Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeeen! (in a deep spooky voice)

Halloween Festivities!



One of my huge "Thankfuls" is that I have a husband that will carve pumpkins with my kids when I won't because I HATE the smell and texture of pumpkin innards.  I cant do it.  I gag.  These guys are getting pretty good at making some sweet Jack-O-Lanterns.  Can you guess which one is Braidens?

The Friday before Halloween I had my friends over for some food, football and white trash costume fun.  The People of Walmart was the theme. These guys are hilarious.  I especially loved the the pregnant lady in the morph suit.

Paaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrttyyyy in Roosevelt!

My brother moved his cute little fam to Roosevelt, UT in April this year and I had not been out to see them yet so I decided to make the jaunt there, just me and the kids, for their little Halloween Party.  Its about 140 miles from my house but it took 3.5 hours to get there between all the bathroom stops and getting stuck behind a horse trailer going 25.  It was fun as their parties always are and so good to see little McCoy, or should I say, Mini Elvis. 

Lets just say, he was not having it.  That costume stayed on for about 8 minutes.



I swear if Braiden was ever something "normal" again I would die of shock.  The morph suit thing is apparently all the rage this year.  He told people was was "The Invisible Man".



Theres my sweet boy!



We caught a cute snapshot of Paige at he school Halloween Parade.  They walked to fast it was almost impossible but I got her, wrinkles and all!



November Already??

Holy moly.  I cannot believe November is here already.  Time doesn't just fly...it seriously books it without looking back!  I can hardly keep up.  I will say, though, that this is a great time of year for lots of reasons.

1. The Holidays are afoot!  Craziness but fun, fun, fun! I love planning for what we will do for the kids and our family for gifts.  Believe it or not, thanks to Walmart's lovely layaway program, we are just about DONE Christmas shopping but I am saving just a little for BLACK FRIDAY!!  HECK YA!
2. Daylight Savings is almost over!  That extra hour in the morning means more to me than anyone could ever know.  I keep saying that is when I WILL get up at 5:30 every morning to run cause it will feel like 6:30 (but I hated waking up at 6:30, so we will see how that plays out).
3. Football season is almost OVER!  Don't get me wrong...I love the game, enjoy watching, cheering, partying, etc. and I love that Braiden is excelling in his skills as a little athlete.  But, dang, I am exhausted.  I will be glad to NOT be a slave to the car 4 times a week while getting him to practices, scrimmages, games, tailgates, film reviews, team dinners, team parties, team pictures...you get it.
4. My Paid Time Off (PTO) will renew in January.  I have been out of PTO since August due to my maternity leave.  Combined with #3, wow, I really need a vacation.  Thank heaven I don't have a conventional RN hospital job so I DO get weekends and holidays off!
5. All the good movies are being released!  Breaking Dawn opens in 2 weeks and I cant wait! (Yes I am one of those...don't hate.)
6. The school year is just about half over!  Not that I want my kids to get through with school quickly, I just want them to get through it PERIOD! I don't know how I will do it when all 4 kids are in school with homework, spelling words, book reports, projects, events, PT conferences, Jog-A-Thons, crazy hair days...you get the idea.  I am terrified.  Therefore I am VERY grateful to take it one semester at a time.
7. More and more fun milestones are happening every day with my little Max.  He is so fun.  I love that all I have to do is smile at him and he gives me the biggest toothless grin i have ever seen.  Even though he smells like spit-up most of the time (thanks to reflux) I love his little baby smell and will miss that so much.
8. The Winter Clothes are out!  I love my winter wardrobe.  That includes but is not limited to all sweats and slippers!  If its a rainy/snowy cold day, you better believe I am at home in my lounge pants keeping warm! (Also I don't have to care that my legs are pasty white)
9. MINT M&Ms and PEPPERMINT ICE CREAM!  Oh yes, you better believe I already have a bag of the little beauties to hide and snack on for the next 2 months.  My weakness is the peppermint hot cocoa at MCcDonalds...did you know you can get it sugar free???  MMMMMMMMM!

Halloween update to follow!

Family Foto Time...

Man, I love these guys.

Another Night out with my WITCHES!

WITCHES NIGHT OUT!

If I ever leave Utah, which I dont see happening soon, I will sorely miss Witches Night Out.  I was introduced to this event last year by some good lady-friends and we are trying to make this a yearly tradition but 3 out of the usual 7 that normally go are pregnant/ miserable and another had other unbreakable plans so it was down to 3 of us.  Nonetheless, we got dolled up, stayed out way too late, and had a blast!

~Me, Becky and Jessi all dressed up in our witchy best~



My favorite part about getting dressed up...the eyelashes.  I love them.  I would wear them every day if I didnt know that I would get some strange looks from people.



Up the street from Gardners Village there is a row of flag poles that we just cant seem to resist swinging on.  Some people were just meant to dance on a pole. Me...not so much.

Like I said...me, not so much.

...and the shenanigans continue.  No we are not dead or passed out in random places.  Ever heard of planking?  I must say I thought it sounded dumb but really it was hilarious.

Am I a sexy WITCH or what?

Fall Fun..pumkin farm and stuff

So far October has been a fun-filled, busy month.  Oh wait, that's my whole life.  Well, no matter, here are some highlights from October thus far.  I love this time of year when everything starts changing...and then I remember that I live in Utah and fall means its going to start snowing soon...bleh.  So I like to enjoy the not-snowing for as long as I possibly can. 

Halloween is in a week so you know there is more to come but you might have to wait till November.

Between football 4 days a week, middle school (keeping straight A's so far), scouts, Young Men's, hanging out with his friends, and answering all the phone calls from girls (yes, just believe it), Braiden is exhausted...and frankly, so am I.

 Max is getting bigger everyday, no surprise and he is turning into a little ham.  He smiles, laughs, squeals, and coos at anyone who will give him some attention.  Its a small price to pay for some love from such a sweet little guy.  We are having fun enjoying our little caboose.

Yesterday we went to this tiny  (very tiny) local nursery where they had some fun things for the kiddos.  This corn pit was the highlight for them.  Even Eric had a great time digging for treasure in this thing.  I, personally, was a little grossed out by it so Max and I enjoyed watching from afar.

Train rides, punkin pickin, and stuff.

Then we went to our traditional pumpkin farm.  We love this place.  There are tons of good ones to choose from and we got 6 huge pumpkins for $15!  Nice.

My handsome 7th Grader

Braiden Wigington 7th Grade

As much as I love these over-priced, totally unprofessional looking pictures that are forced on us every year, I have decided that this is the last time I will purchase school pictures (how hard is it to center the frame for heaven's sake?).  From now on I will get my kids pictures done at the beginning of the school year as a group and individually.  It will so be worth it to have pictures that I actually want to frame... at least he makes the picture worth every penny.

The un-Holy War: COUGARS vs UTES

Are you a

or are you a

?

This brings to mind the word of a hymn I have grown to love:

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?

Now is the time to show.

We ask it fearlessly:

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?

We wage no common war,

Cope with no common foe.

The enemy’s awake;

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?

 

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?

Now is the time to show.

We ask it fearlessly:

Who’s on the Lord’s side? Who?

(Go Cougars!)

Thoughts about today. September 11th

Where were you 10 years ago today, on 9/11/2001?  Braiden was 2 years old.  I was already at work as I started early in the morning back then.  A co-worker came running into the main area where everyone was and told us to turn up the radio to hear about the terrorist attacks in New York.  We listened while we worked but soon everyone stopped working and was gathered around the radio listening intently while the scary events ensued.  We ended up closing early and sending everyone home to be with their families.  It was a surreal day.  I remember it was hard to grasp that it was really happening and that it could mean that our country would soon be at war...and what would happen next?  Where would another surprise attack happen?  In our backyard?  For a few short moments I remember feeling vulnerable in this country in which I had always taken my safety and security for granted.  That feeling didn't last long as I saw how people came together to mourn and vowed that we would only stand stronger than before and never let some cowardly terrorists tear us down.

Eric and I took our kids to The Healing Field today.  Its a memorial that consisted of an American Flag standing for each of the victims of 9/11 (each with their names and a short biography).  Paige asked me what this was and why the flags were there so I attempted to tell her a little about what happened that day (as best as I could for a 6 year old to understand).  Of course there is no way that her innocent little mind could comprehend the horrific nature of those events but I hope that by taking them there, they will remember the American Flags and why we are so blessed to live in this country.

God Bless this beautiful country, America.

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand

Between their loved home and the war's desolation!

Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land

Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,

... And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."

And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave

O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

An amazing Day for Braiden

Today Braiden had an especially good day.  So good, its worth blogging about. 

First, he got up at the crack of dawn and went on a bike ride with his dad and some friends.  This is especially exciting because Braiden worked his hiney off to earn the money for this bike that he bought on his own.  Its going to have to last him through adulthood for the price but at least he earned it. He biffed it a few times but still had fun.

Next- Football season has begun and so has my enslavement to the car and getting him from place to place.  Anyway... he caught a pass and ran the ball to the end zone that created the WINNING touch down for his team, the Jordan Marroon Beetdiggers.  He was the star of the game and on cloud 9.  It just about brought me to tears to see his face when he came running toward me and his dad.  He was so happy.

To see my children be happy by accomplishing something they have worked hard for makes me one proud mama... but for me to be proud of him is not the most important thing, he has to love and be proud of himself, and today he was.  Way to go Braiden!

My little Cam Cam...4 years later.

All the Kiddies at Camerons party tonight at Planet Play
(all you can eat buffet combined with arcade game galore, pretty much 4 year old heaven)

Once again, many thanks to the lovely cake makers at Walmart without which my children might never have a cute b-day cake! SpongeBob is the favorite this year.

"Goofball Cameron" (thats going on his wedding invations)

We couldnt decide between the Cars toy set or the bike....so we got both. We just love that kid too much.

We just had to take the opportunity to get a pic of the 4 of them together.  Apparently its asking too much to have them all look at the camera and smile all at the same time.  Oh well, I will take what I can get.  (By the way, I still cant believe I have 4 kids).

Baby Cameron, 4 years ago

Mommy and a very cute 4 year old

Schools back in! 7th grade and 1st grade...

Notice the porch light is still on?  Braiden has to catch the bus at 6:30!  I was half asleep when I took this picture.  Braiden was very excited for the first day of middle school and he has loved it for the last 2 weeks.

Getting ready for school!

Cameron had to stay behind but wanted to be in the picture.  Still in his jammies.



First Day of 1st grade!  Isn't she a cutie?





This was a few days later but I had to post it cause they are so cute.