Pumpkin Patch and Jack O Lanterns

For Family Home Evening tonight, we visited the Purdums Pumpkin Patch here in town.  We rode the tractor-led hay ride out to pick our future jack o lanterns.   

My neice and nephew, Jordan and Jayden, and my sister-in law, Taylor came along with us.

 

 

 

 

Once we picked out our pumpkins, we headed to Todd's mom's house where she had invited us all for yummy soups and a pumpkin carving party!

 

Ashton's idea of carving a Jack O Lantern was stabbing every tool into it like injecting it with monter creating potions!  He had a good time helping in that way! 

 

 

 

Adam and Katrina were there with Baby Camden and he and Lainey had some good conversation over dinner.

 

Murder Mystery Dinner Party

We had our annual  murder mystery party yesterday!  The year Todd and I were married we started a tradition for siblings to have a little fun every Halloween season.  We all dress up and act in character for a murder mystery game.  This year we did a pirate game and were able to tailor it to our group- Todd's brothers and their wives, and his single brothers, and my brother Devan, and his wife, Maura.  Last year was my first year NOT doing the game so far.  I was too pregnant and too tired.  But this year Devan asked if I'd do it again so he could come.   And I was happy to have them visit!  I recommend the site I got the game from if anyone ever wants to do one of their own.  It's http://mystery.host-party.com.  They have lots of games that you can tailor to your size of group/genders and you print out all the materials at home so there is no time waiting for shipping! 

Todd and I look like pilgrims, not pirates!  Actually he's a map maker/artist and I'm the inn keeper.

 

Kris and Amber were fierce captains of two diff. ships.

Maura was the ship's cook and Devan was a law abiding ship's captain.

Katrina was a tavern wench and Adam was a sailor.

Billy was a gold dealer/treasure hunter.

And Travis was a dread pirate/captain with a wooden leg that he made himself!  It was awesome!

Girls Weekend

Thursday evening I flew in to Spokane with Lainey to spend the weekend with Steph, Sara, and Cortney!  On the flight there, I was seated next to a gentleman who said I was in luck for being assigned to sit by him because he loved babies and I had Lainey there.  He broke out his phone and showed me a picture of his baby back home and began to tell me no one loves babies more than him.  Just then, the stewartess announces that the plane is only half full and therefore, everyone can move around the plane and have a row to themselves.  I thought the guy would move (I was pinned in by the window), but he sat there quietly as the other passengers moved around.  I wanted to get up so bad because Lainey is super wiggly and was constantly going for the guy's phone or book or sleeve, etc.  But I didn't want him to think I "disagreed" that I had sat next to the absolute best person for Lainey and I to be stuck with.  And appearantly he didn't want to do anything that would retract his statement either because he didn't move.  So we were not only the only row with two people in it on the entire flight, but the only row with THREE.  I had to laugh at my chances.  But, of course, since that's how it usually is when we fly anyway, we were fine.

Thursday night, we four friends and Lainey went to dinner, then Cortney started her evening shift at work at the airport while the rest of us went home to Sara's where we were staying for the weekend.  Her boys were at their dad's house and she had changed out all the boys' bedding with pretty quilts and Cortney had baskets she had made with treats and hotel-like samplers of not just lotion and shampoo but LOTS of fun things there for us.  They super spoiled Steph and I.

Friday, we all got pedicures and did some shopping. 

At home, that evening, we ate yummy home made sweet popcorn mix and artichoke dip while watching a movie.  Would have been 2 movies but we decided to take some pictures and it took us 45 minutes to get a good one because we kept laughing or messing up!

 

Saturday we went to their ward's Super Saturday, had the tasty soups both Sara and Cortney had made for it, and made some fun crafts.

 

 

 

 Then we took Lainey to a babysitter for 4 hours while we went to an amusement park!  We rode all the rides we usually never ride because we usalluy have kids with us.  Several times on the roller coasters and twice on the one that slowly slides up a giant pillar, then DROPS you to your death!  After the second time, Cortney asks if we're done riding that ride because that's the one a girl got her legs amputated on by a snapped cable a while back.... AH!  So we were done with that one.  It was really fun.  And my neck survived all the jerky roller-coasters going back and forth and upside down. 

 

 

 

That evening I got to meet up with Rachele!  She lives in Lewiston, less than 2 hours away and she and John drove to Spokane to do some shopping for the day so we met up at Chile's for dinner.  It was great to get to see them again!

Sunday we had a lazy morning.  Sara's mom came over to say hi.  I hadn't seen her in years since they moved from Alaska back in high school.  It was great to catch up while making and eating breakfast.  We also worked in the kitchen to get dinner started- Cafe Rio's pulled pork burritos and fruit pizza.  We attended their 1:00 church.  Then we had our dinner at Cortney's house with her family.  Her husband, Jeff, is Sara's older brother.  We were all friends when we were kids.  They have a beautiful family!  Jeff is a great photographer and he took pictures for us.

And then we all messed with the pictures a bit on a photoshop type of program.  Too much fun. 

That night we did a bunch of coupon clipping in each of our Sunday papers we got.  Cortney is a couponing queen and she taught us the ropes! 

And while we clipped, we ate caramel apples!

Monday we went shopping again.  We used a few coupons and hit some awesome sales.  Maybe a little too much shopping because I almost couldn't zip shut my extra suit case that was empty when I came! 

While we were at the stores we bought coupon binders and fillers for Sara, Steph and I to use Cortney's coupon system and really get good at it.  It was all so much fun and so relaxing!  I have such amazing friends. We lost contact for a few years after high school and several moves, and I feel so blessed to have them back in my life again.  They mean so much to me and I'm grateful for Todd for not only being willing to take the kids for me to go once a year to see them, but for encouraging me to do so. 

I'm also grateful for Lainey, who was an angle on our trip.

Heart 'N Home's Meridian Office Open House

On Tuesday I drove down to Meridian to take pictures of Todd's new office at its open house.  Heart 'N Home now has 5 offices!  I guess they did a ribbon cutting before I got there.  So I don't have pictures of that, but it's a really pretty office.  I hadn't seen it before- which is why I wanted to go.  My friend, Beth took the older two kids for me so I wouldn't have to bark at them to keep away from the refreshments table the whole time.  I should have known I'd be the one who couldn't keep away from it.  I felt like a pig, but the food was great and I was starving!

 

While on the Heart 'N Home topic, I keep forgetting to put on here that one of their CNA's, Consuelo Vargas, received a state award as the 2009 Idaho Dream Team Hospice Aide back in July.  Todd and I attended the awards night to represent Heart 'N Home and this picture was in the local paper.  It was a fun evening.  We sat at a table with a nationally renowned hospice representative and Todd was super excited to get to talk to him all evening.  Even though they didn't put Lainey's name under the picture, she's in it!  Not even 4 months old yet and already in the paper!  Haha.

Heart 'N Home really does have awesome employees.  I enjoy going to their events to mingle with them.  Tonight I'll be missing their annual Celebration Of Life event.  Everyone lights a candle and the names of those who have passed away that year are read.  There is music and a speaker.  It's a reverent sort of night to honor their past patients and a lot of community members come to celebrate loved ones passed on as well.  I'm sad to miss it, but I'll be on a plane to Spokanne to spend the weekend with old friends for our ladies weekend.  And I'm excited to see them!

Todd's Bike Race

This weekend was the big race for Todd and his Dad, Rex.  They both got road bikes two months ago and amped up the training.  They thought it was going to be 50 miles, but on the drive to Ellensburg, Washington, Todd got online on his phone to see the event web site and noticed that the races were 50K and 100K.  So kilometers, not miles.  Which converts to 30 miles and 60 miles.  They didn't want to have driven all that way just to do 30 miles, they do that all the time at home now.  So they opted to stretch to 60 and hope they could make it.  It was 61.9 to be exact ;-)

Cindy (Rex's wife- Todd's step mom) and I followed along in the car taking pictures and filming them from time to time.  It was inspiring to see them push themselves so much more than they meant to do there.  They made it in just under 4 hours, which was great considering all the hills!  They actually did REALLY well on the hills.  The hills were just one right after the next and they never had to get off and walk, and in fact, that was where they passed people the most.

It was really pretty country and a beautiful day.  They call it the Drier Ride because, even though it is nestled in between rainey areas, even when the forecast calls for rain, it rarely rains there.  And sure enough, it rained everywhere that day EXCEPT the area the ride covered.  Kind cool.  We were worried.  But it's been a dry ride there for 14 years running!

Grandma Lee kept Brielle and Ashton for us and we took Lainey along.  She was especially good the whole time.

Also, for the journal...Last week we took the family to feed the ducks (and the mob of geese that hang around there) at Malheur Park in Ontario.  Brielle is scared to death of geese now!  Seriously, she cried hysterically at them!  Ashton loved them and Lainey just stared with big bug eyes.

The General Relief Society Broadcast was insightful.  Lots of good stuff to apply to my calling.  I especially loved the dinner/social before it because Norma Nawahine was in charge of the menu.  She is half  Hawaiian half Chinese.  And she made the yummiest Chinese meal for everyone!

I leave for my girls getaway in 3 days!  I'm so excited!  I still won't be able to sleep in because I'll have Lainey with me.  But it will be great fun!

I actually cheated and got to see one of my getaway friends early, Stephanie, who was my best friend growing up.  She and and her family drove through this area to see family and stopped by.  I met her two youngest for the first time and we had a fun time talking over lunch for a couple of hours.  I can't wait to see her and the other girls this weekend!!!

On a VERY sad note, this weekend one of my closest friends here in Fruitland let me know that their family will be moving next month.  I am so sad.  Her husband has been our home teacher for almost 5 years.  She has been my singing partner during that time.  Thier oldest is a daughter Brielle's age and they are tight pals.  Their second is a son close to Ashton's age and they are buddies.  Thier youngest is a girl Lainey's age.  As you can see, the friendship was a neat match. This is a pic taken last year of the kids on a 4 wheeler evening with this family.  We are happy for them to be moving on to new and exciting things in Arizona as he has taken a very cool job working for a company our local general authority owns.  But the Arnett family will be very missed.

Today was the monthly quilt class our ward does.  I love the ladies that teach it, they are just amazing quilters and very fun personalities.  I've learned a lot, but need to get my rear over to a fabric store so I can do a project and actually practice what I've learned before I forget it all!  I haven't used my sewing machine since Lainey and Brielle's bedroom got the overhaul.  Time to dust it off...