Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code

Before I get to sharing about this crazy weekend we just had, I wanted to update on this book... I have actually read this book multiple times and have yet to have finished it until now.  I turned my little brother on to the Artemis Fowl series and he still enjoys them, so I figured it had to be good and decided to give it another chance.  Actually, I decided to listen to it since now days it takes a lot longer to get anywhere... I actually have to drive into town instead of a couple blocks.  I really enjoyed listening to Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer.  The story was very interesting and entertaining, and it has twists... I love twists!  But I am getting tired of young teen geniuses or nobodies that find out their going to save to world... I guess that means I'm outgrowing up and out of juvenile fiction :(  Anyways, good stuff to read here!

Mesquite Getaway

Saturday night Todd and I headed to Mesquite, Nevada to join our friends, Tony and Brie, for their combined Bachelor/Bachelorette party.  This sweet couple will be getting married this coming Saturday (the 29th) and wanted to celebrate with all their friends.  Todd and I were very excited for the opportunity to go play!  It was a fun-filled night starting with yummy food at the Eureka.  Afterwards we went back to our hotel, the Oasis, so the party could race go-carts... that was a hoot to watch!  And then we headed into the casino to play.  We had a lot of fun... Tony introduced us to Paigow poker, that was a lot of fun.  Todd and I made $40 last for three hours.  It's fun because you're not competing against each other so everyone is talkative and helpful, and with our friends playing too it was awesome!  Even though that picture of me is at the slots, let me tell ya... I don't enjoy them hardly at all.  First, I don't trust computers, and it's just boring... no interaction.  I played $2 there just because I wanted to play Keno, but they didn't do it old school anymore... just on the slots.  One of my fondest memories is when my dad would buy me a keno card while we ate dinner on vacation in Mesquite.  He'd let me choose the numbers and then we'd watch to see if we won.  So I played for nostalgic reasons, but the machine is not the same!  Anyways... it was a GREAT night!!

Our Little Turkeys

I have found a new love... doing arts and crafts with the kids!  I have really struggled with how to occupy my kids time so that they aren't just watching tv (even though the cartoons amaze me with how much the can teach these days).  One day I discovered the Family Fun magazine at the library, and my world has changed!  I know, I'm a little slow... duh, crafts with the kids is a great past/present time.  But, if you know me, I have a hard time letting the kids get into messy stuff, so I guess for a long time I was just waiting for an appropriate age... when they could follow instructions and not get the supplies all over the house.  Well, we have come of age!  I am loving it!  And it is so sweet to see how proud they are of their creations!  Ah, I love being a mom!  Plus, don't you love their "concentrating" faces!  Gary's is the best cause he'll get really close with his eyes to the project, like he has to see every detail... or he'll stick out his tongue, all sorts of cuteness!  These turkeys went in our window, and the kids love to point them out so no one misses out!  Sweet!

What a Visit

Today Todd and I spoke in church... after we were asked to speak Todd was quick to make sure the people I know knew that I'd be speaking... Thanks Todd (grr)!  Not that I'm complaining completely, because it meant that my family came down to visit me AGAIN!  Two weeks in a row... I'm so happy :)  I called up my Grandma Betty and invited her to come down to so we could celebrate her birthday together!  As you can see she turned 29... again :)  It was such a fun night: we ate a grand dinner, gave her gifts, followed by cake and ice cream!  I loved being able to spotlight her, especially since she's not too fond of birthdays... that just made it all the better to make her feel special!  After we got the kiddos to bed we played games and laughed a lot!  Today was a lot of fun as well (as soon as I got the talk over with ;))... we had more yummy food and hung out a bit before they had to go home again :(  But in a week and a half we'll be up there again for Thanksgiving, Yay!

Flashback Friday

This isn't too far of flashback, but last week was so busy as we led up to Halloween that I never got this posted and I wanted to!  Tuesday, October 28th, our friend, Ty Hansen (aka Linda, my dad's girlfriend's, son-in-law) took us on a flight in his four person propeller air plane!  That was quite the experience,  very different from a commercial jet... especially on the landing.  I don't know if I enjoy such front row seats as the ground gets closer and closer!  I really enjoyed seeing all of our beautiful surroundings from above, though, it's such a different perspective!  That's also different then a jet, since they quickly rise above the clouds.  It was a very unique experience, and I'm glad we took advantage of the opportunity to go!  And we're very grateful that Ty was willing to take us with him!

Our Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun, the whole month was  a lot of fun!!  We started the day at our local library (in Hurricane) where they had a costume parade!  I was very impressed by how many kids were there!  That afternoon we decorated cupcakes with spiderwebs and spiders (don't worry, it was all edible) for our party that night.  Then I told a "ghost story" while they colored paper ghosts to match the story and hung them in the window for their daddy to see when he got home.  We went to a little trunk-or-treat with their little cousin Koda, Uncle Koby, and Gma Young.  And then we headed to St. George where we went to the Ballantynes.  This wasn't only cool because we were having a mini-party, but also because I hadn't talked to Jenny since our previous college days.  We were friends in high school, then roommates at SUU, she did my hair for my wedding as well as one of my bridesmaids, but life hit after that and we loss touch until we recently found each other again on Facebook!  It was fun to reunite as well as watch our kids trick-or-treat together!  We had a lot of fun, and were sufficiently worn out by the end of the night!  And for the first time I'm not complaining about the weather... it was PERFECT!