Cody's First Elk Hunt

Cody is all boy. He loves everything to do with motorcycles, dirt, and guns. For the past couple of years he has been begging to go hunting.
During the week of the elk hunt this year, Chris' dad invited Cody to come and go hunting with them. He missed school for two days and instead, trudged up and down mountains in freezing, snowy weather. Not my idea of fun, but Cody had the time of his life.

They even took time out to carve pumpkins one night.
Cody still hasn't stopped talking about his hunt. He got to go out and do something he loved with his bestest buddy and cousin, Chris. At 7, life just doesn't get better than this.

Primary Program

Today was our wards primary program. It was also the last primary program for Miss Brit. It was fun to watch all the things that the kids have learned over the year. I practiced Cody's line with him a couple of times. When I asked him if he had it memorized, he said, " I don't have to memorize it mom, the teacher will just whisper what to say in my ear."
They both said their lines very well though. Next year, Cody will be our one remaining primary goer. I'm a little melancholy about that but I'm really excited that Britnee will be in Young Women. I'm loving every minute watching these kids grow.

The Witching Hour

Halloween means it's time again for our Bear Lake Witches party. Same place and same theme as last year- anything witchy goes.

This year Candice and I found costume ideas at the melodrama we went to in Salt Lake last month. We bought prom dresses from the DI and hula hoops, hats, and gloves from the dollar store. Add a little toile and some fabric and Voila!!

Ashlee- Our awesome hostess for the evening

Sitting down proved to be quite hilarious. We both drove our cars to and from the party too. Good thing there weren't any accidents involved.

Lots of different friends were there to visit and have fun with, including my good friend Amy. It was a wonderful night of food, fun, and witchin'.

Round 2- The Family

And we're finished!!! On Sunday afternoon Candice came over and we took our family pictures up Jacobs Canyon. There was an old house up there that was a perfect backdrop.
Matt thinks that one picture per decade outta do it, so he does not even almost get excited to go pose for the various pictures I think are important each year. He goes though, and for that I'm thankful.
I just love my little family. I love to see how much the kids change and grow.
Until next year...

Round One-The Kids

Every fall I attempt to take the kids pictures for my blog, family, and friends. And every year I come home with stories only slightly less frustrating than the last.

This year we went up Swan Creek and were frantically running around trying to beat the sun over the hill. It only took an hour, and though there were a few throw aways, most of them turned out ok. The screaming was at a minimum and we all survived with most of our sanity intact.

I had just to snap this one. Cody was trying so hard to smile so that he could go home and in the process, tripped Britnee over. I love that even though they are falling over, Cody still has his smile.
Round one- CHECK. Round two (Family Pictures)- Gettin' Geared up.
Just smile and nod, Tara, just smile and nod.

Winner Winner Winner!!

Tonight at Bunco one of the girls needed a sub, so Jaycee got to come play. I had my eye on this cute pumpkin guy but by about half way through the game, I knew that I was not going to be the winner. Jaycee played her little heart out though and when they called out the winner, it was my Jaycee.

There's not really a lot of skill involved with Bunco, but I was so happy for her winning none the less. Go Jaycee, you can come play with us again anytime. Love you girl!!!

The Icing on the Shed

Is any project ever really done? Matthew wants to think that they are but I find myself laying in bed at night just thinking of new things to do to improve our home and yard.

This is the (kind of) finished product of the shed. I've been working like crazy to get everything done for winter and Mother Nature has helped with some beautiful fall weather.

My friend Katie and I took trips to Cokeville, Wyoming to load up on river rock. I love the look of smooth stone as borders and Bear Lake doesn't have much of it here. The flowers are all overstock on my front flower beds so those are getting trimmed up in the process.

Matt and Cody worked very hard earlier this summer putting up the double decker front porch. I have to give them two thumbs way up for the way it turned out.

This is definitely the icing on the cake for our shed project. It kinda looks like it lives here now and not just plopped in the back yard. I still have some work to do but I feel so much more ready for winter than I did last week at this time.
I feel like this part of the world can be at rest for a minute, but am I finished with my yard work? NEVER!!!!

Murder in Maui- A Luau to Die For

This years Murder Party was one of the best yet. For 2 summers now we have tried to have a Luau Murder Party on the beach and just could not find the time. When this summer ran past us we decided to have one in October at the clubhouse.

Everything went really well. Our characters went all out in their dress and role playing. Candice was able to get stuff for snow cones for dessert and we ate Hawaiian Haystacks for dinner.

Candice played the role of Holi Mulokeli- the overly-excited greeter and lei
presenter at the Oceanside Palace Hotel. Travis played Tiki Hutman- He grew up on
the Maui beaches and is the head lifeguard at the Oceanside Palace Hotel’s Sunset Beach.

Matthew played "Sol Boatman, who recently won a lawsuit against a large fast food chain for burning his lip on an overly-heated hamburger. He’s using his winnings to set out on a tour of the world – starting with Maui! Sol is a recently retired donut artist and is definitely enjoying the break from the sugary confections."
I played "Poni Mulokeli- the hard working performer for the Oceanside Palace Hotel Luaus on Sunset Beach. She’s an obnoxious one-upper who’s not the most popular employee among the staff of the hotel! Therefore, an extended chat with this feisty entertainer is definitely worth avoiding if you know what is good for you." SO GLAD that doesn't sound like me in real life :)

Rich played Jack Marrow- a deep sea fisherman and later, the victim. Amy was Lovey Powell- the billionaire heiress that spends her pampered life vacationing in exotic locations. This isn't like Amy in real life at all but she sure hammed it up good.

We had Tyler and Marci come for the first time. And I've got to had it to them, they were pretty brave and a ton of fun. Marci was Coco Beaches and Tyler played a waiter at the hotel who hated me. (My character I mean.)

And last but not least were Robbie Pattenson and Kirsten Steward played by Scott and Ashley. These two were vacationing in Maui and trying to pretend that they weren't famous but we caught onto them pretty quickly.

Our victim was struck in the head by a coconut while heading back to the Luau after using the restroom. The murderer being none other than Robbie Pattenson, who really didn't want the media to know where he was.

Murder Diva's

Sol Boatman and his friend. In the end they ended up being detectives who were trying to catch Lovey Powell for killing her mother.

We had so much fun playing this game. Our games are always a blast but the kit we used with this one was one of our favorite. The website is mymurderparty.com if you manna try one.

Old Pro

This last couple of weeks has been a mad house of boiling pots and popping lids. Since being introduced to canning last year I've become addicted. On this years list were dilly beans, peach salsa, peach jam, jalapeno jelly, picante salsa, and mandarin sauce for chicken or meatballs.

My shelves are full and the stuff is put away til next year and boy, am I tired. It's very satisfying however to open the pantry and see shelves full of things that I made myself. Every bottle I filled and processed sealed so I guess I'm an old pro now right? :)

Welcome Back Potter

This weekend Candice and her date invited Matthew and I to go to the Desert Star Theater in Salt Lake to see a melodrama called "Welcome Back Potter." It's was a hilarious play based on a reunion with the Harry Potter characters. Since I love the Harry Potter books, I was so excited to go.

We ate yummy pizza and laughed a lot. Afterward, we went and got Cold Stone ice cream and drove home through Monte Cristo to see all the fall leaves.
All in all, it was a wonderful date, I love getting to go have fun with Matthew. Thanks so much Candice for the invite.