Pumpkin walk

 I had to run to Logan and do a few things so i took the girls along so we could go to the Pumpkin walk on the way home.  We went on a Saturday and it was around 5ish and I couldn't believe how many people were also there.  I think all Preston and Logan had the same idea as us......

We had to park down at the church and ride the bus up a few blocks and the girls thought that was so much fun. 

You can kinda see the line to get into the pumpkin walk behind this sign.  It was the length of a football fields I swear, and by the time we were ready to leave it had doubled.

While I was waiting in the super long line Alexis wanted to go and look around and take pictures.  I thought she got some great pictures of the girls.

I loved this picture.  Adison was so excited to see everything.  Each little scene had different music playing and she would just have the cutest smile on her face and start dancing each time.  

The girls loved this one.  "AFRO circus." 

So EXCITED!!!!

Adison LOVES cats so when she saw this one she ran right in the set up.... (before I could stop her... probably because I was laughing about it and taking a picture instead of chasing her....)

Expelleomous! 

Fall

 Alexis could not wait to get all the fall decorations out this year and was so excited to use up all the pumpkins and wanted it done right away.  One day while I ran to the store, she got everything out and her and Elizabeth decorated the inside of the house all by themselves and they did a really cute job. 

This is a cute little pumpkin scare crow that we saw on pinterest and it actually turned out.  I keep saying that if I can just do one of the cute things that I pin on pintrest I will be happy..... so there you go!

many sides to Adi

 Adison has really gotten so big.  I can not believe that she has so much of a personality and is so smart.  I can ask her to get me something or tell her to go and do something and she will do it.  Sometimes it really surprises me how much she knows.  She was playing dress up with Alexis and our cute little neighbor Annika.  Adison adores our neighbors and sometimes prefers them over me.  She loves to go and hang out with them at their house or just out in the yard.  It is so nice having such wonderful people living right next door.  I know that anytime that my kids are outside they are around people that are going to be good examples to them and have the same rules as us.  I can not tell you how wonderful it is to be able to trust and love your neighbors. 

 Adison playing dress up again.  She was really playing peek abo. 

 So note to self... if it is quiet and Adison is in her room.... go check right away... she loves to get into lotion or the but paste......

 This last month Adison started to tell me that she wanted to go poop, and potty.  She will come up to me and tell me after she has pooped also because she really doesn't like it on her bum for long.  She is so funny after she is done.  She stands by the toilet while I flush and says... "bye bye poo poo, bye bye pee pee."  Elizabeth was the same way when it came to potty training and she was potty trained shortly after 18 months... sooo I am really crossing my fingers that Adi does the same.

 We had our ward party a little while ago and the girls and I had a lot of fun.  The girls loved the games and most of all the face painting.  Brytlee had to sleep in hers and the next day at school was school pictures.  She really wanted to keep the paint on for her pictures but I was a mean mom and made her wash them off.  But the funny thing about that was.... after we washed them off they all left red marks on her skin in the shape of whatever she had painted on her face.  I guess I really should have not let her sleep with them on.....

 Playing dress up again. 

 Adison is such a funny girl.  She really talks with a lot of facial expressions.  This is her face that she is being funny and saying cheese.

 this is her ohhhhhh face

 And this is her sad "nooooo" face.  This is the face that she has been giving me in the mornings when she really doesn't want to go to the gym daycare.  But she usually pokes her lips out a little more.

feelings time

Ryan has been away from home and in North Dakota for 12 weeks now...... 12 of the longest weeks of my life.  
I have had so many people come up to me and say "so... how are you doing"  they almost have a sad puppy dog look on their faces.  When Ryan first left I was alright and just said fine.... then a little later if someone asked me that I would almost break into tears.  Now... I am almost in a mad phase, and I just want to scream.  I am sooooooo sick of the whole situation.  I am so ready to have my husband home.  I want the girls to be with their dad, I want to be a normal family again, I really really HATE this.  I never would have guessed that missing someone so much could physically hurt so bad.  I am kinda to a point that I feel like this may never end and I really don't know when I will get to see him again.  It is getting old wondering when and how much longer......
It really feels like right now there is no amount of money worth living this way.  I have also realized how nice the every day things were when he was home.  Just having someone to wake up next to me in the morning and give me a hug and kiss.  Someone to play with the girls and see how happy it makes them.  Even when Ryan was home and in the garage working on something, just knowing he was home and with me was such a comfort.  I miss that feeling so much.
I can't go on a lot about this because I am not the happiest about it right now and I don't want sympathy, or to sound like a total grump.   I just want to look back and know that this was not easy and it was not fast, and I don't want to ever do this again. 
The girls have been so great this whole time.  They get so excited when they  get to see Ryan on the computer and when they get to talk to him on the phone, and they have been a great help to me.  They have helped keep me busy so that time did go a little fast.... and helped me keep my mind off of being alone.   I am not missing my husband for the fact that I want him to come home and help me with the kids.... I just miss him so much and do not feel complete without him next to me.
Having this time to be alone and think has made me realize how much I love Ryan and how great I have it.  I really feel so lucky to have married the worlds greatest dad, and husband.  Words don't really even feel like they are enough for how much I truly love him! 

north Dakota

 Biggest tumble weed ever.  The wind has been so bad in ND and it will not stop.  Ryan felt like he was going to be blown off the roof while doing shingles, and it was so windy after they put the shingles up they had to go up and fix them so they didn't get a ton of wind damage. 

 the siding is coming along.  It is a light brown on  he top half and a darker brown on the bottom. 

 getting the poles all wrapped

 dry wall crew going to town.  They are a super fast crew that works hard and for long hours!

 back of the house with the siding on.  The drywall crew is still going after it. 

Shingles are all done!  Working hard even in the rain. 

Soccer player

 Soccer season is coming to a end.  This Saturday will be the last game.  The girls have loved soccer and have had great coaches this year and have improved a ton.  This was Brytlee's first year this year and she and her team were so much fun to watch.  She had a really good little team, and the coaches were the on the high school soccer team.  Brytlee would really get into it and she could get really aggressive and could take the ball all the way down the field and I think she was always the fastest on out there.  Here team won almost every game and they always had a lot of fun.

 Elizabeth also had a great coach (Ryans sister)  and she learned a ton this year.  I can never really tell if she likes soccer or not because she does get a little distracted and you have to keep on her to let her know where she should be and she dances around a little.  (I have really started to wonder if I need to put her in dance....)  But she said she loved it.  She was also on a very good team and they won most of their games.  I know Ryan would have given anything to be to the games and cheer them on, but there is always next year I guess. 

Alexis also played soccer on a competitive team this year and sadly they don't take a picture.  She really had a lot of fun playing for her team and she loved playing with her best friend Ashlyn.  She was improving so much when Ryan was home and was working with her everyday but when he left she kinda fell a little behind where she was.  I know that if Ryan would have been home to work with her she would have kicked some serious butt.  She is very competitive and can get aggressive and can do just about anything when she is being taught and guided.  Her team didn't have a great year and sadly they lost all the games and only scored in three of the games..... I am not sure I will do the competitive thing again because it was a lot for running around and tons of work to remember what was going on.... and which night.  (very hard to do with just one parent) 

I'm the lucky one

So the other day I was feeling very sorry for myself and my glass was just about empty.  I kept sinking lower and lower into my own self pitty and I really am just getting so sick of being alone and not having my husband around.  Then Adison started doing all sorts of cute things, and signing new things and saying new things... Brytlee started saying how much she loved me while she gave me a back rub and my day turned around right away.  I started to realize that I am the lucky one.  Ryan is off freezing and working his butt off, and I am home watching my baby's grow.  I really feel bad now that he is missing out on so much for the girls.  He has already missed all of the girls soccer games and that is something he LOVES to see.  I was BUSY running them around and it was so CRAZY remembering which one had practice and which one had a game.  Between the three of them, we had something going on with soccer every single day of the week.  I guess it has helped me keep my mind off of missing Ryan so much and kept me busy so time has gone a little faster. 
Adison just in the last two days has started be interested in going to the bathroom on the potty.   She has gone pee two times and poo two times.  She is so cute and gets so excited and when she is done she waved bye bye pee pee, bye bye poo poo.... it was so funny.  Then this morning she sat at the table and held her fork like a big girl and ate a crepe all by herself without making any mess's and just acted so old. 
I am so ready to be with Ryan again, and can not wait for this to be over.  And then I never want to ever do it ever again!!!!! 

what to do

I am not sure what to do about the picky eaters anymore.  I am getting so tired of fixing the things I know they will eat, and if there is anything different they pick at it and most times will not even touch it.  I really only have one that is like this and it drives me so crazy...... The other day she was invited to a friends house and they were going to let her stay up late and watch movies and eat popcorn and have a great time, but when it came time for dinner (they were having beef taco's)  instead of telling them she doesn't like red meat, she asked them if they could take her home.  So she chose to leave a fun night and miss out... instead of eating food.... grrrrrrr
I really have been hoping it would be something she would grow out of but it is almost getting worse.  I remember a few years ago she told me that when she was Alexis age she would eat everything and not be picky anymore.  So I reminded her about that and she told me that she still isn't as old as Alexis..... ha ha

Poor baby

I was out picking strawberry's and tomatoes and I feed Adison a few strawberry's and she loved them. When I turned my back she picked a jalapeno and took a huge bite and ate it before I could stop her.  The jalapeno's are right next to the strawberry's and they are older so they have turned red.  I think she thought it was a strawberry so that is why she ate it.   Now she is in soooo much pain and I couldn't get it to stop for about a hour.  I felt so bad for her.  When we went into the house I poured her a glass of milk and she drank it so fast and couldn't get enough.  Then I  tried bread and read online that sugar and other fatty things work.  I put sugar in a fourth of a cup and just let her drink it.  She was in so much pain and was making the saddest cries and throwing up sounds.  After a while I put milk in her bottle and as she slowly drank it, she was much better.