Happy Halloween!!

So my love for Halloween has rubbed off on my children and they love to dress up and go to as many parties as they can. This year Ressa knew that she wanted to be a black cat but the boys needed some ideas. We looked at online costume stores and Jackson knew he wanted to be a Wheaties box as soon as he saw it. Carson had to decided between the whoopie cushion and a toilet. This weekend we had two "Trunk or Treats" to go to. Friday night was our ward party and I am on the activities committe so I was pretty busy, but we still had fun. The young men made a spook alley in the primary room and Carson and Jackson went through it 4 times! They just love scary stuff! We had a costume contest and Grandpa Rowley and his two grandsons won the "Kookiest" costume awards. You can see from the pictures where Carson and Jackson get their sense of humor! I had fun dressing up as Cleopatra, but started to notice some eye irritation from the fake eye lash glue toward the end of the evening. Saturday night was the trunk or treat that our school's PTO put on. Each time we have an event, we are so thrilled with the parent/student turn out and this time was no exception! People showed up early and decorated their cars and trucks to the hilt. I was very impressed, especially since most of the people had never been to a trunk or treat! We had a chili cook off and a costume contest as well. You'll never guess who won awards for the most unique and hilarious costumes again! Ressa was not amused by this point. Maybe next year she will go a less traditional route! We still have another party and then there is the actual Halloween night itself, so the fun is just begun!

Our House (2yr anniversary)

Here are more pics or the house. This is the kids' bathroom.

This is our great room and my favorite room.

Our House (2yr anniversary)

Next month marks 2 years since we finished building our house out here near Coolidge, AZ. The whole construction period was crazy, but here we are now and it was all worth it! We love living out here on the "farm", next to Chad's parents. They are great neighbors and the kids are so lucky to have their grandpa and grandma so close. You can see their house in the picture below.

I have enjoyed decorating, painting, furnishing, and landscaping some of the house over the last two years. Here are some pics of what we have done so far. This next one is the dining room and stairs down to the basement.

Those stinkin "Twilight" books!

O.K. I know that I am the last person to read these books. I haven't read any books (aside from scriptures, of course) in over 6 years. I have missed reading, but I am one of those people who can't (or won't) put a good book down. I tried when the boys were little and I became a little neglectful. So I made a decision that I would not read until the kids got older and I had more free time. With three kids in school and Lauren taking long naps, I decided I would indulge myself. My friend Sarah had all 4 books so she gave them to me on a Wednesday and by the following Tuesday I had them all read, including the 200+ pages of the unpublished 5th book online. So the answer is, yes, I loved the books, and yes, I still can't put a good book down! I really prefer to read long series like that so now I need another set of books to read. Any good suggestions?

All I want for Christmas...

Critters!

I was closing to windows in the basement and found a little snake sitting on the window sill on the outside. Jackson and Ressa were so excited and climbed down the window well ladder and scooped him up. Ressa named him Fredward. Chad is always rescuing little toads that fall down through the metal grates, but this is the first snake we have seen. I don't know what kind it was but pretty sure it was harmless. Chad saw a king snake out here last year and they are harmless too. Those kind of critter I can handle! No scorpions, rattlesnakes, or tarantulas, please!

Thank Heaven for little girls!

So besides creating this blog for me, my sister Samantha also helped me switch the kids room around. Lauren is almost 2 and ready to graduate from her crib so I wanted to put the two girls in the same bed together since it is a double bed. For several months now, Ressa has been sleeping on the floor in the boys' room because she doesn't like to sleep alone. So Lauren has had this big room all to herself and the big bed has remained empty. So tonight was the first night to put the girls to bed together. Chad was very skeptical, not sure Lauren would do well. We said prayers and tucked them in and told Ressa that Lauren was watching her so if she slept then Lauren would follow her example. Well, miracle of miracles, neither one got up once, just snuggled in for the night! I risked waking them with the flash when I snuck in to get this picture of their first night but they didn't stir. And I do know that the night is YOUNG and I may be getting woke up sometime around 2am if Lauren wakes up and is curious. But that is o.k.! I am just glad that it went so well, especially since I spent ALL day getting their rooms done.

Giddyup!

Go big or go home. Isn't that the saying? Well, we have never had a pet in the 9 years Chad and I have been married. That is mostly my doing since I feel I have enough children to clean up after, bathe, and feed. So instead of starting small with a fish or bird we chose to "go big" and get a kid horse. Actually, a family down the road gave us the horse because they have plenty of horses and this horse, Buck, is old and doesn't get ridden very much. He is a perfect kid horse because he is old and doesn't move too fast and is very gentle around the kids. We grow alfalfa on our land so we have hay to feed him and Chad's dad put in a horse corral a few months ago(Chad's parents live next door) so that is where Buck lives. The kids pitch in helping to feed the horse and they just LOVE to shovel up horse poop. It is a lot of work but the kids have gotten used to the horse and now they all can ride him by themselves. Ressa & Lauren have been big fans from the beginning but it is so nice to see the boys warm up to Buck and become more confident around him. Lauren usually has to be the first to have a turn and she says "giddyup" all during her ride!

Eight is Great!

We were sooo excited for Carson and Jackson's big day! It is crazy that 8 years has flown by and here our boys are getting baptised! I'm sure it is an unwritten rule that the mother should not have to give a talk at the actual baptism since she already doing so many other things in preparation for and at the actual event. My boys were unaware, or more likely indifferent to this rule and insisted that I give the talk on the Holy Ghost and Grandma Rowley was asked to give the baptism talk. With all the cousins in attendance, I would have to say that the whole baptism was probably the most irreverent I have attended, but a spiritual experience none the less. Sinced the boys are twins and connected on some subconcious level, both had to be immersed twice because of wayward toe. Both agreed that Jackson would go first, but then Jackson second guessed that decision when he found he had to stand at the top of the stairs, dripping wet, to watch his brother have his turn. Carson must have forseen this dilemma, which explains why he gave up the first position so quickly. Smart kid! Congratulations, Carson & Jackson! We are so proud of you!!!

Perrins Family Reunion

This summer was the Perrins Family Reunion and my brother Adam and I were in charge of all the planning. This was no small task, finding place for all 75 of us to sleep, eat, and play. We settled on Zion National Park as our home base and planned of whole week of endless fun and adventure and it did not disappoint! We stayed at a resort near the park and each family had their own cabin which meant privacy and space. The location was gorgeous and centrally located so that we could visit Zions Canyon, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, and several other smaller tourist sites. We spent 2 days at Zions because it was the closest and so big that it took more time. Our favorite was hiking the Narrows because we loved hiking in the water and staying cool! But Bryce canyon was also our favorite because it was just unlike anything we have ever seen. Carson, Jackson, and Ressa hiked our socks off, with Carson usually skipping or running up the hills while Chad and I were huffing and puffing behind. We spent every evening back at the resort all together and had dinner up at Steve and Lanith's larger cabin. The nights were spent with the cousins playing kick the can until midnight while the parents played "Scum" until 1 or 2 in the morning. The week was perfect and went off without a hitch. Well, I did get a slight concussion while trying to slide down the 100 foot slip n slide while standing up. I really did see stars and that ended my sliding for the day. But the slip n slide was quite a hit for everyone else anyways! We had family pictures taken so I will post those when I get them.

Birthday Bash!!

Ressa turned 5 years old on October 3rd and had a little girlfriend party. Her friends that came were Lauren & Payton, Audrie & Hailee, Isabelle, Bella, & Auralee. Three beehives from our ward came and painted the girls' nails and a couple of my friends did up thier hairdoes. We set up a backdrop and took some "glamour shots" and put their pics in cute frames to take home. Ressa had so much fun and was especially glad that she got a pinata! I don't love pinatas at parties but I being a mom means making sacrifices for your children. Right? So we had a fun time and now Ressa is finally 5 which is funny because she acts more like 8. We love her very much and are very proud of the girl she is becoming!