Halloween Festivities

Photos courtesy of Grandad.

This year, we headed down to Uncle R-d & Aunt Lala's house for some yummy chili & cornbread & the usual Halloween Trick-or Treating. HY & Mini-E weren't very interested in the pre-candy festivities. They were all geared up for the main event. But I tell you, that cornbread was FABULOUS! I should know, I had about 3 pieces.We headed out in the neighborhood with all the cousins. And we knocked on doors for about an hour and a half which is approximately one hour more than last year. The weather was unusually warm & Uncle R-d was smart enough to pile the two littlest ones in the wagon. HY ran with the big boys while Mini-E only had to lift her bucket for handfuls of candy. It was a dream come true for her.
And guess who showed up half way through trick or treating?
A very familiar witch. I'm telling you, she (Nonna) scared the daylights out of me. HY was pretty concerned about Nonna stealing his candy. I reassured him that it really wasn't her thing, but he may be scarred for life now!
After checking out our loot, we headed up to Midway for a night & a day "out of town." We spent our time swimming & just hanging out with Grandad. Mini-E is loving the water. And HY has no fear!
We can't wait for our next time at Grandad's Lodge.

Saturday Car Show

Yesterday we headed up to the Car Show to see Uncle R-D & A-Kazoo sell a few prize possessions. And of course, to see things all the cool cool cars.


HY loved all the cars & he especially loved nursing that root beer that A-Kazoo gave him.

Uncle R-D has some cool things he was selling. We even bought a little wooden toy chest (a little something to "keep in the family"). Here's Uncle R-D doing some business.


Cute A-Kazoo was his assistant & of course she made the most money by selling sodas & water.



It was a beautiful day & I'm so glad that we headed out as a family for a few hours.
That's what Saturdays should be.

52 Blessing INPO-2

Here she is in her silliest smile. I get to see this face every day. Now, that's what I call a blessing. Don't get me wrong, she doesn't always show her sweet side (she loves to cry & get her way)--but she loves to flash this happy face to flirt, get attention, or just plain make you laugh. If you don't believe me, check out these 3 men's faces as she flashes them her charm:

(uncle R-d baby & Uncle R-d Honey & Baby O)

Our little Mini-E has started to show her true colors. Maybe it's because she's almost 1 & so she knows we can't take her back now. Seriously, she is just what our family needs. She makes us laugh if things get too serious. Thank goodness for almost 1 year olds.

Memory Lane Monday

(sorry this is so long)

In about 2002: first year I was teaching school---living in Salt Lake with Miss Parker---& helping my brother(R-D) with some of his apartments a very funny thing happened to me.

I had finished teaching school for the day & I was cleaning an apartment for my brother. He had 2 duplexes right next door to each other. I changed in one duplex from my "nice school clothes" to my "grubby work clothes"...and headed over to the other other duplex to begin working.

After a couple of hours, there was a knock at the door. I answered it & found a young woman (maybe a few years younger than me) standing in the doorway. She asked me where her mother & father were. I didn't know. Perhaps they couldn't pay the rent & my brother had had to kick them out. Maybe she didn't know they had moved. I told her that nobody lived here. She became very very upset. Clearly she was NOT ok. I started asking her questions. Where was she from? Was she lost? She said, "I don't know where I'm from...no wait, I'm---I'm from----EARTH"....OOOOOOOOoookay. A little mental.

She soon left & headed down the walk. I chuckled to myself. That was a bit strange. R-D will get a kick out of that one when I tell him about it. And he did...when he returned about 15 mintues later.

I finished my work & headed over to the other duplex to collect my items & go home. Upon entering the room, I could tell something was very very wrong. There were items scattered all over the room. And my clothes were completely gone! GONE! But where?

I headed out the front door & found my brother talking to some policemen who had answered a call for the next door neighbors. He said that the crazy girl had gone to the neighbors house & they were trying to figure out who she was and where she lived. More concerned about my clothes, I asked R-D if he had moved them. NO. Then he paused. "Wait a second, she's wearing your clothes!"....What? R-D had gone into the neighbors house & seen the crazy lady. He thought that she looked awful nice for being homeless/crazy. And her pants were a bit too small.

I approached one of the officers at the neighbor's front door & told him that the lady had stolen my clothes. And when I peeked in the door, sure enough, SHE WAS WEARING MY CLOTHES. A bit confused, the officer said, "Well whose clothes are you wearing?"...you could see where this is going. Needless to say, I found her clothes stuffed in the dumster, gave them to the officer, & in return got my own clothes back. But, I didn't ever wear them again. Okay, I think I did, but I washed and washed and washed them.

If you can dream it Friday

Here's a picture of my newest nephew! He's a dream come true for this family. My brother, Uncle R-D & his wife Aunt Lala tried for many years to get pregnant. This is miracle #4 for this family! Congradulations. We couldn't be happier! We can't wait to meet this new guy & hear his name! By the way: He was "only" 8lb 9oz. Just a little guy compared to Baby O (weighing in at 10 lbs).

Chi Tribute

A few nights ago, this sweet boy passed away. He had been diagnosed with Cancer & was just hanging in there for all the yummy food Uncle Raw-D was going to give him...well, that & all the fun family reunions. He was the BEST dog in the world. Here are a few pictures of him:

sneaking a bit of food
Favorite memory of Chi: When I lived with Uncle Raw-D & Aunt Lala, Chi would sleep by my bed to make sure I was protected. He treated me like I was little sister. If I came home late, he'd bark & bark(ball me out) for not coming in sooner. Alway looking out for me. Thanks Chi! We'll miss you very much.

Guess who slept in the big boy bed?

Last night we set up the bed for HY. He was very excited to be in a big boy bed. Not one problem thru the night! In fact, this morning, he didn't even get out of bed. He sat there and called to me, "Mamma," just like he did when he was in the crib. What a good boy!

Thank to Grandad Grey for the bed, Uncle R-D, A-Kazoo, Big T, and Baby O for painting the bed a very special blue for HY. He loves it and so does Mamma!

Tonight---It's Mini E's turn to try out the crib. We're all just growing up way too fast.

Have you seen my Nonna?

Nonna arrived at 11 pm on Tues. night. Uncle R-D, Uncle L the Great, Aunt CC and her kids and Uncle Bishop were all there! It seemed like Nonna was taking forever to come down that escalator. We figured that she met someone that she knew and was talking...or maybe she was setting some one a baptismal date that she had met on the plane. Needless to say, we were very anxious and extremely tired! Finally she arrived. Hugs for everyone and a special love for Mini-E. Wonder M, Too-Cool B, Lovin' H, and Super K (holding Mini-E) ...ready to welcome Nonna back from Madagascar. We are so happy to have her back.