Herding Cats

Have you ever heard the phrase 'herding cats?'

Well, my brother & his wife have a herd of cats [kids] all under the age of 5. 

They invited us to go with them to a SRP (all my brothers work for SRP) picnic & help them keep track of each precious little body.  Jordan & I had a great time rounding up these cute kids. 

The picnic was like entertainment overload for the kids.  We started off at the climbing wall.  Girlie looks unsure at this point...stay tuned.

& look who we ran in to...cousins!

Next we ran on over to the Jumpy Castle, equipped with slide - equalling happiness for the littles.

These boys love to throw baseballs, basketballs, footballs, kickballs, volleyballs - you get my drift.

After using up some energy these little tummies needed some nourishment.

Lunch time = 1 watchful dad (these kids are tiny & quick) + 1 talented mom (she can hold 3 plates at once)

These sisters knew where the fun was at & chose our table over their parents'.

This kid has rhythm.  Serious rhythm. 

 By far the most entertaining thing for the adults was watching the kids eat Cotton Candy.

Lip-Smackingly good!

 Cotton Candy or Drug???

Grown-ups enjoying responsively...?

Maybe not. :)



What!  More food?!?  Popcorn! I wonder if these little bellies got tummy aches.

We polished off the afternoon with some more rock wall climbing.  These two kids got an extra, extra

l              o                n                  g

turn, thanks to Uncle Ben, who distracted the guys running the climbing wall.

{Usually 2 minutes, they got at least 10, if not 15 minutes.}

Girlie overcame any fear she had in the beginning & went the highest of any of the kids.

Benny got pretty high too [cough, cough ;)].

It was a fabulous afternoon, thanks for the invite guys!

Oh, & in case you were wondering...

That much fun + That much food =

I ♥ family!

Catering Service

It was my pleasure to help my mom out this week.  It has been an emotionally draining week for our family, but especially Mom.
My sweet Grandma had a stroke on Tuesday & it has left her in a pretty sad state.

So when my mom remembered she was supposed to have Book Club at her house on Thursday, she was feeling a little overwhelmed.  Good thing she has a good helper living with her.  : )
I had a great day!  I did all the things I love best:
*Cooking
*Cleaning
*Baking
*Serving
I put together a Spinich Salad with Raspberry Poppyseed Dressing.

For dinner I made Chicken Tortilla Soup {this recipe has fast become a family favorite...it is sooo good - thanks a million to my Mother-in-Law who introduced it to me}.

A special request was made by my mom for dessert.  She wanted my homemade Coconut Cupcakes with a {healthy} dollop of Whipped Cream.

Mom actually put the table together.  I could not have done this...

Then to top off the day, I got to go to a bridal shower with a friend I have not seen since before Texas.
Miss Marianne

It was a GOOD day. 
Now, if only I could get Grandma to feeling better...

Hide-N-Seek

I babysat for my sister a couple weeks ago.

Nora was carrying her stuffed animals around & I asked her if they had names.

She told me her puppies name was Caca {yes, like poop}.

Lucy & I looked at each other & laughed.

I asked Nora if she knew what caca was & she shook her head 'no.'

I told her it was 'narbles' {if you're not a member of the family...narbles are what Nora's older brother,Bennett,calls poop}.

Nora got a frustrated look on her face & yelled, "NO! STOP!"

I guess she didn't like that I told her the reality of what she thought was a clever name.

Lucy & I had a good laugh.

Then they showed me the closet with all the stuffed animals.

Nora started taking them out one by one & telling me their names.

I realized there was an obscene amount of stuffed animals & said there were enough stuffed animals to bury someone in. 

Well, that sounded like a good idea to them.

Can you find two hands? 

{One belonging to me & the other to Miss Nora?}

Need assistance?

We've been found!

Sorry about the mess Sissy Poop! :-)

Ghostly Greetings

There were lots of visitors that dropped by to celebrate Halloween with us & of course, take some Spudnuts off our hands.

I have the most creative & fun brothers & sisters.  They really go all out!  This year was no exception.  The nieces & nephews were looking adorable as always.

Let me introduce you to our visitors that evening!

I think Jesse needed to cough.  : )

Queenie has her first shiner.  : (

Lyddles ♥ Ariel!  It was so nice of her mother to make all her mermaid dreams come true.

Mr. Potato Head was also lovingly designed & made by his sweet mother.  What a cutie!

The funny thing about an infant mummy is they walk like a mummy which really adds to the costume.

Harry joined us again this year.

The picture of these next two characters hardly does them justice.  I don't know if the picture causes tears of laughter, but the real-life picture caused tears of laughter.

Enough said?

Hat's off to you Cowboy!

Laynee is such a cute little gal!

These guy's personalities are as cute as their costumes & little faces!

Alice helped pass out candy to the hundreds of trick-or-treaters.

(Beth - I think I captured a cute pic of Luey.)

Even the dog was feeling festive.

Joe looks like he is ready for blast-off! 

"To infinity & beyond!"

Oh, Zurg!  Not only do you look like Zurg, but you act like Zurg which makes you irresistibly kissable!

Last, but certainly not least...

"Nice ascot!"

Yours truly did not dress-up, but Jordan did!  When we were at Disneyland a big guy pushing a stroller zoomed past us.  He was wearing this shirt & we HAD to have it!

Happy Halloween!!!
P.S.  Do you like my Candycorn Cupcakes I made for the Ward Trunk-or-Treat?