Perfect Fall Day!

What perfect Fall weather we are having! My sister-in-law Nikki and I decided to "seize the day" and take our kids to Gardner Village for their witch and Halloween festivities. I think everyone else along the Wasatch Front thought of the same thing - soooo crowded! But it was fun and nice to be out in the great weather. Kiera wanted to wear her witch costume, so we were able to get some cute pics! After a couple of hours there, Nikki and I succumbed to our kids' begging for more time together. So we each grabbed some lunch and took it to a park in Bountiful. Ahhh.... I just wish October could last a few more months!

Cute Kasidee

Just some random cute pics of little Kasidee (I couldn't help myself....)

KASIDEE'S SECRET HIDEOUT UNDER THE BATHROOM SINK


DRAWING LIKE THE "BIG GIRLS"

Follow, follow me...

I don't know much about the little tricks and nifty things in Blog World. But my friend Kristin encouraged her blog readers to include the "Followers Widget" on their blogs - so I did (I think). So now I need YOUR help, my blog readers. Please click on the "Follow This Blog" link on the right-hand side of my blog. Then you can have a link to your blog on my page (or you can remain anonymous if you'd prefer). Thanks - we'll see if it works!!

Snow Day!

It snowed a bit last night and the girls were wild with excitement this morning!

3 Little Monkeys

I've mentioned in previous posts how much I love the 3 Little Monkeys store in Fruit Heights. Oh my gosh, I love it love it love it! It's the store I would have wanted to own. (Did you notice I even changed my blog title to 3 Little Monkeys - I figured that was appropriate since I have 3 little girl monkeys - see, I'm obsessed with anything and everything to do with this store!) Since I discovered it just over a month ago, we've gone about 5 times (for browsing, storytimes, etc.) I've actually only purchased one item there so far, but I've been making Christmas lists and am waiting for a time I can go solo. The products are a little pricey (and for a cheapskate like me, it's kind of to justify some of it), but they are things that no one else really sells. And everything is just so darn cute - almost magical. I feel like everytime I'm there I just wander around with my eyes wide open and my mouth drooling. I know, I'm weird. Anyway, this morning was their grand opening (though they've been open since June). The girls and I decided to check it out. We were there nearly 2 hours! There were balloons, storytime, face-painting, free crafts, and I won a $10 gift certificate (yahoo!) Man, I can't wait to go BY MYSELF - I may not come back all day!

Someday...

I love to get rid of things. I mean, sometimes I just get the craving to throw stuff away, so I go through things I've already gone through just so I can get that "high." Weird, I know - but those of you who are obsessive-compulsive/perfectionist will understand. Anyway, I digress. In all my years of getting rid of things, there are a few boxes of my childhood toys that I haven't been able to part with. Before I got married, I went through all my old toys and saved the ones that meant so much to me, thinking that SOMEDAY I would share them with my own children. I kept my Barbies and Sylvanian Families, my Cabbage Patch dolls and a few stuffed animals. The girls love to get out a box every once in awhile and play with "Mommy's Antique Toys." Well, I have a bag labeled "Stuffed Animals" that they haven't seemed interested in - till tonight. After begging me to open it, I explained that the toys probably aren't very interesting; they're pretty old and probably falling apart. But we opened it anyway. The girls gasped, wrapped the stuffed animals and dolls in their arms and swung them around. Then the dolls talked to ME (in Kiera's voice), asking me if I missed them. Although maybe half of them I don't remember at all and could probably take to the DI, seeing some of them brought tears to my eyes. My very first doll as a baby; my "Charlie" doll that I drug everywhere with me, the E.T. doll I rescued from its "abusive" owner (he punched it and tied up its arms, which broke my 8-year-old heart). I have dolls that my grandma made and original Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. And what a treat it is to "stroll down memory lane" and tell my own girls stories about my beloved dolls and animals and how I used to play with them. Sure, it may seem like unnecessary clutter to some people...but I never could have imagined when I was boxing them up so many years ago just what a treasure they were!

Random Ramblings

Well, this morning was the first day (since Spring) we turned our furnace on. It was a mere 67° in the house, but the girls thought it was so cold it could snow inside our house! So I set the thermostat to a toasty 69° (one degree warmer than we usually keep it in the wintertime), and all was well. It will be interesting to see what the girls think in January when it gets down to, like, 12°! It's supposed to freeze tonight, so our neighbors were out harvesting their garden and offered to help us do ours. We managed to get 4 yellow pumpkins, a handful of green cherry tomatoes, and a few cups of miniature carrots. I've always loved the idea of a garden, but except for my beloved chives and maybe a cherry tomato plant or two, we have never really done much. It's still my goal - maybe one day we'll actually have a "real" garden!

Another rambling.... For the last week or two, Kiera has gotten a little teary in the mornings when it's time to leave for school. I've been a little concerned since last year in Kindergarten, Kiera loved going to school till a fellow classmate started bullying all of the kids - for about a month Kiera was just overwhelmingly sad about even the thought of school. But Kiera assured me that no one was being mean to her - she just misses me at school. She said, "Home is the only place you can cry...."

Happy Birthday Grandpa Stephens!

Quentin's dad turned 69 today. Wow! This evening the girls and I met Quentin at his parents' house to wish Dennis a happy birthday. Dennis was feeling well today and it was SOOO nice to be able to visit with him - he told stories of when he was 3 and got polio. He remembers walking into an ice cream shop totally fine but leaving with stiff legs. His home was quarantined which scared the neighbors. He was paralyzed for 2 years and his sweet, devoted mom had to spoon-feed him and put scalding cloths on his entire body to relax the muscles. Wow - I had no idea. Dennis has had a hard life but a blessed life as well. Happy birthday!

School Lunch

For weeks now, Kiera has been begging me to join her for school lunch. The school actually encourages parents to come, so...today was the day. Makenna, Kasidee and I each packed a lunch, walked to school and sat by Kiera (and her friend Sophie - it was a nice surprise to see Sophie's mom (and my friend) there too!) We also got to play at recess and enjoy the PERFECT October weather. Ahhhh....

Pack's Pumpkin Patch

This evening, we did our yearly family tradition of going to Pack's Pumpkin Patch in West Farmington. I love it there! The girls loved running through the "Hay Maze," and we let the girls each pick out their own pumpkin (Makenna wanted a variety called "Cinderella" till she realized it wouldn't really turn into a horse-drawn carriage). My only disappointment this year was that they didn't have spaghetti or butternut squash for sale. Bummer - my mouth was already watering. Oh well. I got some acorn squash that will have to do till I can get to the Bountiful Farmers Market for my spaghetti and butternut squash stash.

Fernwood Park

Between Conference sessions yesterday, we went to Grandma's house to visit with her and Mom. We took them some lunch and ended up watching the last session with them. Afterward, we "kidnapped" Mom and took a little drive around the Fruit Heights area. We drove by the castle house on the hill and ended up at Fernwood Park. Wow. It reminded me a little of Mueller Park. It was beautiful. The oak trees were just beginning to turn brillant shades of red and orange. We walked on the path a little ways; it was both invigorating and peaceful. Quentin, the girls and I are planning on going back in the next week or two and maybe take a picnic and some better shoes so we can hike "for real." Ahhh, Fall....

Favorite Prophets

This morning as the girls were playing and I was getting ready for the day, cleaning up the house, etc. we had Conference on. I figured even if we weren't sitting there watching the whole thing, we could absorb at least some of it. At one point, Makenna said, "Kiera, come on - let's go play." Kiera replied, "Not now, Makenna. I have more important things to do." Not knowing what she was up to, I trusted her (I never have to worry about her) and continued doing my own thing. About a half-hour later as I went downstairs to check on her, she showed me her project - a manila folder with a few papers inside. She had drawn her "favorite prophets" (or Profis), including Gordin Be Hencklie, Josof Smith and Mestr. Snow. So cute!

House Tag

As I finished my blog posts this evening, I checked out some of my friends' blogs and stumbled on this one from Denise. It's a house tag. I thought, "Oh, that would be fun to do someday." But then I figured that wouldn't be fair since this tag is to take pictures of certain parts of your house, as is, right now. I thought when I got around to doing it, I would make sure I did it after everything was perfect. And that's not fair. So I grabbed the camera and snapped away. It was kind of fun - and now I tag whoever wants to play!!

THE KITCHEN SINK


THE FRIDGE


AND THE INSIDE


THE BATHROOM - THE GIRLS WANTED TO POSE



CLOSET


FAVORITE ROOM - FAMILY ROOM (It's where we hang out; see Quentin watching TV and see all the toys on the floor?)


MESSIEST ROOM - PLAYROOM (I had painted my "grass wall" earlier today and shoved all the toys against one wall; plus the girls got out more toys this evening)


WHAT THE FAMILY IS DOING NOW...
QUENTIN IS WATCHING THE VICE-PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES (SEE ABOVE PIC)
KIERA FELL ASLEEP ON THE COUCH (IN HER CLOTHES) AT 7:00 PM!

KASIDEE IS PLAYING

AND MAKENNA IS UP TO TROUBLE!

Project-Antsy

LIVING ROOM BEFORE...


TRYING TO DECIDE...


NEW PLAYROOM WALL...


I've been project-antsy lately. Just in the mood for a good a project. And for the last few years, I've been obsessed about the color sage. I've "sprinkled" the color sage throughout my house but have felt like I needed more. (These two totally separate thoughts will eventually make sense). Our living room is painted a milk-chocolatey brown, which is really pretty but has seemed kind of dark to me. So after nearly a year of having paint chips taped to the wall, I decided I was ready for this project - to paint my living room sage. So yesterday I started. I primed 1 1/2 walls and painted 1 wall the sage color. And I don't think I like it. It seems too bright or something. I wanted a soft, soothing sage color but I think I picked the wrong one. I'm not good at things like that. So my walls are still sitting there - one sage one, 1/2 of a primed one, and 2 1/2 walls the original color. And I don't know what to do. Just go with it and finish painting the room? Change it back to the original color? Add some white to the paint can and lighten it up? Hmmm.... So in the meantime, I decided to try a different painting project that I've been considering for awhile - and use some of that sage paint. I've noticed in a few magazines (as well as on my friend Katie's blog) that you can paint a wall to look like grass. So cute! So I tried it out. In the girls' playroom, I took one big wall and went to work. Kiera was at school, Makenna was at preschool, and Kasidee was napping. And I finished it! The girls love it, and this may have given me the sage fix I needed as well as satisfied my need for a project!

Dinner

Tuesday night we had hummus sandwiches for dinner. If you've never tried hummus, well, it's to die for. I LOVE it. I've tried different brands and have even made my own, but the best I've tried is Meza Hummus, sold at Costco! Hummus is a spread made from garbanzo beans, sesame seeds, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic. Delicious! It's also so yummy with pita chips or as a veggie dip. So there ya go. Then tonight we tried millet. I've had this grain in pilafs, but I've never bought it and cooked it separately. I cooked it in veggie broth and added sauteed carrots, celery and garlic as well as grape tomatoes and olives. It was pretty good - it's kind of like a cross between risotto and couscous. It was fun to try something new!