the WitchFest

I have decided that I need to buy a bike, preferably a pink one, because biking is so fun! My brother Mike and my sister-in-law Julie go on these long bike rides all the time, and lucky for us, they invited us to come and join the fun. Ryan and I don't have bikes (yet), but thanks to my sweet mom and dad....we got to borrow theirs for a day. Our bike trail started off somewhere in the middle of Salt Lake and from there we rode to Gardner Village in West Jordan. Total round trip was 30 miles, which is the longest I've ever rode. I won't lie, my legs were very sore that night, but it was so fun! It was worth all the pain! I can't wait to do it again!

Our ride was so, so pretty! I couldn't get enough of all the different colors on the trees! I love, LOVE fall! love, LOVE him too!

This was my first time at Gardner Village, and it was so much more than I ever expected! This place is amazing! We didn't plan it, but we went on the Saturday that was celebrating the WitchFest. Everyone was dressed up! There was mostly witches, but there was also many kiddos dressed up in their Halloween costumes. I must come to this event every year...I can't believe I never have been to it before!

They had cute witches EVERYWHERE you turned!

and other cute Halloweenie things...

why Hello!

A hula-hop Witch

"Come over here and give me a nice wet lickery kiss!"

Can you name the movie?

This baby was one of the cutest I've ever seen! His momma was trying to take a picture of him with all the pumpkins, but all he wanted to do was eat the pumpkin stem. "Sigh...." I'll get one soon, I hope.

Fire(wo)men Witch....

I LOVE this place!

Where I get all my pictures! Thanks bonehead :)

"Double double toil and trouble"

"I put a spell on you...and now your mine!"

the bikers :)

just a little shopping....

He is my most favorite.

Oh, and today is HALLOWEEN!

Happy Halloween to you from us! We hope it's to die for!

(haha, I know I'm lame but I don't care!)

My Halloween Crafts

Halloween is a big deal at our house, it's almost as big as Christmas. Our house is decked out with decorations and every year I try to add more to spice it up. This year, I went a little crazy with all my Halloween projects. I was almost too busy. I spent many late hours drawing, painting, burning my fingerprints off with the glue-gun, tying hundreds of knots, and gluing lots of googly eyes on everything! But now that's it's all said and done, I am happy and have very much enjoyed them this season. They are defiantly not like professional crafts you buy in the stores, but they're cheaper :) and they are something I can call my own that I worked really hard on. It's a good feeling to see things you accomplished.

My wreath was probably the most time consuming. The tutorial on the Internet that showed how to make a ribbon/fabric wreath said it's an easy project and it will take an hour tops. Well, for me and my picky ways (I guess some people say I'm a perfectionist ;) I found that wasn't true...... it took me like 5 hours! By the time I tied that last knot, I was so ready to never tie another knot again. But I do see more knot tying in my future, I have plans for more holidays wreaths. Welcome to our Home, Baaaa-ha,ha!

Here's Elphaba's broom. Yes, from time to time, the wicked witch of the west comes to visit us. But if you give her chocolate and some ice cream, she isn't so wicked anymore :)

This is my "Happy Halloween" banner...but it's hard to see, cause my picture stinks. It's cute, I promise.

My Spooky Scary Skeleton family portrait. Yes, I plan on having 5 babies, so I had to make a skeleton for each one. So far...there's me, Ryan, Our sweet Jason, and Ellie. Only 4 more to go till our family is complete.

Now, that October is coming to an end, it's time to move on to my next projects.....Christmas ones! I gotta keep busy, it's good for me.

Forget-me-not

For the last several years, my sisters and I have gotten together for a girls night to celebrate my mom's birthday, as well to attend the General Relief Society Meeting. Last year will always be one of my favorite years to remember. I was like nine weeks pregnant and nobody knew....yet. I was planning on telling my whole family the very next day, at my mom's Sunday Birthday dinner. At the time, ME getting pregnant was a very popular topic with my family (sadly today, still is...."sigh"). Everyone kept asking me how things were going with it....and I had to Lie through my teeth!! I'm a horrible liar, and to this day, I'm still so surprised I tricked them all! The next day, when I did tell them....was one of the best days ever, their reaction brought me to (happy) tears and I will cherish that day forever.

This year, the Women's Conference was quite different than last year.....but in some way, the same. Weird, I know, but I'll explain. My sister got us tickets to attend the meeting in Salt lake and since my mom's birthday was the day after, we decided to celebrate the whole day. We all ate at the Lion's Den (YUM!) and then attended the meeting at the Conference Hall afterwards. Being with my sisters and mom is always so fun, but I was still feeling anxious...my soul couldn't find any peace. Behind all the smiles of being with my family, my heart ached of last years memories, and at any given moment I could of burst into tears. During the first 3 talks, I basically didn't hear one word said, I tired so hard to listen...but my mind wouldn't rest. Then President Uchtdorf started his talk, and instantly, my body relaxed and I soaked up everything he said. I have never had a conference talk touch me so much, I bawled and bawled. The ladies around me probably thought I looked crazy as my mascara run down my face, but once the tears came...they couldn't stop. Many of my friends are pregnant, AND both my sister-in-law and my sister are expecting too. With every body's happiness surrounding me, and I'm left out, it's hard not to feel forgotten.

"Sisters, wherever you are, whatever your circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love."

I desperately needed to hear those words, I left the meeting with a whole new strength inside of me. Deep down, I know the Lord didn't forget me. Through my weakness, I let my pain get the best of me. I am so thankful He is patient with me and so willing to keep reminding me I'm not alone. He loves me so much that he sent me a message, one that only he could send, to bring peace to my soul. So, like last year, happy tears came. Last year was tears of excitement and dreams....and this year's tears where filled with Love and Peace.

The sisters and my cute momma, how I love them. I'm so very thankful for all their love and support in my life.

The Lion's Den has to be one of my favorite places to eat. Usually when we/I go out to eat, it's a rare occasion that I get dessert along with dinner. At the Lion's Den, it's a must. I do every time and it's always something delightful! I got bandanna cream pie, but I tasted my sisters chocolate cake, and it was pure heaven.

So happy that Families are Forever.

I have been doing a good job at keeping myself busy the last couple of months. It's good for me, it keeps my mind moving and makes me feel better too. Since we moved into our house, about 4 years ago, (Holy cow, I can't believe its been that long) I have been kinda of a nut about my food storage. It's not much, but it's growing and I'm very proud of it. I've been doing lots of canning lately with my mom, and afterwards, I proudly add to my food storage. So far in our canning frenzy, we have raspberry Jam, diced tomatoes, and most recently, canned peaches (which are so good in my peach cobbler :)

I'm so thankful for my sweet mom, she is always willing to help us out and teach me at the same time. She canned half of my batch of peaches, cause I had to work. I want to be just like her and I have learned so much from her. She has always made sure we have enough food to eat, pretty clothes to wear, and a home full of unconditional love. Love you mom, thank you for all you do for us.

October 1st, at 11:45pm-12:00 midnight, the BREAKING DAWN craziness began!! I, a true twiligher, had to make sure we got midnight tickets to breaking dawn! And yes, we sure did! Katie stayed at my house till like 12:45 that night (I had to work the next day too) just because we were so giddy about the whole thing. We even got good seats!

We are in the BIG theater at the Mega Plex, which I love! I just love crowded movie theaters! I love it when everyone cheers, laughs, or grasps all at the same time! It is such a fun experience! The theater filled within minutes, seriously. We are lucky to get such good seats!

See, there's our seats! Yay! I'm so excited!

Like I said, I have been keeping myself REALLY busy. Some of that business is from my projects. Halloween projects that is! I have made so many cute things...I can't even wait to show them off! I am all done with them now, so it's time to move on to the Christmas ones! Don't worry (even if you don't want to see them) they will be appearing on the next post :)

Here's my wreath in the making. I worked on it during conference. Loved conference so much, but you already knew that.

Ellie Bellie loved it too. Ha, ha. This is what we call a "dead dog".Sorry this post was so wordy, I just had lots to say. Even if no one even reads/listens to me ramble on, it's good to get it out. I don't know what it is, but I have found it comforting to just get out some feelings instead of keeping them locked up. I am just trying to enjoy this journey. Even if certain things sound so small and simple, the little comforts help heal my broken heart.