Lasts

With Gabriel as my youngest, I tend to see so much of what he does as a "last." Today, with my 'baby' in 6th grade, I attended the LAST of my kid's Halloween Parades. Have I really been going to Halloween Parades for 16 years? What if I'm not ready to be done? Sometimes I feel like I'm just starting to get the hang of things.

Gabe's costume this year is a tribute to one of his favorite movies..Newsies. He knows every song by heart and will sing them till one of his older siblings (brother) shuts the program down.
(Note that the guy's hand in the background is not Gabe's hand. Gabe has a stack of newspapers in his hand)
(His Thrift Town outfit is a size 5- but don't tell him, o.k.?)

This is my favorite princess of all time. Lilly is a princess everyday, but broke out one of her nicer dresses for today.
Maybe Lilly will let me come to her Halloween parades in the future?
Guess what Gabe's classmate, Ezra, dressed up as?
Another last...Last Halloween class party as a room mom.
I brought the game, Grab the Ghost, that I found in the Family Fun Magazine years ago. It is always a big hit.
Newsie boy and Mustard lid boy are ready to pull their ghosts to safety.

The goblin is the one with the funnel. He calls out two numbers and rolls the die. If either of the two numbers show up on the die, he tries to grab the ghosts before they have a chance to pull them off the circle.
Eighties Girl is thinking hard about what numbers to call out.
One of the other moms brought stuff for the kids to make Halloween buttons. Gabe made his obligatory button and promptly pinned it on me.
"Find and eat as many gummy worms out of the powdered sugar" was another activity. A couple of the girls opted out of this one.
Nachos, donut holes and root beer floats.

It's snowing!

I watched from the window as Gabe caught snowflakes falling from the sky on his way in from school. Even though it made me cold to watch him, it's fun to see the joy from such a simple pleasure.

Called to Serve.

This is Eli. Eli is my nephew. The youngest of Jordan's sister, Bronte. Eli has been called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day-Saints in the Argentina, Cordova mission. Eli gave a farewell message today* to family and ward members on faith. Eli has faith. He has to. He is leaving his home and family and truck and friends and tennis and vacations and schooling to serve the Lord and the good people of Argentina for two whole years. Speaking/learning Spanish none the less. I, too, have faith. Faith that Eli will be a good missionary.


Friends and family gathered to wish him well and eat good food. I don't have a clue who this gentleman is but waiting for a blessing was not an option.Hailee and her cousin Andy-sporting his 'Jesus' look for the occasion.

Bently and his dad, Josh, entertain nana with a poem (but not a song-he had to draw the line somewhere.)
Jordan's sister, JoAnne is the Nana to this one...
..and this one.

Eli's sister Madison.
Madie and Brittney are in love with Oliver.
*This post was written last week, but just posted today.

Did I mention it was soccer season?

This boy scored a goal. Man, he's cute.

These people tried to see the game looking into the blinding sun. (Let's be clear here.. I am not complaining about the sun.)
This boy cheered his brother on and had to keep setting his mother straight when she would yell for the other look-alike boy that was not her son. Man, he's cute too.

Quarter Finals.

Dear Kate,
Thank you for having the drive and ambition to succeed in life and for applying those desires to the game of soccer. I loved watching you play. I loved watching your focus and at times your fierceness on the field. It was inspiring. I am sorry that I didn't get to see those abilities in action at this game. By the time I got there you had been sidelined with an injury. The score was 3-2 in your favor and we cheered like crazy for your team to take you through to at least one more game where you could strut your stuff. With the game tied up at the final, I literally held my breath in overtime knowing how desperately you wanted this win. Despite all of the efforts of your greatest fans (your fam), it was not to be. I felt a piece of my heart break off as I watched you suffer this disappointment. As is always the case in life, we rally around each other through our challenges as well as our successes. For now it is the end of your high school soccer season but the beginning of other seasons. Just so you know, I will be there-with the rest of the group-on the sidelines-cheering you on in all you endeavor to do. That focus and fierceness will serve you well in the game of life.
I love you and am proud of you.
Love,
Aunt Lori




Kelli and Brandt; a.k.a. the mom and dad
They were loud.
Overtime chant.
Not the preferred ending.
Hailee and Maddie can still pick out cute boys.

Cousins. Adore each other. Always there for each other.

Baby brother turns 30

It seems like just yesterday that I was trying to haul Erick's chubby baby body up the steps to the apartment in Frankfurt, Germany. I remember everyone saying what a "huge baby" he was after he was born. I was almost afraid to see him for the first time. I was afraid he would be so huge he wouldn't even look like a baby. And I really, really wanted a baby. Luckily for me a 9lb. baby still looks like a baby and so began my self-appointed role as 'mother' to Erick. Erick has endured much with 3 older sisters (mothers) watching/correcting his every move. Perhaps all of the times his hair was combed into cute little ponytails as a baby has something to do with his attachment to his own ponytail now. But those 3 older sisters/mothers also thought he walked on water. We cheered him on at every sporting event that he so naturally excelled in. (And I'm not just saying that) We have scrutinized and critiqued every girl friend he has brought home and we watched in awe as he not only served a very honorable mission in Peru but has turned that love of the language and the people into a career. Erick's nutty sense of humor makes every gathering a party. I believe that my son inherited his high pitched whistle. Erick covertly used that whistle on a public transportation bus recently until finally the driver of the bus had to pull over to check his brakes and engine to see if he could discover the source of that terrible sound. (Like I said-nutty sense of humor.)
Brittney can't believe he's 30
Jill colored Erick a beautiful picture for his birthday. The caption on the picture said, "I will take good care of my body."
Hailee, Christian and Gabe composed a candy bar card for their uncle. Erick reminded us he doesn't eat sweets. (Maybe he was motivated by Jill's card?)

This is Emma (my niece) sprawling comfortably in a chair.This is Emma after her cousin Christian played the seniority card and made her share her comfy chair.

This is what happened to Emma when she expressed her desire to have her chair back to herself.

Maddie (my niece) and grandpa (my dad) take in the festivities from their own comfy seats.

Homecoming.

Wish you could've seen her. I think she's beautiful inside and out. She is grace. She is poise. She's my girl.
This girl is pretty dang cute too. This is Hailee's good friend, Shae. They shine.


This is Hailee's cute date,Gavin. He has this mom's vote. One of the best things about him-he's nice. Hailee and Gavin won the rice krispie treat sculpture contest (with a transformer) after the dance. "Could you do a different pose?" was the request. Gavin was all over it. Hailee not so much.
Hailee usually needs a little help to shake things up.

Comfort Food

There has been a drastic change in the weather here as of late. There is a chill in the air I was not prepared for. It just came on too quickly. Last night with my FHE group of women I was warmed from head to toe. I left last night thinking...Okay. I'm ready. Bring it on!




This is Angie-the birthday girl in two days. I bring that up because I spent the whole night in agony trying to remember for sure when her birthday was and thinking I had somehow forgotten it. Angie shared her secret caramel recipe for caramel apples. Those are the kind of things you share with friends.
I love the acorn plates. Check out the pumpkin centerpiece with the acorns.
Shelia-in the foreground- shared some of her thoughts on finding balance in our lives. Whenever Shelia speaks, I listen. She is full of wisdom...and humor...and life.

Last night brought new meaning to the phrase, "comfort food." I don't think I've ever had a meal like this in my life. I mean it. Listen to what we feasted on....
Apple Cider Fondue w/ bread chunks and veggies and apples for dipping
Fall salad w/ cranberry vinaigrette
Rustic french bread with pumpkin butter and...


Ina Garten's Boeuf Bourguignon-(Mormon style)
with Carmel-Pecan -Pumpkin Bread pudding for dessert. Oh my, oh my, oh my.
This is Kristin (holding the darling photo album idea from Jana) and wearing her apron because she is the hostess with the mostess. The look on Kristin's face says it all though. She cares about people. All people. She listens. She serves. She is comfort.