HALLOWEEN 2010

So...... I decided to save some mulah this year by making the kids' halloween costumes. Quite honestly, I'm rather proud of my efforts. Oh, believe me, I know they are nothing great. I'm not a sewer by any means, but I can straight stitch and apparently that, some trips to find my wares at the thrift store, and a little creative thinking can get you

a FIREMAN

and a LADY BUG

Yes, I would do it again...it was kind-of fun and challenging. And it did, in fact, save money. Adam's costume cost $2.00 (yellow poncho and fire hat) and Emily's was $1.00 (red t-shirt). The rest came from stuff I had around the house, including wings for Em which I made from wire hangers and some old nylon black stockings I had. And this works perfectly because they are too young to notice if their costume is home-made (y'all know what that means). Adam actually had a lot of fun being a fireman...he felt pretty cool. Emily was just happy to get some candy. And I was a proud mamma :) I even dressed up in an old dance costume of my mom's. I hope everyone had a happy halloween!

Summer is so full of fun and we have had a great time with family this year. Here's a few pics to show you what we've been up to...family reunions, swimming, fireworks, camping, playing, and a little resting. I LOVE the summer and spending time with my wonderful family!

shake it shake it

Another word from our sponsors...

O-Town

This past weekend we went to Ogden for our annual Austin family reunion (Mike's mom's brothers/sisters and families). Now I'm not sure why, but in the past my perception of Ogden always included the word "ghetto," but now I totally look forward to going up each year and hanging out. Maybe it's because I'm starved for vacation time and suffer from a case of wanderlust every other week, or maybe because I love Nola's family so much, but either way it's such a treat for me to go. It's been a family tradition to go fishing (if that's really what you'd call it....it's like fishing on speed...I feel like I'm cheating every time but it's really fun) at a nearby fish hatchery. This started when Mike was a wee boy and we've gone every year...but it's more fun having your own kids share in the fun...as you can see by the included video below. Enjoy the pics...I'm the family's personal paparazzi. Tootles!

We also went downtown to the old train museum because Adam has a passion for trains. It was interesting to see how frickin' huge those locomotive engines were. The weather was not condusive to doing much else, so we just chilled like Bob Dyl (Dylan that is) the rest of the time.

Gimme some peace.love.& happiness

why let this world weigh on your shoulders
pick it up push it off
before you let yourself colder
just look into the eyes
the good eyes of a child and see
that love rise like a river
and flow for a thousand miles
to give me some
peace love happiness
Breath in deep
feel your heart beat
just to know that life's worth living
feel your feet on the earth
you gotta (better) love it
while it's still here spinning
I got no time to worry about troubles or misgiving
just let it go
let yourself flow
cause if you're hating
then you sure ain't living
gimme some
peace love and happiness
lotta people talking
need somebody to listen
lots of people struggling
if you got
then you better start giving a little more
peace love and happiness


***yes, I've already been accused of being a hippie-loving-tree-hugging-freakaleak in my life thanks.

:)

You can DANCE if you want too.

Updating...

Ok...I've been meaning to update for a long time now.....but life gets ahead of me and I'm caught running after it with my bathrobe still on shouting "hey, atleast let me get dressed..." So, blogging takes the back seat and it's no biggy. I'm just loving life, learning lessons along the way and thinking about my friends and family more than I make the phone call to tell them that...is that so bad???? Maybe, but for now it'll have to do. Enjoy the muse and a few new pix. LUV2U! and I will update more someday :)

For time and all eternity

Ang w/ her parents,

The happy couple, Brian, Michael (aka. poop protector), Ju & Caroline

This past weekend I got to take Emily and go to my cousin Angela's wedding in San Jose. We flew out of Vegas into San Fransisco, rented a car and spent the weekend all over the Bay area (pretty much). She lives in East Palo Alto, but got married in the Oakland temple and had her reception that night in the Menlo Park area....for those of you who are familiar with the Bay area, that might mean more to know the details. My other cousin Brian McLaws got me a great deal on a hotel in San Jose (thank you very much), so it was sort of a girls weekend for me and Emily :) I spent the rest of the short time we were there visiting with my Uncle Paul's family until I had to drive back to San Fran to fly out on Saturday night. I wish I could have spent more time there, but it was a FUN trip and the wedding was beautiful. I love my cousin Ang like no one else.....and the guy (Matt Richards) that she married seems like a genuinely great person and a good match for her. I think he gets her.....they've been dating for two years, so they've had a chance to get to know one another. One of the things I love about Ang was said best by Matt "she sees the beauty in everything." Which is so true. She's guileless and sincere and as you can see by the pics....truly beautiful! We lived with eachother for much of the time I spent up at BYU. Her family cracks me up and it's great to have spent some time together. My Uncle Lowell and Aunt Jeri made the 12 hour drive for the wedding as well and it was so nice to have them there and hang out with someone I knew for the day. Aunt Jeri basically took care of Emily the whole reception so that I could "mingle" and decorate the car of course ;) Emily was so tired from the days excitement she fells asleep on Aunt Jeri. Well, I'm blogging this quickly before the kids discover me gone from the room....so all in all in was a great time.....LOVED it, and learned a few things in the process. The end.

Em & the temple, chillin', Love them!!!, Aunt Jeri & Em(asleep)