Happy Halloween!

I'd like to present to you all our very own:

HALLOWEENIE!

(get it? get it??)

I have to tell the story behind this costume, it's too funny. One day we got a flier in the mail for Party City and to keep E busy, I told him to look through it and see all the cool costumes. Well, he looked through the entire thing and when he saw this hot dog costume, it was over. That was all he wanted to be. And me, knowing him, thought I'd wait a few days and ask him again, because surely he'd forget about the hot dog and want to be something else.

Well, obviously not.

For almost 4 weeks, that was all we heard -- Mom, I want to be a hot dog for Halloween! And then it morphed into -- Mom, I'm going to be a hot dog for Halloween and you and dad will be ketchup and mustard!

I don't know about the ketchup and mustard, but I do know that he made the cutest little hot dog at our Trunk or Treat activity last night (that's why you see him with some other people in the 'costume parade' -- he wouldn't sit still to take a decent photo!).

And just in case you thought I forgot, here's your little dose of adorable baby costume:

Can you see his killer teeth? I just love them. Too fun.

So yes, we had a great time at the ward activity,

even though there was a man-eating hot dog on the loose!

And just curious, but does this make my child a cannibal??

:)

PS: I won 3rd place in the chili cook-off. And I was robbed!!

Is October almost over? Already?

Wow! This month seems like it has just flown by so fast! I suppose it's because we've been super busy, the hubby and I have both been out of town (him -- a LOT) and I've just put blogging on the back-burner. (Yeah, as if you couldn't tell already...)

SO, I thought I'd post a little update about us and what we've been up to lately.

Earlier this month, the kids and I took a trip up to Utah so that I could attend and also teach at the ScrapGirls convention. It was a long road trip there and back, but it was also a lot of fun. Not only did we get to hang out with Matt, Shayne, Remi and Corr, but I also got to take some fun pictures of their family! It was so nice to have somewhere to sleep so that we could break up the trip a little.

Then once we were in Utah, I got to hang with my ScrapGirls friends, see my sister and her hubby, visit with my aunt Mary, and just have a generally good time. Lots of good sleep was had, which is coveted these days. Here are some pictures from the convention:









Those ones at the end are some fun portraits my friends asked me to do while we had spare time here and there. It was so fun to get to photograph them and hopefully give them some new avatars! :) Because really, as women (and especially moms!), how often are we in front of the camera instead of behind it? Not often enough, I tell you! So I was glad to give these women a brief chance to have their photos taken.

I urge you to do the same! Ask a friend, your hubby, even your kids to take some photos of you once in a while. Even if you have to bust out the tripod, just DO IT! You won't be sorry. Your kids will actually have a photographic record of the mom they love! :)

And because I suffer from the same predicament, I'll show you my own portrait that my friend Caroline took:


So yeah, that's my soap-box moment for the day. :)

I hope you're all having a wonderful week and getting ready for a great Halloween! We are going to our ward's Trunk-or-Treat activity tonight, but that's another post.....

(does that keep you in enough suspense? check back tomorrow for our big costume reveal!)

happy

Seriously, if this song does not make you smile, then there is nothing I can do, you're terminal. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmKnQjBf8wM

I've watched it a few times and every time I do, it just makes me happy. It helps that I took ASL in college and I can totally relate to the facial expressions and everything. I love it. :D

Conan Love

I just had to share this because I think it's the coolest thing, and OH SO crafty.

Cool pins by batzie09

And it doesn't hurt that I have a crush on Conan. It's okay, the hubby knows. He's down.

LIVE

from the ScrapGirls Digital Scraplink Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah!

I am just too excited to be around all my favorite ScrapGirls and be able to reconnect with friends that I've missed all year! And even if I don't have a laptop and I'm stuck with my HUGE iMac monitor, I'm still going to enjoy being here, LOL!

I miss my kids terribly but I know they're in good hands. Thanks Ali!! Love you! And thanks to my aunts that are going to go above and beyond by watching my kiddos. I know they're in good hands, and I don't have to worry (even though I still will. What can I say, I'm a mom!).

So anyways, yesterday was filled with sitting around with everyone, chatting up a storm, getting ready for the convention to start today! Now it's all about taking photos, setting up the tables, getting prepared for the members and attendees to show up and have fun! Can't wait!

(Oh, and tomorrow will find me teaching a photography lighting class to this big group and I won't lie -- I'm a little nervous! But I'm sure it will be great.) Wish me luck!! :)

Linkin' Up

Since some of you have asked for some great DIY blog recommendations, here's a little list of the ones I've been reading lately. They're so inspiring and make me want to get my butt in gear and decorate this house! (Once we're back from Utah, that is.)

Enjoy! (There are also TONS of inter-linked sites and stuff that you can find just by searching around on these blogs. I swear, I can get SO lost in internet rabbit holes when given then chance!)

The Nesting Place

A Soft Place to Land

Living with Lindsay

U-Create

The DIY Show-Off

Have fun and be crafty! We're leaving tomorrow and probably won't be blogging for a good week or so. But who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and I'll want to update you on my trip. We'll see... :)