The Glass Cat

Since it is my birthday month I have been thinking about all my past birthdays, specifically the very first birthday I remember.  We had just moved from San Diego to Las Vegas so I must have been turning 5. My Grandma Woodbury was in town, probably helping us move in and unpack.  She had brought down with her a dress for my birthday but she had bought it a size too small. I remember being very upset that she thought I was turning 4 and got me the wrong size. My sweet grandma ran out to the store to remedy her mistake. She wrapped my present all up again and gave it to me. Her gift was the most precious glass cat and baby kitten. She sat me up on her lap and told me how the big cat was her and I was the baby cat. I loved it and thought she had given me a million dollar present!! She made me promise never to break it and I swore I would keep it safe. I am sure my grandma thought that poor glass cat would not last a week. I was a rambunctious kid and just ask my sister Emily about how I NEVER kept anything nice. I broke, lost, crushed, destroyed every object I owned from birth until age 20!! Emily would keep everything safe and protected on a shelf and my stuff was buried in the dirt outside. I have very little intact memorabilia from childhood. What I do have... that glass cat! I remember wanting to take the glass cat outside or next door to my friends house but I had made a promise to keep it safe. It somehow survived and sits on the dresser in my little girls room. The same dresser, in fact, that it has sat on for 23 years. My girls love to look at it and if they are lucky they are lifted up to give it a pet or two. Even as I write this I am getting teary. Keeping that glass cat safe was the first and longest promise I have kept. In fact, that glass cat might be the precious object I own!  I can not remember another birthday that I have actually spent with my grandma. But every year she calls  me and wishes me a happy birthday and tells me how much she wishes she could be spending the day with me. My grandma has always made me feel like I am her favorite!! After her call this year I hung up the phone and started to cry. How much longer do I have with her? How many birthday calls do I have left? I am so grateful that she is my grandma and that I have this wonderful memory of her... and that I still have that glass cat.

I am the one in the piggy tails and the huge smile. I sure do love that lady!!

Happy 28th

I turned 28 on Sunday... I have mixed feelings. The looming age of 30 is approaching and I feel old! Yet, I am still so young and have so much of my life a head of me. I guess I will just enjoy where I am at!! Regardless of my inner turmoil I had a great weekend of celebration. On Saturday I spent the afternoon with my mom and Emily shopping and eating lunch. To have a real break from kids was so nice. Best of all was trying on all the sorts of cute clothes and actually getting to buy some!! (thanks mom;) We were watching the Milne kids all week, including my birthday, so on Sunday everyone came over to their house for dinner/cake. It was a crazy mad house of kids and loud noises but I loved every second!! Birthdays are always better with little kids, they get so excited even if it is not their big day. Scarlett must have song me the happy birthday song 20 times. I am one lucky women!!

Halloween 2013

I asked Scarlett a few weeks ago what she wanted to be and she said "a fairy". I quickly talked my self out of sewing her a fairy costume and headed to Target instead. There Scarlet found a bumble bee costume which she fell in love with. It had wings and a cute head band/crown, she was hooked. Well, that's perfect because I can have Alice be a lady bug. Oh goody they can match and be cute. Guess we will do fairies next year :)

Scarlett has loved the Halloween season! We decorated the house all up with skeletons, pumpkins, and bats. She loved that it looked "spooky". Every day she asked if it is was time for trick or treating and begged to wear her costume. The week of Halloween she wore it everyday and when Halloween finally arrived she could hardly contain herself. She kept kissing me on the cheek when I told her it was time to go get candy! In true Alice form she copied everything Scarlett did...down to the kissing on the cheek.

The girls loved trick or treating with Emily and her boys. I thought they would get tired after a couple house but they could have gone all night! Alice was happy as along as she was eating the candy and Scarlett loved running up to all the doors. I as shocked that Scarlett was not scarred of all the really spooky decorations at the houses. She is usually such a scardy cat. I had a couple favorite parts of Hallows Eve
1. Scarlett's joy/smile over everything!

2. Trick or Treating in Hillsboro to all the same houses I used to visit

3. Post Halloween pumpkin cookies and warm wassle.

Her favorite...suckers!

Flake Ranch

We went up to the Flakes Ranch a couple days ago. It is seriously the happiest place on earth!! We rode horses, enjoyed the beautiful weather, went on a morning run (just me), and played outside to our hearts content. Scarlett and Alice loved roaming and playing with their Flake cousins. 

We also spent the afternoon in Provo eating at every hot spot like Slab Pizza and J Dawgs. It was delicious! We walked around BYU campus and told Scarlett the story of how Nick and I fell in love at BYU. She asked to hear the story again and again. The campus holds a special place in my heart. I actually only spent one fall there but the memories I made that freshman fall were powerful. A whoosh of feelings and emotions came back when I saw the campus covered in red and yellow leaves. It is a beautiful sight. I just love Provo in the Fall!

What made this trip the best was that 6 out of 7 of us kids were together. Caity and clarah drove down from Idaho, Nate came up from Provo, Brady was in town for a conference, and of course Emily and I were there. That's 6! We missed Kim but next time she will be forced to come up. It was fun to talk late into the night and devour all the scrumptious food we made. At times is was a feeding frenzy. Camps and Flakes know how to eat! It was a great and memorable weekend.

BYU campus

Bottom line: Kids were filthy, exhausted, and still ask every second to go back!

The Patch

He have a pumpkin patch by our house. In Vegas that means a parking lot with some hay, rides, animals, and over priced pumpkins. We drive by it almost everyday. Scarlett screams with delight everytime. She yells "oh look it's the patch mom!". Alice picked up on it so they both yell "the patch, the patch, the patch" every time we drive by. We surprised them on Thursday and finally took them to "the patch". We got scarlett 5 tickets and she chose the rides she got to go on. Her favorite was the huge slide and bouncy obstacle course. It was great fun and the kids ran wild for the evening.

Can you tell she loved it

view of the strip while taking a little spin

Oh she adored the animals. Up on her tippy toes petting the goat.

Run wild