First Halloween

I have the best church calling ever!!!  

Twice a month I get to relive my childhood primary days with the 

8 and 9 year old activity day girls!

So much fun!

And today we had a Halloween party!

I dressed as a cat... which ended up looking more like a mouse...

and with me I brought the world's cutest ladybug!!!

Happy first Halloween from Ladybug Brin,

and mommy mouse...

I'll need something better for the real halloween for sure...

Yellowstone

Last week we took a few days and enjoyed a family trip up to Yellowstone.  Really, we were trying to figure out why this was our fist time, we've been Eastern Idaho folk for over three years now...

But, none the less, we went and we had a blast!  Everyone says that this time of year is the time to go; all the animals are out and the crowds are down.  I don't really know what Yellowstone looks like in the summer, but the animals sure were out, and we felt like we were the only people in the park.  It was awesome.

The one downside though: it was chilly (read: super cold!).  The name of the game became bundle up and the objective was to stay warm.  Brinlee was the team captain... poor baby.  You know in the movie A Christmas Story when he says that "preparing for school in the winter was like preparing for extended deep sea diving"?  Yup... I at first was afraid I had overpacked, but she wore every layer, every day.  And she was stylish.

Tim won the style contest though for sure.  Rockin' the front pack... very smooth.

We got caught in the rain a time or two, and thus perfected the art of taking turns.  That is, Tim goes and sees the thing we stopped for while I wait in the car with the baby, and then we switch.  Luckily we didn't have to do it too many times, but it was fun to watch Brin watch the rain.

Overall we had a wonderful time.  Brinlee did awesome, the weather was generally awesome, and the time with my sweetheart was awesome!  Consensus: October is indeed a great time to go to Yellowstone.  Goal for next time: see a moose... still sad about that...

Corn Maze

Yesterday for family home evening we went out to the corn maze and had a blast!  We successfully completed all three of the mazes (one without using the map, thank you very much), and even splurged for a few corn-inspired treats.

Flat Stanley came along and loved it of course.  And Brinlee did awesome!  She was first confused, then content, and finally asleep.  It did get a little chilly for her, but she never did whine!  Sweet angel.

We had our first taste of Mexican corn and surprisingly really liked it!  It's corn on the cob with mayonnaise, parmesan cheese, and a bit of pico de gio... I know it sounds like it should be gross, but tis not so.  I would have it again.

Yay for family outings!

Kitchen Mishaps

I have heard it said (not by anyone specifically) that a woman's place is in the kitchen... either that is not true, or I am not a true woman because lately, every time I'm in the kitchen, something bad happens.

The other night we mixed up a batch of cookies but discovered we had no eggs.  So Tim jumped online to look up egg substitutes.  I should have known we were doomed to fail when the first one that came up called for two egg whites... obviously that would have been my first choice, but given we had no eggs (hence the original dilemma), we tried the next one...

Unfortunately that night we had no cookies.

The next day we emptied a pitcher of juice, and given that we have a dishwasher now (which I love!), I loaded that sucker in there and ran a load only to come out an hour later with this.

Apparently that wasn't dishwasher safe. Good to know.

And tonight while baby girl was in her chair at the counter helping me with dishes, she had a major blowout that somehow ended up all over the kitchen counter.... so gross.  I'm not including picture evidence of that as per request by the perpetrator herself, she was a little embarrassed.

The kitchen hasn't all been disaster though.  Brinlee had a successful (and messy) go at cereal and consequently had a super fun bath in a tubby just her size.

So Brinlee has figured it out and made up for her kitchen fail, it's mom and dad that need to get with the program.  Hopefully we break the kitchen fail streak soon.

Surprise Visit

Last week Tim got a phone call from his grandmother who happened to be passing through town, what a pleasant surprise!

Brinlee gave her some good smiles and 

she gave Brinlee a beautiful hand-stitched quilt.

So fun to have so many grandmas!

Best Husband Ever

This last week we have had the best dinners, 

and I haven't had to make a single one...

I have the best husband ever!