Happy Halloween!

Phew. Another Halloween laid to rest.

Hope yours was a good one!

Pete the Cat

We have a new favorite children's book in our family. It's the story of Pete the Cat who has some new white shoes. He loves his white shoes so much he sings a song about them: "I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes, I love my white shoes." But then he steps in a big pile of strawberries and his shoes turn RED. "Does Pete cry? Goodness, no. He keeps walking along and singing his song..."

This book is so much fun to read and teaches an important life lesson-- to be flexible when life doesn't go quite the way you want. Definitely something we need work on around here. :)

Did you know we got to go on a cruise?

October is becoming "cruise month" for David and me. In 2007 we went with all of David's family, last year we went with Audra & Mike, and this year we went with David's sister, Rebecca and her husband, Tom. I feel totally and completely spoiled!!

Our first stop was in Key West. I loved the old architecture and the history of the area. The historic district had so much charm!

This is one of the old houses-turned-hotel that we peeked in. All the floors and windows appeared to be original. And one of the things I loved was all the rooms upstairs had  different doorknobs-- crystal, white glass, metal. Definitely an item I'll add to my "someday house" wish list. (The pic below is me inside the house pictured above.)

We totally ate ourselves silly. The picture below is of David and I at dinner one night. Having someone cook and clean for you is something I could definitely get used to!!!

One of our most memorable activities on board the ship was playing mini-golf in hurricane force winds. It was crazy!!! But thanks to David's insistence we persevered and had a great time with lots of laughs. (He is not one for sitting around the pool. He likes to DO things. And he wanted to play mini-golf!) :)

The highlight of the trip was getting to spend a full week with David. He is such a cool guy. I like him so much.

We also had a great time with Tom & Rebecca. Here we are on a boat on our way to do some snorkeling in Cozumel.

A million thanks to my Mom for flying out to stay with the kids while we were gone. They had such a great time with her. And since she lives far away it was great bonding time for them. Now my girls have an even greater appreciation for what an amazing woman their Grandma is. Thank you so much, Mom!!!!!

I see it now

Last Sunday I went to a fireside with Audra. Multiple times people commented about how much we look alike. I've never really seen the resemblance until I looked at this picture again. Now I get it. We all totally look like sisters, just different coloring. Funny how it finally clicked.

Lacey knit scarf

In the past I've always been a warm weather girl. But this year I've been eagerly anticipating the cooler weather. I think it's because I have been knitting this scarf for the past month and was excited to be able to wear it. I used THIS pattern and one skein baby weight yarn. This morning the temperature finally dropped enough to necessitate a little extra layer around my neck. Yeah!

Conference Feast

General Conference weekends rank right up there with Christmas in my book. I anticipate them and when they finally arrive I try and savor every moment. One of our recent traditions is to have Audra's family over for the Sunday morning session. Prior to the session we have a nice Sunday brunch. Today we had cinnamon rolls, crumb cake, scrambled eggs, and bacon. Little Joshie was seriously licking his chops. :)

I hope you have enjoyed your conference weekend as well!!

Wax and wane

Emily has been studying the cycle of the moon this month in school. Each night we look at the moon and chart its progress. When we started, the moon was just a little sliver in the sky. We watched as it grew and grew into a bright and beautiful full harvest moon. And now it is slowly receding. Pretty soon the sky will be dark as the moon renews itself and starts the cycle over.

As we have watched, I've noticed some sililarities between the cycle of the moon and my own life. Sometimes I am full of energy. I am bright and productive. Each day brings growth and accomplishment. Other times my energy wanes. Life is quieter, less active, and I sometimes wonder if I'm going backwards in my progess. But looking at the moon, I realize that is part of the cycle of life. We can't always be "full." We wax and wane just like the moon does. And it's okay. Sometimes we need to pull back and then start over. Giving whatever light we have to share at the time.