HOCUS POCUS

Getting ready to leave for the "Trunk or Treat"... wanted to get these pictures posted while it was still officially Halloween. I hope the rest of you have a happy night of trick and treating!

Halloween meets Steve Urkel

He's been talking about revisiting this costume from his college days...I never really thought it would happen. When I called to talk to him at work today the receptionist says "Oh, Tony's not in today but I'll transfer you to Urkel..." I didn't get it. I said "What do you mean 'He's not in today?'" in a really nasty voice.

When he left for work this morning he wasn't in costume. Turns out he detoured to DI, Goodwill, and Walmart this morning after he left. The costume is awesome and he plays the part well. (He's a natural).

Financial Crisis

While perusing blogs this morning I came across some great info here. I recommend listening to the radio clips first (they're a little over an hour!) I thought the information was very helpful and eye opening. Oh, and it's also not favoring a presidental candidate or party. I learned a lot from listening to it and thought I'd share it with those of you who are interested.

Pumpkin Patch

Tuesday night after Tony got home from work we headed to the pumpkin patch. This is our third year going and we were all pretty excited. The kids started off with the hay bale maze...Julius and Bronwyn made it out, but Brady had to be rescued.Tony stayed in the main area with the babies while I rode on the hay wagon with the big kids to go find our pumpkins. We got a late start so I didn't stop to buy tokens before getting on the hayride...I figured we would buy tokens when we got back. I just wanted to make sure we found our pumpkins before it got dark. Well the first stop on the hayride was at the petting farm...so we HAD to get off. Unfortunately the kiddos lame mom hadn't bought the tokens yet so they could pet the animals but not feed them. They also had a pony ride (needed tokens....I really tried to distract the kids from noticing that - I knew they would be disappointed to miss it). But, there were lots of fun animals for the kids to see... a llama, pony, turkey, emu, zebra, horse, goats, sheep, etc. The kids scavenged some feed from some kind strangers who were ready to leave (thank you strangers!) and got a chance to feed the goats and zebra (the zebra was a biter so we didn't stay long there). Then we finally headed off to find our pumpkins....it was getting dark so we had to hurry.

I think we carried out 15 pumpkins...the kids carried some in their hoods, I filled my pockets, and our arms were all full. We rode the hay ride back and found the freezing Daddy. We finally bought some tokens and let the kids have fun on the inflatable jump toys while I bought some burgers, fries, and hot chocolate. We gathered around the dusty table in the dark and quickly ate the warm food. And then we loaded up and headed home. It was lots of fun for the kids and a bit hectic for the parents...But we were glad we went. Bye, bye pumpkin patch! See you next year...

The Others

I worry that I'm taking more pictures of the babies than I am of the big kids...but then I worry that I'm not taking as many pictures of these babies as I have for the others so there's no winning. BUT I did want to add some recent pictures of the big kids here too.... so here ya go!

Waiting at the bus stop

Braeden enjoyed helping me take pictures of Henry today
I've mentioned our fun shower before....this is how much fun we have been having with it!

So...yes I love my big kids too!

Henry and Hudson - 4 months

Hudson and Henry This has been a super fun month with the babies...they have started to giggle and flirt a lot....it's so adorable! They're both sick today - the second cold for Hudson and the first for Henry.

HudsonHenry
Hudson
Henry
I think there is nothing sweeter than babies feet....these are Hudson's and these are Henry's Happy 4 month's babies - we're loving every minute!

Chicken Casserole Ole

Sharing one of our favorite meals...

8 frozen chicken tenders (boneless, skinless)

2 C water

1 15 oz. can chili beans, undrained

1 C salsa

1/2 C green bell pepper, chopped

2 C instant rice

2 C Mexican style shredded cheese, divided

2 C bite size tortilla chips

Spray large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add chicken, cook over medium high heat 12-15 minutes. (I shred the chicken at this point) Add water, beans, salsa, and bell pepper. Bring to a boil, add rice and 1 C cheese. Cover, remove from heat; let stand covered for 5 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed. ( I usually have to leave the skillet on low heat for 5-10 minutes to make sure all the liquid is absorbed) Top with tortilla chips and remaining 1 C cheese.

Let stand covered 3-5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve with additional chips, sour cream, guacamole, olives, etc.

Goodreads

I met a new friend last night and she introduced me to a website called "goodreads". I'm all about reading new books so I stayed up late last night looking around the site. I'm looking for "friends" on the site so...check it out if you are a reader.

Since I've been thinking about books I thought I'd share the latest series that I just finished. I was introduce to this series about 3 or 4 years ago by my mom (I think). I started with volume 2 accidentally and then went on to read 1, 3-6. I finished the final volume 6 last week (thanks Gina!).

It is such a fantastic series that begins with the the war in heaven and then contines in book two with the same characters here on earth in our day. It is full of politics, terrorists, spiritual insights, and family dynamics. For me it's like 24 meets meets The Plan of Salvation. (Is that sacreligious???) Anyway... the author is Chris Stewart and the series is called The Great and Terrible.

Enjoy!

Remembering Grandad...one year ago today

Charlie Spencer Solomon (Novermber 9, 1926 - October 13, 2007)
After a long life of hard work and service, our beloved husband and father passed away peacefully at home on October 13, 2007 with his wife, Gay, and their six children by his side. Born November 9, 1926 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Nellie Cable Spencer and Charles Drew Solomon, Charlie was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and served in many callings throughout his life.
He served in the United States Navy during WWII and, following four years of service, he was honorably discharged. Charlie was an avid scuba diver and loved anything outdoors, genealogy work, gardening, reading, and being with his sweetheart. He served his first mission as a young man for the LDS Church in the Western States Mission.
He was sealed to the love of his life, Helen Gay Little, on January 11, 1951 in the Salt Lake City LDS Temple and they raised their six children to know and believe in hard work and commitment.
Charlie loved his Heavenly Father and Savior and wanted to serve as much as possible. He and his sweetheart served as missionaries for the LDS Church in the San Pablo, Philippines Mission where they learned to love very much the people they served. They also served as family history missionaries in Georgia.
Survivors include his wife and companion of 56 years, Helen Gay (Little) Solomon; six children: David LaVar Solomon (Peggy), Julie Ann Solomon Parker (Doug), Virginia Little Kington, Jeannette Little Simmons (David), Charles Little Solomon (Gayle), Timothy Little Solomon (Beverly); a brother, Kenneth Solomon (Jackie); and 29 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren.
A viewing will be held Friday Oct. 19, 2007 from 6 to 8 pm at Eckersell Memorial Chapel in Rigby, Idaho and for 45 minutes prior to the service. Services will be held Saturday Oct. 20, 2007 at the Idaho Falls North LDS Stake Center on 955 Memorial Drive at 10:00 am with Bishop Charles Johnson officiating.

Still missing you Grandad...but it's wonderful to know that I'll see you again. I imagine you keep yourself busy sharing the gospel and working on family history. I'll try to do my part on this side... Love you so much!

next month...so exciting!

I found this on Chris Peterson's blog and I really enjoyed it... scroll down to the bottom of this page and pause the music first.

WARNING!!! Lots of pictures....