Halloweening

Brian figured Halloween wouldn't be the most productive day for work, but he still scored some PR points by visiting his accounts wearing this tropical get up.
One of his customers (a female, as almost all of them are), took one look at him and said, "well if I could whistle, I sure would!"
Hmmm. Well, Happy Halloween to HER! :)




I guess I didn't get a picture of MY costume... but it's the same silly pumpkin outfit I did last year, so not too exciting, but very festive :)
Life is too short not to throw on a costume every October 31st!

Manning the door

The twins got their trick or treating done early. Started a little after 4pm, and finished by 5:45! I was hoping to get them to bed early as well.... but the endless doorbell ringing was a little distracting. So I gave up and let them pass the lollipops out (Brian and Brianna went back out for another round). They LOVED their job! Especially Bennett. He was VERY serious about it - making sure everyone said the magic words, and that each person got one.

 

We ended up with about 300 kids at our door. Good thing I bought the bulk bag of lollipops off Amazon! I feel slightly better about them being a superior form of candy because they're organic - natural food dyes, no HFCS.  But still.... they're not exactly kale.  But oh well. It's a compromise. Next year I'm going back to passing out stickers and pencils :)

Big bro

Pumpkin Pacer 5K in Deer Park

This is the beginning of a family tradition! We really liked this race event. Costume contest (we went Aloha style, obviously), the kids had a blast on their half miler, weather was perfect, and it was just $10! Yay for cheap reg fees. And yay for a little sister who is always game to join me at these things, and a husband who enjoys it too. Well, he tolerates it anyway :)

I was proud of my effort- it got difficult, but I kept about a 6:40 pace. That's great for me right now considering my lack of anything resembling training. My T25 videos and the cardio machines at the gym aren't going to make me a faster runner (though I do enjoy them)... I just gotta get back into mileage and real workouts if I ever wanna be speedy again! But do I? Do I care anymore? Obviously not enough to do anything bout it :)

Halloween at Merryglen

This is my first time attending the famous MerryGlen Halloween party! Mom and Mere have always texted me pics and called me with stories, but seeing it in person was a million times better. The staff put the residents in pretty funny costumes! Sammy doesn't cooperate with that nonsense though- she barely kept her Raggedy Ann hair on. Silly Sammy. And poor Sammy- all these treats everywhere, and she can't have them because of her weight problem. Which is exacerbated by all her meds. Which have to be taken because of issues related to her weight. It's an awful cycle, right?!
We enjoyed our party time anyway, hanging out on the back porch, kids raking leaves & jumping in. Super sweet autumn day!

Fall at the playground

It never gets old having a 7 acre park directly in our backyard.

I love being able to just walk out our back fence into it.

And with the chillier weather here, we almost always have the place to ourselves!

Backyard bonfire

Tough Baby

"Got my kettle bell - which way to the gym?!"

Family selfie = .... Felfie?

Well, family.... minus Bennett, plus Lily.

 

So still the same total number of humans.

 

Just makes Brian even more outnumbered than usual :)

Makin' meatballs

 

 

I've never attempted this culinary feat previous to today.... but I'm glad to say the first attempt was a moderate success!

Hoorayhooray - because my children LOVE meatballs, but they are expensive little critters to purchase - especially since we want high quality ones, not crap-filled cheapies.

I wish I had a recipe to post, but like most kitchen ventures I take.... it was just a lucky experiment.

 Ground beef, ground turkey, ground flax, eggs, onion, basil, parsley, cilantro, fresh pumpkin, tomato sauce.... all mushed together and rolled into balls on coconut-oiled cast iron skillet into the oven for 25-ish minutes on 400!

Odd place to fall asleep...

Wish I could just cuddle up anywhere comfy and have someone carry me up to bed!

Vain child....

I whipped up this cheesy collage on an app on Brian's phone and showed it to Courtney.... She flipped.
She just wanted to stare at it forever.
 "Oohhhh! Dat is de PWETTIEST fing I have evuh SEEN!!!"

Slickers

With Nonny

Pumpkins w/ papa

Dinner parties

Despite the look on Brian's face, he really enjoyed our first official ward dinner group night!
This program was actually started a few years ago by my mom when she was RS Prez (aka, she ran the whole ship).
Basically, everyone interested signs up and then is put in groups of 8 (four couples).
Once a month we get together for dinner at someone's home (hosts rotate).
We did some fun games and pics post-meal and really had a nice time.
We even had to hire a real babysitter so we could go to this since my parents were in Utah.
I informed my mom that this was a terrible inconvenience for us and she's not allowed to leave anymore.

She's the best (and least expensive!) babysitter around :)

I mostly signed us up for Brian's benefit - trying to help him meet people and feel more at home as a Washingtonian!   Our group consists of the Brims, Lybberts, Bouviers, and Fullmers.  I think it switches up in Jan/Feb.  (but I don't want it to - I like our group!!)

We host next month...eek! So much to do to make my home more presentable!

Fun little sticky window bugs!

Warming her bum

Bedtime snacks

They always beg and plead for them.
So annoying, cuz I just wanna put 'em to bed!
But I have a hard time saying no to a child telling me they're hungry...
So we re-open the kitchen!

First carving of the season....!

Cinderella pumpkins are so worth the extra .20c/lb!
 Seriously, I'll never go back. They're the best.

Candyland

This really is the epitome of childhood, amiright?!

Brianna's new fav book

Future Structural Engineers of America...

Our library has after school activities once/wk.
They're focused on the "S.T.E.M." learning objectives purportedly lacking in schools (science tech engineering math).
It's for K-5th, so a tad advanced for my troop, but they still got a lot out of it.
Today was FORT building!

We met the mormons!

I've been eagerly anticipating the theatrical release of the Meet the Mormons documentary film. Commissioned by the Leaders of our Church - living prophets and apostles of God - and featuring ordinary yet extraordinary members of the LDS Church. Produced and directed by professionals blessed with amazing talent and skill.
I went in with very high expectations.
My expectations were FAR exceeded.
BLOWN. AWAY.
Seriously, you'd have to have a heart of stone not to love it (and there were those who didn't! They accuse it of *gasp* propaganda! Not that every film ever created couldn't be also considered propaganda in some form).
I'm especially glad we chose to bring Brianna. I wasn't sure she was old enough to sit through a documentary style film and enjoy it. But she did!
I'm so grateful and proud to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Froyo

Mere took these goofy girls out to BluBerry - a frozen yogurt place near downtown.

 

They're lucky to have an aunt who is relaxed about frivilous spending and sugar intake .... cuz their mama chooses OTHER methods of having fun :)

 

 

sidenote: I love that Mere always returns my kids to me with their hair in cute braids.  

The world's largest red wagon....

Pooh!!

The Destroyer

Mom's Bday

This is the first time in probably a decade that I've been with my mother to celebrate her birthday!! We threw a lovely party for her at our home, with the highlight being the presentation of the whole-foods cake, and the Smith Family Reunion photo book.

B and his ladies

Manly backyard toys

Charity can barely handle the love...

Family Day at Merry Glen

Fabulous BBQ, family pictures, and lots of time visiting with our Sammy!

Jeeping... with pine needles

Lots and lots of pine needles... !!

THE Garbage Eating Goat

Every real Spokanite has been to the Garbage Eating Goat.
Until you've fed him your trash, you haven't really lived.

If the shoe fits....

The belly

The way her gut is hanging out in this pic makes me smile.

She's just so JUICY!

Pear Picking @Huckabas on Greenbluff

It was gorgeous! And yummy!

Fields and fields of beautiful pears - and so cheap - .40cents/lb!

Wrestling twins

Piñata

At their friend Rhett McIntire's 4th birthday party

Hairtime

I really enjoy doing my daughters' hair most of the time. I'm not very good at it... but I still like it. It's what most little girls dream of... Live dolls to play with!

If only they didn't whine when I'm trying to gently get the tangles out...

Brianna, Bennett's super stylish hairdresser

Valleyfest, featuring photobomb from Meredith