Time Out For Women

This year I had the opportunity to go to Time Out For Women in Kansas City. While I don't necessarily heart the music that is performed (it gets old after about the first song), I love to hear the speakers and be surrounded by so many amazing women. It was a very uplifting experience! (I should never, ever be allowed to hold the camera and take a picture of myself! It's positively awful!)

Nice Baggage! Never travel far from your trusty baggage cart, um... and your baggage.

To me, the best part of the whole thing was the drive to Kansas City. I loaded up with seven of my favorite friends and partied the whole way there! Oh how I love these back-seat gals! Jenny, Debbie and Terri. We had a wonderful time eating snacks and chatting about everything under the sun. I got a crook in my neck trying to turn and listen to all of their wacky and crazy stories!

I was truly lucky to sit in the middle with these two girls. I loved getting to know Jamie better and was so excited to talk with Tina. They are both so funny and kind!

Yah. Who's driving anyway? What can I say about the front-seaters? Life is never ever boring with these two women around! Heather and Kim navigated and led us around with finesse! Thank you Heather for driving and Kim for telling her where to go (even if you don't think a wart is a part of the body)!

My other favorite thing about this trip was a concert given by Jenny Oaks Baker. I had never heard her play before but left there wanting every single one of her cds. I was so happy that she was part of the musical presentation! All in all, it was a wonderful trip filled with bathtubs, pillows, Oprah and chatting. Thank you Honey for holding down the fort while I was gone and ladies for giving me a fun-filled break that was definitely needed!

(And we really did miss you LeAnn!)

For those of you who don't know my brother, Richard, you are definitely missing out. I thought this would be a good time to post this but if you haven't seen the movie White Christmas, it won't be quite as entertaining. Although, I think it's pretty darn awesome. Go Ricky T!

Fall Fun and Halloween

Can we say leaves? I think that the people who owned this house before us did not own a rake...or arms. I would say that we have at least five years of leaves stored up in our backyard and we had the brilliant idea of getting rid of them. Too bad we didn't think about having to pick them all up after we made our wonderful, giant pile. Heather, you want to teach that leaf burning class any time soon?

Anyway, the kids had a great time diving (and yes, I literally mean diving) into them. David had a great time chasing the kids with the leaf blower and I had a great time watching!

This was Jake's wonderful Halloween costume. After many attempts at getting him to try on different things, he went with the default, David's "tracterrr" hat. He refused to wear a costume but was thrilled to get candy in his bucket.

Caleb was a ninja and wore an authentic Japanese headband that David got in Japan when he was little. Sorry the picture is so little. I can't find my pictures of the trunk or treat from our church. When I find them, I'll post those.

Caleb wanted a mean pumpkin this year. We had a good time carving it and the neighbors loved it!

My Claim to Fame

In college I went on a trip to Europe with one of my professors. Basically it was a study abroad without the credit. We romped around Europe looking at art, shopping and culture. One of the other girls that came on the trip was from Utah ,named Ashleigh Ingersoll. She has since gotten married and is now known as Ashleigh DiLello and is a final 6 member with her husband on So You Think You Can Dance. I was so excited for her because she has overcome some amazing obstacles to get where she is today. Watch and vote for her!

Here we are eating "French" fries. Stunning, I know.

Kindegarten Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

I was one of the lucky moms who got to go on the fall field trip to Stuckmeyer's Farm. It was so great! Check out Caleb's face. He was a little excited to be there! I love being able to see Caleb interact with his classmates and teachers. I love being a part of this stage in his life.

Caleb and his "other friend Mason" on the tractor hayride.

I love, love, love Caleb's teacher. She has been so great with him and he loves going to school every day.

Two of my "groupies" were so tuckered out they fell asleep on the bus ride home. I thought it was so precious!

playing catch up

I haven't had time to post the rest of the things we did this summer and I need to get on with Halloween, thanksgiving, etc... so here is my version of a speedy summer blog. I just couldn't skip some of these good moments! Because I just loved their faces. This is a typical afternoon when David gets home from work. These two love and flock their daddy as soon as he walks in the door. I am so blessed to have David around!

We had a "Banan-o-rama" activity at our church where everybody wore yellow and we played a "bunch" of games with bananas. It was a riot I tell you! These two monkeys had a lot of fun.

Clayton City Art Festival. We went down one Saturday afternoon and saw some wacky and creative art (yes!!!!) I was totally in my element and it felt oh so right! We got to make hats and I made David wear mine just to be funny. He wasn't too excited about it when he started getting looks and smiles from everyone around us until Noodles and Co. decided to give him a free meal just for having the courage and the audacity to wear such an "awesome" hat! SWeet.

I decided to make a wreath out of dried lavender this year. I tried to grow my own but it all died with the torrential rains we had this summer. Luckily David was trimming back all of the bushes at the temple and let me have all of the Lavender. I dried it, then made the wreath. David sneezed for about a week, every time he came into the house until the scent mellowed out a bit.
Another project. I was trying to find a table to put on our patio that would be good for the kids to eat on and I found this one on craigslist. It needs a little tlc so David picked it up and I have been sanding it ever since. Parts of it are rotten and have to be replaced. I'm hoping to finish it by spring of next year......I'll post when I finish. Hopefully this will give me incentive to finish it.

Long Lost Labor Day

Due to a terrorist attack, I have been forced to post against my will. Normally I wouldn't give in to such a cowardly request, but I had these gems available to post, so here they are. This was our hike to the Shaw Nature Reserve on Labor Day. It was a gorgeous place and since David was not able to miss work, the kiddos and I went on a hike with some friends from the ward. I loved how the flowers were all taller than Caleb! He was awesome. I was kind of anxious about taking them by myself but they both did great. It was incredibly hot and humid but Caleb didn't complain once! He enjoyed finding where we were on the map and learning about all of the animals that we found. Jake switched off riding in the stroller we rented and running along behind the group, picking up rocks. It was a beautiful day and we had a blast. I want to take you here mom and dad.

The Book of Mormon and Joseph Smith

I loved this talk by Elder Holland. I wasn't too fond of the pictures and music that went with this particular clip, but it was the only one I could find. The words are true.

Meet the newest addition

This is O'Malley. We recently adopted him from the Open Door Sanctuary in House Springs, MO. He is a sweetheart. The boys just love him and I'm excited to have him around. David is still deciding but very supportive of me wanting a new kitty. Ü

Who's Two? Jacob, That's Who!

I know it's a month late, but things usually end up that way lately. Ü Jacob has turned 2 and he is completely obsessed with tractors. He had a tractor birthday cake and some tractor presents. He is so full of energy. Everyone comments on how quiet he is and how they never hear him talk. But we know him better than that. When Jacob feels comfortable, he is the nosiest and loudest kid I have ever seen. And he's got some pretty sweet dance moves! He is starting to talk a lot more and loves to do anything that Caleb is doing. I have really enjoyed these last few weeks of alone time with him. Thanks to the grandmas and grandpas for the awesome b-day packages.

Kindergarten

Caleb has grown up so fast this last month. He has impressed me so much with his bravery and willingness to try new things. He started kindergarten this year and is really doing well. He loves his teacher and is making friends in his class. His favorite thing is to ride the bus with Kyndal and Camryn, our next door neighbors.

How cute are they! They just squealed when the bus came around the corner on the first day. I wish I got it on video but I'm new at this first day of school thing and didn't have my video on. I felt pretty lost after he left for school and it was just Jacob and me at home. My wonderful friend, Debbie, came to my rescue and took me out to lunch to distract me. It has been a lot of fun having one-on-one time with Jake. It's taken some adjustments, but life is good and we are all happy.

Caleb also learned to tie his shoes this month! And on top of that, he started to shower instead of taking a bath. He even gets the water on his face and washes his own hair. We are so proud of you Caleb!

The Last Random Photos From Vacation

How did I get so lucky?! I am so blessed to have these two kids for my own.

Part 2 :The Anson Reunion

What can I say about the Anson reunion? We had an enormous amount of fun, food, getting each other wet and running around until we couldn't run anymore. ( The kids did most of the running.) We had so much fun being around cousins and grandparents that we missed so much!

We were able to get some family photos by the neatest barn. The kids had fun throwing rocks at the grasshoppers and just running around. I thought the photos turned out really well, and we were excited to get some good ones with the grandparents.

Near the end of our trip, I could tell Jake was getting a little more comfortable around Grandma and Grandpa. He let them play with him and even let Grandpa take him out back to watch the construction trucks. Way to go Grandpa!

You couldn't separate these two if you tried. They had so much fun playing boy stuff and being goofy together. They even had a baseball game; the Braves against the Cardinals.

Jake loves his Uncle Joe. Maybe it's because he can wrestle a bear with his "bare" hands!We were able to do so many fun things and can't wait to come and visit again. And as the Anson Family Wii Golf Champion, I now proclaim that I am still waiting for my trophy to come in the mail......Dad. Hope to see y'all soon!