Festival of Trees

I was really looking forward to going to the Festival of Trees. I had been before when I was younger, but couldn't really remember much about it. I'm not sure now if I'll go again. It is for a great cause...only I didn't realize what it was about and was not prepared. I was looking to be uplifted and instead I was depressed and trying to control a sob. Most of the trees have been dedicated to people and children who have passed away and then people buy them and the money goes to Primary Childrens Hospital. Again, there is no better cause....I just wasn't ready to see pictures of children that had died. Beautiful trees!

Our first big storm.

This was supposed to be a big one. People were let out of work early and were cautioned to stay off of the roads. There was a lot of snow coming, but more importantly it was going to be very cold...in the teens and lower for the evening. Combine the two and you have a deadly storm. Luckily it wasn't as bad as anticipated. It was a good storm, it did snow a lot and was very cold. For the most part people did what they could to avoid it and stayed off of the roads. It may not have been a blizzard, but it was and is very COLD!!!!!! It doesn't even look deep, but it fell very quickly. The ground was covered in minutes and you can't tell by the picture that it was still snowing and a white out.

The Christmas bells are ringing.

I love Christmas! The music, the lights, the giving...there is nothing quite like the spirit of the season. There is something very special about the way life and people can be temporarily transformed and suddenly there are more reasons to celebrate than there are to complain. I love it!

Happy 7th birthday, Rieley!!!

Wow! I can't believe how big Rieley has gotten. Especially this past year. Suddenly she is reading like crazy and every time I look at her I see a big girl. I am so proud of her! Rieley is such a sweet, smart and caring girl!!! Happy birthday!

Playing in the leaves.....next door.

Unfortunately we do not have an adequate amount or style of leaves to fall in our own yard. Thankfully(for us and the neighbors) we can rake the leaves next door and party.

Every day life.

These are just some of the things that I encounter on a daily basis. I sure am grateful for all of the little things!

Pretty shoes

I am on the hunt for the annual Christmas outfit. I am actually starting ahead of time this year in the hopes that I will give myself enough time to find things I really like. So far I am on a roll. Okay, so I only found the shoes but I really like them! Especially the green ones for Leyton. I had gotten gold sparkly ones for Rieley but she wants the red ones too. SO I'll exchange them.

Devyn and I got to spend some quiet quality time while we awaited the arrival of trick-or-treaters and Todd took the other girls out. It was relaxing and REALLY nice. I read a book next to Devyn while she played on her toy thing. Almost like visiting a spa.

The real Halloween....well, almost.

This was kind of the real Halloween. It was actually the 30th but because the 31st fell on a sunday, Utah celebrates the night before. So this was the actual trick or treating day although it wasn't truely Halloween.

I just love this little lady!

A hunter in the making.

Todd is a hunter!!! Being in Utah has put a damper on things for TOdd. Not because there isn't an abundance of hunting but because he hasn't gotten the hang of how things work around here. There are so many different things to hunt and so many different places to go....but the rules are different than Texas. This year he was finally able to figure out the duck hunt. So far he has gone three times. He has shot two ducks....not amazing but surely rewarding. He even ate them in a "duck gumbo". I did not. Today he decided to take Rieley on a Daddy/daughter date duck hunting. Taking his girls hunting with him has been his dream. Finally, today, this moment arrived. Although he didn't shoot any duck, they had a blast. Rieley loved going out with her Dad and learning a little bit about hunting. "No Todd, I am not ready for them to have a be-be(how do you even spell that??) gun yet."

How many Halloween pictures will we take???

Four seperate days worth! Read below.

Halloween is on it's way!

There is so much excitement that builds with Halloween. It has always been that way for me. The anticipation of your costume, the excitement of trick or treating until your pillow case sags from the weight of the candy. Waiting for the earliest possible moment to head out the door. I love it! Too bad I am too old now. Luckily I have kids now and luckily they are old enough to feel their own excitement about the holiday. This year I decided that we should all be story book characters. I also decided this year that I wanted to be one of those Moms that dressed up every year. So, Todd is Paul Bunyun with his trusty blue ox, Devyn. I am Amelia Bedelia, Rieley is Sally from The Cat in the Hat, Morgan is Fancy Nancy and Leyton chose The Cat in the Hat. I really love being in Utah because trick-or-treating is so popular here. I grew up doing it. One not so great thing is that you end up with so many chances to dress up. This year we get to do it 4 times. First is the primary activity on Tues. Then Rieley and Morgan had their school Halloween parade today(Thursday). Tomorrow we have a Halloween party with friends and finally we'll trick-or-treat on Saturday. There are only so many times I can keep costumes clean or even keep them from being lost. Never the less, I am grateful to feel the excitement that builds with each coming Halloween.

Moments in the Dewey life.

I just love the memories that we are making everyday......even the days that I don't love(which can be many sometimes). There is nothing more fulfilling than having a family and spending time together. Who wouldn't love these sweet girls?!

Take a hike

Myfriend/neighbor who has some kids that are around the same age as mine had a great idea to go on a little hike. Of course it had to be do-able for the kids. It was at the base of the mountain, not far away......not that any of the mountains are far away around here. It was the perfect distance and amount of time. By the end the kids were just starting to poop out. It was super pretty and I'm glad for any chance to see the beautiful leaves as they change colors. We took some baggies so that everyone could collect their own treasures(I remember doing that as a kid). It was really fun and I am feeling it now! I need a massage.

Silly Morgan

Morgan got to paint Todds' face...but what I really love about this picture is the look on her face.

Super Girls!!!!!!!

Luckily for this family Todd is so fun and creative. Every so often they get to indulge in a little painting of the face. First the girls get to paint Todd's whole head and then it is their turn. These are the kind of things that go on while I am grocery shopping.

The renovations continue....

One more room down, probably 12 more to go. Sherwin Williams was having a great sale on their paint so we decided to buy 5 gallons of the color that we picked. I like to have some color and contrast, but I'm not a bold person who likes dark or overbearing colors. I need the room to be bright and uplifting for my mood. We taped and prepped and painted until we were tired. Everything was looking so different and so much like a house that is put together that not until the end did we realize how dark the color really is. Don't get me wrong....it looks good but it is darker than I expected. I'm not sure that I want it in the hallway and throughout the kitchen and living area. Todd was pretty annoyed. Should I live with a home that is painted like a dungeon throughout?? After some frustrated comments under our breath we have decided to mix in white paint to lighten it up. Problem solved. All in all I like the front room and I'm confident that the rest of the house will look great.....a bit lighter. We won't even go into how tough it was for Todd to prime and paint the wood trim. It feels more clean and fresh now.

A visit to the zoo.