Trip to Florida

I headed to Florida last week to attend my sisters college graduation and commissioning into the Marines. My parents and three brothers (Sam, Joseph and Steven) were also able to be there. It was four days of fun, complete with a trip to Disney World! My brother Joseph is in the Army and was able to give Katie her first official salute as an officer. It was pretty cool.

I can't believe my sister is all grown up with a college degree AND a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marines. Congratulations to her and all her hard work! Way to go Katie!

Thrills & Chills

Gutting and carving the pumpkins...
The costumes and treats...
Bryan and I were "Popeye & Olive Oyl" - yes, the dark hair served it's purpose well. #2 had a last minute wardrobe change to Spiderman and #1 was happy to claim #2's green Ben 10 jacket.

We of course attended the annual "Family Halloween Blowout Bash". The kids had a blast and the adults ate until they were sick - well, at least I did. But it just wouldn't be Halloween if you didn't go to bed with a stomach ache!

This holiday is rapidly approaching my #1 favorite holiday spot. It may just top Christmas one of these years...

Ben x 2

Halloween has officially arrived at our house! The boys got to wear their costumes to school this morning. They both dressed as Ben 10 and I'm happy to say I spent a total of $9.89 on these costumes. I had to buy fabric paint for #1's shirt and two cans of black hairspray. It doesn't get much better than that!

Do Blondes Really Have More Fun??

I will let you know, since now, thanks to my good pal (and awesome hairdresser) Sarah, I am a brunette. I've always wanted to go dark, but have been too chicken. My halloween costume had a little to do with the sudden boost of courage (you'll find out what that is later). Other than that, I just closed my eyes and let Sarah go to town.

It's definitely different, but it's growing on me. Something a bit fun at least. So far Roman and Ian have said I look like a witch and Isaac said, "So, your hair is only going to be like that for like two days right?" Well, at least they're honest... :)

Bryan's Fight

Here is Bryan's fight from Saturday.

A few weeks ago he broke a couple ribs while training. And of course during the first round of this fight, he re-broke one of the ribs along with another new brake. BUT, despite all that, he still won by TKO. Here is the third and final round of the fight.

Pokemon Party

I have awesome kids, but they are boys, and boys being boys, sometimes have trouble acting up a bit at school. So back in August, I asked them, "What does it take to be good at school?" Answer: Pokemon Party! Okay, a little random. I wasn't expecting that and I'm totally NOT a party person, but figured if this is what they wanted, then fine. So, the deal was made, if both #1 and #2 were good for the entire month of September, they could earn a Pokemon Party. Thinking they would never be able to actually do this, I figured this was a great because I would never actually have to follow through...

Well, yesterday we had a Pokemon Party. My boys were SO motivated to be good. They religiously kept track of the stickers they got each day for good behavior. They did awesome! We invited 7 other kids, came up with a few games, bought 600 used Pokemon Cards off the internet for prizes and went to town. I even made my first ever fondant cake in the shape of Pokemon Balls. The kids had a blast!

Way to go #1 and #2!

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Who: Bryan aka "The Geek"

Date: Saturday, Oct 17th

Time: 5:30-ish (just depends on how long other fights take)

Where: ThrowDown Elite in Orem 1640 South State, Orem

Cost: Tickets are $10 at the door

Style: Muay Thai - all of Bryan's MMA opponents have backed out (much to his disappointment). So this won't be the "big" fight he was hoping for, but he's too worked up to back out now. He has to wear pads and it's stand-up fighting only.

Why: Now, isn't that the question. Who knows for sure...mid-life crises, small-man syndrome, pent up frustrations...whatever the reason, he's fighting for sure. I'll be there peeking through my fingers from the sidelines. If you have the stomach for it, please feel free to come cheer him on!