Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!

Evelyn has been in the Halloween spirit all month long. :) We are reserving the trick or treating adventure for next year. Instead, we will be staying home to pass out candy. What a beautiful day-high near 70! We will be going on a walk soon to take advantage of it.

Things are great here, except for Dave hating his job. He has a few more months to go then, hopefully, he'll be able to transfer out. I honestly don't know if he'll last that long. He's nearing his breaking point. :(

We have a fun-filled weekend ahead. Tonight, my friend is coming over for a visit. Tomorrow, my brother is stopping by. Tomorrow night, Grandma Kaye is babysitting for Evelyn so we can attend the baptism preparation class. Sunday is the "meet the baby" baby shower in my parents neighborhood. It should be lots of fun. :)

We enjoyed the tangy pork chops last weekend. Thanks for sharing the recipe. If anyone has any other good crock pot recipes, please email them to me. This is the time of year that I like to use the crock pot. Michele, would you mind emailing your chocolate chip banana muffin recipe to me? They're delicious. I found a recipe, but they were nowhere near as good as yours.

Are there any Halloween plans? What is Gavin dressing up as? I know Chris is a ninja and Sami is a spooky ghost.

Have a safe weekend.

A public service message

And now its time for another installment of, "Good Idea, Bad Idea".

Installing a safety grate on the upstairs window:





Good idea.


Leaving your herbal tea outside for several minutes before drinking it, then drinking the herbal-tea-bathing wasp into your mouth:










Bad idea.

Nice knowing you

Gavin and his pal Mr. Bones give their regards to our only garden pumpkin. Little does either of them know that in a just few days it'll be gutted and glowing through a permanent grin.

Family Get-Together

Hello, folks! Pop and I are trying to post the 3 pictures I managed to take on Saturday. I don't want to tell you how long we've been working on this, but things keep deleting themselves. Sorry I failed to take pictures of D.J., Michele, Chris, Sami, Rob, Lisa, Cecilia, Pop or Linda.

We've been busy with yard and garden work, as well as Ace and Jewel. Our planned dinner out with George and Linda fell through yesterday. Time ran out, since they were leaving town this morning and heading back to Truckee, CA.

We had kohlrabi slaw for dinner tonight, as well as Polish beets and beet greens, all harvested this afternoon. Went well with the leftover pulled pork!

Our apple trees produced heavily this year, but the fruit is virtually inedible due to the worms that permeate the fruit. I've picked up more bags than I could count over the past weeks and put them in the garbage. The cans are so heavy that I'm afraid that the garbage man is going to refuse to lift them. I'm throwing them away so the worms don't over-winter in the soil. They would be such wonderful apples if we could grow them worm-free!

One more time, Pop is going to attach the pictures....

Conquering The San Juan

Another year older

And a happy birthday to you, Julie! I trust that you don't work today (at USU, that is) so your chances for a fun day are increased. We'll be thinking of you here in Illinois, where I just turned on the furnace for the first time this season.

I'm expecting Rob and Lisa here tonight, so my day will be spent cooking and (surface) cleaning. Time to reacquaint myself with the duster and vacuum cleaner :)

Gram has suffered a setback since she started therapy a few weeks ago. She wanted to be able to walk again, but the hematoma flared up once again last weekend, causing swelling, severe pain and bruising. Pop took her to see Dr. Kurt yesterday, and he confirmed that she should stop the weight bearing on the right leg. Looks like the wheel chair will be permanent for her. At least this time she has Linda to care for her. Gram still wants to come over tomorrow for dinner.

Pop has been working on garden clean-up this week. There are lots of squashes, mostly acorn, that the Illinois Woods can take home with them on Saturday.

Time to get the ball rolling.

Mom

just cuz...

Here is Daddy with his girls. Chloe is actually upset because she wanted to sit in her Daddy's lap, but Evelyn was there first. She has a hard time sharing him.

As you can see, we found a binky that Evelyn likes. This makes for a quieter household and a happier baby.

Evelyn has slept in her crib the past 2 nights. Last night was great! She slept from 10pm to 6:30am!!! Her Daddy got a descent nights sleep. Her Mommy awoke several times just to check on her (and to pump).

Don't worry, Chicago sports fans....

...there is a cure for your pain....

...It's called, "Next Year".

Just cuz

I thought I'd post these pics just because I like them and I thought you would too :).

I'm 1 month old

Look at me...I'm a month old already! I continue to learn and grow daily. I've been happier the past few days too. Guess the medicine is working. :)

A delightful visit

We so enjoyed having Mom and Pop here. Between the rafting trip and Gavin's blessing, time really flew. Mom and Pop are fantastic babysitters and I know that Gavin will miss them as much as Brandon and I will.

The blessing was today and we thank DJ's family very much for the blessing bowl, which we used to pour water from the Blacksmith Fork River over Gavin's head. It was a small and a short ceremony. The attendees included Brandon's mom, his stepdad, his sister Brooke and her family, Mom and Pop, and of course Brandon and Gavin and I. Oh - and a rodent or two who munched the trail mix out of the favors when we weren't looking! The grandmothers each read a poem, Brandon and I read our 'parental vows' to Gavin, and each person gave Gavin a blessing of some kind. We lucked out and had perfect weather. Afterward we came back to the house and gorged ourselves on pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, and apple and pumpkin pie. My stomach still hurts! Mom was a great help in getting the food together and Pop was a great help in gathering fall foliage for the centerpieces. They were both valuable in keeping Gavin entertained and out from underfoot when Brandon and I busied ourselves with other stuff.












It will be with great sadness that we say goodbye to Mom and Pop tomorrow - but we will take heart in knowing that we'll see them and the rest of you in January for Evelyn's baptism. Hooray!