Yes, we're Harry Potter nerds and proud of it!

Do you realize that the 1st part of the 7th movie is out in a month??!! I am so dang excited! We have been watching all of the first 6 movies over the past month- so fun! Last night we were watching "Order of the Phoenix" (#5) and Daniel said, "Isn't sending owls exactly like texting?" He's so funny!

Huff's, we hope you are having fun in Florida at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter- how awesome!

We are leaving tomorrow for our Disneyland vacation! Yipee!!!

A riddle

Daniel's class worked on riddles yesterday. He had to make one up himself, and here it is:

This comes in a bottle.

You buy it.

You can find it in Albertson's.

Kids want it, but they can't have it.

Parents have it all the time.

A red label.

Yeah, I'm a good Mom. I do drink (diet) Coke all the time, but I never let my kids have it!

Anniversary

This week marked the passing of my beautiful Mother. She passed away on October 7th last year. It's hard to believe that it's been a year. I spent the day Thursday reliving every moment and detail of the day last year. Time is such a strange thing- it seems like she's been gone for such a long time, and yet, as we all went to the cemetary yesterday we all said it felt like we were just there for her funeral. My family (minus Richard, who had a show in Arizona) went to her grave yesterday and had a family prayer. We went back to my Dad's and had a dinner in honor of Mom- cold cereal. That was her favorite thing to eat! I made sweet rolls, which she loved to make in the fall and we also had bananas and oranges- another favorite of Mom's. Then we watched clips from the autobiography video she made a few years ago. We listened to her tell funny stories and heard her wonderful laugh. Then we watched the DVD of pictures and music that I had made for the funeral. It is a great DVD, but you just can't watch it without crying. We were all crying and Kate looked up at everyone crying and looked very confused, like, "I guess I should be crying too." She got a tissue and patted her eyes and cried the funniest fake cry ever. So cute! It was wonderful to be together and think about Mom. I'm so glad that families are forever, and even though it is so hard for me to understand and accept, I do know that we will see her again and it will seem as though we were never apart.

All the kids just rushed into Grandpas arms after the prayer. They all love him so much and he is so wonderful.

My Dad always takes such care to pick out things for Mom. She would have loved this fall wreath.

The five granddaughters

The five grandsons

One year ago

The Kevin and Judy Hague family

Little Miss Emma turns 6

We celebrated Emma's happy birthday on Friday, October 1. She is such a joy to have in our family. She is always so obedient and because of that, she and I got to have a special date last week to go see "Ramona and Beezus", which she loved! She seems like she is so much older than 6 and is so mature and knows exactly what she wants. She is a great help with whatever we ask her to do and is a wonderful older sister to Kate. She loves to play the piano and is doing amazing! (I don't think I could play as well as her at age 6!) We love her so much and are so happy that she could have such a special day!

Modeling her new outfit and her Littlest Pet Shop house- she could play with them for hours. Fortunately, so can Daniel, and they play LPS so great together!

Part of Emma's party was spent painting faces and nails. Here are Hailey, Hallie, Sydney (she's 10- not freakishly tall!) and Madeline.

Emma was so happy that her cousins who live far away were able to come- thanks, Emily for driving the girls down! Emma and cousin Gracie.

The girls decorating cupcakes. The weather was so nice and it was so great to have the party outside!

She was okay with a cupcake to blow out instead of an actual cake. (Truthfully, I forgot about a cake!)

She loved dinner at Chili's and felt extra special when she got this free frosty chocolate shake and got sung to. She MADE me tell the waitress it was her birthday!

And, of course, Grandpa Kevin! He came for the last part of her party to "participate", which Emma loved! Then he joined us for dinner and took Emma birthday shopping after. She had a great time with him, and her birthday wouldn't have been complete without him! Thanks Dad!

Interior design trend

I'm trying to improve my room and bathroom a little by painting and adding some curtains, and a few simple decorations. I got a few swatches of fabric the other day and asked Richard what he thought of this for curtains. His response was, "Well, I think they're a little small." LOL! He's just funny that way, like the other day when someone called to talk to me and they said, "Is your wife around?" He said, "No, actually, she's tall and thin." I love being married to a man who makes me laugh. Love you, Richard!

I love Grandpa, yes I do! I love Grandpa, how about you?

Emma's birthday is next Friday and we are busy planning her little party. She has wanted to invite Grandpa Kevin for months now and I think it is the cutest thing ever. She knows that it will be a bunch of little girls doing girly things, but she wants him to come and help and serve cake and ice cream. I think it means more to her than any of her other friends. She even wants a cake that says "I Love Grandpa Kevin"...none of that "Happy Birthday Emma" stuff. She also told me we could put streamers and signs all over the house that say "I Love Grandpa Kevin". He will be at the party because he is awesome that way, but I think we'll just do regular decorations and cupcakes with sprinkles. If we did it all the way Emma has in mind he may be having to sign autographs by the end of the party! I just think it is so special and what makes it extra special is that it is genuine and it is her biggest birthday wish!

September happenings

The kids school decided to have a 5k instead of the traditional fundraisers this year. I thought the idea was brilliant because I really hate fundraisers! I think they had a decent turnout, but hopefully next year will be better. We had a good time and Landon toasted all of us. He won 2nd place in his age division and some cool prizes! Emma ran the 1k with her friend, Allie. Daniel was a good trooper, Kate was in the stroller and Richard and I are not good runners, but we did okay! Maybe next year we can improve!

Emma and her cute friend Allie (who is in 7th grade) who takes such good care of Emma and plays with her all the time- she is the best!

I took this picture going up the road while Landon was already on his way back down the route- I told you, he really toasted us!

Daniel and his friend, Crosby, at the turnaround halfway point

Two weeks ago my sister-in-law Michelle and I made chili sauce. This is a specialty that my Mom used to make. It is a fall ritual we just had to continue! I helped my Mom many times before, but I had never done the entire process completely on my own! It was a learning experience for us, but I think we did okay and I hope it turned out like it is supposed to! It was a full day process and we had a lot of fun, despite all the little mishaps along the way. Michelle burned her arm so bad with boiling water- she sacrificed her arm so the bottles wouldn't break as we tried to lower them into the hot water bath. We were both screaming and laughing and we know that Mom would have been laughing right along with us. This will definately become a tradition. If you have never tried this chili sauce, you simply must! I don't know how anyone can have roast or meatloaf without it. Don't buy it at the store- it's nothing like what we make!

The main ingredients- LOTS of tomatoes, green peppers and onions

The stuff that makes it delicious!- Vinegar, sugar, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, ginger and cloves! It is so good, and it makes the house smell amazing while it is cooking!

This is right after it happened, but it looked way worse the next day and she was in a lot of pain! So sorry, Michelle!