Trunk or Treat

Saturday started out as the worst day ever. In fact I think I had my first anxiety attack! We had a showing and the girls had a costume birthday party for their friend Isabelle. On top of that I had chili to make and pumpkins to carve! At the last second, Claire's red Dorothy shoes wouldn't fit. So I made a mad dash to Target, praying the whole way that they would have her size. And they did! I love that store! Claire came home from the party covered in Root Beer, so it was a crazy dash to wash it in time for our ward party. I was so frazzled to get out of the house in time for our showing that I didn't shut the front door! (Steve told me that later at the party, which was just the icing on the cake that made me burst into tears!!) However, the trunk or treat, I must say I absolutely LOVE this tradition! I remember Halloween going from house to house and freezing our butts off, but this totally eliminates that! Quick and painless!

One of my favorite costumes at the party was my friend Marti and her little girls Haley. Haley is one of Claire's friends from nursery and was diagnosed with cancer earlier this summer. I have so admired Marti and Nic and how strong they have been through this trial. I cry every time I think of it, but they have been so amazing! They totally played it up for Halloween. Marty & Haley dressed up as Morticia and Uncle Fester! Haley would tell people who she was and throw her head back and laugh! She is such a doll and we are so glad she is on the downhill slope with her treatments and will be back to nursery soon!

Family Night

This week for Family Night, we took the girls to a "surprise location". We know of a cute pumpkin patch not far from our house. The owners are in Steve's boss's ward and we have met them on a few occasions. They are a really neat family with a handicapped daughter. We have heard that the money they make from the pumpkin patch helps to pay her medical bills, so it has been our tradition since we met them to help all we can by going back every year. As we pulled up, I heard squeals from the backseat. "I should have guessed we were coming here!" Paige has been dying to go since they put up their signs on 12600 South. Claire grabbed the first pumpkin she could lift, while Paige went on the hunt. I was looking for something tall and skinny (just like myself) and Steve was fascinated by the new load the truck was bringing in. Paige finally decided on the biggest pumpkin in the patch, I swear this thing weighs 20 lbs!
Even more exciting to the girls was the line of old tractors they have lining the corn field. They have removed the keys of course, so it is safe for the kids to climb on them and what a perfect photo op! As we were leaving, Claire tripped and fell flat on her face, crying like crazy! Her little teeth were chattering since it had gotten so cold and the only thing to cheer her up were promises of a "bubble tub" when we got home. I don't know what I was thinking, but I mentioned putting the pumpkins in the tub with the girls since they are so dirty! Not a smart move since they thought that was a great idea! I helped them to forget the suggestion with promises of hot chocolate instead.
More pumpkin fun to come...We still have to carve the spooky little things. (or huge in Paige's case)

First Snowfall

For the life of me, I will never understand why they call Utah the land of four seasons, since every year it jumps right from summer to winter, leaving us a fall that lasts two weeks. Well, Sunday morning, the girls were so excited to wake up to snow! They simply couldn't wait to go out to play. However, by the time we had eaten, cleaned up breakfast and put on all of our snow gear, the snow had almost completely melted. This was quite the process since our snow clothes have been packed away for at least six months. Also, I am so loving how the Old Navy snow hats that Santa brought the girls last year double as sun visors. I guess the more of their little faces the hats cover, the less likely they are to get cold. Of course, Paige thought it was all my fault that the snow was gone since I had made her watch "a million shows" while I did the dishes. Nevertheless, we managed to find a shady spot by the pool that had a little bit of snow left. It was mostly grass, but a little snow. We gathered all we could and made our first snowman of the season, complete with bark mulch for arms. We put "Frosty" on our porch in the shade, but just like the story says...Frosty melted, leaving nothing put a wet puddle, two sticks and two broken-hearted little girls.

Test Drive

For several months now, I have heard talk about "blogs". And now that I have high speed, I have to admit that I have truly spent hours linking from one to another to see who I can find. After some pressure from friends, a lot of "I'll do it if you do it", and just plain curiosity, today is the start of our new family blog. We have entitled it "A Bunch of B.S." You can take this to mean Brooke and Steve, as it is intended of course, or true BS due mostly to what on earth am I going to write about on a blog??

Most likely our blog will contain stories about our two little girls, Paige (5) and Claire (2). I will be more than happy to share those cute little happenings that only a mom can find so humorous.

Here's to many interesting memories to come!!