One of these things is not like the others...

Yesterday we had playgroup here again. These little boys are so cute together. They play every Tuesday and we rotate who takes them, so they are here once every five weeks. It's awesome.

We were watching a truck deliver concrete to the house across the street and they were so interested in it. I told them to get up high on the playset so they wouldn't get hurt and they all hung over the bridge for a long time. Jake of course is a wild man when I have the boys (apparently he is great for the other moms) but he does remind me so much of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. I've even started calling him MAX once in a while. But he's cute and so are his friends. It's fun to have them.

After School Activity

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Starring Ashley, Jacob, Luke, Daddy and our friend Cooper. Ty's gonna love this when he sees it! :)

Recent Fun

A couple of us kidnapped our friend the other night, dressed 70's/80's and took her to dinner for her birthday. At first I was mortified at the prospect of going in public dressed up (as a very sober, married mother of three) but once we got going I just started laughing and throwing things on and we had a great time. When I got home very late that night, Tyler smiled and said he hasn't seen me act like this since BYU. I really like my new friends! :) (Yes, that is Hannah Montana).
Drew's friend Katie came into town this weekend. She is a darling girl who we were glad to meet. She and I spent some time together on Friday while Drew worked and then the four of us went to dinner at PF Changs. They came to church with us this morning to watch the kids in their primary program and then came back for dinner and to carve pumpkins. She is fun to have around.
Tyler and I busted out our 50's costumes Saturday night at our Halloween party. We threw a Iron Chef Party where everyone brought a dish with cinnamon in it. We all tasted everything, voted on our favorites and then gave prizes to the winners. And we had some awesome food to choose from (cinnamon/chocolate dipped apples, pork tenderloin with a cinnamon sauce, coconut bread, etc!)
I was happy to get pumpkin carving in earlier than Halloween night this year. We were actually able to enjoy ourselves this time around and Luke took part in the carving himself for the first time. Jake of course, being the Halloween-hater that he is, took no interest and instead went downstairs to watch Tom & Jerry while we did it. They turned out cute though! (The "R" was Drew and Katie's and stands for Redskins).

Halloween is coming!

I am excited to post a picture of Jake in his Halloween costume, because this may be the only one I get this year. He was born despising dressing up. Last year he didn't even go trick or treating because he was so done with the hubbub of our family dressing up and fussing around with costumes. And he didn't like being scared of the sounds and masks that he kept running into.

This year I got him out of the cart (yes, he WAS in the cart, Marie!) and tried on a few costumes because he seemed to be open to it. After trying on a Spiderman, Buzzlightyear and another that was too tight, he explained that he was just going to be Jacob Mark Hillstead. I thought maybe I could work something out with a regular sweatsuit - and since he LOVES his army guys these days I thought this would be cute. And it is, only he's still not wild about it.

Anyway, daddy and uncle Drew helped the kids make a haunted house the other night and that was fun too. I love getting ready for Halloween!

Can you say Cinnamon Rolls?

I was asked last month to teach a cinnamon rolls class at church for our "Fall Fun Day" this weekend. I was excited to do it, but asked for some help from my mentor and dear friend, Jilly, who taught me how to make them in the first place! She so kindly obliged and came over Friday afternoon into the evening to make (with me, but really FOR me!) almost 100 cinnamon rolls to take to the church the next morning!

My kitchen was in a frenzy with children, Nana and husbands, sugar and frosting flying around the countertops. We managed to save 60 of the most beautiful rolls aside in the dining room but then gorged ourselves on the remainder, and on scones with honey and powedered sugar. It was a real treat!
THANK YOU JILL, FROM ALL OF US!

Golfland

My "magazine pose" - pretending like I'm having a good time in my shady perch.



See the furnace of fire behind them? That's what the air felt like.

We went to Golfland Friday - the kids' choice for Fall Break. Unfortunately it felt hotter than H-E-double-toothpicks and Nana was a good sport just to get through it with us! It is really frustrating each year when the weather plays tricks on us by making us think it is Fall, only to creep back up into the hundreds for a few more days!

Fortunately, or unfortunately, the kids are used to it and had a ball regardless! Luke was covered in sweat from running around so much. Ashley loved "bowling" her balls instead of using the club, and Jake gave it his best shot trying to drag his ball into the holes.

In the end, we cooled off a bit on the bumper boats and had a good time. It's all about the memories, right?!

A little devil.

Yes, this is without a doubt THE SICKEST post I will ever make. It is horrible to look at and makes my skin crawl, but really, how often does one find such a thing as this in a condition to be photographed?! It was dead, of course! But just to make sure, Tyler ran over it in his car! REAL LIFE, UPCLOSE SCORPION ON THE DRIVEWAY. YUCK!

Shout out to Nana!

We have been so lucky with the amount of family who has been visiting us ever since we moved into this new house six months ago! Nana has come back to spend part of Fall Break with us and we are having a great time. We went to lunch and to see "Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs" (cute) yesterday, she helped me work on a quilt today and played with the kids while I ran a bunch of errands. She and Tyler are out playing night tennis right now, he is very happy to have some one on one time with his MOM! Shauna is a saint of a woman, a terrific grandmother and a very loving and sweet mom/mom-in-law. We are very blessed to have her in our lives!

Touches of Fall

The weather HAS COOLED dramatically over the last week! We are thoroughly enjoying the beautiful, breezy 80's! Windows are open, the A/C is OFF and fresh air is filling the house!! I've had so much fun the past few days with my family (my mom surprised us with a visit this weekend, along with Michelle and Drew) and decorating for Halloween. I wanted to share some of what I have done with the place to set the mood.









This morning I officially closed swimming season in the backyard by pulling in the sunbleached pool towels and swimsuits. It is shocking how quickly the water gets cold when the nights are cool. It was a good, hot summer. And we are looking forward to another good, cool winter outdoors.

Foxy Lady

Shelly belly came into town this weekend for to go to Homecoming with a good old friend from here. Tyler and I went up to Mesa to take pictures of them. She looked beautiful and happy! So fun.

It's General Conference Weekend - Hooray!

Some of my favorite weekends of the year are the two when General Conference is being broadcast througout the world! I love the warm, loving spirit that fills our home as we gather in the family room and listen to the inspired words of our church leaders and Prophets. I also love the traditions associated with these weekends - good food, restful days, family togetherness.

I invite all of my friends to join us in experiencing these wonderful things by tuning in to listen to General Conference for yourselves. It's broadcast live via the internet at lds.org and also shown on BYUTV which most dish providers carry. There are two-hour morning and afternoon sessions on both Saturday and Sunday and each session is different.

The church is true. Heavenly Father loves us! I am so grateful to have the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life. It is the best.

Go Cougs!

Looking forward to another game tonight!
(p.s. thanks for all the gear, grandma!)