A Time to be Scary...A Time for Treats!

Trick or Treating with Gracie, this year, was so memorable. As we were walking down our neighborhood sidewalk, hand in hand, I really wanted to just freeze the moment. "This is what it's all about", I thought. She was SO excited about EVERYTHING. She was just jabbering away. "Moon"..."Pumpkin"..."Spider". I really enjoyed watching her toddle to each house in her LION costume. (It was a tad bit warmer than the Alice in Wonderland Dress.)


I just loved her in this "Alice" dress!


We attended our church ward party where we enjoyed some chili, cornbread and Trunk-Or-Treating. We are standing behind one of the homemade "Houses" attached to some one's trunk. People had fog machines, pumpkins, the works...every decoration imaginable dotting their "trunks". I must have missed that memo...We had Candy. And that's what counts. Right?


On Halloween night, we had a visit by some Spooks (AKA my parents and Michael)


Michael was a Blind Referee, my Dad was a Biker and my Mom dressed up like a Witch. They looked great. My Dad looked completely legit. I guess he went into a gas station after stopping at our house. The guy behind the counter said, "Nice Costume." My Dad replied, "What Costume?" :)


The fun just continued. We headed up to a Halloween Bash hosted by Kylene & Greg. Here we are with our Good Friends, Josh & Janelle.


Janelle made a good looking pirate...and I am rocking my Cheshire Cat costume... thanks to Jody sewing on the giant pink circle on my shirt. Very cat-like. Yes.


And then there was the doughnut eating contest. Jody showed off his skills.


Hilarious.


If the string hadn't been way out of reach for a majority of the race...I think I could have taken home the prize. Look at these pictures. I'm really putting forth an effort here...Janelle is just nibbling and laughing at me.

Her Dream Has Come True...

Today she was Elmo. You can tell by the HUGE smile that it doesn't get much better than this!


All of the children in Gracie's Kindermusik class dressed up today for some singing, dancing and of course Trick Or Treating. I love this group picture because it's like she's making some casual plans with the little boy next to her... "So where are you headed after you finish your juice box?"

A 'Wonderland' of Halloween Fun!

Who doesn't love a Halloween Costume Party?! We went with the "Alice in Wonderland" Theme for Costumes this year. Gracie really liked wearing her 'Alice' dress. Jody made a superb Mad Hatter, and I was the Cheshire Cat!


We had a blast hosting our Halloween Dinner Bash. We have never had a Gorilla, a Hunter, a Baby Monkey, some Zombies, Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf, a Doctor and a Magical Fairy...with a side of Summer Santa, Raggedy Ann & a little Frog...in our home all at once!


We split into teams and played Trick or Treat Fear Factor! Here Lindsey, Josh & Jody are showcasing their gummy worm eating talents!


The food was festive and tasted great. My mom always made a Halloween Stew and cooked it in a Pumpkin when I was growing up. Jody and I have carried on the tradition. Lindsey decorated these darling cupcakes!


Jody tried (and tried) to talk me into being a family of Gorillas. Here he is showing off What Could Have Been....(Sigh)


The Homemade Root Beer was delicious...and Gracie definitely had her share. She started crying when Chad carried the jug of goodness out the door. She was sobbing, "Beer...Beer..." Slightly traumatic...but what was even more drama was her bouncing off the walls while the sugar wore off. (I guess it's just getting us ready for all the treats on Halloween Night!)


THriLleR!!

It's been years, because we were living in Montana, since I've seen the Dance Production of "Thriller" up at Kingsbury Hall. It did not disappoint. I went with a bunch of friends who see me at my worst at 6 a.m. for aerobics. We had so much fun!


I asked the zombies to please duck down...as there were some shorter people in the back...they didn't listen...in fact they just growled at me afterward. Scary!

Harvest Fun!

There is so much to love about this time of the year. That crisp feeling in the air, the beautiful colors that emerge on trees and bushes, football mania, awesome sweater weather & pumpkins!!


We took Gracie to the Cornbelly Festivities at Thanksgiving Point. It was a hit! The "Cow" theme seemed to be strung throughout the fair. Here we are relaxing on the Cow Bench.


Gracie had places to go rather than stick around for another picture with Mom and Dad.


Jody and Gracie went for a wild ride down the BIG slide!


She's a chicken nugget kind of a girl...but once she laid eyes on that foot-long corn dog - it was game over. No one else got a bite!


Still Eating...


We went for a bumpy ride, sandwiched inside a cow car.


LOVE for the Cow.


All in all - a wonderful way to spend our Saturday together as a family. Gracie enjoyed jumping in the bouncy castle at Pumpkin Princess Land...and it was quite the scene getting her out of the castle. Those bouncy houses are 'kid traps'...once they go in...they never want to come out...and the hole to crawl in to retrieve your child is about as big as watermelon...so unless you are a gnome or a leprechaun (which thankfully, I'm close to that height) Good Luck seeing your kid again! :)

Gracie is pretending not to know us in this picture.

179th LDS General Conference Concludes

I had the magnificent opportunity to cover LDS General Conference this past weekend. It was truly eye-opening to sit in the Media Room and watch conference from an inside perspective. It was exciting to cover the announcement of the 5 new temples. Enjoy the two news stories below. (You can click on the small square below the monitor to make it full screen.)

***Five New Temples Announced At LDS Conference

I interviewed many people, many of them had spanned the world to come to conference and listen to Church Leaders speak. It was very touching. The first lady I interviewed, in the story below, grew up in Samoa and has lived in Japan for the majority of her life...I got chills listening to her speak about her experience. Just click on the link below, and enjoy watching me get drenched in the rain.

***179th LDS General Conference Concludes

What We Did On Our Summer Vacation...

Summer was a SpLaSH!! And now we're ready to jump into Fall! We'll store the water floaties until next summer when we'll again relax at Grandpa & Grandma Wiscombe's Pool...


Throw this girl some pom poms...check out Gracie's Cheer Arabesque, and she's not even 2-years-old!


We will say "Goodbye" to eating Crackerjacks at Baseball Games until next season...


Hugging the Bee Mascot will have to wait yet another year...


AND NOW FOR THE BIGGEST ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE SUMMER...OUR YARD WENT FROM THIS...


TO THIS...


Jody had the vision to put a walk-out in our basement, and I'm so thrilled we did it. It adds an entrance into our basement and gives character to the yard!


Jody worked extremely hard this summer in our yard. We still have a great deal of landscaping to do, however it's coming along - and we love it!


WHAT ONCE WAS....


IS NOW THIS!


And here's a nice shot of our planter-boxes that turned into Planter Jungle! We see you Mr. Squash Plant...We know you are HUGE...you can stop growing now.


Yard Sweet Yard.

Family Reunion

Get Your Boots on Folks!

We spent a good amount of time at Bear Lake this summer. In addition to having the Tait Family Reunion there...we also met up with the Crane side of the family for a weekend and spent time with my Aunts and Uncles from Idaho. We hit the Bear Lake County Fair, where Gracie bonded with the cows. Look HOW excited she is!


Michael got the ride of his life on the boat. He was laughing pretty hard because the waves picked up, and we were getting splashed. Mom threatened to start swearing if she got splashed again...and Michael thought that was hilarious. It was great.


Here's my mom with her three sisters. I'm not quite sure what's going on in some of these pictures...but I like it.


We enjoyed the beach, and the kids had a blast making sandcastles. Gracie could play for hours in the sand!


And who are these two trouble-makers trying to join our group?! Love the new look Dad and Michael!


It's so nice to get together with family who you don't often see. Gracie met many of her 2nd cousins for the first time on this trip!


And a highlight of the trip was the Demolition Derby. I'll be honest - I didn't want to go. However, it was surprisingly entertaining. Let me paint a visual for you...parts of old cars flying into the air as the old beaters ran into each other full speed (with strategy) trying to be the last one running before literally exploding. Then there was a four wheeler race - where each rider had a balloon taped to his/her helmet, and the other competitors tried to pop the balloon by hitting it with a plastic baseball bat. Who comes up with these things?! I don't know, but truth be told...with our prime front row seats, sitting on an old wooden bench and getting splashed with mud when the cars went by - I couldn't help but smile and really enjoy the moment!

(You can pause the music at the very bottom of the blog, if you can't hear the video.)

Red High Heels!

Gracie loves to walk around in "Big People" shoes! I thought this particular choice was a fashionable one! I like the look of the red high heels with her jammies. Classy.


Also a huge Thank You to all of you who kept our niece, Lauren, in your prayers. I was touched at the response from all our dear friends. From Hawaii to Virginia - you emailed and kindly wanted to know how she was doing. She and her family felt your prayers. Lauren is no longer in the hospital. She went to the doctor a few days ago, and her lungs sound clear. We're here on this earth to come together and lend a hand...and you all did that. Thanks!