Our New Additon

We are now the proud owners of a dog. Her name is Jewel, and she belonged to a friend who couldn't take her when they moved. She has acclimated a lot faster and better than I anticipated, which is great, and the children love having her. She's an eight year old mixed up pup who is not too big, not too small, and likes to sleep in our room.

Yes, I know I shouldn't have taken her picture right at bedtime, but it's the only time she's left alone. She really is a calm and mellow dog, though. And yes, that is a picket fence in my living room. It keeps the kids away from the gas fireplace.

Halloween Phantom

Every year in our ward, the YM/YW have an activity where they bake treats to take to various people. They tape a little poem to the treats and "ding Dong Ditch" them, as they are "The Halloween Phantom". The poem tells you that the Halloween Phantom has left you treats for Halloween, and now it's your turn to pick a few families and be the phantom to them.

Brandon thinks there really is a nice ghost whose job it is to bake goodies for everyone and then deliver them. No matter how I try to explain the concept to him, this is what he thinks. Maybe next year. The boy has mad cupcake decorating skills, doesn't he?

Benjamin is our taste tester. Heaven forbid we mistakenly send out an inferior product. We are just glad he takes his job seriously and very cheerfully. He ate the entire thing. Did I mention he's enthusiastic? I love hearing his "Num num"s and "MMMMM"s!


Nadia loves playing the Halloween Phantom because she gets to be "tricky and sneaky" (her words) by not getting caught. She also likes helping to decide who we should take treats to every year. This year it was...Oops! Can't give that away!

This is a Halloween tradition I think I'd like to take with us when we move. Lots of fun, and hey, who doesn't like a night centered around cupcake decorating and cupcake eating? Of course, cookies are acceptable too.

That Old Autumn Time

Okay, so I don't have any fun fall pics of us. Yet. Just give me a little time, and I'll do better. I figured since I haven't written anything in two weeks, I should get back on the ball. But here is a list of things we like to do in the autumn time:

1. Nadia loves it when I make apple cider and wassail. Great with popcorn and a movie.

2. Speaking of movies, we always watch "Nightmare Before Christmas" before Halloween. Cliff also has the soundtrack, and so we listen to that. All the time, not just in the fall. Cliff loves Danny Elfman.

3. We have to walk around the neighborhood and find all the piles of leaves so we can "crunch" them while we walk past. We all love the sound of crunchy leaves.

4. Pumpkin. We love to make all things that have pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. As Benjamin would say, "Num num". We also like making Jack-o-lanterns.

5. There are a lot of October birthdays on my side of the family, so fall is also party time central. Nadia, both my parents, my grandmother, and several others all have October birthdays.

There you have it.

Stay tuned for future installments, in which we have news about a family addition, leaves changing colors, and whether or not I can convince Cliff to help with the holiday decorations.

Venus and Mars

So Cliff and I saw Ironman a while ago. Guess how the conversation went after we left the theater. It was something similar to this:

"What did you think of the ending?"

"I loved it. Those shoes were killer."

"What shoes?"

"Her shoes at the end of the movie, of course!"

"You mean you noticed her shoes when things were exploding and there's a huge life or death battle?"

"Uh, yeah, I noticed her shoes."

Shocking, isn't it?

Things I've Heard

Here are a few things that I've heard recently:

Mom, it's so hot my slobber's all gone. (Nadia on the walk home from school)

Oh yes, I have my birthday two times every day. (my nephew Zack at lunch)

It's too hard to eat breakfast! (Brandon, but it's too hard to do most other things as well)

Look at that! (Benjamin's favorite phrase; I love it when he whispers it)

May you pass the ketchup? (Brandon being polite)

If I'm really good and do all my chores, then can I get a hundred dollars? (Brandon again, trying to negotiate his allowance)