school party-round 1

I was a bit of a Scrooge for the trunk or treat. Today I made up for it by donning a sporting costume and surpising the kids at their school parties.

'Barefoot and in the kitchen'...frightening!

it's a custume people...don't get any ideas

Annual Pumpkin Carving Contest!

We've hosted this at our home for the nieghborhood for 9 years now. Doesn't matter where we live, we invite our neighbors and a few other friends and carve! Home made caramel apples for category prizes and T-shirts of the Over-All best in each age group.

This is serious business!

The Judds were the only representatives from the neighborhood this year. Hmmmm, maybe we're scary neighbors?

Monte's best friend Jonah came as well as the Judds, the Reidheads and the Simmons families

OK...he couldn't have been happier cutting away on his own! No wait, when we lit up the fire pit and brought out the marshmellows that added a bit.

trunk or treat

Don't get me wrong, I love Halloween, I really do, I'm just wondering when it became the biggest and busiest of all of the holidays in the year! Ward parties, School parties, Work parties, Neighborhood parties...with costumes and make-up at each one!

Fall Break

The Park, the Zoo, cousins, play dates, hangin' with nothin' to do...PerFeCt!

Seth

JackMB

Clyde

MiLeSToNEs

Yesterday was a special milestone for Monte Birk.

He was baptized into

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

It was a very Special Day for us all.

Grandma Gardiner and Grandpa Arnett

Aunt Margot, Ryan and Lindsay flew in from Utah, as did Grandma Gardiner. Uncle Bill and his family drove in from Pinetop Lakeside. Grandpa was there with his gift of new scriptures with Monte's name engraved on them (this was a real highlight for Monte Birk.) Aunt Tiffany and Aunt Brindy were there with their kids and our good friends Jillian, Tristan and the Judds came. What a wonderful support network we have in our family. Thank you all for your love and support and taking the time and effort to share this special day with us!

bay leaf?

I was cooking the pork butt for MB's baptism lunch...outside

(the raw meat stinks...didn't know that...now I do...)
And while I was placing the seasonings in, Jack-et ran off, "I GOT IT, MOM, I GOT IT!!!" huh? A few seconds later there was yet another spice in the pot, right next to the bay leaf...

not quite Jack...keep trying...

ScOuTS

Excited (yet nervous) but still...Excited

The nerves conspicuously disappeared when he was welcomed to the troop with a twinkie eating contest with the other new boy. Monte is so competitive that he almost threw up shoving it in his mouth so fast. Just look at the excitement on his face in that first shot. Scouts is going to be a really big hit at our house!

1 week

We did it! We left the kids in the care of Stephen and Brindy for 1 week and took a trip! (Thanks guys!) We weren't sure where we were going until the night before...just found the most open flights for us "stand-by" passengers...and the winner was...FRANCE! It was my 3rd time and Monte's 2nd to the city so we only did the city at night. For those of you that have been there you know that the city is just a city. The days were reserved for Normandy, Versailles and riding bicycles in the country. I'll spare you the 300 photo's I took and give you the city. (Please no judgement on the self photo's...my arm is only so long...)

below is quite literally the view from our hotel, for us it was free (vouchers...gotta love 'em) for others $600 a night - OUCH! Notre Dame

Arch of Triumph



we did ride to the top of the Eiffel tower (and got rained on in the process), we did see the opera house (while were were wandering the city..not lost...wandering), we did NOT go into the Louvre (you can get lost in there, I know from experience) we did eat pastries (chocolate croissants are my faves), omelets (we stay over night by the monastery where they were invented) and crepes...wouldn't YOU?
My favorite highlight...other than the food
We spent one night in Normandy in the first town that the American soldiers liberated. I wish we had more time to spend there. The history alone of standing on Omaha Beach. It is difficult to find the words for such a sacred place. Awe inspiring is not quite right, reverent covers it better, and yet not, Miraculous seems better. Combine all three and that should cover it. To actually see the 5 miles of beach head lying before a hill with cliffs that were spattered with German soldiers. To know that so many boys and men, fathers and children died there. And to marvel that they ever got off that beach at all. I realised that it was a blessing for those of the Promised Land that they were protected. That the main part of the German forces were elsewhere. If they had been there at the beach the Americans would never had made it to dry land.