Fright Night

Part of the reason we went with a Halloween themed birthday party for Coop and Cass was because Paul and I were asked to be in charge of the tri ward Trunk or Treat.  I had Halloween on the brain and so it made sense to keep the theme rolling.

It was quite the undertaking to plan the Trunk or Treat.  I decided to change it a bit from the way its been done the last couple of years.  Because of that, I was really nervous about whether or not it was changes for the good or the bad.  The planning was filled with lots of second guessing and several what-have-I-done moments. 

To start the whole thing rolling, I needed a theme.  You have to have a theme to design the invites and plan the décor so I couldn’t get going until I had that nailed down.

I looked everywhere for inspiration.  Then I saw a picture of someone’s fireplace mantel decorated in white and black for Halloween.  I immediately locked on to that idea.  But I couldn’t get the phrasing down right for the invitations.  I called Amy one morning and told her I wanted to do black and white and that I was trying to figure out how to say it.  I said one or two lines of what I was thinking and then she interjected, “Black and White Fright Night.”  Loved it instantly! It was exactly what I was trying to say.

I made the poster and the invitations and then got down to the planning.

 

We sent out sign up sheets and had a great response for the food.  We met at the church Wednesday morning and started the set up.  I am so thankful for the people who came and helped do the setting up and the decorating.  It took most of the day to get it ready.

But it turned out AWESOME!

Cell phone pictures never do it justice.  Just imagine dry ice spilling over the cauldron in the corner, spooky music blasting from the DJ’s speakers, and low dim light to complete the mood. 

We put the food in the room across the hall.  People formed the line down the hall and then entered the room with the food set up buffet style down the center of the room.  The room was also decorated and it was very festive.

The flow worked really.

We had a huge turn out.  I’m estimating here but probably over 300 people were there.  We had great food and then sent everyone out to Trunk or Treat. 

The night was from 5-7 so that families could head home and do some of their own trick or treating.   Our Kids were excited to go around our new little neighborhood.

During the hustle and bustle of the day I didn’t really get a chance to take any Halloween pictures.  After everyone was home and just before the candy high’s and tired melt downs were in full blown status, we snapped a picture of the family.

And just in time for Christmas, let me say……. Happy Halloween!

4 by 2

My little babies are now four year olds.

They are such fabulous little kids.  I have always loved this stage with my other kids and it is so fun to experience it again, times 2.

Coop and Cass had their first friend birthday party this year.  Allie and Kara’s birthdays are in the summer so it was fun to get to plan a party that we got to invite their whole class to.

We decided to go with a Halloween theme this year.  The kids got to dress up for their party.  They were so excited about everything.  The days counting down to their birthday were filled with lots of, “Is it our birthday today?”  They were excited about dressing up, friends coming, presents, games, candles and even the fun pumpkin cups and plates.

Allie and Kara were so good to help all during the party.  We snapped a really hurried picture as the first people were arriving.

We played games, did some crafts and had a fun time.

We had ‘pumpkin’ pizza.

And Cooper and Cassidy had ‘pumpkin’ cake.

The party was a success!  Cooper and Cassidy loved every second of it.  They are such cute kids. 

Cooper is a smart, active and a good older brother.  He loves to play rough and tumble but he is also very sweet.  He is very loving and lovable which is a good thing since he is surrounded by all these girls.  Cooper is very good at writing his name and he knows how to spell Cassidy’s name and mom.  He takes a minute to warm up to new people and places.  He says adorable prayers and prays for his family, friends and even his teacher.  He absolutely loves Cassidy.

Cassidy is a sweet, caring, clever little girl.  She is so kind and helpful.  She often times will go second just to be nice.  She was the first one to start adding her own twist to her prayers.  It is heart warming to hear her pray for grandma and grandpa.  She is quite the little talker (like one of her sisters).  She is bright and quick witted.  She rarely gets ruffled.  When she does, it is usually very dramatic (like one of her other sisters).  But she tries to calm down and recover and like I said, it is not that common.  She absolutely loves Cooper.

I am so happy that they have each other.  Happy Birthday, my little babies!

Freezing Hot

Last week I saw a program about how to keep your food fresh in the refrigerator. 

I was just barely listening to it because I have heard some of it before and because I was doing other stuff at the same time. 

They talked about how to store veggies and fruits.  Never put them in the same drawer because fruit releases gases that affect veggies.  Make sure the humidity level is on high for the veggie drawer.

Leave eggs in their original container because they are designed to keep them fresher.  Eggs are porous and can absorb smells from the fridge.  The egg carton helps prevent that.  Never keep eggs in the door of the fridge.

I have heard most of that info before.  But then I heard something that was new to me.

They said that you should keep milk in the middle of the fridge.  (They were using a side by side fridge to demonstrate what they were talking about.)

They said that the middle is the most consistently cold place in the fridge.  I thought it was interesting and that it kind of made sense but then I was off to my next task.

The next day I went grocery shopping.  Once I was home and started putting away the groceries, I remembered what I had seen on TV.

So I made a few rearrangements in the fridge.  I moved the veggies to their own drawer, adjusted a shelf and placed the milk in the middle.

                   

Not to hard. 

And probably not going to make a big difference.

We had a day off of School on Friday and enjoyed a much needed lazy morning.  Paul was working from home that morning.  I came down the stairs and saw him finishing up breakfast.  He looked up at me and said,

“This milk is so cold! It’s awesome!”

It was so surprising to me because once I had made the changes in the fridge, I dismissed the subject from my mind.  I hadn’t even mentioned it to him.

Well, there you have it.  Proof that it’s true.  For Paul to notice and comment about it really says that there was a noticeable difference.  Even Kara noticed too.

So if you want your milk to be ‘’Freezing hot’’ like Coop and Cass say, try moving the milk to the middle shelf!

Round Two

Cooper and Cassidy had to wait about a week after the ‘sisters’ started school until it was their turn. 

They had seemed reluctant to the idea of going to preschool when we started talking about it 6 months ago.  Over time and because of seeing some of their friends starting to go, the idea grew on them.  We were able to go to a meet the teacher day and a picture day before school started.  This was really great because they got to see the space and figure out where things were while I was still there. 

So by the time it was the first day, we were very excited.  (note the use of the word we- yes, I was VERY excited too.)

I just love how 3 year olds try so hard to smile!

Oh!  They are so big!

Coop make sure to tell me that he didn’t cry at all.  He is so brave! (when he has his sister around.)

It is still hard to believe that my babies are in preschool!  Because of the hectic month of moving, it really came in handy that they got to go to school a couple of mornings a week.

And I am so happy that they have each other!

First day of School

(This, of course, happened a while ago.  Life has been a bit out of order for a while and so these posts will be too!  These kids are just to darn cute not to talk about them, so order or no order here goes some more stuff about us.)

Kara was the first to head out the door this year.  She is our only elementary student this year and her school actually starts before Allie’s.  It is so nice that we have been going to the same school all these years because it makes first day’s much less scary.
Here is my cute, confident 4th grader.

Allie jumped into a whole new world this year- Middle School.  I wanted the first day for her to be as less scary as possible so we went to every function the school had during the last few months of the previous school year and over the summer.  Allie and I even volunteered to help out the PTO a few days before school started.  Each time we went to the school, it helped Allie get the feel for where things were and how things worked.  By the time it was time for school to start, she was feeling really prepared.
And here’s my cute, confident 6th grader!

I am happy to say that they both had fabulous first days and this school year has been really great so far!

They love to strike a pose for the camera!

Change of address

I am back at it once again.  This time from a whole new house.  During the last month things have change drastically for us.  Everything happened so fast that I am just barely starting to recover.  Here’s the breakdown of the last 30 days or so.

Monday August 20th- Our house was officially listed for sale.  (this happened while we were still in Utah for a mini Johnson reunion and then a mini Garvin get together.)

Wednesday August 22nd-  By Wednesday, the house had been shown three times.

Paul had flown out of Utah on Sunday for a trip. I returned home from Utah with the kids late Wednesday night.

Thursday August 23rd-

8:30 am- Call from Marci letting us know that someone wanted to see the house in 30 min.  It was someone wanting to have a second showing.

Mad dash to do a quick pick up before flying out of the house.

9:00 am- Dentist appointment (filled with nerves about someone seeing our house and anxious about the possible outcome)

3:46 pm- Offer received for our home!    

Saturday August 25th- small counter offer

Monday August 27th-

8:50- Kara’s first day of school

9:05- Allie’s first day of school (more on the first days of school soon)

10:00- Buyer excepted counter offer.  Home is officially in escrow!

The next 10 days is called the ‘due diligence period’.  This is when the buyer does inspections and appraisals and checks to make sure there are no problems or liens on the home.  This 10 days for me should have been called the ‘denying reality period’.

Up to the point of listing our house, I had been on the fence.  One day I would think it was a good idea, and the very next day I was convinced that we could never live anywhere else. So the fact that the offer was excepted on August 27th and they wanted to close on September 28th was kind of shocking for me.  I was sure that this couldn’t really be happening.  Something was going to get in the way of it actually closing.  I didn’t want to tell people until after the 10 days just to make sure it was really going to happen.  Shortly after the 10 days was over,  the buyer requested another walk through so they could measure for new flooring.  That is when it became real for me. 

Now I had a new set of worries.  Where will we live?  Is it possible to find a home to buy and then close on it in less than month?  Should we rent for a while?  How am I going to get the house all packed up?

The month of September was absolutely crazy for us.  School had just started, I  had a few weird health things going on and then had a really bad reaction to some medication that left me feeling pretty terrible for more than a week,  Paul had to have a very deep suspicious mole removed that required internal and external stitches, and he had a very tight travel schedule for work as well.

But some how we managed to find pockets of time between field trips, auditions, retreats, friend birthday parties(which I mistakenly packed the presents and after an hour of trying to pin point which box they were in, went with the lame old cash in a card gift instead), line leader and snack provider, picture days and lots more fun everyday life stuff- to pack up our belongings. 

We had help from friends, church friends and family members that made things all the more bearable. 

Monday September 27th- Went to the title office to sign away our house!

Tuesday September 28th- fabulous friends from church came over for several hours in the morning and packed up the entire storage room and kitchen.  Its amazing how much stuff just kept coming out.  I thought it would be a small job and thankfully because of the many hands that helped it wasn’t too bad.  It is a humbling experience having other people go through your stuff and help you pack it away. 

-My mom and dad arrived late Tuesday night.  I was feeling particularly overwhelmed and tired.  Just the sight of them walking in almost brought me to tears.  Nothing like having your parents around to bring you comfort, no matter how old you are.

Wednesday September 28th- the crunch is on!

My dad and I moved all of the kitchen and storage room boxes over to the rental.  My cousin Heather kindly brought us dinner (one of the THREE she provided for us during the move! Amazing!) and moved over the kids hanging clothes to the closets at the rental.  Mom worked through the boxes in the kitchen finding new homes for all of our items.  Dad and I continued making trips from the ‘old’ house to the rental.   Marci, our multi talented realtor, helped me bring over the entire master closet and bathroom boxes.  She then worked with amazing speed at unpacking, organizing and even slightly decorating the closet and bathroom at the rental.

We got so much done that there wasn’t much else to really move except the big stuff and the stuff that was going to storage.  So Dad talked me in to moving over all the beds.  That hadn’t been my plan at all.  Now having done it, it was totally the right move.  Thanks for that Dad! 

I left to pick Paul up from the airport around 7pm.  We went to the old house and put our king bed and small kitchen table into Dad’s truck and then drove away into the night.  My ‘last night in the nursery’ (peter pan reference) had happened and I didn’t even know it until it was over!  But we are moving on to new adventures now.

The kids have been real troopers during this whole experience.  They loved to ‘help’ how ever they could.

(cell phone pics :()

Thursday September 29th- I don’t even know it was just a blur!

We worked all day doing last minute things.  We thought we were prepared.

And then the men from the ward (the geographical area that makes up the people who attend our church) came.

Wow! 

It was absolutely amazing to see them in action.  And like I said, I thought I was prepared.  They worked so fast, that I would turn around and someone would want to know what to do next.  We ended up moving the fridge with food in it because I couldn’t keep up.  We actually had the last load of bathroom rugs in the dryer that we snatched out so they could pack up the washer and dryer!

This full trailer (and truck with the washer and dryer) went to the rental.

This full truck went to storage.

Yes, it blocked the whole street.  And yes, it is 53 feet!

It is truly wonderful and hard to receive help from so many people.  But the truth is, no matter how much I had prepared I could never have done it in this tight of a timeline with out the help from others.

I am so humbled and grateful for all the help that we received this last month.  I can’t even begin to thank everyone enough.  Especially my parents. 

The rental is awesome and really working out perfectly.

The only damper on this whole experience is the fact that we will be doing this again sometime again in the near future!

Oh well, for now we are happy, healthy and grateful for a place to live.

I have learned some good tips and things from this move so next time should be a breeze! :)  So we’ll just cross that bridge (moving again) when we have too. 

One fell off…..

Several weeks ago we finally bit the bullet and took of the sides of Cooper and Cassidy’s cribs.  I know, I know…… they are only 3 and a half.  I should’ve left them in till they were 5!

This is the longest we have ever kept our kids in cribs.  Both of the girls were out around the age of 2.  But this has been the easiest transfer ever!  They are old enough to totally understand the concept of staying in their bed and we have had no real issues.

Except for one thing.

Cooper has a tendency to fall out while he is sleeping.

And he sleeps right through it.  We pick him back up and put him in his crib and he never even knows it!

He is always in the strangest positions. 

His head is under the bed with just the top of his face peeking out.

It has become quite an experience checking on him each night.

All the while Cassidy sleeps right across the room from him with no issues.

I especially love how she is sleeping with all of her bracelets on!

But the best one yet was just last week.  Paul was headed out really early and peeked in on the kids.  This is what he found.

I don’t know how Coop managed this one!

But he always has had the talent for sleeping in strange positions.

Look at those chubby cheeks! 

 

How to enjoy the summer in Las Vegas.

If you are luckily enough to have one of these….

you are definitely ahead of the game. Luckily we have great family and friends who take pity on us and let us cool off from the heat.

But we can’t always drop in for a little dip in the pool so we have to make do around here.

We have a nice backyard but with temperatures hitting 111 degrees, its hard to want to play out there.  The only time that it is bearable is the evening time.

The other night we spent the evening playing Frisbee out back.  And even though it was still hot, it was actually an enjoyable evening with the family.

Paul brought home a bunch of extra Frisbees and the kids tried their hardest to figure out how to throw and catch them.  This proved to be kind of difficult for their little hands.

Especially with your little brother hanging around!

This one went right past her fingers.

So Close!

(I really should have adjusted my camera settings….the light was fading so fast and the kids were running around so fast. It was hard to capture it with out a lot of grain or blur. But I’m glad I have these memories even without spot on pics of it.)

Everything was going great and then suddenly….

The sprinklers came on!

We all had a good laugh and thought it was funny.

…….Except Coop!

He was not happy that he was stranded at the back of the yard.  What’s funny to me is that because that boy loves to wear multiple layers of clothes, he actually had his swim shirt on underneath his Car’s shirt.  He was technically the most prepared for the situation!

His wonderful sisters braved the wet conditions and came to his rescue. I think they were just happy to have an excuse to go through them again.

I guess this is just one more way we can enjoy the backyard!