Has it really been that long since I've been around these parts? Usually when I'm on a long blog hiatus it's because I'm pregnant or I have a few screws loose that need fixing. I can assure you that the pregnant part is definitely out of the question. But I probably do have a few screws loose lately that could sure use some attention. Imagine that scene from Overboard with Goldie Hawn incoherently mumbling buh-buh-buh-buh while her kids are tossing grapes at her head saying, "Food! She needs food!"

Tell me you've seen that right? It's a favorite movie line over here. Anyhow, that may or may not be me at the moment. 🙂 But it's all good. Life has a way taking me down that mumbling bumbling path every now and again but good thing I've got plenty of people throwing grapes at me to get me back on my feet.

So I'm still on Halloween but I'm pretty sure everyone has moved on to Christmas by now. Maybe Halloween is the new Christmas though. Trees were already in the stores a long time ago. Bing Crosby's been singing about that White Christmas since it was 110 degrees here. So do you think anyone would notice if this was my Christmas card this year? Don't be surprised if it shows up in your mailbox!

This Halloween was pretty much the usual. Except I managed to get Lincoln to wear a t-shirt instead of pajamas.

The pumpkin family

And the fall festivities

Hopefully it won't be too long before I surface here again. But if it is, just come by my place with some grapes!

October has come and gone so quickly. Some days I wake up and think didn't that just happen yesterday? and then I realize a whole week has already passed me by. It's about this time that I see Ferris Bueller in my head saying, "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

I've gotta tell myself to stop and look around. Stop. and look around…because I really don't want to miss a thing.

I don't want to miss the thrill that fall brings to our house. Or the excitement of the first batch of pumpkin cookies. I don't want to miss the debate of costumes and the minds that are changed daily. Or the way they ogle over pictures of Halloweens past.  I don't want to miss the feeling of pulling into our far away friend's driveway as they run towards our car with glee. Or Christian's favorite new word "creepy." And Dallin's voracious/addictive reading of Harry Potter. And Ella's ever undying love of stuffed animals. Or spending time at the sort of happiest place on earth. Or Lincoln's couch gymnastics. And the joy (and sweet relief) of dad returning home.

Thanks, Ferris. Such words of wisdom. 🙂

I'm officially wrapping the summer up and calling it good. Not like I'm singing the praises of fall just yet though. That's still a good month away at least. But summertime has closed its doors and I finally went back and looked at what we captured from it. Cousin time. Water time. Mountain time. Family time. All good stuff. These are traditions that I hope they remember. It takes a lot of work (and a little bit of frustration) to make them happen but looking back, it is so worth it. Family relationships are worth it.

Goodbye summer 2011. Thanks for the memories. (that sounds like a cheesy yearbook autograph now doesn't it?)

My favorite photo of the summer is right here. Dallin and his cousin have lame sunburns but that smile from Lincoln. Just kills me. every. time.

Summertime took us to Utah. It was the perfect respite to skip the relentless heat of an Arizona summer. Nothing better than a cool summer night, folks. Nothing better. Especially in July. You are bound to see fireworks lighting the sky for weeks on end. We'd scoop up some ice cream cones and sit out on the lawn watching the colorful blasts pepper the night until way past our bed time. Way, way past our bed time. There wasn't a single night that they were awake when I tucked them in. Half dead is more like it. But they loved it. And they begged every evening to stay up until the whites of their eyes resembled road maps.

The 24th happened to be on a Sunday this year. What better place to celebrate this pioneer shindig than at Temple Square. I can't help but feel giddy when I see the sister missionaries dotting the grounds. They take me to a place…no they take me to a person…that I used to be. I often think about that part of my life and long to be that person again. Oh she's here, but sometimes it takes a while to find her.

But seeing those sister missionaries, it makes it so much easier to feel like Hermana (Sister) Pierce all over again. Yes, I think this really is the place.

I glanced up at the wall. It was eight o'clock pm. How did it get to be eight already? I had a to-do list a mile long when I realized that more than half of it just wasn't going to get done. The next morning was the first day of school and Lincoln's birthday. I had tried to be prepared for it all, but I'm a procrastinator. It's not one of my finer qualities. At this point, I had to pick and choose what was going to happen and what was not.  Going down my list, I narrowed it down to two things.

Balloons and bread.

Balloons for his room when he woke up. And bread for their lunches. Yes. Those two things were necessities. The rest would have to wait.

The day came and went and it seemed to be a good one for all. School went well. The birthday boy was happy. As I sat down at the end of the day to process it all, I thought about my role as a mom. Days like these help me realize what they really need from me most. Balloons? Sure. Bread? Yes. But most of all they need to feel my love. What they really need is my arms to pull them close and tousle their hair in the morning when they crawl out of bed. Or that extra squeeze hug when they come barreling through the door after school.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to let them all starve or anything. But loving them is tops on my list.

The ants went marching while in Colorado.

I used to be a hiker. It's on my list of things I used to be. Like a runner. Or an early morning riser. Oh, and maybe an organizer. Nah, I've never truly been organized for more than a week so I'll just toss that one out the window right now. 

But a hiker? I really did like that once upon a time. So when the chance came in Colorado, I was up for it. With 8 little feet along for the ride, I was pretty nervous how it would end up. Very nervous.

Was there whining? Check. Was there crying? Maybe a little. But did they do it? Oh yeah! And surprisingly well considering I was even winded after a mile uphill climb. 

It was so worthwhile to do something hard together as a family. Now, if we could all learn to organize…

saw this and loved it! so I decided to make good use out of my chalkboard last week.

school's in.

i'm still trying to catch up.

i'll get there…someday.