I covered my swing.

We bought this swing seven years ago. It has been well enjoyed and kissed by the sun. But it was ugly. I didn't want to throw it away because it is functionally great, so I decided to recover it. At Joann's outdoor fabric is $16.99 a yard. I found this fabric at walmart for $3.79 and I freakin covered this thing by myself. I couldn't believe I did it, and I think it looks pretty dang good (if I do say so myself!). Total patio facelift!
The "before" with the "after"
Dealt with the hardware taking it apart and putting it all back together
Made pockets similar to pillow cases and then hand sewed them on tight and shut
Ta Da!
Doesn't it look much more inviting?!

Another tooth GONE

I feel sad when Luke loses his teeth. It makes me think about when he was a baby I watched those little teeth come in. And it reminds me of how quickly he is growing up! I look at my cub scouts who are 8 years old - they seem way beyond Luke's age - and I realize that he will be one of them next year!! It is frightening!

On Halloween Luke pulled out his third tooth. It was hanging by a thread and he went it the bathroom and got it out one his own, I missed it (I tried to get my hands in there two minutes earlier and he refused to let me). So the toothfairy came on Halloween night and he was delighted with the dollar she left him.

Ashley's bottom little tooth is now wiggley. It is so sad! My babies are growing up and when they lose their teeth, they never look the same again.

A Date with Jakey

Schepf Farms is one of the fun places to be around here in the Fall. I tried to find time for our family to go on several occasions in October but things we too busy. So ultimately I decided to just take Jake and make it a mommy and Jake date! While the other two were at school, my friend Marie and I took our little ones and had a wonderful, relaxing and fun day at the farm. Jake could tell that he was getting my undivided attention and he rather enjoyed it. I did too, not having to attend to three at once; it was all about him!

I sure love little Jake. He is a busy, bruiser of a kid but with a gentle, loving side. I was glad that I took the opportunity to spend my day with him.

At last, Halloween Arrived.

Halloween in Arizona is awesome. 4th of July is terrible, but Halloween rocks.

We started the night out with a drive back to our old neighborhood to see our old house. The couple who bought it are NUTS about Halloween and turned the whole front porch into an enclosed with wood Haunted House. It was really pretty scary for the kids but I was interested in peeking through the windows at the place. They've painted.

Then we came home for Tyler to get his mask and music on and be ready for the trick-or-treaters (he LOVES passing out candy and asks every child in his spooky voice if they "want a chocolate covered eyeball"). I took the kids around the block while he did that, and we covered all the manners over and over for Jakey - don't reach into the bowl to take as much as you want, don't go into the people's house to see their dogs, and say "thank you". By the end we were doing pretty well.

We got together with some friends to go to another haunted house in the neighborhood and then for doughnuts and cider - to top the night off. I went to bed swearing to never eat again.

So another year's gone by. It's crazy how quickly time flies. I can't believe last year on Halloween we were in boxes getting ready to move into a rental expecting to be living in Utah by now. And here we are just a few miles from where we started.

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!