Basement

Well....after literally doing renovation since we bought our place....we are coming to a close! Our home has been almost totally redone from top to bottom and outside. Painting, new carpet and lino, redone upstairs bath, baseboards and window trim, close organizers, new front and back doors and a finished basement....oh, yeah we gutted the kitchen and restocked it with new cabinets and appliances...our place looks like a million bucks....(too bad it isn't worth a million bucks!); we also sodded our backyard, added a garden spot and put in a few paving blocks....



We have put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears and pulled a lot of late night and neglated kids along the way, not to mention the cost. But it has been worth it for us. We have learned alot...thanks for the help (my dad has shown Spencer the ropes of basement finishing, cabinet installation, not to mention all the trouble shooting that he has done for us via the phone). My brother helped us paint when we first took possession of our home and it has since been repainted by my brother-in-law. Another Brother-in-law helped with the electrical in the basement.



After all of the reno's are home is livable for us and enjoyable. One of the most important things that I have learned is that I don't ever want to do this much again...for any house in the future that I will live in!



The only things left are the last of the touchs up that never seem to get done. Oh well....

Halloween and other stuff

Sick, Sick, Sick....first of all we've been sick....3 out of 5 family members. Evan being hit the hardest....we are praying for a full recovery by the end of this week. Spencer and the baby so far unaffected....knock on wood!

We are trying to get the flu shot....but due to illness and crazy long lines haven't even ventured out! Hopefully with the changes that are coming at the clinics (namely those in high risk groups being given the priority) we should get it this week. (We're crossing our fingers) But for now we are limiting our contact with others and each other and washing our hands and taking vitamins like crazy.

On to happier news...we carved our pumpkins on Monday for FHE. I bought only three knowing that I would get a chance to carve atleast one for Evan. After much internet surfing we picked our designs. I drew on the pattern and then we set out to cleaning and cutting our pumpkins. I ended up carving Evans and Megan's pumpkins. Next year I'm going to buy pumpkin carving knives so the kids are do their own, maybe even those Mr. Potato Head like pieces that you just stick into the pumpkin....they look great for kids to be able to decorate their own pumpkin...also painting is a good option.

I just love the smell of a lit pumpkin.....so good! We kept our pumpkins inside all week....not such a good choice as they were all starting to go soft and moldy...I guess that just adds to the scary effect.

The picture is a little blurry...but that is Spencer, Evan and Megan's (Miss Mario) pumpkins.

So yesterday the weather was great for trick-or-treating....no snow. We layed up the kids and sent them out with Spencer. Evan only did the houses that were closest to us, then he was done. Megan and Spencer then went back out for about 2 more hours....I stayed back with the 2 boys to hand out candy (the jumbo freezies and tootie roll mix was a hit!)

The Mario Brothers and their Papa!

The mother load. We'll be saying good bye to most of this candy. I'll give Megan and Evan a nice sized bowl and then saving some for our "movie" nights at home!

A family secret

I'll let you in on a little family secret. Megan and Evan are crazy about the Wii that they got and playing Mario Cart and Super Mario Galaxy. If you would like to know what our family would look like Mario style and our new "cute" nicknames for each other, here it is....

Megan (my ring leader) is of course Mario

Evan is Mario's brother....Luigi

Aaron is baby Mario....

I have the privilege of being Rosalina....

Last but not least Spencer is.....Waluigi

I know you can definitely see the resemblance....

My favorite thing so far (hopefully it won't last forever or get too annoying) is that Megan's friends at school call her Miss Mario, and if you ask Evan what his name is he'll answer Luigi (he gets some weird looks), and he says "I love you Rosalina"or "Roselina where are you?" and he asks where Waluigi is all day long.

I'll give you one guess as to what they will be for Halloween this year......

Happy Birthday

It was my birthday....Spencer and the kids helped me celebrate in style. I got some lovely gifts...Evan colored a picture that he was particularly proud of, Megan spent many hours making me a book, Spencer got me some new shoes, a watch and a yoga headstander. To top it off they decorated the house with balloons and streamers and we all wore lei's while I opened the gifts. I decided to change things up with a new cake request. For years probably 8 years I've requested the skor dessert cake, but finally got sick of it. So Spencer bought me a Chinese cake....a light cake with fruit chunks in the middle and fancy fruit on the top with a whipcream type icing. Yummy! I turned the big 31 this year, but two things will always make me feel better....#1 I'll always be younger than my sister Jen and #2 I'll always be younger than Spencer!

New Recipe

I've put up a new recipe on the side. We are trying to eat less meat....so this salad is a new favorite. It would be perfect for a ward potluck or picnic. Instead of brown basmati rice I used Quinoa (a new favorite ancient grain; that is super healthy). The original recipe I think would feed more like 6 people and I would cut down on the amount of juice from the mandarin oranges.

Enjoy!

Back in Business

Our van was in the shop getting repaired....and I accidentally forgot the camera inside...so we have been without pictures to download and put up....here's what's been happening over the last month....

Megan started grade 2 and Evan is in preschool. Yahoo.... so I'm officially the chauffeur and I've volunteered to be the recycle lady at Evan's preschool. I'm not currently as involved in Megan's school this year....but hope to pick that back up once Aaron is a little older. Being involved in your children's education by volunteering in any aspect and going to the PTA meetings makes a huge difference.

We took a weekend in Banff so Spencer could run the Melissa's Road Race. He did very well, inspite of the lack of training for the 22K run (1/2 marathon). His time was 1 hour 50 minutes. Way to go! I also did well as I juggled 3 kids outside in the wind while waiting for Spencer to finish. After the race we wandered around the townsite and looked in the stores. We purchased fudge (Megan waited the whole trip just for that). We also went on a hike and let the kids jump on the hotel beds! (just kidding). I love going to the mountains. It was a nice getaway. Next year I told Spencer that we would run the 10K together and have someone watch the kids for the weekend for us.

This is what happens when you leave the camera out....the kids get quite for a moment and then you discover what they have been up to....and check the memory for the candid photos that they took. Does this happen to anyone else?
One day I'll learn. But some of the pic's are pretty funny.

This little guy or should I say "big" guy is now over 2 months old. He is healthy and strong and has such an easy going temperament, a nice change in our house hold. He has just recently started to use his abs to sit up.

Happy Thanksgiving! May your turkey be large and moist, may your sweet potatoes be sweet and may there be a vast variety of desserts and may you not gain a pound! This is one of my favorite times of the year. I love to bundle up and snuggle under sweaters and blankets to stay warm. It is always easier to layer up if your cold....but you can only get so naked to cool you down in the summer months. The kids are back in school, the beautiful fall colors, thanksgiving time, my birthday, Halloween.....it's a wonderful time of year. Enjoy!

Anniversary

Today is the day that Spencer and I got married 9 years ago. Time as sure gone by fast. Spencer and I occasionally have reminisced about all the experiences that we have had and all the things that have happened. Nine years, 3 kids, 2 plus years of additional schooling, 3 jobs, 7 cities to call home....multiple church callings.....the list could go on. The blessings have and continue to be many. Spencer is my best friend, a wonderful husband, an involved father and a hard worker. We make quite the team. Happy Anniversary Spencer...I Love you (and all your funny faces)!