This is Halloween!

Delicious chili made - check. (Sean has a very tasty chili recipe that he actually won a ward chili cook-off for last year)

Pumpkins carved - check. (Sean did a "barfing" pumpkin and the "dog" from Ghostbusters, and I did a silhouette of a witch in front of her cauldron)




School Halloween parties - check. (3 parties to stop at this year)


Everyone in costume for a church party - check. (Even Sean and I dressed up this year: the Grim Reaper and Cinderella...quite the couple...HE HE HE)




Trunk-or-Treating and fun carnival games at the Ward Halloween Party - check.


Lots of candy being scarfed down - check.

THIS IS HALLOWEEN!

Our first "Company"

Last week we were so lucky to have Aunt Lindsay come to stay with us for a few days. She drove up with Great Grandma Dick (Sean's Grandma) who stayed at Tom and Carolyn's house. We loved having her here and also enjoyed our visits with Grandma as well. One of the days they were here we took a fun field trip to the Albuquerque Bio Park. We went to the aquarium and then walked around the Botanic Gardens. Nathan LOVED all the sea life. He kept saying "feesh, mo feesh" (translation: "fish, more fish"). There was a big puffer fish in the big tank that just hung out right by the glass. It looked like it was a friendly thing, just happy for all the attention.


There was a fun Children's Fantasy garden with a huge castle and dragon and a maze and huge insect statues. The kids LOVED it. They were getting it ready to light up for the holidays. We'll definitely have go back to see it then. We walked around for a good couple of hours and there were still lots of gardens that we didn't even see. There was a special insect display where Megan held a giant cockroach right in her hand (like it was any other kind of "pet" - YIKES).

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

We moved right as the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta was going on. It is the world's premier hot air balloon event. We got up ridiculously early on Saturday, Oct 9th and headed to Balloon Fiesta park. There was definitely traffic, but we figured that we planned it just about perfect (not too early, so we didn't have to stand around in the frigid air for too long, but just in time to get a little snack and find a place to stand to watch the balloons take off). It was pretty awesome! You stand right there on the field with all of the balloons that are taking off all around you. We saw fun-shaped balloons (Darth Vader, SpongeBob, a GIANT cow, the Wells Fargo Wagon and lots more). There were about 500 balloons that took off that morning. Well worth the wee early hours.

We are now New Mexicans

I guess I am past due for an update. We made the big move. We sent our moving truck away on Wednesday, September 29 and then we left Visalia on Thursday. We drove most of the way, and then finished up the trip on Friday. We stopped in Albuquerque to run a couple of errands and get the keys to our house, and they we headed up to Edgewood. We finally got to walk through the inside of our house (we signed the contract without ever actually going inside - (we saw LOTS of pictures))...and we like it more and more everyday. We were hoping the moving truck would make it on Friday (if they didn't we knew we would have to wait through the entire weekend). It didn't. It didn't get here until Tuesday, which means that we slept on floors for 6 nights (2 in Visalia and 4 here in Edgewood). It wasn't too bad, but we were sure happy to get cozy in our own beds when they arrived. We spent several hours that first weekend at our new church building watching General Conference. We have really loved it here so far: super welcoming neighbors (we are the only house on the street with kids...and yet all the neighbors have made comments about how they like to hear those voices), a great ward with lots and lots of families, good school and teachers, a fun little preschool program that we miraculously got Megan into (which is amazingly CHEAP too), beautiful weather, etc. Every time I look out our windows I feel like I am in a cabin in the woods - I don't think that will ever get old. It's also fun to be so close to Sean's aunt and uncle (Tom and Carolyn and little Rachel). We have gotten together with them a couple of times, which has been nice.

At one point I walked outside and could hear the kids talking, but I couldn't see them anywhere. Then I noticed that the voices were coming from inside the truck. They had climbed way up to the top back and were reading books on the LoveSac.

Nathan is TWO!

Yesterday was Nathy's birthday. He turned 2 years old. Unfortunately he got a pretty good owie on his toe (pulled away some skin), which made him an unusually sad boy for a good half of the day. He finally came around to almost his normal self by the afternoon. We decided that we were going to celebrate today (yesterday was a pretty busy day, and we didn't think he would mind). The kids couldn't wait to give him their presents, though, so we let him do that last night. Because we are getting ready to move this week I already packed my stash of gift bags and paper. I didn't remember that until last night, so we wrapped up the presents in the kids' blankets. He was very excited about all of his presents (especially the little snake Caelan got him - yep, he liked the $.99 gift the best). We continued the birthday celebration today with cake and ice cream. He has really started expanding his vocabulary, and he constantly is telling me EVERY time he sees a truck or bus or car. So, we made his a dump truck cake - he was pretty pleased about that.


Some fun things about Nathan right now:
*He is still a very big boy (weighs around 33 pounds).
*He loves to run around, especially in circles around our kitchen
*He is a climber (at least once every day he climbs up onto the counter in the bathroom and puts his feet in the sink and turns on the water, often getting his pants and clothes wet in the process). That is one of the many places he frequently climbs.
*He is exploding is his speech. It took him a long time to start saying many words, but in the last month it seems like he is saying new words every day (and copying us a lot).
*He loves cheese, watermelon, cucumbers, macaroni and cheese, peaches and anything sweet.
*He is not a big dinner eater. Most of the time he just picks at his plate (even when it's something he likes).
*He LOVES to ride around on Megan's little trike or Ben's big wheel. He often gets on it when we are getting ready to leave for school, and starts bookin' it down the sidewalk.
*He has discovered the word, "No"...and he really likes to use it.
*He can tell me where most of his major body parts are.
*He is finally coming around to liking our dog, Bruno. Even though Bruno has been a part of the family since Nathan was born, Nathan has not been very fond of him. He is finally at a point where he doesn't cry hysterically anytime Bruno is near by.
*He loves to say animal sounds and point out any animal he sees on a walk or in a book or while we are driving. This is especially comical when he sees something in a book in the middle of church and bursts out, "Moo" loud enough for everyone to hear.
*Even though he sleeps really well at nap time and bedtime, he has ALWAYS let us know that he doesn't like the fact that we are putting him to bed (he cries every time we put him down in his bed - just for about 15 seconds until we are out of the room - I guess it's his routine and he wants to stick to it).
*He has the most jolly laugh, and his whole face smiles.
*He is very curious and loves to get into all sorts of things.
*He absolutely LOVES bath time. He would be happy if he could take a bath three times a day.
*He is a fun and happy little boy, and we all love him to pieces.

Reincarnation?

All the kids had a little bowl of ice cream for dessert last night. After Nathan finished his he managed to coax a bite from Sean. Megan also wanted a bite, but Sean told her "no" and that Nathan had had less than anyone else. This was Megan's response, "When I die and then become a baby, then Daddy will give me a bite too." HE HE HE - That one gave me a good chuckle.

It's the Little Things... (and the BIG things too)

Recently I have felt very aware of all of my blessings (the BIG ones as well as all of the little things too). It's interesting to me that these feelings come a little stronger during trying times. When we face pain or trials or change or even when the routine responsibilities of life heap up, it's like the Lord is helping us to see the things that really matter.
* About a month ago, the bishop of our ward was shot and killed in our church building shortly after our Sunday block. To say it was a "shock" really doesn't even begin to say what we all felt. It was a senseless act done by a man who wasn't well, and many people initially asked the question, "why?" And yet, as more experiences from that day have come out, it has become very apparent that the Lord has a plan and that for some reason this was part of it. Amidst the tragedy there has been so much LOVE - a literal outpouring of love for his family, for our ward, for each other. There has been more unity, there has been a very real presence of the Spirit to comfort and testify of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and it's very real power, there has been a new dedication to the things that are important, there has been increased faith. It has been humbling to watch and listen to the testimony of Julie, his wife. She is being comforted and lifted in ways none of us can see (despite the pain she must feel), and her faith is literally strengthening our ward and this community. The Lord is here. His spirit is with us to comfort and guide and direct us...and our Father's Plan is perfect. Sometimes we can't see it and sometimes we don't understand it, and yet I have had enough experiences to know that His perspective is clear and our becomes clearer as we trust and rely on Him.
*A few months ago we found out that we were expecting baby #5. Last week, I was 11 weeks along when I started to experience something that has never happened during any of my pregnancies. It continued for a day, and then I went in to see my doctor. My feelings were confirmed that I had had a miscarriage. Luckily my body was pretty much doing everything naturally (not a fun process at all, especially since you go through it all for a result that you don't want). The feelings I have felt have been much different that I would have thought. There has been some sadness, and yet at the same time I have had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude: gratitude for 4 healthy pregnancies and children, gratitude that I am able to conceive quite easily, gratitude once again for the knowledge of the Lords plan. I know that we experience things in this life to help us grow (grow in our testimonies, grow in our relationship with God, grow in our relationships with each other and also be able to help others somewhere down the road). For whatever reason it was the Lord's will that this turned out like it did this time, and I have faith in Him. And, so we'll just try again.
*The last thing, which probably shouldn't even be considered big news for our family anymore...HE HE HE...is that we are moving...AGAIN. We found out over the summer than the plant here in Visalia was going to be closed down (the economy in this area just doesn't let the financials pencil out). Thankfully, the company doesn't want to lose Sean, so he is being transferred to Albuquerque, NM. I'll admit, I wasn't super excited (or even happy) when we found out about another move (at that point we didn't even know where we would be going). It didn't take long for me to put those feelings aside and recognize the blessings. We are so thankful that Sean has a good job and that his company values him. We are thankful that our kids are such good friends with each other and that they easily adapt to new situations and don't mind moving (we even seriously asked them about how they felt this time around. Caelan said, "I like moving because then I get to be in a new house and make new friends." I guess we haven't scarred them yet...). We are thankful to be able to be all together (no matter where that is). And after Sean and my trip to Albuquerque I'm excited to go and experience a new place - I really liked it there. Our move date is in less than two weeks. Let the packing begin....
So, that's the news with us, the BIG news, I guess. Isn't this life great? All the turns and loops and up and downs. And I've even learned to be thankful for the tough things - they sure make the great things even that much better.