My Favorite Things--Happy Birthday To Me!

So I'm 31.

And My Favorite Things party was a blast, once again. I'm telling you, guys--you should all do one. There is just nothing better than getting together with a bunch of girls to celebrate your favorite things. I even got to dance again--in fact, we all danced. It was wonderful. SOOOOO....in no particular order--here are my 31 favorite things: this year's family room tree, christmas decorating, ornaments, oreos, my flat iron, Christmas ribbon from Costco, costco rolls, Costco (in general), sharpie markers, my black cabinet, decorative hooks, peppers, the Beat It remix that Tim put on Brian's Ipod, While You Were Sleeping, pictures, Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, Airwick Harvest Spice or Apple Cinnamon Medley plug-in oil warmers (once again), Downy Simple Pleasures fabric softener (once again), sweats, turtlenecks, topiaries, yogurt covered pretzels, wooden spoons, my ceiling medallions, tree light remotes, tree watering pipe things (I'm not sure what they're called), the yellow book, writing my Christmas letter, my drill, overstock.com, 2% milk, and (for my video) the YouTube Best Wedding Entrance Ever video. If Brian and I have one of those weird things where you renew your vows, we are definitely doing a dance entrance like that at the reception.

And here is Brian's contribution to the party. This was a surprise for me. Notice the time period clothing? So funny...

I'm sure you'll all agree that 99% of commercials are almost embarrassingly unrealistic. But have you ever seen that Hallmark commercial where the kids are up in the attic going through all the Christmas ornaments, reminiscing about past Christmases and the memories tied to each of the ornaments? Well, that commercial--at least for me--is totally realistic. In fact, this evening, my kids and I could have been that commercial--except that we don't have an attic. But we took down and looked through several boxes of Christmas stuff --just as kind of a Christmas preview--and we all loved it. We even plugged in a few strands of lights to see if they worked. Nope. And despite the fact that those boxes are now back up in my closet, come November 27th, they'll ALL be coming out for good! For me, the countdown to the day I put up all the Christmas stuff is more exciting than the countdown to Christmas Day. Oh, that reminds me! I thought of a great business idea! I was thinking about the fact that as people get older, it becomes increasingly more difficult to get out and put up a Christmas tree, etc--especially if they no longer have children at home to do the work. And here in Florence, that's pretty much everyone. So I was thinking how fun it would be to start a Christmas decorating service where I could be hired to go to someone's home and get out and put up all of their Christmas stuff! Wouldn't that be fabulous? I could even include a take-down service after the holiday. I'm serious. I really think I could pay for Christmas this way. Anyway...

Rain drops on roses

Forget whiskers on kittens and and all that other stuff. Do you want to know what my favorite things are? Well, by Friday, December 4th, I will have decided, because on that night, I am having my second Favorite Things party. And man, I can't wait. Hope you'll be there.

Happy Birthday

Saturday was Brian's 31st birthday and my little sister Audrey's...hmmm...how old are you, anyway, Audge? Anyway, Saturday was their birthday and today is Kat's. So here's a little birthday message for you all. I love all three of you.

Positive

Wish me luck. I'll need it.

Title Shmitle

As many of you know, Melissa's youngest brother, Robbie, passed away last week as a result of a long-boarding accident. I still can't believe she was in the same situation I was in eight years ago. It's horrible... But I remembered how wonderful, comforting and uplifting it was at the time of Scotty's death to see the stake center fill with people coming to honor him. I remember being so grateful for each one of them. Most of them knew and loved Scotty, but some of them were there because they knew and loved us--his family--and wanted to show support. I decided I wanted to be one of those for Melissa, mainly, but also for the rest of her family--many of whom I've known for some time. It's interesting, because despite the irony, the funerals I've attended have been some of the most uplifting, inspiring meetings I've ever been to. I've always left being filled with gratitude for the opportunity I have to love and be loved, strengthened in my testimony of the love of our Heavenly Father and the mercy manifested in the atonement and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ, and renewed in my resolve to be a better person. You know what I mean? Anyway...Robbie's funeral was no different. I feel so grateful to have been there. Melissa's always been a great friend to me, you know, so I want to do my best to stick by her forever. I'm grateful she has a large extended family to share the burden and the memories. I'm grateful she has a wonderful husband who adores her. And I'm grateful she has a testimony and faith to sustain her.

It's funny, because for being such a short trip (only two days) I was able to spend time with my aunt Mary (during a layover in Phoenix), with my Grandma and Grandpa Hatch, and with my aunt Becky and my cousin Allias--all of whom I rarely get to see. It was really wonderful. And because I was so delighted at the trip, I decided to treat myself with Christmas music on the three hour trip home from Portland...OK! I listened to it on the way up, too, but still....

The whole trip made me recognize all over again how lucky I am to have Brian--who didn't hesitate for a second to stay home with the kids so that I could go.

Anyway...

This Halloween was a good one--even without my fake eyelashes. And for possibly the first Halloween of my entire life, the highlight was not the candy. It was the fact that I got to see my kids run in their first races. I seriously felt like my heart was going to burst. I was so, so proud to be their mother, and to be a mother at all. Janey and Dan's race was just a hundred yards or so, but man, they (or Janey, rather) ran it well. She kept looking over at me the whole way with that darling little smile that squeezes apart her chubby cheeks. I recorded the whole race in two segments and accidentally erased the second part. Ahhhhhh!!!!
And Camp was as proud and delighted as can be to be cheered for. I think he ran the 5K in about 43 minutes or so. Amazing. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Later, we went trick-or-treating down on Bay Street, and then last night we stopped by the police station (where Camp's primary teacher was handing out candy) before hitting up our neighborhood.

Thanksgiving, here we come!





















































































P.S. I finished my chair. I didn't get to have Becky make it perfect with me because the additional material didn't arrive in time, but it will do for now. What do you think?














Also, here is another video from when Becky was here. Have I already said what a fun guest she is? The best. She has a blast with EVERYTHING, which makes everything a blast.

Can you smell it?!!

In case you haven't noticed, the holiday season is totally upon us. Can't you just smell it when you walk outside?! Yippee! And as if the holiday season didn't already come with hundreds of sugary, fattening vices, I've had a new one overcome me: caramel apples---oooohhhhh...While Becky was here, we did our best to imitate the apple pie caramel apples sold at Disneyland. And we did a pretty fine job, I tell you. And we didn't pay $6.95 a piece, either.
But no worries--I've still managed to maintain a balanced diet. I'm sure the birthday cake and ice cream I've consumed equals the caramel and white chocolate, and we can't forget the perfectly wholesome apple underneath all that goodness.
So I'm good.
And Brian's good too, because he ran a stinkin marathon! He did great and I loved cheering for him. When we finally saw him at mile 23, you would never have known that he wasn't just out for a casual morning jog. He didn't look like he was hurting at all. I told you he's amazing. And he said that it had been hard, but still a good enough experience that he'd like to do it again someday.
















And Camp's good too, because he had a birthday! My little homie is six years old. Crazy. He had a great day. We made little ghost suckers to take to his class members and he was sung to at school and on the bus. And he had a bunch of boys over for a party, and Becky made him an awesome rocket cake and he got a new skateboard. The only thing that could have made the day better would be for Collin to have been there. :( Collin! Come back!! And in addition to just having had a birthday, Camp is training for his first 5k. Isn't that awesome?! The local booster club is sponsoring a 5k on Halloween morning to raise money for the middle and high school athletic programs, and Camp is totally stoked about it. And you know what I think he is most excited about? Having the rest of us cheer for him. Like I've said--I don't mess around when it comes to cheering. I seriously cannot wait. That boy is going to feel my love.
















And Danin's good, too, because she had a birthday, too. Yep. My little shuga plum is two. She also got a fancy cake, but no party. I don't believe in throwing parties for kids who are not old enough to know the difference.












































Jane, though? Yeah, she knows the difference, so being the only kid that hasn't had a birthday yet is pretty tough for her. She just can't wait till her "burh-day". Poor girl. I'm gonna make sure to make it a really fun one for her this year. Other than that, she continues to LOVE school. I don't love it quite as much as she does because when she's gone, there is noone to entertain Dan. She is so good with Danin. They play all day long together.

















P.S. It was super fun to have Brooke visit. I threw together a baby shower for her and we had a good time. I remember her saying something like, "So this is really what your life is really like? (referring to the kids' constant craziness) Um..yep. Aren't you excited, Brooke?! No, I'm just kidding. You will love it.




























P.P.S.
While in Vegas, we got to go out with Justin and Rachel. So fun. Oh, and here's me in my new yard sale boots.