Happy Halloween!

The happy trick-or-treaters. Sadie was pumped for Halloween this year! Mason is Dopey, in case it isn't obvious. I sewed the touque and jacket for him the day of the Ward party.

This pumpkin was about as big as Mason. We were major procrastinators and got this pumpkin on Halloween, and were carving right until we had kids at the door!

Our offerings -- mine is the sinister face on the left, Ryan did the Oogey Boogey Man, and Sadie colored hers.

Product placement. Willy Wonka is cutting the check right now.

Digging through the spoils

The kids gorging themselves on candy. Mason picked up the meaning of the holiday fast.

Mmm, wrapper.

It was absolutely beautiful for Halloween night, but snowed the next day. It was such wet, sticky snow, that every step Sadie took caked on to her boots, and made snow platform boots. She thought it was riotous.

Our little snow family, that was gone later that day. The snow didn't stay long.

August/September/October

Yikes, what a title. It has been far too long since we've updated, and I have a really good excuse: Ryan has been way busy and hasn't had a spare moment to let me use his laptop to upload our pictures. Well, it's an okay excuse.

Going back to what I haven't posted about yet, we went to Mississippi with my brother, Dan, and his family for the season opener for college football. It wasn't the best drive to take with small kids, one in particular that is extremely car sick, but we did it, and wouldn't trade it for anything. Oxford was such a beautiful old town, and the people there were so nice! Talk about southern hospitality. People were wishing us luck as we walked to the game in all our BYU gear, and then after we won, thanked us for coming, wished us luck in our season, travel safely, and invited us to come back. Everyone was just so polite.

Ole Miss has such a beautiful campus, and it would have been great to explore it more, but it poured rain right after the game (thank goodness for that) because of a tropical storm. We did a small car tour of the historic sites and homes, and they were so pretty, but the rain foiled much more exploration than that. I commented how nice all the guest homes were on the really big plantations, and then Ryan pointed out that they were probably converted slaves quarters. Oh.


Start of the game, before we got all toasty. The kids did great during the game; Mason slept, Sadie ate treats with Ava, her cousin.


Dan took his boys early to get their faces painted, which left Ryan to walk with my sister-in-law, Heather, and me with our double strollers full of little kids to the game. We realized we were probably fueling the misconceptions about Mormons, so Heather walked a little ahead of us.


Best buds sharing candy

Victory pose with the scoreboard in the background as proof. Dan said he was especially pleased that BYU won, because his boys would have been supremely disappointed driving all that way for a loss. He wanted to solidify early memories of BYU winning in their moldable little minds.

Mason, sporting the jersey


A bad shot of the small town that pops up every game day in Oxford. I guess it's one of the best tailgating experiences in the country? This was after the game was over, and lots of people had already packed up for the day, but all the red, white, and blue through those trees in the distance are those big pop up tents. People were going all out and had fridges and satellite dishes, like they could have lived there for the week if campus police allowed it. Also, a lot of the women (and a few men) were dressed up all fancy-like. Watching some of the ladies in heels made me so grateful to be wearing sandals as we walked back to where we were staying. Near the end they all were carrying their shoes.

Dan was able to find a great place where we could all stay together, instead of separate rooms like a hotel most likely would have been. It had a nice attached garage where the boys (big and small) could go rid themselves of cabin fever.


Here is the girl version of expending extra energy (note the cards all over the floor). We had to be creative keeping the kids from destroying the place once it started raining, and think there may have been a game or two involving rolling poker chips on the tile floor.


On to random shots now. Ryan is back in classes (has been for a while now), and very busy finishing up his last year. We've been enjoying a really mild fall, and we're wrapping up things in Omaha. I've been spending lots of time prepping our place for sale, and we actually have someone coming to look at it on Friday. Wow that went fast.

Father Theresa?


Sadie squeezing my feet. The face helps her squeeze tighter.

A happy coincidence one day (note the shirts)

Mason's newest trick.
(He's almost crawling, but definitely can military crawl to something he really wants)

Okay this next sequence is one of my favorites. Sadie wants to get in on the pictures, so she forces Mason to hold hands with her. Then he gets upset with that and lets her know he needs some space. I'm pretty sure I have the same pictures taken in the stroller.

I've got some great videos of the kids that I want to post too, but our upload speed is about 1/100th of what I want it to be. Sometime later. Maybe.

Super Happy Fun Surprise!!!

Random pics from July:

Thinking about solid food... mmm...

Ryan and Sadie's balancing act. They're thinking about taking it on the road.

Too hot for clothes!

Warning: super husband bragging here, so look away if you must. If you roll your eyes after reading this post, it's your own fault.
I just need to start this post with Ryan is a trickster. He plans and plots and always has something up his sleeve. The man is full of really fun surprises. And he really outdid himself this year for my birthday, which he usually celebrates about 3 months early because he cannot contain himself when he finally decides on my gift.
Since we were already going to have Rachie with us for the better part of July, he planned with Laura to have her come too! And instead of any gifts from parents and in-laws, Ryan planned for us to go shopping together, and have Laura completely overhaul my wardrobe. I felt like I was on What Not to Wear! Laura went through my entire closet, item by item, and we made decisions to keep or toss. There was so much stuff in my closet that I hadn't worn for so many years, but for some reason I just couldn't ever get rid of, so it was nice to have Laura and Rachel there driving the decisions. We threw out 4 garbage bags of old clothes, that were either worn out, out of style, or just too young for me to wear. Laura told me, "You need to dress like a mom, not like you're in high school!"

Donations!

The spoils

After making a list of essentials, we set to work (yes boys, work!) shopping. And just when I felt fatigue setting in, Laura would power through and have me trying on like 50 items in 5 minutes! I've never shopped like that in my life, and perhaps I never will. Rachel, you were awesome to help with the kids after we had run them so ragged, in and out of the car and stroller all day long! And then Ryan was so nice to take the kids who missed afternoon naps on our account and let us girls go see Harry Potter, or get our nails done. What a guy!

Pop quiz!: can you tell our hands and feet apart?

Laura was only able to stay for a few days, but she did a ton of online shopping for me too, looking for those last few, elusive must-have's. It was seriously the most fun I've had with Laura and Rachel in a long time. And Ben, Laura has a tangible talent. Don't let it go to waste.

Rachel was able to stay for a while longer, and we did fun stuff around town, like the zoo, going around down town, a party with the judge Ryan clerked for this summer, a hair bow and birthday card night, and way too much super mario brothers. We were sad to see her go, but we left for Arizona the next day, so we had to get ourselves ready. My actual birthday was just laundry and cleaning, but I didn't care because I had been celebrating it for weeks!

Waiting at the Airport

Too much love!

Now we're in Mesa trying to maximize our time with Walker before he leaves on his mission. He's going to the El Salvador San Salvador East mission, and reports on the 10th of August. He is so excited and anxious to go.
We'll be seeing people in Waterton!
p.s.- Laura, start your personal shopping business now!

Too hot for anything but blogging!

As the heat index goes well over 100 today in Omaha, and with both kids asleep its time to hit the computer. I've been filling nap time with other activities, some less frivolous than others, but after a few requests for more Mason pictures, I find I've run out of excuses not to blog. Why do I drag my feet so much? I'd say our upload speed is about half of what I'd like it to be, not that I don't like updating everyone on what we've been doing.
The Flood: it has been an all consuming topic around our neighborhood lately. The "Mighty Mo" has been on a constant rise since winter ended, and now we are finding ourselves in its path (sorta). Most of our ward In Council Bluffs is already seeing lots of water in their basements, but we are on far higher ground here in Omaha, so we are in no immediate danger. The river would have to flood about 100 feet vertically before we would even get worried. However, we have been busy getting our emergency preparations in order, like water and purification systems and food, and yes, Ryan bought a shotgun. I don't love it in the house, but he calmed my anxiety by also getting the most cutting edge safety equipment. The safety's on ole bessie.
So while our ward has been moving everything from their basements, we've been helping people get their things out from below ground, and a few families have been moving completely as well. Ryan hardly ever comes straight home from work anymore, as it seems like there's always someone needing assistance. I'll post some pictures of things that have been affected by the water already. Rachie, bring your gumboots!

Our usual road out to church, but not where we drive. It's closed now. The thin strip above land is the railroad, and the highway is to the right.

A casino entrance that is right on the river. I don't feel all that badly because it's a casino. Ryan saw this and said it looks eerie, like the Titanic, but less grand.

But I digress. I haven't blogged about my trip with the kids while Ryan finished up finals at the end of April. I took off to go to Heather Low's wedding and see family, and also got a chance to go back up to Calgary, and then down to Arizona so we could bless Mason with as much family as possible present. Basically that's the trip in a nut shell, so I'll let the pictures do the talking. I wish I had taken more pictures at the actual wedding, but with two kids I felt like I was barely able to keep track of all our stuff, even with all the help I had. The flights over to Salt lake went as good as I could hope for, traveling with a toddler and an infant alone. I received many piteous stares, but for the most part people were very helpful and nice. There was one point that I was nursing Mason while holding the air sickness bag out for Sadie, but that was brief. That girl is just not meant for travel. Thanks again Laura and Ben for being Sadie's best trackers in Utah!

At the reception in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. I know I should stop her, but she was having so much fun, and she wasn't the only one, and the damage was already done. Yikes, rhymes.

The black and cream trio, all unplanned. Mom and Laura, surely one of you has a better shot of us?

Dinner in Provo at cool pizza place. We look extremely un-hip compared to the rest of the diners there.

Blessing day (and Mother's Day) in Mesa. Sorry, no pictures of our time in Calgary :(

The family portrait now! I think there was a fingerprint on the camera lens, so every picture has a foggy, 80's softness to it.

Back in Omaha, Sadie and Mason in my mother's day gift: a double stroller! Going to the zoo is a breeze now!

Ryan and Mason bonding over NBA finals. I think there's a very similar picture of Ryan and Sadie watching ball too.

I have way more videos of Mason than I have pictures, but they're all pretty boring for you guys, so I'll just have to be better at snapping pics. Hope everyone had a very patriotic Canada Day, and a good 4th of July too!

Easter happenings

After at least 3 egg hunts, much egg dyeing, and so much candy that no clothes are clean, I think Easter has been celebrated! Here is Sadie and Ryan at our neighborhood egg hunt, which, thankfully, they divided into age categories. Sadie fared pretty well in the 0-2 yr group.

Searching for the elusive Easter eggs. I was worried she would get distracted by the fact that it was at the park, and want to play instead, but she put on her game face an pulled off a lot of goodies.

It was kind of a cool day, so Mason is snuggled carefully in the blanket. Next year, buddy.

Egg coloring! Sadie was so thrilled at the prospect of art in a new medium. She has kind of had it with just paper.

Intense focus

I copied this one out of the Disney Family Fun magazine. Thanks again Heather! I love getting it every month.

Lady Eggaga. Or as Ryan initially thought, someone at Mardi Gras. Basically the same thing, right? (On a side note, I am not, nor have been, nor ever will be a fan of Lady Gaga. I think she is a terrible person, and the very evil of world the apostles warn us about. That said, she's current, and easy to do by putting bits of fabric on an egg)

Another one of mine, just something geometric

Ryan's offering. I think it was titled: Experiment in patterns and colors, number 8. Sounds like something from my art history class.

The two in the front row are Sadie's. It's a miracle they survived being dropped several times. Also, Ryan did some sort of a Ninja.

It's been a slightly cooler spring for Omaha, but at least winter is officially gone and the grass is green. I'll be posting more about my trip to Utah, Calgary, and Arizona. Good, busy times.

p.s.- Brag time: we had a cake auction the other night at a ward party to send our YW to girls camp, and my carrot cake got the 2nd highest bidding! And it wasn't even Ryan that bought it. Darn that caramel apple pie.

Anyways, Happy Easter Everyone!