Wyatt's Halloween Orchestra Concert Costume

Wyatt needed a costume for his Halloween concert last night. I was hoping he could just wear his viking costume from years past but I discovered yesterday in getting it out that his helmet had been demolished. Shoot! Owen's was fine but Wyatt's head is definitely not the same size. I had to come up with something quick and I didn't have time to go to the store for materials. I was putting away clothes and saw one of Wyatt's yellow shirts.
*Lightbulb*
So, this is my 15-minute-procrastination-use-what-you've-got-in-the-house costume.

Say "Banana"

Wyatt and his best friend and cello partner Braxton.

The pictures aren't very good but I used an old yellow beanie with a black stripe around the bottom. It was perfect for a minion head. Cut off toilet paper rolls wrapped in tin foil made eyes and black pipe cleaners poked through the top made minion hair (wish you could see that in the pics). Jason's old mission suspenders finished it off. He said he felt like a dork but I thought it was pretty nifty for 15 minutes.
The concert was great and I thought the 7th graders sounded better than the 8th so way to go Wyatt!

General Conference Oct 2013

I've only been to General Conference once (well, twice now) and that was back when Wyatt was Weston size. It's hard to go and plan those kinds of trips with small children (heck, it's hard to watch at home with small children) so we had never gone again. A while back we happened to be talking to our ward's 1st counselor when the bishop walked up to ask him if he knew of anyone wanting conference tickets. At the end of the conversation, we ended up with 3 tickets to the Saturday morning session and 2 to the priesthood session. We figured I could go with Wyatt and Owen that morning and Jason would take Wyatt to the priesthood session that night. It worked out great and I think the boys had a good experience.
Thoughts on conference:

• I retain SO much more when I'm actually there and can focus just on the speakers! Wowzers! So wonderful! I can still tell you every speaker that morning, what they talked about, stories they told, and music that was sung. Can I say that about the other sessions? No mam!
• When I watch from home, one of my very favorite things is to listen to the choir sing and when the congregational hymn is sung is when I usually take a bathroom break. At conference, I still love the choir but the congregational hymn is AMAZING! With that many people singing all together, all around you, it's so powerful. I mean, where else does such a large group of people sing together like that? You've got to experience it to know what I mean.
• In front of me, an old lady was texting away on her fancy phone before conference started. I noticed her because she was texting and flipping around on her phone like a pro for such a 'mature' lady. She was taking pictures of her family next to her and sending them with messages like, "Waiting for conference to start. So excited!" (I'm nosy. I know.) I got in a conversation with a lady behind me from California who was at conference for the first time and said she was so excited, too. Once conference started and right after President Monson spoke, I glanced around and noticed the old lady in front of me and the lady behind me that had been 'so excited' were dead asleep! Looking around a little more I was amazed to see just how many people were asleep. Most of them slept through the majority of it. The husband of the woman in front kept nudging her to wake her up, which she would for about a minute and then go right back out. It was kind of funny......and kind of sad. Oh well.
• Outside the conference center afterward, there was a large group of protesters holding up one finger (no, not that finger) indicating the number one. They were yelling and had signs saying things like, "There is only ONE God". They were protesting (very strongly) our belief that we can be like God someday, become Gods and Goddesses. I was tempted to hold up my finger too and say, "I totally agree with you! There is only one God! BUT, why is it so hard for you to accept that we believe we can become like Him someday." I wanted to ask them if  they believed they were children of God, if they believed that our Heavenly Father loves us all very much. The only love I can really compare His love for us is my own love for my children and as a loving parent, I want my children to have every single good thing I have ever had in my life and more. Why then would God, as our loving Father, not want the same for us? To become like Him. To have what he has. Not to become THE God but to become gods and goddesses ourselves. It makes total and complete sense to me so why is it so hard for them to understand? We are asked not to try to get into confrontations with the protesters so I didn't say anything but I wanted to. Oh, I wanted to.
• It was sad to see people from our own church protesting at the priesthood session. Felt almost like a literal slap in the face. So sad. I don't pretend to know or understand everything but I do know one thing, you don't protest against your own church.

I was worried about how the boys might react to the protesters around temple square during conference. I remembered there being SO many when I went years ago so I tried to prep them a little. There were NONE Saturday morning when we got there. I guess protesters don't get up early. There were a few when we left, though. The boys were very polite to them and even said "no thank you" when offered a "Conference Issue" of the newspaper (wolf in sheep's clothing) that everyone else was taking. Proud of my big boys.

I got to visit my good friend Tifani who lives in Spanish Fork on Sunday. Tifani and I were friends in High school, roommates in college, and married roommates on the same day. We've kept in touch but hadn't seen each other in a long time. Jeff and her now have 4 kids. Aiden 10, Bryson 8, Caleb 5, and Dani 3 (ABCD haha). I LOVE their family and our kids get along so great!

My garden

Whew, sorry for the last post. I was just having a moment. Now I have vented and I'm good again.
Time for a happy, upbeat post don't you think?
This post is dedicated to my garden. Bushels of tomatoes, dozens of ears of corn, carrots, potatoes, squash coming out our ears, more pumpkins that we know what to do with.....my garden has made me very happy this year.

Early spring garden

The cows. Oreo, Jefe, Bessy, Crazy Cora, and Lucky Star. They were eying the garden all year. My biggest fear was that they would find there way into it.

Growing like a weed (both the garden and Weston).

A view of our house and garden from Jason's dad's house.

Some of our pumpkins grew through the fence into the cow pasture. The cows left them alone for a long time and we thought they were good until a few weeks ago when they suddenly discovered they were yummy. I saved most of the pumpkins but the vines disappeared faster than you can say "Moo".

First day of school for Wyatt and Owen. Jake and Weston did not want to be in the shot.

First day of school for Millie (kindergarten started a week later). Jake once again did not want his picture taken.

 So, thank you garden. It's been another great year. I now have quarts and quarts of spaghetti sauce, bags of freezer corn, and lots more yummy stuff we are still enjoying fresh.

What's on my mind

I got a call from my grandpa. He called to tell me that my uncle Mike had passed away. They found him on the floor of his home in Pocatello. They figure it had something to do with alcohol. On the phone, I told Pompa that I loved him and that I was so, so sorry. I told him this a few times. This was mingled with updates of how everyone was doing and talk of how fast time seems to go. I didn't really know what to say other than that. He seemed so calm, like he expected it sooner or later, like he had resigned himself to this outcome long ago.
Pompa is 86. He has outlived my grandma and 3 of his 4 children.
My grandma died in 1991. She had been addicted to prescription drugs which had ruined her stomach. She died from complications stemming from that.
Kory died in 1998. He had ruined his liver drinking and needed a transplant but couldn't give up the alcohol so was never eligible for the transplant.
My mom seemed to be the steady, stable one of the bunch. Or at least until around the time my parents got a divorce. Long story short, she was an alcoholic for 10 years of my childhood and was also addicted to prescription drugs. She overdosed in May of 1999.
Now Mike dies from the same kind of thing.
Stupid.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I hate it.
I'm sad.
I'm angry.
My Aunt Kim is the only one left and I'm afraid it's only a matter of time...only a matter of time.
So sad what alcohol and substance abuse can do to a family. I used to not talk about it. I don't know if I was embarrassed or just didn't want reminded. Now I have kids and I decided a while ago that I HAVE to be real open about this. No avoiding the issue, sweeping it under the rug, or trying to shelter them from it. I HAVE to be very clear.
We live in a world today with many entitled, self-serving people. The idea that I can do what I want, when I want and you can't do or say anything about it is the common theme. So many people see alcohol as their gateway to fun and that it's the lesser of the addictive evils or not even bad at all (and don't tell them otherwise or you'll get an ear full).
I'm here to tell you, that's not true.
To me, everybody that takes that first drink, or takes that first try of any addictive substance, is playing a game of russian roulette.
Are you going to be able to handle it?
Does addiction run somewhere in your family?
Is something traumatic going to happen further down the road and you'll come to rely on this as your way to deal?
Are you going to take it a little to far one night in the name of fun and do something stupid that effects the whole rest of your life or someone else's?
I could go on and on.
Russian roulette.
I've never touched alcohol other than to have dumped it down the sink a few times. Not only do I hate it with a passion but it scares me to death. Any addictive substance. I had a cyst two years ago and was in so much pain. They sent me home with some heavy pain killers and I was scared to take them. I finally ended up throwing them away. A little dramatic, right? Maybe. I just know what those kinds of things did to my family and I am absolutely determined that the cycle stops RIGHT HERE. You can't become an addict if you never take that first try.
I am so terrified for when my kids grow up. When they start going places and doing things where I can't be with them all of the time. When people or friends might offer them things and they are on their own. Geez, they are pretty much at that age now! I have told them all flat out what happened to my mom, uncles, grandma, and other relatives. I have told them bluntly that the same thing will probably happen to them if they take that first try. I'll scare it into them if I have to because the alternative would utterly and completely break my heart.
I can't even imagine how it has been for my grandpa throughout most of his life to watch his family sink into a seemingly endless downward spiral. No wonder he has clung to his second wife Judy's family so much. So much more stability and less sadness.
I'm so thankful for what I've learned in life, though. Wouldn't change it now. I'm sure to most people these things that have happened just seem like tragic stories but I know it doesn't have to be that way. I realized at my mom's funeral that these loved one's lives could be seen as more of a sacrifice than a complete tragedy as long as we learn from them and don't make the same mistakes. So in that spirit, I'm posting this, even though I maybe shouldn't, even though it's a little dark and depressing.
I love you guys....my husband, my kids, my parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, their families, extended family, friends! You're all extremely LOVED! Now go out there, make good decisions, smile and be happy!