A little fall cleaning...

Been doing a little cleaning and sorting....oh the DI is going to LOVE me!

He's back.....

He's back....two years later, and Matt returned from Chile. He was much more grown up, and we had aged, some of us more gracefully than others...

The gang at the airport.

Fresh off the airplane, well as fresh as you can be after about 14 hours of flying.

A hug for mom.

A hug for Courtney

The parents, happy he returned.

Now the question is, do I really have to send Mark off in 12 1/2 years????

It might just kill me....

Cookie Tower of Terror.

Ok, this is mouldy old, but better late than never. In August when I made Shelby's birthday cake, I had a bunch of left over frosting. I had chocolate frosting left over from the center cake filling, and I had colored vanilla frosting left over from decorating. And I had the additional dilemma of needed a treat for a picnic the next day. What to do...what to do....

Very simple answer, homemade Oreo cookies. Delicious, fast and easy!

You take one cake mix, or in my case I used two, since I had two different kinds of frosting. You add two eggs, and 1/3 cup vegetable oil.. Mix the three ingredients together until it forms into dough. Roll into balls and bake at 350 degrees for 9 minutes. After the cookies have cooled, frost one side of the cookie and attach it to another cookie, viola you have homemade Oreo cookies. (Actually they are like Oreo Cakesters, which I like better than a plain Oreo)

This is a yellow cake mix with chocolate frosting.

This is a chocolate cake mix, with colored vanilla frosting.
Yummy!

Bowling

Fall break was last week, and our original plan was to go up to Idaho and spend some time with the Tanners. But since I had spent the first two weekends in October in Idaho, I decided that loading the kids up in the car and returning for a third weekend my cause a break in my sanity.

So I opted to take the kids bowling. Now I thought this would be a "cheap" activity, but for one game each, plus shoe rental $18. Apparently I have not been bowling lately.

Our fancy foot wear.

Katie did not get the opportunity to wear such fine foot atire, oddly she did not seem to mind.

Lauren, very excited to bowl.

Katie, getting ready to push her ball down the ramp that is designed for kids bowling. Note the nice self tatoo. She got her hands on a dry erase marker earlier in the day. Trying to decided if I perfer my dry erase marker on her or the wall....?

They were all very facisnated by the ball return.

Here is a better picture of the ramp.

Yep we pretty much violated every rule, and scored incredibly low. So to celebrate our "victory" which is my mind is a victory becasue we did not get kickout for our conduct, (think Katie, climbing up on the ball return...) we headed off to the BYU creamery for a treat.

Fall Pictures

Yes, it is that time of the year, fall pictures. Its an annual tradition that I dress my children up, drive them to to Hobble Creek Canyon and make them pose for pictures. (Just think of all the psychological damage I am doing.... years of therapy I tell you...)

Now for your viewing pleasure....

If you want to see much larger versions of these pictures, drop on by, sit a spell, I have an ENTIRE wall in my house devoted to these pictures.......did in mention therapy?

If these walls could talk...

Many of my childhood memories relate to a cabin my grandparents owned. They built the cabin when I was about two years old, and I spent endless amounts of time there as a child.

One my favorite stories my grandmother would tell me was about a weekend that my parents and my grandparents were at the cabin. I was about three at the time. We had taken the motorbikes out for the day, and one of the bikes had broken down. My grandfather and my dad took the other motorbike and left to obtain the tools necessary to fix the bike. My grandmother, my mother, and I began walking back toward the cabin. Well after a short period of time I decided I was done walking and sat down, refusing to move. My grandmother and mother threatened to leave me and walked away, but to no avail. I. would. not. budge. They ended up having to carry me back to the cabin, which was about a mile away. Neither of them were too pleased with my stubborn behavior, and my grandmother reminded me often.

When I was older my grandparents would take me and my cousins up for weekends in the summer time. We spent HOURS playing out doors. We had names for the rocks and trees, and all sorts of imaginary games.

In the winter time we would walk on the frozen lake and play duck, duck goose. The best part was sledding down the hill on toboggans.

After my dad got his pilot's license we would fly up. There was a landing strip about 1/3 of a mile from the cabin, and we would fly up, lug all our stuff up the hill, and enjoy a day or two away from civilization. (There was no TV, so in my opinion that really was away from civilization.) I loved flying up in the airplane because it only took 30 minutes. By car it was about two hours, which as a child seemed like an endless amount of time.

My last trip up to the cabin was about 6 months before my mom died. She was sick and the doctors were struggling with trying to diagnose her condition. While at the cabin she was reading a magazine about some of the best cancer doctors in America. One was located at UCLA. She took that information and about a month later she was in LA discovering that her cancer had spread.

The summer after my mom died, my grandma decided it was time to sell the cabin. It has been 2 1/2 years since my grandfather passed away, and she did not have the passion for the cabin once he was gone. Most of the enjoyment she had associated with the cabin was the time she spent with my grandfather, and with him gone the enjoyment was gone as well.

She sold the cabin to Doug and Marylee Hale. So the cabin when from being owned by the Hales' to being owned by the Hale's.

I decided when I went up to Idaho conference weekend, that a visit to the cabin was in order. I told Darrin that I wanted to listen to conference while we drove up to Cascade to see the cabin. I decided in advance that if there seemed to be anyone there that I would stop and introduce myself. You know being the shy individual that I am.....

Here is what I drove up to find. We parked the car, and I saw two men washing down the driveway,(a new addition) I got out and asked the man closest to me if he owned the cabin. With some hesitation in his voice he said "yes." I introduced myself and told him that my grandparents built the cabin and as a child I spent a significant amount of time at the cabin and have very fond memories of this location. A warm smile washed across his face, and he told me his name was Doug Hale and he bought the cabin from by grandmother. By then he was very excited to see me. We visited for a few minutes and he said, "let me get my wife." Out came Marylee, who was just as warm and inviting as her husband. We talked about all the outside visible changes, namely the garage, roof, and deck extension.

I love the intertwine of the logs

Here is the deck extension. Plus you can see the new dormer on the side of the house. The upstairs bathroom was a very dark and cramped space. With the addition of the dormer, I swear it doubled the size of the bathroom, and there is LIGHT!

This is the fireplace, in pretty much the same condition.

Marylee invited me inside. I felt bad because we had just dropped by, but she assured me it was ok, just as long as I didn't mind the mess. They were so excited to show me the changes they have made to the cabin and the things that have remained the same.

This chair came with the cabin in a set of two. Although the last time I saw the chair the upholstery was orange.

The kitchen only has minor changes, new tile, and back splash. I love that the cupboards are the same. I showed Marylee which cabinet was the treat cabinet, and she assured me it was still the treat cabinet.

This is the funky heater in the bathroom! I loved playing with these heaters as a child. You flip the switch at the bottom and the coils inside heat up to a vibrant orange!

The snowshoes and match box remain untouched.

Along with the log holder.

I LOVE this carpet! The carpet upstairs has remained untouched. It soooo screams 1960's.

My grandmother had two sets of dishes at the cabin, formal dishes and everyday dishes. When she sold the cabin she took the everyday dishes but left the formal dishes. Marylee assured me they use the formal dishes for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

They changed the roof line, propping it up on the side and they added the garage with a walkway. The garage is a great addition. They have all their "toys" stored in there and up above the garage is an bonus room that is a "man cave." Its great!

Check out all that storage!

I had a wonderful visit. Doug and Marylee told me that when the came to look at the cabin before they purchased it, my grandmother was there waiting for them and had just baked cookies. It was then they knew that this cabin had to be theirs. I laughed, my grandmother was the perfect host, even in selling the cabin.

Their kids were young when the purchased the cabin and over the years the cabin has been a place where they have created many family memories, both with their immediate family and extended family. I thanked them profusely for letting me intrude on their Saturday without warning, and told them I was so happy that they were using the cabin as my grandparents had intended for it to be used. They were pleased I stopped by because they always wanted someone from the Hales family to see how much they love the cabin, and the memories it now hold for them.

Before I left Doug told me that every once in a while, when he is tinkering around on the cabin, he can tell that my grandfather is hanging out with him, watching, smiling, and and enjoying a place he loved, that is still continues to be loved. I did not for a second doubt the truth of what Doug told me.

So this is what it is like.....

I went up to Idaho on conference weekend to spend some time with Darrin, only to get a taste of what being a parent to teenagers is like...

It was homecoming, and of course Scott, Darrin's son, was taking his super cute girlfriend. (I do have to say I think getting a boy ready for homecoming seems to be a bit easier than a girl...) First big decision black shirt or white shirt. While I generally prefer the white shirt, I was afraid it would look a little too much like he was going to church so I recommended to Scott he choose the black shirt.

After the big clothing decision and time spent making sure the hair was looking good, he was ready to go. First stop, pictures at the Boise Depot.

Look how cute they look!

Here is part of his group.

Here is the rest of his group. After pictures the parents left, and the kids headed to dinner and the dance. Darrin and I then got to go enjoy our own dinner, with text updates from Scott. And finally hormone patrol...in other words we had to stay up until 12:15 a.m. to make sure Scott made it home on time, and get the full report on the activities. Verdict: Everyone had a good time.

Prior to the dance Darrin and I drove up to Cascade. He stopped along the river and made me walk accross the rickety bridge...

I made it!

Christmas in October

Christmas came a bit early at our house....well at least the giving part of Christmas. Our Relief Society did a service project where we took Christmas stockings and filled them with items for our troops over seas.

My kids were in Primary when the heard the sister telling the teachers in Primary about the project and the first thing my kids wanted to know was if we were going to do a Christmas stocking for the soldiers.

Good thing I had my "mom" hat on and when I heard the announcement I thought it would be a good activity to do with the kids, and had already committed.

Here is the fun stuff we selected.

Here is our stocking stuffed!

Update.

Loretta came through her surgery with flying colors. The doctor believes the cancer was all localized and that with the removal of the breasts she is now cancer free. Although we have to wait for the pathology report to come back for a final confirmation, but the doctor said based upon his years of experience, (he did have grey hair...) he did not believe it had spread.

I was amazed at how Loretta bounced back. Two hours after coming out of surgery she was sitting up, alert, just like she had been reading a book on the beach all day. The next day she was released from the hospital, and once at home she was up and moving around. Although Steve and I both made sure she did not do too much, and that she rested comfortably in her comfy leather lazy boy recliner. In front of the large screen TV of course, with Gretchen (her dog) right at her side.

It was really nice to spend the time in Idaho with her, although I didn't feel like I did that much because she was doing so well. I am very appreciative of my family in Utah who stepped up to help out with the kids while I was gone so I could go help someone who means a lot to me.

Today.

I am in Idaho. Loretta, my step mother, is having a double mastectomy today. During a recent routine mammogram it was discovered she had breast cancer. She didn't have any lumps, it was cancer cells all throughout one breast and pre-cancer cells in the other breast. They think its contained, but will not really know until the surgery. I wanted to be here with her. Its the least I can do, and I wish I could do more.

The one thing I can do is get my own mammogram. Given my family history with breast cancer I started getting mammograms in my late 30's. After Loretta's diagnosis I realized that it has been two years since my last mammogram. So yesterday before I left to come to Idaho I had a mammogram.

October is breast cancer awareness month. So when you see the splash of pink everywhere think about your own breast health and have you had a mammogram lately?

The mother load from the mother ship.

Yes, I went to Mood, yes I went to Dylan's Candy Bar, yes I walked 5th Ave, yes I cruised Central Park, but the real reason I went to NYC was to visit the mother ship...Macy's.

Honestly there really is nothing like Macy's at Herald Square in NYC. Its a city unto it's self. Eight floors of shopping, including an ENTIRE floor just of shoes. Restaurants, the best selection of just about everything, including the HOTTEST new trends, and just about every celebrity who launches some type of clothing line, has their launch party at the Herald Square Macy's.

It has the super cool, way old, wooden escalators.

Lauren and Chloe were a little nervous riding them at first.

I, of course had to head to the shoe department. While I was trying on shoes Lauren and Chloe though they would do the same with the display shoes....

After they both were adorned in the display shoes, they then proceeded to walk around the shoe department like they were models on a cat walk. Verdict: Customers loved it and were laughing their head off, Macy's staff, well not so much....

This lovely lady was found in the jewelry section. Here skirt is all shopping bags. Who thinks of this stuff? (Note: I saw a much smaller version of her last weekend in the Boise Towne Square Macy'.)

Alright here is my mother load from the mother ship.

Only one pair of shoes, I showed great restraint.

Here is Lauren's mother load from the mother ship.

This is what I picked out for the kids for fall pictures!

This is what happened to Chloe and Lauren after a day at the mother ship.

The mother ship called, I answered.