Catching up

I think I went five or six days without a camera. My digital camera that I got in May for our Disneyland trip decided to take an early retirement. So frustrating. Not even six months and it was done. I have had my Canon Rebel G 35mm for about ten years and I am still loving it. So, what is wrong with these little digitals? Is it user error? In the last four years I have had 4 different cameras. Granted, they are only 100+ bucks and they do get a little roughed up by my kids, but shouldn't they last longer than that?

Anyway, my sweet husband has done it again.. he forked out the money for yet another camera. I am a freak when I don't have a working camera at hand. There's another question for you all - am I the only mom out there that can't stand to go four days without taking pictures? I feel a little obsessive after this little escapade. I don't think I realized how much I depend on the dumb thing. I thought my cell phone was my favorite "gadget." Now I am wondering.

So, between that and my month of October being my busiest month of the year (so far) I have a lot of catching up to do. I am going to do one huge post. Hopefully I don't bore you to death.

First of all, I love October. I love autumn. I don't think I did when I was young, but each year I enjoy it more. This year was especially nice because of the mild weather. I love decorating for Halloween and I love seeking out the best costumes for the kids. (side note: Can I tell you how irritating it is to me that our elementary school declared October 31 "Official no costume day." What is that about? That is one of the best things about Halloween. Nope - not this year. My kids had to wear orange and black to "scare off drugs." Lame). So, I crafted my guts out this month without even realizing it. I have never had a ton of Halloween decor so I guess I felt a need to change that. Of course I involved Jer and the kids as much as possible. I had the kids make Trick or Treat bags:

And we carved pumpkins as a family:

And, I tried out my new toy (the Cricut):

And, since I made so many trips to Wood Connection while planning our Super Saturday, I had to make this little ditty:

And, lastly, I was tired of looking at "bloom" in my window, so I replaced it with "fall":

I also had a couple of Pigtails and Petals parties so I was making bows and headbands like a crazy woman. Yes, my fingers are bleeding after this last month. I have had lots of requests for Christmas bows and headbands, too, so if you need any, you'd better lemme know 'cause I can only twist and glue so fast. :)

As for our October 31st, it was very busy but very fun! I helped with Emma's class party at school in the morning, registered the van in the afternoon, took pictures with the Grandma's, and then went Trick-or-Treating that night. Josh didn't want to go out this year. I think by the time he had had his picture taken 500 times, he was checked out. He stayed home and handed out candy. Surprisingly, he was even okay with it when the girls came home with loads of junk. Emma got tired early. We had only gone to a few houses and I think her shoes were hurting her feet. So then she started in with the "I'm hungry." And, "I'm not going to anymore houses." Erin, on the other hand, was LOVING it! She was having so much fun that even after two hours she was still running from door to door. She wanted to take Emma home so that I could take her out until she was "finished." I think this is the first year she went without a stroller. She felt so big!

(the damage)

(Hanah, Collin, Noah, Cameron, Erin, Josh, Emma)

Eddie Munster? No. A vampire.

The Ice Queen? No. The Snow Princess.

Tinkerbell. An especially cute Tink.

On to more exciting things: SOCCER. Can I tell you how much we love soccer? Okay, so you already knew that. But, it's so much more fun when it's your child playing and they actually win! Josh's team is so fun! He is playing on a U10 Comp team for USA and is loving it. The first part of the season was tough. The kids were still learning to play together (a lot of them are new to the team) and they were used to rec ball. We played 9 games this season (plus the 4 in the Presidents Cup) and won 5 out of the 9. We finished with 4 straight wins. Since so many of us have become addicted to the game, whether it be the parents on the sideline, or the boys scoring, we decided to continue on. The boys are playing in the Dixie Invitational over Thanksgiving weekend in St. George and then will play (hopefully) Futsal during the winter months to stay in shape. This cute picture of the boys was just after their second win of the day last Saturday. Look at those smiles!

Jackson, Josh, Chase, Tyler, Ryan, Noah, Mike, Skyler, Ryan, Spencer

Goodness! Did I cover everything? That was like a Fireman Chad post except that there's no pictures of Disneyland! Hopefully I won't let a month go without posting next time.

P.S. Our fence is fixed. Took longer than I had hoped, but it's done.