HALLOWEEN PHOTO BOOK

Click here to view this photo book larger

House Rules

I don't want to sound like a nag, but I'm about ready to post these HOUSE RULES in all rooms of our house:

• Candy wrappers and straw wrappers do not magically disappear when you stick them behind the couch or under the TV.  THROW THEM IN THE TRASH!
  
• Dirty clothes do not transform to clean when they are buried in the closet or stuck under your bed or left on the bathroom floor.  They will, however, be washed and folded by the Laundry Queen (aka Mom) if you put them in the proper laundry receptacle.  The Laundry Queen does not take lightly to complaints about lost or dirty clothes when this simple rule is not followed.  PUT YOUR DIRTY LAUNDRY IN THE BASKET!
  
• The Laundry Queen goes through the trouble of washing, drying, folding, and sorting your clothes into your laundry basket.  The least you could do would be to turn your shirts so they're not inside-out, unroll your socks from their stink balls, and un-layer your t-shirt/sweatshirt you wore together (that goes for underwear/pants as well).  HELP A LADY OUT HERE!
  
• If the trash can (or recycling bin) is overflowing with garbage DO NOT, under any circumstances, PILE MORE ON TOP!  It may seem easier at the time to "stuff and run" but the long-term consequences of Mom's insanity will not be pretty.  TAKE THE GARBAGE/RECYCLING OUT!
  
• If everyone were to consciously replace the remote control on the end table when they are finished with it, we wouldn't spend 28 minutes of every day looking for it.  
  
• Just because Mom is Laundry Queen and the most beautiful, intelligent, caring person in the house, does not mean she knows where every single item in said house is residing at all times.  Especially if it is an item she does not use (i.e. size 4 soccer cleat or Pink Princess book).  Items belonging to YOU, which are solely used by YOU, are YOUR responsibility.  Items do not "disappear" on a whim.  Think about where YOU last had that item.  Finding it may require moving around or lifting something up.  Finding it DOES NOT NEED TO INVOLVE MOM EVERY TIME.  
  
• If you retrieve an object from a drawer/cupboard/closet and do not intend to revisit that drawer/cupboard/closet in the near future, then CLOSE THE DARN THING!

Well, that made me feel a little better. 

This Ol' House

I love our old house.  We determined it was built sometime in the 40s and renovated in the late 90s or early 00s with an open kitchen and family room.  If you look closely on the kitchen ceiling you can see where it used to be divided with a wall between the "kitchen" and "dining" areas.

The hardwood floors are creaky and worn along the hallways.  There are cracks in the plaster walls and you can either align the furniture with the wall or straight, but not both.  When the dryer is on in the laundry room you can hear the mirror in the front bathroom rattle softly.  In the summer, when the air conditioner goes on, the lights will dim for a fraction of a second.  There is no flushing the toilet while someone is in the shower, and no hope of clean clothes or clean dishes if you try to run the washing machine and dishwasher at the same time. 

If I go across the street to the park and look at our house, I can fit it in the palm of my hand.  But inside its walls are all my big and little treasures:  Jeff, Peyton, and Ashley.  But also the pictures and scrapbooks, bookshelves full of favorite reads and kids' crafts, recipe books with instructions from Mom and Grandma that have yet to be tested, my blankey from when I was a baby (that's "blankey" not "blanket"), the kids' cutest baby clothes that I can't find myself to throw away and are still shoved at the top/back of their closets, journals and poems I've written over the last 20 years, and letters I've written to the kids in hopes of winning back their love after their teenage years. 

Home really is where your heart is.  It's where I yell at my kids (I admit it, I do) and where I rub their backs until they fall asleep at night.  It's where I yell at my husband (yep, I do that, too) and scratch his back until he falls asleep at night (sometimes if I'm lucky there's kissing involved).  I am quite content when I'm all alone and the house is quiet (and clean), but I also enjoy the Saturday mornings when I wake to Dad reading the paper, Peyton watching cartoons, and Ashley playing barbies. 

Is it the cool autumn air that has me feeling so warm and cozy inside our little house tonight?  Or is it the cute striped socks I have pulled up to my knees (which Jeff hates, by the way)?  I'll take both.  And a good book in my big bed in the calm before husband, dog, cats, and kids take over. 

Autumn Leaves

2010

When did my kids get bigger than the leaf pile?

Autumn Beauty

Rock On!

Helping Daddy...

Such a good little helper

 2006

Ah, still a kid but growing up too fast!

Playing together so nicely.

Look at those cheeks!  I just want to eat her up!

 2003

Oh my goodness what a cutey!!!

Building the Haunted House

Dad, Peyton, and Ashley get to work on transforming the garage...

Mom gets to work updating the blog--and if she's fast enough, some time on the couch to read!

Meaning of Love

Another good email to post here for posterity...

A group of professionals posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds: 'What does love mean?' The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think: 'Love is what makes you smile when you're tired.' Terri - age 4 'Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.' Danny - age 7 'Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss' Emily - age 8 'Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.' Bobby - age 7 'If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,' Nikka - age 6 'Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.' Noelle - age 7 'Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.' Tommy - age 6 'During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore.' Cindy - age 8 'My mommy loves me more than anybody You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.' Clare - age 6 'Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.' Elaine-age 5 'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.' Chris - age 7 'Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.' Mary Ann - age 4 'I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.' Lauren - age 4 'When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.' Karen - age 7 'Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross.' Mark - age 6 'You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.' Jessica - age 8 And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, 'Nothing, I just helped him cry'

Harrison Classic

1-mile uphill - thank goodness it's a kids race!

Lost Peyton after the race, but found him eventually!

A family that SUPs together...

…has FUN together!

Niku Gets Hitched!

There are those friends in college whom you hope you will know forever.  Niku is one of those friends.  My best friend from those college days who I don't see often enough.  But when she called and said she was getting married I said "I'll be there!"  Thanks to my family who let me fly out to Sacramento for the weekend.  Friday night was the American-style bachelorette party downtown.  Saturday was the Indian family "Sangeet" (which explains Niku's outfit) which was hosted by her side of the family.  Sunday was the "official" day and Niku and Andrew had both a Hindu ceremony to celebrate her heritage and a traditional western ceremony.  Of course, we finished the evening dancing to "I Will Survive"!

Football Season

Ahhhh, the smell of football season is in the air.  I just go giddy with excitement thinking about it.  Especially because as of now my Utes are 2-0 and BYU lost yesterday.  EXCELLENT!

A few months ago, right after Utah announced their move to the Pac-10 (12-Pac as I like to call it), the Boise Chapter of the University of Utah Alumni Association invited Coach Kyle Whittingham to Boise for a football update.  No way did I miss that!  He was so motivating I was ready to wrestle a 300-pound lineman myself just after hearing him talk.
 

Here's my photo with the HANDSOME Coach Whittingham!

Here is the hat I won in the raffle, signed by the AWESOME coach,
which is too small and which I should give to one of my kids,
but is instead on prominent display in my KeyBank office!

And here is a link to one of my favorite videos of the kids, singing the Utah fight song.  It might be from November 2008, but it never gets old!

Peyton & Ashley U of U Song (YouTube)

Go Utes!