Update

It's been a while since I posted anything on here. I've been trying to figure out my fall schedule and how to be the most efficient with my days, since I split my time between here and the house in Orem, what with driving the kids to school every day. I actually don't mind the drive too much- except when all the kids are whiny and driving me nuts. I signed Aspen up for a community ballet class, which she loves, but which doesn't start until 4pm (just on Mon & Wed) so those are some long days downtown. I finished up a sewing project that took up pretty much all my free time during September. My neighbor asked me to help her make some bridesmaid dresses for her little sister's wedding. I made 5 of them in about 3 weeks- by the 5th one, I was getting pretty anxious to finish the project! But it was a nice switch to go from quiltmaking to dressmaking. I also just finished a Halloween costume for Aspen. She wants to be a kitty. Fortunately all I had to make was the skirt, and do some embellishing on her shirt and gloves. I'm never very good at making something without a pattern, but a skirt was simple enough. Madi is going to be the mouse that I made for Aspen a few years ago, and Ty is going to be either Madi's pumpkin from a couple of years ago, or her Tiger from last year. Jim's vote is for the Tiger, but the pumpkin would be super cute too. Aspen asks me every day if we can have someone go Trick-Or-Treating with us. For the past 2 years, we've spent Halloween out in Highland with Aspen's cousins & a bunch of Aunts & Uncles- and it has been so much fun, that I think we're now spoiled! I'll have to try to come up with something fun for us to do this year. Last year our ward did a Trunk-or-Treat where everyone decorated their trunks and handed out candy at the church parking lot. We missed it, so I'm hoping we do it again this year.

We've gone the rounds with sickness for the past few months. More than a few, actually- it seems like we've been sick off and on since Tysen was born. Madi is on her 8th ear infection in just the past year. I'm going to call up the ENT tomorrow and demand they do tubes, because obviously the fluid in her ears is just not draining properly. I took her to the hospital last night to have a chest x-ray done, to determine if she has pneumonia (since Jim had it about a month ago, and i'm rpetty sure I did also). Fortunately the x-ray was clean, so we don't have to worry about that one. I just wish we could all stay well for a change. Unfortunately, we're just starting into RSV and flu season. I'm seriously considering a flu shot, at least for the kids this year. We've never done flu shots before.

Ty turns 1 on Wednesday. My little boy is almost a year old! It seems like this past year has gone by really fast. I really wasn't ready for summer to end so quickly. And usually by this time, I've got Christmas mostly planned out. I like to start early, since I just don't have as much time now with the kids to just go out and go shopping or do whatever I need to at any time... so I start at the end of July preparing. I like to have it done early so that I'm not stressing at the last minute- and we usually have gifts to mail out, and I like to make stuff too... well, this year, I haven't even started & even though it is only October, somehow I feel behind. I still have canning to do! I did can a batch of salsa- a new feat for me- and I'm happy to say that it's probably the best salsa I've ever tasted. I'll definitely be making it a yearly tradition! I'm off to make a green bean casserole now. We actually got invited over to dinner by a family in our ward- I'm so excited! I think this is a first for us. We get the feeling that we "live so far away" (somehow 15 minutes up the canyon is FOREVER away) that people don't usually want to come up, so we were quite excited for the invite. Oh, what would it be like to actually have neighbors...