why?

what is the deal on csi.... they never turn on the lights when investigating a crime scene. they always use their stupid little flashlights. wouldn't it be easier to see stuff with the lights on? has anyone else ever noticed this? it is starting to make me a little crazy.

spoookay

let the halloween festivities begin.....

sunday, the carter clan gathered at mom and dad's house for scary fun. all the kids wore their costumes and decorated cookies.

all the carter cousins, plus jennie who had to sit with cassidy or she wouldn't stay in the picture.

plus skyler and jade who are eric's girlfriend's kids.

hey jared, would you like a little cookie with your frosting and candy?

monday night, the harwood family gathered at nate's mom and dad's house for a little pumpkin carving party.

isaac thought the "guts" of the pumpkin were really fun. his pumpkin was so juicy for some reason and was a bit messy.

the carvings....

from l to r: rick's pumpkin, jared's pumpkin, isaac's pumpkin, and nate and wendy's pumpkin.

things that make you go hmmmm...

i really have nothing exciting to report today other than i needed to update my blog. is it really updating if i type random words that when read, people will say, "that was dumb"?


instead of making some feeble attempt to entertain you myself, i will leave you with the wisdom of jack handy -

most of the time it was probably real bad being stuck down in a dungeon. but some days, when there was a bad storm outside, you'd look out your little window and think, "boy, I'm glad I'm not out there."

kids say the.....

last saturday, nathan and i were going to take the kids to our church sponsored fall festival. we had told the kids that there would be fun games and yummy food. it was supposed to be held at an outdoor amphitheater.

we drove to the amphitheater and found that the activity had been moved to to the stake center because of the rain. as we were driving to the church building, jared was a little upset and said that he didn't want to go to the church because all they had to eat was bread and water.

the windy city

i just returned from a work trip to chicago. although we don't really get to see much of the sites, a couple of the girls and i did find a few minutes to check out some good food.

the first place we hit was Giordano's, which served us up a very yummy deep dished pizza. i think i ate over 3 pounds of cheese.

the second night, we went to Twin Anchors which is an out of the way bar. i had filet minon and the other girls had ribs. this place was awesome... great food and the atmosphere was incredible. they filmed the movie "return to me" in this bar.

jessica and jen at Giordano's

jen, me and jessica at twin anchors

i came home quite tired and had a very sick stomach, but it was fun.

tony, me, jen and jessica at a party.

fun kids crafts

i decided it is time to do some crafts with the kids. So, i got on the oriental trading company website and found these fun crafts. i am sure the kids will love to make them and they will serve as nice little family home evening activities as well.

a yucky day

painting by Winston Prakash

it is yucky outside. it didn't start out this way, but now the wind is blowing and it is getting dark. i think it is supposed to snow tomorrow. so, instead of focusing on all the things i don't like about cold weather, here are the things i do like....

1. the smell just before and after it rains.
2. the smell outside when it has just snowed. it smells so clean.
3. the beautiful fall colors. i know it is so cliche but they really are pretty, especially on the mountains.
4. the way the snow reflects the light. i love to go outside at night when it is snowing and look around. it's dark but not dark. i can't explain it.
5. i'm tired of wearing the same clothes over and over. when you get to bring out the cold weather clothes, it is like a whole new wardrobe has become available to you. all the long lost sweaters and boots get to make a reappearance.

mmm... chicken alfredo

tonight we ate chicken alfredo for dinner. costco sells a few pre-made dishes and this is one of the really good ones. I also really like their chicken pot pies.... yummy. i know, it is evil of me to buy pre-made meals for my family, but i don't really care. it's fast and they taste good.