blizzard smizzard
there was much anticipation and fuss made over the "blizzard warning."
it ended up being no more than a lil ol skiff.
the temperatures and the wind gust were hairy
but
that didn't stop the youngins from playing in the snow until their nose and toes were froze.

he's getting big
mckray earned his arrow of light in the scouting program. he worked hard and earned tons of badges and belt loops while he has been in the cub scouts. at pack night he got to cross the bridge going out of  cub scouts and into boy scouts and as he was walking over the bridge he kissed his two fingers and held them in the air and said "see ya"....it was pretty funny.
mckray gets so excited about life and really dives into whatever he is doing. he is a fun kid and fun to be around. the other day he and journey came to me and ask me if i believed in santa clause and  i said YES, i do. they both looked at each other and kind of laughed and smiled.  mckray then looked at me with a very serious face and said. "mom, im going to ask you again on the day i get married, cause i really need to know if he is real.........so i can make sure  my kids get a really good christmas".
isn't that just the cutest thing?

a very happy turkey day............

i love thanksgiving.

i love that is is just a chill holiday spent with family

eating and playing and relaxing.

we had thanksgiving this year at my moms

and boy do we know how to put on a feast 

we always make WAY too much food.

oh well, that just means more leftovers and

who can complain with thanksgiving leftovers?

i am the pie maker in my family

i made

punkin,nana cream,coconut cream and choc.

all from scratch.

i also made a yam apple casserole that i learned how to make while living with regans grandma palfreyman's.

i am grateful for my family, good  friends, life and good music

i am also learning to love opposition....my cute lil nephew that is serving a mission in virginia wrote a letter saying that he is learning to love opposition and it really hit me hard. so i too will be following his example of learning to love opposition and learn to love whereever i am good or bad.

i am thankful for more than this

this is just the short list :)

hope your thanksgiving was as good as ours.

thankful for these cute  ya-hoos that bring such joy to my life......most of the time :)

dinner conversation
i love to cook dinner and have the whole family sit down and eat together.
at our house we go around the table and tell something good that happened on that day
i love this time day and i love that we are finally slowing down enough to REALLY listen to each other
and to reconnect.
most of the time we are pretty well behaved......(yeah right, who am i kidding) 
 but the other night this was how the conversation went
journey: "ugh, mckray got his spit germs all over that."
bridger: "well, you have butt germs in your mouth juju."
mckray chimes in and says well, i farted on your potato bridger."
hows that for classy??

a birthday..........

 just isn't complete until you have tried a mickey d's mcrib for the first time

or getting to go to nickle city and play thousands of the games

and win like a gazillion tickets so you can get super cool prizes

or play lazer tag

and

kick everybodys butt doing it

turning 11 is pretty rad!!!

a stroll in the autumn sunshine

sometimes........
sometimes when a girl goes off to college she is sooo happy to be on her own
sometimes she really misses home
sometimes she is having the time of her life
sometimes she's not
sometimes she loves boys
sometimes she hates them
sometimes she's getting along with all her roommates
sometimes she's not
sometimes she wants to be the life of the party
sometimes she just wants to be alone
sometimes she wants to forgive everyone
sometimes she doesn't want to  forgive anyone
sometimes everything is going right
sometimes everything is crashing down on her
sometimes a MOM knows these things about her daughter
sometimes she doesn't
sometimes a girl just needs her best friend and mom to drive to school and take her for a shake
and let her vent
sometimes she has to do things on her own without her mom..no milkshake to make it better
sometimes she wants to share almost everything with me
sometimes she doesn't want to share anything with  me
sometimes im o.k with her not sharing stuff with me
sometimes that makes me sad
sometimes i say the right thing
sometimes i don't
but
when she needs me i will ALWAYS be here for her
i am proud of who she is becoming
i am proud of where she is going
and proud of the great choices that she is making.....on her own.
I am so thankful that she is mine and that i am lucky enough to be a part of her fantastic life.
i am one lucky momma.
i love you aubrey........ ALWAYS!!!

not the greatest lighting

shakespeare

bridger, following in the footsteps of his big sister aubrey, joined the Shakespeare team at his jr. high. 

they performed a mid summer's night dream this year

with bridger playing the part of Demetrius

they worked hard during the summer and at the beginning of this school year

so they could compete

at the Shakespearean festival in cedar city with 100 other jr. high schools

which is kind of a big deal.

regan and i wanted to go down and watch them perform but bridger said  "NO WAY"

guess he is a little embarrassed of the good ol' parents

good thing they had a parents night at the school so that we could watch

great work bridger

you are an awesome

and

well rounded teenager

spooktacluar

halloween

bridger: link from legend of zelda

thanks granny q. for making his costume you did a boo-rific job

journey: 70's girl,  bow- chicka-wow-wow

mckray: skater/punk dude

aubrey: lady gaga

mena: homeless girl

regan: homeless guy

the weather played quit the "trick" on us with

crazy hail, rain and lighting

some super kind people let us come in from the cold and freezing rain 

and  fed us warm soup.

couldn't believe that i actually ran into obama.

LOVE US SOME HALLOWEEN FUN!!!!!!!

perfectly fine day for a round of golf
perfect weather
perfect company
hubby kicked my not- so- perfect butt.
maybe next time i'll kick his not-so- perfect butt.
not likely gonna happen
but one can wish.
gladstan golf course
elk ridge, utah

school carnival and life's ups and downs........
the littles school and the PTA put on a fabulous carnival this year,
some of the woman in my ward were in charge
and they ask me to help out a little bit.
everyone involved worked hard
and the hard work paid off
we earned lots of money for our school
and the kids had a blast
we had lots of blow up toys to play on
tons of games
pizza and treats
my kids are old enough to go and not stay "right by mom and dad"
so they roamed around with friends
which led regan and me( or is it "I") to ask....how can our little kids be this old?
and where has the time gone?
the answer we both gave is.....we have NO IDEA!
anyway,i had wanted to take some fun pictures of the kids at the carnie
but they were off running around
so these are the only ones i got of them....(SIGH).
the picture of mckray jousting
reminds me of how i have felt as of late
getting jabbed,sucker punched and feeling like life is beating the H*%%  out of me
all while im trying so hard to stay standing up
you see, stress has gotten the better of me
and i am having to really fight to keep stress at bay
stress can really take its tole on you if your not careful
i have lots on my mind
questions like:
will we ever be able to pay off regans student loans?
will we ever  have more money coming in than going out?
its hard to believe that once upon a time we did.
will i be able to find a better job? ....yeah i got a job, its not glamorous or what i want to do forever, but its a job.
am i doing a good job as a mother,wife, friend, sister,daughter?
am i living the life i want to?
am i floating.....or am i really living?
anyway........ you get the picture
i guess it comes down to having FAITH
having faith in myself and having faith in god
having faith in myself is the one i REALLY, REALLY struggle with
believing that all is well and that all will be well
if i am doing all that i can
and working hard
and having faith
it will all work out
when i stop and think about all that i have
and all that i have to be grateful  for
the stress seems to LIFT 
but, when i focus on the "crap" of life
well, then everything seems
CRAPPY
right now i need to focus on what i DO have
instead of what i DON'T have
focuse on the postive qualities that I DO have
life is as EASY or as HARD as i want to make it
its really all about ATTITUDE isn't it??
heres to happier days
and
better attitudes

the alpine loop

nothing brings me more joy,

 than to pack the family into the car and head 

for the

mountains

 on a lovely fall day.

the beauty is breathtaking

and

 it makes me feel like my chest will burst wide open from all its awesomeness.

i wish fall could last forever