Halloween Activities 10-29-11

Well the week started off with my friend Angie Lewis gave me some apples, so I made this yummy applesauce!I got 16 pints
We had to keep up with our tradition of watching one of most favorite movies for Halloween! It makes me laugh every time!
Clinton popped us some popcorn for the big event.
On Saturday we had a progressive card party. I served butternut squash soup with a spider for a garnish. It was delicious. 10 of our friends came; the Parkinson, Lewis', Archibald's, Rudd's and Lerwill's. We played cards and ate at three houses. It was a great party.
Our game of choice is "Barnyard Rummy". We played 2 hands at each house, then moved on to more good food and more cards.
I think the spiders have over taken my house! They are every where!

Signs of Fall 10-25-11

Clinton has harvested all of our squash! I just love the fall colors!This is how we decorated our pumpkins this year.
I found this idea at a beauty salon in Mesa. I just had to copy!
This idea came from Gardner Village in Utah. I just love the black lace over the pumpkins! The lace even has spiders on it. This is my kind of decorating, I have never really liked getting pumpkin guts all over me. Yuck! My Halloween season is coming along real nice!

Camp Albin

Last weekend we went to Island Park to Camp Albin with friends. On our way up we took the scenic route, along the Mesa Falls Road. It was beautiful! Clinton and stopped along the way and took a pretty fall picture.
I thought this was awesome! Can you see the dew still on the pine needles? They really glistened in the sun.
Jamie and Darla, and our friends the Hardings from Utah spent the weekend up to the cabin with us. Such a great time relaxing, visiting and just enjoying everybody's company. Darla, Kellie and I even took a walk out in the crisp fall air. It was lovely. It is always so wonderful to go relax at Camp Albin.

The Kitchen is Painted 10-21-11

Painting the kitchen has been quite a project. I first painted over the wallpaper. By the time I had put three coats of paint on, it still was not covering very well. It also showed every imperfection on the wallpaper, and to top it off, the yellow I chose was not a good yellow. I had my first painting disaster! Ugh! So in my anger I tore the wallpaper off the walls. The next day, I started taking the adhesive off, it actually came off easier than I thought it would. At this point, things started looking up. While I was on my trip to Arizona, Clinton finished taking the wallpaper off and filled all the holes with putty and sanded! Can I just say how awesome he is!!! When I got home, he sanded one more time and I wiped down all the walls in preparation for the paint. It took me three days to paint, and it looks awesome! Now I just have to say that Chelsi kept telling me to paint it green and I wouldn't listen to her. It is hard to say that I was wrong and she was right, but she was. (There I said it!) You can see the before and after shots. Before the paint, but after taking the wallpaper off.
Before
After the painting
Now that the kitchen is put back together, it was all worth it. I guess I will be listening to Chelsi more often! To get a better look, just stop in and check it out.

Fun in Arizona with Family 10-9-11 to 10-16-11

I just spent a sunny, warm, fun-filled week in Arizona. It all started with my sister Susan. She picked me up at the airport and took me to her house and we had dinner with her family and my Mom. On Monday Susan and I went shopping and had lunch. My plan was to finish my Christmas shopping for my family in Arizona. I even left the wrapped packages there. Tuesday, more shopping and another great lunch with Susan, Ellie, and Mom. Then Cole came and took me to his house.
Now this is the reason I am in Arizona, I am babysitting three of my grandchildren. Cole and Alicia won a trip to Disney Land. They took Cheyanna and Jordan. So, I got to play with the little munchkins! This is Deegan, he is 4.
This is Treyton, he is 3.
This is Londyn she is 18 months. She doesn't call me grandma, she calls me mama, I will take what I can get.
We had a blast together. They wore me out. We went to the park everyday to play. We watched movies at night. We played games together, my new favorite is Toy Story Yahtzee! We read stories. We made waffles. We went on a walk around the neighborhood. We made a grocery run to Walmart. We went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. We bonded together! I just love these little ones! I do need them to give me some of their energy so I can keep up better.

At Peace 10-6-11

On Thursday , October 6, I finished reading the Book of Mormon this year. It has caused me to reflect upon spiritual things. I have come to realize that I am feeling so at peace in my life. My reflecting has helped me realize where the source of this peace is coming from. The Temple is a great place for me to be. I have been going 3-4 times a month this year. This has made such a difference in my life.
Praying and reading the scriptures on a daily basis helps me to have the spirit with me. I am learning to recognize when the Holy Ghost is speaking to me. The important thing for me is to act immediately when I get the prompting. By doing this I am getting better at recognizing the promptings. When I don't read once a day, I really feel like I am missing something.
I love these magazines and the church news. I read from them alot too. I feel like my testimony is growing stronger all the time. I have also come to recognize that that when I am seeking the will of my Father in Heaven and then do it, my life goes so much better. I am grateful for the peace in my life.

First Snow storm of Season 10-6-11

Yeah! It's the first snowstorm of the season! I just couldn't believe it came in October. I do believe I am the only excited person in Sugar City. It is because I have been away for two years and I have really missed the white stuff. It snowed about two inches and the snow stayed on the ground for about 24 hours. Just look at how beautiful it is.In our backyard
In our front yard
Our driveway, I say bring on the snow!

Conference Weekend 10-1-11

This Conference Weekend we went to Utah to take some treasures to Chelsi. She is now the lucky owner of "the Loveseat". This belonged to Grandma Millie. She also got one of Grandma's lamp tables and a TV. Before we left town on Friday, Clinton found out he had to make a service call to a farmer in Holebrook, Idaho. Luckily it was on the way. He said it would take him a while so I needed to take a book with me. This book is one I have had for awhile and finally got to read it. He was right, it took awhile and I finished half of the book while I was waiting for him. I finished the book Saturday night in the hotel room waiting for him to finish cleaning the Conference Center with Brock. (Brock's Stake had the assignment to clean that night). I enjoyed the book, but the ending was not the happiest.
On Saturday I watched Conference at Brock and Carrie's apartment. Between sessions Brock, Carrie, Chelsi and I went fabric hunting. I was looking for some cute flannel to make a receiving blanket and two burps for their baby that is coming in January. This is what we found. It is so soft and cute for a baby boy.
After the second session Carrie, Chelsi and I went to Gardner Village to look around in their fun shops and then met Paula, her girls and friends for dinner at the restaurant there.
On Sunday, after we watched the morning session of Conference, Brock drove Clinton, Chelsi and me to Temple Square. We were hoping to get into the afternoon session of Conference.
Chelsi and I are standing in line. Sad to say, the Conference Center was full so we did not get in. Brock came back and picked us up and we watched in their apartment. Then had a delicious dinner. We also played a really fun game called "Bang".
We stayed over on Monday. Clinton met with some people for business. So this morning we had breakfast at a Diners, Drive-In's and Dive's place. It is called the Blue Plate Diner. Then he dropped me off at the Gateway while he conducted business. We had a great weekend!