Life Lately

Life has slipped away from me again. Here is what we have been up to:

Grandma Grimmett and GG Grandma (Shaun's Gma) came to visit:

 The two Grandmas came to visit, and unfortunately, we were all sick. Maisey had gotten it a few days before the rest of us, so she was feeling a little better by the time they came and was able to go and do everything. But the rest of us mostly hung at home.

 Shaun's family's old neighbor, Bill, just moved to a retirement center about an hour away. So Grandma and Maisey went to visit him.

 They also got to go to a wedding reception at some friends' house in Portland.

And both Grandmas got to spend a lot of time with Miley.

 

 Grandma Grimmett even got up with her at night!

Our 5 year plan:

 We have some big plans for our family in the next five years. After having to deal with the whole public school thing this year, we considered making our five year plan a two or three year plan. In order to do that we had to come up with an accelerated plan to build our savings. So I decided to apply for a part-time, seasonal, overnight job at Wal-Mart. We considered lots of other options, but it came down to the fact that I didn't want to miss out on time with my family, so an overnight job was the solution and the only local place that could offer that was Wal-Mart. It was very humbling to have to fill out an application for Wal-Mart. Anyway, after two nights of orientation and one night of training we decided that it wasn't going to work out. Even though I would be "present" with the kids during the day I wouldn't actually "be there" and ultimately that is the most important thing. So alas, our five year plan is still a five year plan. 

Disney Store:

There is a brand new Disney Store that just opened at our outlet mall. One of our friends in our ward got a job there and invited us to a private friends and family event a few days before the store opened. My kids were in HEAVEN!!!!! They had worked very hard for a few days before to earn money to buy something there. Maisey bought a Little Mermaid castle with Ariel and Prince Eric and Gage bought some Cars character monster trucks. It was so fun to be some of the first people in there. I went back again on Saturday to get some things for my sister's family and I had to wait in line just to get into the store. It was crazy!

 This is our friend Kathryn doing a drawing demonstration for the kids in the store. They drew Nemo then got to put them in Disney frames.

Shaun's Days Off:

Shaun had a few extra days that he had to take off so he took last Friday and next Friday off. It was so fun having him home and not having anything specific going on. He got to come with me to pick both kids up from school. The kids thought that was pretty special!!! We also went to Costco and got some Christmas shopping done. I really enjoyed my time with him. Next Friday Maisey doesn't have school so he's going to take her on a special date. It's been a while since they have had a chance to do that and I know they are both really looking forward to it. 

Christmas:

Speaking of Christmas, did you know there are only 79 days until Christmas? And, I only have a few things left on my list to get. But I'm stumped on what to get for Miley?!? She doesn't need clothes, she only plays with a few toys. She's going to be my tricky one this year!

Halloween:

And while we are on the subject of holidays, let's talk Halloween. We finally put up a few decorations today. The kids have been really hyper and running around with their trick-or-treat buckets.

Here is a little sneak peak of our skeleton bunch this year! 

Miley will be in on the action as well, so stay tuned!

Apple Picking:

Our apple picking this year didn't go as well as last year. The kids were crazy hyper and not minding. Our goal this year was to pick our apples and get out of there! We picked 10 buckets, which is about 200 lbs! Last year we picked 100 lbs and it only made 12 quarts of applesauce plus some left over to eat. So we picked twice as much this year! 

This is my favorite picture series:

Miley was so good and slept in the stroller most of the time!

(You can barely see, but I had to buy some yellowish gold jeans for my Halloween costume, and I fell in love with them. Perfect for fall!)

Conference:

Can I just say I love President Monson. I love his facial expressions, I love his eye movements, I love his widow stories, actually I love all his stories, I love his convictions and testimony, and I love his quotes! My fave - "The Lord is in the details of our lives."

 I tried a new cinnamon roll recipe this weekend and it was heavenly. I would say my family agreed because they gobbled down two dozen of them in two days!

This is how Gage spent conference weekend - Playing the IPad. 

During both Saturday and Sunday morning sessions, our satellite cut out. Why you ask? Due to interference from the sun!?! We've never had this problem before, but probably because it is never this sunny in October!

Weather:

So, we are having crazy weather here for this time of year. We have only had one day of measurable rain fall in the past three months, which is record breaking of course! And the weather man on the news the other day said he doesn't see any rain for the next 17 days! It's nice to still be able to send my kids out back to play when they are driving me crazy inside, or to go on bike rides to the park when we are all sick of the indoors. We've also been spending a lot of time out front with the neighbor kids. Maisey is the popular kid in the cul-de-sac and kids are knocking on our door all afternoon asking if she can come out and play. They always play on our front porch or on our driveway. I was kind of content when the kids didn't interact much. Because everyone gathers at our house, I have to be very aware about what is going on. But I guess it's nice that Maisey feels comfortable and still wants to hang out at our house. 

Gage spends most of his afternoons riding his bike or digging in the rocks!

This is what the mom of the popular girl gets to deal with - dog pooped smeared on the front porch by a neighbor kid. YUCK!

Classic Movies:

The kids are really into watching movies that Shaun and I watched growing up. The favorites - Little Rascals and Dennis the Menace. They go around quoting them all day. 

This is what I hear: 

- I've got a pickle, I've got a pickle, I've got a pickle, hey hey hey hey!

- You're fire's getting puny

- You are so beautiful to me, can't you see (sung in a very high pitch)

- Dear Darla, I hate your stinkin' guts!

- You're a she-man woman hater

-OOOOOO-Tay

- This is my buddy, this is my pal

Ok, I think that is it for now!