Rachel turning 12!

here is my little woman. This has been the best day of her life! Well, first off she is wearing the cutest outfit ever. I may not knit kell, but you gotta admit this sweater for 6.98 on the clearance rack at target brings quite a bit of joy to look at too. smile. Anyway, today she got to go to Bronco Billy's pizza for a training conference all day on being a peer counselor at her school. She was chosen by her peers at school as a peacemaker and one they would go to to help resolve conflicts that they have. Then after school we always get the mail, and I let her drive from the mailbox to our house while sitting on my lap. All the kids favorite thing to beg for, except pizza which I am going to order right now. But wait it gets better. Tonight is her 12th birthday party and 9 of her girlfriends are coming over to go to the mall, and spend the night. Does it get any better than that? I ask you? So in commemoration of the best day ever I took her out in the backyard and documented the moment. My beautiful girl inside and out! Love you Rachie Roosie.

Her favorite Anne of GReen Gables pose.

newest member of our ward!

is it already the weekend again? Man, how did that happen. I still haven't even told my favorite part about last weekend. It involves the man above, VJ chowdury. He was baptized on Saturday last, and it was so wonderful. He asked me to give the talk on baptism. It was such an honor. As always at a baptism, the spirit was so strong. There is no doubt in my mind when I go to a baptism that we do have a Father in Heaven, that he loves us, that there is a purpose to this life. that there is a plan for us to learn and progress, that He sent a Savior for us to overcome sin and death. That Jesus restored the fullness of his gospel through a prophet. That prophet being Joseph Smith. THat Jesus really did command us to repent and be baptized. Why? I will tell you the reasons that I listed in my talk.
1) for the remission of our sins (and yes we all have them)
2) to become a member of the Church of Jesus Christ
3) We must be baptized before we can receive the gift of the Holy Ghost
4)To show obedience
5)to enter the celestial kingdom (live with our Heavenly Father again)

of course if we do, the Lord promises to
1) Forgive our sins
2)Pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon us.
3)give us daily guidance and the help of the Holy Ghost
4)Let us come forth in the First Resurrection.
5) Give us eternal life. ps. that is the best one!!!

But don't take my word for it, ask God!

thanks Chowdury for letting our family be a part of your baptism, and wow that Indian food afterwards was pretty incredible!

THe package will arrive in the morning!

Ok so Kendra, I finally finished late tonight. I will deliver them tomorrow and post more on the blog but I am just too dang tired to do it right now. So here is just a sneak peek. I am dying to show them all!!!

tonight's drama

Rebecca lost her second tooth of the week and was so excited! The tragedy occurred when she was washing it off, and it fell down the drain. Many many tears followed. Bless her sweet little heart. She finally calmed down after writing an explanation to the tooth fairy (below). Life would be so bland without children. Not nearly as magical and full of wonder and excitement.

the rest of my night involves tucking in my babies, doing laundry, finish editing the stone's pictures (so hopefully they will be done by tomorrow), making sure the tooth fairy does her thing, and absolutely no eating. I am being really good until thanksgiving. Unfortunately when i stop obsessing about one thing I move on to the next no no. That would be shopping. Luckily tis the season and I have reason to. THe best purchase of the day being a new mattress. ok so not all were for Christmas. I haven't been sleeping well and have been wanting one for a long time. My back is going to be so happy tomorrow night. I can't wait!!!

GOT GRAINS?

oK. sO I went to one of Chef Brad's events hosted by the lovely miss darla. It was so great!!! I highly reccommend attending her next one in january if you can. It is very informative. I learned about how important fiber is in our lives number one. ha. I learned how many other grains there are other than wheat. They all have unique flavors and uses. I bought the sampler packet to try them all, and an electric pressure cooker that is incredible. As easy as a crockpot, but so so fast! I learned how to incorporate the different grains into your normal cooking, and how to make them so tasty all by themselves. We learned recipes for fruit salads, pizza, even bread pudding in the pressure cooker. To die for. I have all the recipes if you want a quick class by Chef Heather. the first thing I pressure cooked was the 9 grain combo, and it is ready fast and kept warm in the pressure cooker. I set out half and half, blueberries, brown sugar, and unrefined coconut oil. The kids could add what they wanted. We ate so much we all had stomach aches. Even grain needs to be taken in moderation apparently. ha ha. I especially like a little brown sugar and a little of the coconut oil. You can get it at sprouts. Popcorn popped in the coconut oil is heavenly too. Anyway, WE are well on our way to being a very "regular" family. You can go to his web page at chefbradevents.com.
He is still getting his homepage up and running. But he does have a store down in Mesa. I know he has taught at Dottie's too. I am really determined to get in gear with this, and also start using all of my recipes that are in each month's magazine Everyday Food by Martha Stewart. If you haven't discovered this magazine you are in for a treat. They are incredible!!!
the recipe are very doable. Not over the top martha like you would think. I will keep you posted on my experimentation with grains. I know you can't wait. I know my kids can't either. ha ha.
the

Me and Michael.

The Office was really good last night. Don't you agree? I have to admit that sometimes Michael reminds me of myself. A loveable idiot that grows on you. Now that takes humility to admit. ha. that is why I liked how they showed in last night's show that we all have different talents and contribute to life in different ways. All are important and all are appreciated. See, I can get deep and worthwhile meaning out of watching that show. smile. finally I am justified and a weight is lifted. ha ha. I wanted to find a picture of him in the woods with his suit all taped up on him, but I couldn't. I even love to sing funny when I sing happy birthday. A kindred spirit? I wouldn't go that far. I just love to laugh and boy does Michael make me laugh.

ps. I havvveee hemorrhoidsssssssss!!!

Welcome to HaLLOWEEN Town

I never gave the full report of how our neighborhood rocked Halloween. It really was incredible. Better than when I was little. Let me show you.ok well first here is miss rebecca. Can you tell there is something different about her. It is called she has been surrounded by houseful of pre-teens. They did her up like Ashley Simpson. Rebecca is much cuter, and much more modest i might add. There has been alot of bra stuffing ever since that night. In fact Lizzie wore a bra to church without our knowing and during sacrament meeting she pulled some candy out of it. It is going to be a fun ride with a houseful of girls all loving the idea of becoming a woman. yikes. so anyway, we decided to take a look at Joe's last minute preparation which entailed bringing out all the scary manekins from inside his house. So Grant these pictures are for you since you love horror movies. Parental discretion is advised.

look how the butler guy is watching them. ooh spooky.

What a sweet little skeleton mom with her baby. What? They are just doing their grocery shopping!

her head spins and her arms light up at night. fabulous. ha

such beautiful green eyes. smile.

maybe this is his dad.

some finger food?

top of the morning to you. don't you like my jokes. They are the scariest part of this post.

she is my favorite. I have pictures of her at night. Her official name is Dawn of the dead.

His head has turned now. You only see the back of Leah and Lizzie and you can feel their anxiety.

But Lizzie's face lets you know for sure if you had any doubt.
Better go get some pizza to calm the nerves. I always love how my house feels on Halloween. So perfect. Has the right colors. Here are some of my favorite views.


Getting dark, this is what I see from my front row seat in front of my house. Can you feel the excitement?!


I didn't buy costumes this year, the girls just dug through the costume box and changed outfits about ten times. I like how Lizzie ended up with a dog costume that is probably a size three. She would not take it off though. too funny.

Dave took the littles and I headed out with RAchel and Rebecca and their three friends
Ran into Ashley, I just love this girl and her costume. Under the drama queen it says. I broke my toenail. Too funny.

there she is good ol' dawn.

ARen't you so jealous now Grant?!!! Our neighbor drives around in his batmobile in full costume. So fun. I love how even all of the adults dress up and totally get into it, like my neighbor wonderwoman. Only in Arizona can you dress like this at night in October and be tan. ha.


even the dogs joined in the funWe even had a bunch of haunted houses in the neighborhood. All for free and running all night.

Adults and children alike waited for their chance to enter. Including me. Everyone whether scared or not went through because afterwards they handed you a full size candy bar. What kid can pass that up? Even with this scary doll flying down at you as you are waiting in line.

yes we screamed alot! By the way that isn't Jacob in the picture.The girls got so tired they had to plop right down on the sidewalk for a break.

Again you gotta love arizona where you wear flip flops with your costume.

Let the Sorting and trading BEGIN!!!! This could possibly be the best part.

So until next year, this has been the best halloween ever. Mine was spent with a gaggle of girls. I love girls. I could never have too many. So if you have a girl that needs some serious girl time, send her on over. Just remember to bring a bra. ha ha.

Now what are we going to do with all of this candy?

My sister in Illinois

I flew out in Sept. for my sister Gloria's birthday. We spent one very sticky afternoon taking these pictures. It may be hot here in Arizona, but the humidity there was so unbelieveable. Everyone would sit in the car with the air conditioning on and would come out one at a time to have their picture done. I didn't get a break and was soaking wet when done. But boy the colors in the pictures are all worth it. Come check out the rest on the photo blog.

Ramblings

Here is me first teaching Kelly yoga. ha. Kelly, I want you to notice how skinny my wrists and ankles are. ha ha. I was thinking today how strange to be the mom now, and not the kid. That our daily routine is what will be my children's memories. It was so nice to just be with my family tonight. To have dinner, talk, laugh, hang out. The kids are always so happy to be with Dave and I and say I love you every five seconds. What a good feeling. How wonderful to be loved, and needed. To be the definition of comfort and security to five wonderful little persons. The every day little things are really what I love the most about life. I love the conversations that I have with my kids. I love to listen to them talk about life and all their experiences. It puts such a big smile on my face. I wish I could record every one, so when I am old I can listen to them and feel the joy all over again. But I hope to be too busy anyway listening to my adult kids, my grand kids, and great grand kids and loving every moment. That is the beauty of family. It keeps growing. Jacob said to me, (as we were cozied up on the couch watching man from snowy river -oooohh what a cozy movie) "I think we are the coziest family." I would have to agree. smile.

ps. Glor your pictures will go in the mail tomorrow, and I will post some too. They are very good!!

Come meet Nat's in-laws!

Check it!

A wild WEllman!

Melli, so many turned out so cute!! I LOVE THIS!! You must click on this too enlarge. Too funny!