Halloween Party

We went to our ward Halloween party last weekend and had so much fun. Halle is now at the age where she would go with Matt and Afton to play all the games, while Paul and I got to chat with other adults! The kids were very excited about the costumes Grandma made (thanks Grandma!) Matt wanted to be a furry bat-so Grandma made sure he was furry. Afton decided since she was Jasmine, she needed a tiger and Halle was able, if not so much willing.

(Afton always make sure to strike a "Jasmine" pose for her pictures)

(We were happy to get one of her standing still--Matt didn't, hence he doesn't have his own picture)

Paul went dressed up as a participant in a pie-eating contest! (He was actually volunteered for the contest--not by me--and was a good sport even though he felt a little sick after eating 4 cups of pudding with all the whipped cream!)

Jack-o-Lanterns

We had family night with Heather here and decided to carve our pumpkins a little early. The kids had a lot of fun picking out what they wanted to design. Matt did his all by himself and Afton and Halle got a little help! I made the caramel apples while everyone else worked!

Our Half-Marathon

Heather and I did the half-marathon last weekend and finished respectably, considering my pregnant state, in 2 1/2 hours. It was really fun to have her to run with and I'm sure I would not have finished or even started without her here! Thanks Heather!
I'm also happy to say we have another runner in the family. I would like to think it's because she looks up to me that Halle likes to put on my sports bra and say, "I'm running."

Aunt Heather is coming!

Yeah--Aunt Heather gets to visit for the weekend! The kids (and I) are very excited. Heather usually comes in to watch the kids or do some work training, but this time she's coming for fun (well, and a half-marathon with me). She has not seen enough of Chicago for all the times she has been here. What to do...the architecture tour, Art Institute, Navy Pier, Michigan Avenue, Botanical Gardens, Sears Tower, Shedd Aquarium, Adler Planetarium--the one that's supposed to get the $3 million dollar "projector" you've been hearing about, any one of the 3 zoos... (no baseball anymore so that's out)..there's so much to do here and just not enough time!

Happy Birthday Halle!

The time has gone by so quickly--Halle is now two! Today is a beautiful, sunny, warm day in Chicago, but two years ago, it was snowing! Halle has brought so much sunshine to our family since that day--she is happy, energetic, enthusiastic, and loving. Paul and I often comment that she has the biggest personality of the three kids--it's probably her red hair! She is a sweetheart and we are so happy that she is in our family! We love you little one--have a happy year!

Marathon Weekend

It was a marathon weekend, not only because Paul ran his 2nd marathon, but because Halle and I went, we tried to fit in so much! We got into Utah on Thursday and celebrated Paul's birthday at Cafe Rio with siblings and then had ice cream cake. We drove to St. George on Friday, had lunch with Paul's mission president and his wife who we love. We also got to see Paul's grandma, cousin, and aunt since they were in St. George too. While Paul was running, Halle and I went to see my family for a while and then went over to the finish line. Paul did awesome and was so fast that we missed his finish--we were still looking for a spot on the bleachers when he passed us by! We then headed to Cedar City to see my brother play football at SUU, where one of my first 7th grade students is his teammate--that was funny to see Taylor all grown up from when he was 12! From there we headed back to Salt Lake. Sunday morning, Spencer and Brittany celebrated their 2nd anniversary by cooking us breakfast! They were kind enough to get up early and also drive us to the airport--thanks again!

Lucky

Last week, the bedskirt that I had ordered in May finally arrived. It had been backordered for four months and I was so excited to finally put it on my bed so that it matched the duvet/shams/quilt that were waiting. I opened the package and laid it out and found that it had a hole that made it unusable. After calling the company and clearing things up, I thought that I am rather unlucky in the little things--flights delayed, rainy days when I need sun, stores out of my size, never winning store give-a-ways. But I also realized that I am lucky in the big things that really count...


I'm going to post an early happy birthday to Paul today because tomorrow Halle and I are accompanying him out to Utah where he will run his 2nd marathon in 3 weeks! Paul is an amazing husband and father--those of you who know him wouldn't expect anything less, right! He consistently puts us above his own needs and we are so blessed to have him. He has taken on extra responsibility in his work load (which seems to happen every year!) and although we see less of him, we know that we are uppermost in his priorities. It is for us that he works so hard and long and for us that he sacrifices a lot of his own free time. He knows when he walks in the door, that I will be turning all three kids over to him and he willingly plays Wii, Uno, Legos, dolls, football, and anything else the kids want because as he says, "it's all about them."
So happy 33rd to a wonderful man who made me the luckiest girl in the world!