October update

Well, I don't know about any of you, but I feel life just keeps getting crazier and crazier. October was no exception (neither is this month, for that matter). It seemed like we had something going on every weekend and on into the week, but we did manage to squeak some fun in while we were at it. Actually we had a lot of fun.

As pictured above, I carved a pumpkin at a Relief Society activity and the kids loved it. They cried that the Jack-o-lantern had to stay outside and couldn't come back in. They loved to go outside with me to light it each night. They would stare at it through the window. Belle kept giving it kisses too. It was a big hit. Next year, we will each do our own pumpkins.



First, I'll do a little updating on each member of the family. Anabelle has been waking up in some pretty strange positions lately (see previous post as well). Here is another result of her crazy nights:




Belle loves the dryer, so much so, that she climbed on in the other day. I have to admit, I thought it would be Beckett that would do this first, but he had no interest in the dryer until recently. He helped to bury Belle in the dryer. She thought she was pretty hot stuff sitting in there.

Belle has also been talking more and more. She is attempting 2 word sentences and she is still trying to act like a grown up. In fact, on Monday she said a like a four word sentence, and knew that she was saying four different words, not just running four words together and thinking it was one word. I couldn't believe my ears. I am afraid I have a motor mouth on my hands.

Both kids love to wear my shoes around the house. They clip clop all over the place. They do wear Matt's shoes also, but they just aren't the same as mine. They just don't make the same noise and are much larger than mine which makes them harder to maneuver. Matt hates to see Beckett go clopping around the house in my high hills. I think he should be grateful that Beckett isn't carrying a purse at the same time.

I think we might be getting closer to potty training Belle than we are Beckett. Wouldn't that be weird? I think I might just try to do them both at the same time. Now if I could just figure out a time when we are going to be home for two weeks straight and I can focus on just potty training. Wish me luck!

October was filled with more Sponge Bob for Beckett. I don't know what it is about that little yellow guy, but he just can't seem to get enough. My sisters watched the kids one day for us while we went out to dinner (more on that later in the post). They took them to Burger King and lucky for them, the kids' meal had Sponge Bob toys. Beckett has loved those toys as much as his Thomas trains. I can't believe how much this boy is obsessed with things.

His imagination is kicking into high gear. He has really started to play pretend with his toys and it has been fun to watch. I am afraid that is causing him to step backwards in his speech though. He thinks so fast that he is starting to jumble his words again. I guess I really will have to put him into the Head Start program.

Remember my flowers and bushes I planted in the spring. Well, here is how I did over the summer: The petunias flourished. I think it is because they are my favorite plants to care for and they might have gotten the most attention. It is so easy to just pluck off dead flowers and have even more grow back. I love those kind of plants.

The zinnias all died. I was very sad about that. I really want more variety. Oh well, there is always next year. My geraniums did okay over the summer and then fall hit, and boom, they bloomed all over the place. I don't know what did it, but they just exploded with blossoms. One did die though. I was sad about that.



Our bushes did great until the end of October. I have found out that cat pee is bad for plants, and am pretty sure it is our neighbor's cats that have killed my bushes. I am going to arm my plants next year with cayenne pepper to keep them away.



I am going to call this year a success in our gardening attempt. We learned some stuff and so next year, I am going to only hope for one or two plants dying instead of five or seven. I am very excited to get going. I might even attempt a vegetable or two.

Matt has been busy, busy, busy. He works far too many hours and doesn't get much time to do his homework. I am not looking forward to the last minute rush to get homework done next month before finals. It will be fine though. We'll make it.

Matt had his golden birthday last month. He turned 29 on the 29th. I totally surprised him for his birthday. We have two other friends that have birthdays on the 30th and 31st. So, the spouses of those friends and I conspired to have a surprise dinner at the Braza Grill in Salt Lake for all the birthday people. It was wonderful and a total surprise (at least for Matt, I am not sure about the others). I still can't believe that Matt didn't figure it out, but he had no idea. I thought for sure he would get it when I told him we weren't going to the Braza Grill in Layton, but in Salt Lake. Not even when he saw our friends at the restaurant did he put two and two together. He just sat there for like 10 min. trying to comprehend what was going on. I felt awesome, especially because I have been known for spoiling surprises. We had a great time with our friends and enjoyed really yummy food (especially the fried cheesecake).

On to the events of the month. My aunt Karen, came and spent the weekend with us and she spoiled the children the whole time and they loved it. She came and saw Thriller with me and my little sister. We had a great time and loved the show, except for the really creepy "Grudge" dance and the zombies that attacked my sister. I take that back. We enjoyed the zombies attacking her, she did not. We also went shopping at Smith & Edwards and DI. It was a very fun trip. We love you, Karen!

The following weekend was my family's monthly birthday party for all of the people in the family having birthdays that month. We watched the BYU game before hand (I don't remember which one it was, sorry all you sports fans) and then had dinner and birthday pie. So delicious. We had a lot of fun, as always.

The kids and I raked leaves one day. Here are some pictures of the event:








Yes, a lot of those were staged, but not Beckett raking with the rake upside down and pushing it away. That was all him.

On to Halloween. We spent it at Nate and Jana's (Matt's brother and his wife). We had such a good time. Matt got Friday off for his birthday, so we took off Thursday night and didn't come back to Utah until Sunday night. We were treated to gourmet cooking, fun games, and good shopping. It always feels good to start early on Christmas shopping.
Halloween day, we went to Nate's ward's Trunk-or-Treat party. I was so excited for Beckett's costume. I found his pants at the DI and fell in love with them instantly. I had to figure out a way for him to wear them so my sister kindly found a tacky shirt and, viola, a nerd was born.



Thanks to Jana, the sweater made it look even better. I wish I had had glasses for him to wear, but I know he wouldn't have worn them even if I had them. A pocket protector would have been nice as well. Oh well. The pants totally made up for it. I just love those pants!

I am going to make a confession. I am not the best packer. I pack mostly last minute and in a hurry. I forget things. This time I forgot Anabelle's giraffe costume. Lucky for us, Jana had several options and we went with the witch costume. Isn't she adorable?




She loved that hat.

Matt and I weren't anything. We decided to not bring costumes for us. They would have taken up vital packing space. I did want to cry though. I think this was my first Halloween not dressing up. I guess a girl has to grow up some time.