Christmas Through Her Eyes ...

Halloween

We had a GREAT Halloween weekend this year. It all started with our ward Chili Dinner and Trunk or Treat on Friday. On Saturday, Eagle Mountain City sponsored a "Trick or Treat Village" at the park, so most of the kids stocked up on some candy there.

Sunday was a day of rest before the mad dash for candy on Monday.

Halloween was crazy! Mondays are "Early Out Day" which means the kids all get out of school about an hour earlier than normal. So, after all the school/class parties were over and L and J1 were home on the bus at 1:45, I picked up the rest of the kids and we headed to inContact for Trick or Treating at Don's office. From there, we headed down to Provo to Trick or Treat at Great Grandma's house ... and the kids went around her neighborhood a bit. Finally, we returned home in time to hand out the last of our candy to the kids in our neighborhood ... and the boys headed out trick or treating again in our neighborhood!!

This is how we all felt at the end of the evening ...

"Yummy-licious"

I love how Lil Miss doesn't just eat food, she experiences it!!

First Date Masquerade

L went on her first date to the Homecoming Masquerade Dance at Westlake High School on September 24.

We did a French twist and put curlers in her hair the night before to get her ready for the big dance.

Her hair turned out beautiful and she wore my dress from my senior prom.

I left to go to SLC for the General Relief Society Meeting while Don, J1 and the boys served dinner to L and her date and three other couples prior to being their chauffeur to the dance.

Where were you ...

I remember very clearly where I was the day terror shook the world. My good friend Catherine Giambattista had asked me to babysit her daughter while she went to the doctor. I had just turned on the TV to find something for the kids to watch and I was distracted by a news update about a plane that had crashed into one of the twin towers in NYC. As I watched the news update, all cameras glued to the burning building, I saw another plane enter the frame and crash into the other tower. Horrified, I ran to my computer and sent an IM to Don at work. "Two planes have crashed into the World Trade Center towers!!"

I couldn't believe what I had seen! It was incredible. But it didn't end there. Soon there were reports of other planes that had lost contact with control towers. Then a plane smashed into the Pentagon. And another into a field in Pennsylvania. My hands shook. My heart pounded. I hugged my children close, prayed and kept watching the news as the events of the day unfolded.

Don was a volunteer firefighter at the time. He volunteered with many others in his department to travel to NYC to help with the rescue/recovery efforts. I was scared to let him go, but proud of him for volunteering. None of the guys from his department ended up going.

It was strange to look up into the sky and NOT see any planes for several days after 9/11. The world seemed strangely quiet. The candles on front porches at night and the flags flying everywhere united friends and neighbors together.

Today, 10 years later, we sang "America The Beautiful" as our closing song in Sacrament Meeting. As we were singing, my eyes filled with tears just as they did on the Sunday following that fateful day when we stood in our sacrament meeting and sang the same song. I thought of those who lost their lives on 9/11 as well as the many soldiers who serve our country and those who have given their lives trying to restore some security to this crazy world. Saying "Thank You" doesn't seem to be enough, yet I lack to words to properly express my gratitude to those brave men and women who have done so much to protect my freedom. I will never forget.

The Power of Suggestion

While at the family reunion last month, Sandy told Tami about how her washing machine quit on her. After we got home from the reunion, Tami did a few loads of wash, and then our dryer suddenly quit on us. (See previous post). We spent $75 to get a replacement dryer, and it quit two days later! Another $100 later and we've got another second-hand dryer - I hope it stays working!

The back side of the dead dryer

Shortly after the reunion, Julie wrote in her blog about how her minivan broke down coming home from the reunion. (see this post). Well it wasn't long after that that a nice sized buck with a full rack did this to my car...

Click to enlarge so you can see the bits of deer hide stuck in the busted headlight and the blood splattered up the windshield... Yummy!

Yes, the insurance totalled it, so we've spent a thousand bucks and got an old beater Kia to replace it.

I know that these things often come in threes, so Maryle, if you've got anything to announce, DON'T TELL US ABOUT IT!

Montana Day Trips - Sherwood Family Reunion

While we were in Montana, we took a couple day trips.

We were so close to Yellowstone, we decided it was worth the drive to take the kids to see Old Faithful and the other sites. It had been 8 years since we had been there.

The thermal pools were beautiful.

The bubbling paint pots (or bubbling mud pots as I used to call them) made the little kids laugh.

The geysers were definitely everyone's favorite attraction.

Spasm Geyser

Fountain Geyser

Of course, Old Faithful is always a big hit.

The rest of our group walked the loop around Old Faithful to see the other geysers and thermal pools while Don and I waited in the shade with Baby M.

On the way out of the park, we stopped to see the lower falls on the Yellowstone River.

The next day, we headed into Bozeman to visit the Museum of the Rockies at MSU. There was a fantastic dinosaur display and we saw hundreds of frogs.

There was also a really cool room for the kids with interactive displays about Yellowstone and other activities.

We wrapped up the day at Hyalite Reservoir. Some of the group went hiking to see the falls.

Great company, fantastic activities, wonderful location! Thanks Sandy and Kurt for putting together a great reunion!

Brackett Creek Inn - Sherwood Family Reunion

This year's Paul and Susan Sherwood Family Reunion was held in Montana. Kurt and Sandy found this great place outside Bozeman.

It felt like a mountain hideaway with all the amenities of home - minus the distractions of technology.

There was a creek to play in ...

trees to climb and swing in ...

and plenty of space for all kinds of other activities, like "Cornhole".

The owners live on the property in an adjacent house with their horses. Annette is a wonderful hostess and even saddled up one of the horses for the kids to ride.