They aren't sissies after all!

We went out to Orting so the kids could trick or treat with their cousins Madison and Brooke. The kids were such troopers. They went strong for about an hour and a half. Taylor and Tate were pretty tired by the end but Tanner was still running up to every house. That's my kind of kid! We had a great time hanging out with Scott and Bethany while the kids begged for candy. Bethany made some awesome taco soup and corn bread for dinner, it was delicious. When we got home we put the kids to bed and have been stealing candy from their bags ever since. I love halloween!

Trunk or Treat Gem Heights Style

So I don't think I've ever mentioned the massiveness of our ward. Well...it's MASSIVE! For example, we have two primaries. Not only are there two, they are both very full! I heard on Sunday that one of the two nurseries now has 20 kids in it, that's just ONE class. So that might give you an idea of the huge trunk or treat we had last night. In all the other wards we've been in, the cars line up on one side of the building. In this ward the cars line up on three sides of the building. So two rows of cars on three sides of the building = BIG TRUNK OR TREAT. Half way through Tate was tired and just wanted to stop, but we pressed on. By the time they had gone to every trunk they were all tired. There was still more candy to be had but my kids weren't haven it. Man, when I was a kid, I would have just kept on going! I was a die hard, candy loven kinda kid. I would trick or treat for hours. I guess we'll see how long they last on Halloween before I declare them sissies.

Memory Lane

Since I'm on this sad "my kids are growing up to fast" kick, I found something to prove it. I was cleaning up a bit today (I emphasize "a bit") and found this picture of Taylor and Tanner with Alan. It was always one of my favorites and It makes me long for time gone by. This picture was taken in our very first house right here in Puyallup. Memories this brings back...
Our house in Puyallup...this color! Dorothy a.k.a. Taylor dressed up as Dorothy for two staight months...
....TEMPER TANTRUMS....TANNERS RED ROOM x 6 COATS OF PAINT! Lazy days sitting out in camping chairs with my neighbors, watching the kids play. Natalie! Renee and Abbie! The Emmetts who became lifelong friends...South Hill Ward...GIRLS NIGHT OUT! Growing up...not the kids...me!


P.S. Tanner and Lu could be twins (Nena called it from day 1, I believe you now)
P.P.S. Alan's HOT!

Happy Half Birthday Lula!

Oh how time flies...my baby is 6 months old. I'm having the hardest time letting this one grow up. She's my last one and I just don't want to believe that I won't get to do this again. Is it wrong to wish I could be a Grandma soon? I'm not kidding, I find myself counting the years until I can be a Grandma and hold a precious baby that I love like it's my own. Maybe I'll just have to become an annoying Aunt and obsess over my nieces and nephews as they come into this world. First I have to convince my littlest sister to have a baby and then to move back to Washington so I can take it away from her. Next I have to convince my other sister who's actually pregnant to not move away like she's planning and...well...give me her baby! I'm sure they'll go for it, right?
Seriously, I don't want this to be the last time I get to nurse, rock my baby to sleep, fit them in my arms, carry them on my hip, squeeze fluffy baby fat, hear my baby giggle for the first time. I would keep going but I'm sure you'd stop reading so I'll stop. I just really love the 1st year and that goes by in a blink. We're already half way there for crying out loud. Tallula still thinks I walk on water, give her a few more months and she'll be done with me. They all do it to me! They love me until they figure out Daddy is way cooler than I am. This happens about the time I stop nursing at one year old. I guess I'll just have to nurse her forever! Just kidding, I promise I won't be one of those moms nursing their kid before they head off to Kindergarten. I will promise to cherish every moment I have left of being her everything! Soon she'll be bad mouthing me just like the rest of the lot!

Halloween Fun!

My friend Natalie has an annual Halloween party. We've never been able to go due to the fact that we lived 3,000 miles away and I don't know, maybe we just weren't cool enough. This year, we got to be part of the popular crowd and we were totally "in". Thanks Natalie, you throws a mean party! I think I mentioned in my 4th of July post that this girl can cook! We had home made chili, soup, rolls, cupcakes, cookies, caramel apples, yum, yum, yum. Where there is food, I am happy! Another bonus about Natalie's house is my children can run amuck on her two acres for hours and I don't have to think about them, love that! So here's to Natalie and being a part of the "in crowd"!

Kitchen Remodel...Part 2

Ok, here it is. We still have to do counters and a backsplash but you get the idea!

Kitchen Remodel...Part 1

Due to a LONG series of unfortunate events we are currently renting a tiny and old rental house. We still own our home in Georgia even though we moved back 2 years ago. The massive amount of money that we have dumped into that house to keep from foreclosing has made it so we can't afford to buy a home here in Washington. Not to mention the fact that homes out here are outrageously priced. So our dear friends Darek and Jaque offered to let us rent their rental home when the current renters gave notice at the first of the year. While it was way to tiny for our family, we were grateful to have an affordable option since at the time we were still paying the mortgage on our Georgia home. We have since leased our home in Georgia out so the mortgage is finally being covered but the amount of debt that we incurred because of that stupid house has left us strapped. So we decided instead of renting something bigger we would stay in this house a little longer. Since Darek and Jaque rent it to us for such a good deal and because we love them we decided to do a bit of remodeling while we're here. Anyone who knows us knows that we can't keep our hands off our houses, we have an insane need to improve. We did some improvements to the main bathroom when we first moved in and painted most of the walls a nice neutral tan. Now months later we are tackling the biggest job of them all...the kitchen. We have been putting it off because it is such a HUGE job. Alan took some vacation this week and we're getting it done. Here are the before pictures for you. The rundown so far of what we have done is this: scrub clean, remove doors and hinges, sand, add trim (this took 2 straight days), prime, 1st coat of paint, put doors and drawers back in. So a lot has been done, today I am doing the final coat of paint and then the big finish...antique glaze! Everyone say oooh, ahhh! Oh yes, it's gonna look amazing. We did a buttery creamy color as the base and we are adding a dark antique glaze over the top. We are also installing Venetian bronze knobs and pulls. Next month my father in law is going to help Alan install new counters. So stay tuned for the after pictures coming in a day or two, we'll see how soon I get it done!

Pumpkin Patch 2008

It is yearly tradition for us to go to a pumkin patch. All I ask is that I get a picture of all my kids while there. I can never seem to get a good shot of all my kids at the same time. One of these days I'm gonna nail it and man that shot will have to be enlarged and hung as a trophy!

This is my all time favorite pumpkin patch picture! Maybe I should just call it good and frame this one.

I decided today was going to be pumkin patch day because it was so beautiful out. Out here in the Northwest you have to take advantage of any bit of sun you get. Tate had a soccer game this afternoon (I'll post that later) then we headed down to the Orting valley to Spooner farms for some pumpkin fun. Since Alan always works on Saturday I trecked down there by myself. It was an absolute madhouse. We got to play in the activity barn, see giant hay spiders, see a crazy pony chase a baby goat, eat roasted corn and caramel apples. When we were heading back the half mile to the car I muttered under my breath "why do I attempt these things?". Just then Taylor yells from behind me; "thanks for taking us there mom, it was sooo fun!" then the boys chimed in with a thank you. I guess that's why I attempt these things!

TAGGED...TWICE!!!

Well I was tagged a few days ago by my friend Laura out in Georgia and have been putting off fulfilling my duty. Then today I was tagged by Natalie. So I guess this means I can no longer avoid what must be done! I'm not following the rules though (picture me sticking out my tongue and sticking my nose in the air) I won't tag anyone else and inflict them with the guilt if they don't do it.



1. I was severely accident prone when I was a child. I have a huge X-Ray file buried somewhere at the Virgina Mason Clinic in Federal Way, WA. I was probably there once a month growing up.

2. The last one made me remember this one. 10 years ago Alan rear ended someone while we were on vacation in Salt Lake City. My foot was on the dash board and the airbag deployed on it. It snapped my ankle and shattered it into multiple pieces. I had to have it surgically wired back together then pinned back into my foot. Aside from an ugly scar there's been no lasting affects. Moral of the story...don't put your foot on the dash board people.

3. I didn't wear makeup or high heels until I was 25.

4. It's next to impossible for me to resist a Cinnabon.

5. I CANNOT stand it when Alan touches me with his feet while laying in bed (shiver). He tries to poke me with a toe now and then but I nearly come unglued. It's gives me the same sensation as nails on a chalkboard...I have no idea why!

6. I can almost always be found in a hoodie, jacket or cardigan. I am the queen of the hoodie! It helps hide my rollie pollie little middle. This presents a problem in the summer, so I bought a bunch of short sleeve ones this year. Ah, I love me some hoodie!

7. I was a serious tomboy as a kid. We're talken snake catchen, worm diggen, fort builden, runnen barefoot in the woods, riden 4 wheelers, shooten bb guns, tadpole catchen, skinned knee, dirty nails kinda tomboy. It was a good life, it's so hard to be a girl these days.

Creme Brulee Sale

So I've been a bit out of it for a few weeks. Hopefully I can find my mind again because I'm pretty sure I've lost it. The Creme Brulee Kids sale is officially over and I'm so glad. I'm insanely tired. If you don't know about the sale than follow the link I have on the side and read all about it. I don't have time to explain. Anyway I spent countless hours tagging clothes to sell there. I also did a boutique table at the sale all day Friday and Saturday. The owner of the sale Jaque Martinsons is a good friend of mine and she wrangled me into doing vinyl signs with her to sell there. She has the machine to cut the vinyl and I have all the woodworking tools so there you go, match made in heaven. We made up a bunch of sample signs and frames (see pictures below) which took hours of work. Ok so on top of that, 3 days before the sale Jaque told me it would be ok to set up a photography table to advertise my business. So this sent me into hyper drive or hyper active hyper drive as Woody says in Toy Story. I spent day and night, wee wee hours of the night getting ready to set up two boutique tables and consign massive amounts of clothing. I can't even explain to you the amount of work that went into pulling this all off. I'm just so, so tired. Which I'm sure you can tell because I'm rambling. There's a million stories I could tell but I don't have the energy. I had a great time even though I had to hold Lu on my hip for two straight days and now it feels as though my hip had come loose from my body. I met some really great ladies who were also selling their insanely adorable boutique items. More on these girls later. Now I must go to sleep.
This is our vinyl display


This is part of my photography display