out. Well, that is about it. We had a wonderful time on our trips- Thanks Mom, Granny, Grandpa Don, Nate, Aunt Nancy and everyone else who helped to give us so many good memories of the last couple of weeks.

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