HALLOWEEN

Oh the joys of Halloween. This is Isabel's first Halloween dressing up, since last year she was a few weeks old on Halloween. This year she was a pink poodle. She loves this costume. Everytime I take it out of the closet she gets so excited and tries to hug it. It is very cute. I think she must know how cute she is in it and how much attention she gets while wearing it. She gets to wear it 3 times this year -- to the ward Halloween party, to our family Halloween party, and trick-or-treating. I know she will be pretty confused trick-or-treating, but Ryan will love the candy. I am trying to cut the candy out .... we'll see how that goes. But on that note, since Jan 1st of this year, I have lost 25 lbs. I am so proud of myself. So, Halloween = good times. By the way, I am dressing up as a Dog Walker. You can't go wrong with that costume. Happy Halloween everyone!

Jenny Phillips

For all of you who have not heard ...... Jenny Phillips and her husband Dan came to out Evening of Excellence this week. It was amazing!! The way I got them to come -- I know Dan. He was one of my teachers in the MTC. So, I contacted them about 2 months ago and asked if they would come. Did you know that Jenny gets booked for the whole year in January? I was amazed. Luckily, she said that since I know Dan, they would love to come. For our program we had 3 young women speak and then turned the time over to the Phillps'. They were great! They spoke, she sang, we all cried ... it was fabulous. I am so grateful for the spiritual experience we all had this week. I love Jenny Phillips! Her music is so wonderful. She sang songs from her new CD, coming out soon, and they were super good. I want it for Christmas. It was a really great evening and the young women loved it. It was a major success.

I belong in Rome too

I found this through Erika's blog and then someone elses...... long story short, I belong in Rome. I'm booking my flight right now.

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city soul with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian people - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

Isabel's Birthday

Well, it was Isabel's Birthday last week. I can't beleive that she is one. It seems like she just came a few months ago. She had a lot of fun at her party. She got some fun gifts and made a huge mess of her cake. I, by the way, made her cake. I think it turned out pretty cute. I love cake decorating. Anyways, it was a fun day and we had a good time with family and friends. To all of you who came: thank you. To all of you who could not be there: We missed you. We love you all!

Only A Mother Could Love This Face

The other day I was wanting pumpkin cookies, so I make pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Isabel was standing at my feet begging for a cookie, so I put her in her high chair and gave her one. She loved it! She also got chocolate everywhere. You know she enjoyed it by the chocolate all over her face. She's a funny girl.
On October 2nd Isabel turned 1 year old! I can't believe it. We are having a party on Saturday the 6th. If you would like to come, call me. I will probably put pictures on from her party later. More messy face pictures.

Grandma Dearie

The other day we went to visit dear OLD
Grandma Dearie. It was really nice to see her. She's practically a new person. This summer she's had 3 eye surgeries and has seen the dentist about 4 times, and still has upcoming appointments. She is getting a make-over inside and out. Even though she's getting older, it was fun to see her. Isabel wanted nothing to do with her (as you can tell from the photo). When I tried to get Isabel to sit on her lap, there was serious protesting. Oh well, what can you do about that? Anyways, it was great to see our Grandma. She is doing great. We love her.

Isabel loves her maté

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love maté. It's an Argentine drink. I promise it's not drugs and is not against "the word of wisdom". I drink it with my parents ay least once a day, if not twice. Ever since Isabel has been able to ... well, since her birth really .... she has been interested in maté. We always would share with her, but she could not figure out how to suck it through the straw. Well, this week is monumental - she learned to suck! She is a maté drinking machine. She loves the stuff! So know whenever we have a maté she has to have a sip of everyones or she freaks out. She is so cute. I think Ryan is a little worried about her being addicted. I'm not sure why he thinks it may be addicting, I only need it 2 times a day to function. Just kidding. Things are good here in maté land.