Trick or Treat from our Juvenile Delinquents

This year R. and J. are celebrating "Orange and Black Day" at school. Wearing costumes and/or mentioning the word Halloween are not allowed. Does the phrase "Bah Humbug!" transfer to other holidays? They wore black and I sprayed their hair orange. R. is lucky enough to already have black hair so he opted to incorporate both colors. S. took the picture of the boys. She didn't get a good first shot and this, her second try, evoked these annoyed expressions!

(R. has great gloomy teenager potential, don't you think?)

Here are some web cam Halloween pictures of the girls:

I'll post more pictures of the rest of today's festivities. R. and J. will be firefighters, S. will be the dalmatian firehouse dog, and C. will be a fire hydrant. Ben and I bought thrift store jammies and slippers and will be the people who they rescue from the burning building. And suggestions for creating fake billowing smoke are appreciated.

Two updates/tidbits:

First, S. went on her first field trip on Wednesday to the local fire station. She asked about flashover likeUncle Steve told her to! She said he answered; "It's when a fire goes KA-BOOM!" She also told "13 people counting the firefighter, who has a round head that's way bigger than my head, way bigger," that her uncle is a firefighter.

Second, Ben's church bag was found this morning in the bushes next door. Yay! So except for buying a new wallet, an annoying amount of credit card company calling, and replacing his license, not much damage was done. There was a check for $184.00 in his wallet that was cashed but I'm glad most of his stuff was found. Happy Halloween!

Numbers and Letters Tag

Numbers tag, you're it. . .

1 Thing I'm looking forward to:
hanging out with my family next weekend (all work and all play, right?!?)

2 Things on my wish list:
free maid service for life (so far I'm not learning to love housework)
a gourmet chef (although if my maid did the dishes, I'd probably love cooking)

3 Favorite restaurants:
Azteca (even J. likes the food there)

Subway ($5 footlongs make me happy)

Pizza Hut (delicious childhood memories!)

4 Things that happened yesterday:

I did housework (dishes and laundry mostly)

I held C. while she napped (love that!)

we ate tons of caramel popcorn (thanks Bev)

I drove J. and his friend to a birthday party

5 TV shows I love to watch:
The Office (love the real/unreal characters)
Super Nanny (boosts my mommy self-esteem & offers fun tips)
The Daily Show (because ALL news pundits need to be yelled at)
ER (on again off again with ER, but I'll watch the last season)
Random DVR-ed HGTV shows with a "before" and an "after" (gives me good ideas & hope for my own "after")

6 people I'm tagging:
Maren (because I like reading your blog)
Jamie (ditto)
Amy (ditto)
Logan (ditto)
Crystal (ditto)
and Rita (because you should totally start your own blog!)
_______________________________________________________
ABC tag, you're it:

A = ADVOCATE FOR: public schools

B = BEST FEATURE: smile

C = COULDN'T DO WITHOUT: my hubby

D = DREAMS AND DESIRES: children who grow up to be faithful, happy, and responsible members of society.

E = ESSENTIAL ITEM: running water

F= FAVORITE PASTIME: creating halloween costumes

G = GOOD AT: tickling kids

H = HAVE NEVER TRIED: bungee jumping

I = IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: 1/10th tithing, pay bills, and turn a Brazillian flavela (like a shanty town) into a self sustaining apartment/work building.

J = JUNKIE FOR: chocolate

K = KINDRED SPIRIT: R.'s birth mom

L = LITTLE KNOWN FACT ABOUT ME: Today is our anniversary--the 15th anniversary of my first date with Ben. We went to a Kahuku football game at Aloha Stadium, saw the movie "Cool Runnings" at Kahala theaters, and wandered around Waikiki's International Marketplace where Ben almost bought me a pearl (I didn't let him). I know!

M = MEMORABLE MOMENT: Playing outside with toddlers R. and J. and being amazed at how quickly they would take off running in opposite directions.

N = NEVER AGAIN WILL I: Assume I know everything.

O = OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: TV

P= PC or MAC: Former Mac, current PC

Q = QUOTE: No matter what you may say, it's your actions that speak for you.

R = REASON TO SMILE: I almost have a finished basement thanks to Steve and Crystal (Yay--the doors we ordered arrive today!) and Terry.

S = SORRY ABOUT: Offending others

T = TAG SOME FRIENDS: you!

U = UNINTERESTED IN: learning to ski

V = VERY SCARED OF: Boogeymen? I don't know. I guess those little "what ifs" in life like car crashes or kidnappers mostly.

W = WORST HABIT: Getting sidetracked

X = X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: Goat Island?

Y = YELLOW OR PINK: Yellow

Z = I win.

Today's Etsy Pick

RubyFantastic makes this adorable onesie:Love, love, love homemade stuff! Isn't this such a great idea--I'm sooo stealing this one!

Swiper No . . . Swiping! :(

Someone broke into Ben's car last night and stole his wallet, electric shaver, and church bag. Cancelling credit cards was a pain (FYI you don't need continuous identity theft coverage "just in case" because you can sign up for $10/mo. identity theft protection at the time of theft and hold onto it for a month or two in case of later fraudulent name/ID usage.) But I'm most bummed about his church stuff. I had just bought him a cool bag and a new triple combination and bible.

A Good Book

I'm getting so excited for my upcoming trip. My sweet sis and her hubby are getting sealed and I get to fly there in November (thanks, Andy!). I will be a mom without children (thanks, Ben!) and am now wondering which book(s) I should bring for the flight.

Have you read any good books lately? Comment and convince me to read your latest favorite book(s) on my trip and I will declare you the Official Book-Recommending Champion of the World.

IMPROV Not your Run-of-the-Mill Shopping List

We got the tail end of this interesting conversation on video.

How Do I Love STEVE? Let Me Count the Ways

My brother, Steve, and his wife, Crystal, spent about a week and a half at our home. Steve is a master of all things construction and was willing (at first?) to spend his vacation time before starting a firefighting career finishing our basement! Isn't he amazing? We got a gas furnace and duct work installed right before Steve and Crystal arrived. Here's what's new downstairs (I'm dying to show off these photos):

Steve framed in two bedrooms (with closets), laundry room, bathroom, office and a secret passageway under the stairs into the living room. He made non-stop runs to The Home Depot where our line of credit and generosity from my parents was quickly spent. Here Steve is snapping off drywall.

He and Crystal put up drywall and I learned how the pros do it. I thought it was especially telling that when Steve and Crystal talked about their plans to build their own house, they'll have the drywalling hired out. I don't blame them one bit.
We also had generous help from Terry, Ben's co-worker slash former electrician. He helped us install 16 recessed lights, three hallway cans, and outlets everywhere.

Ready for my favorite room? Like I told Crystal this morning, this is the first time I've had a house with more than one bathroom the whole time we've been married!


Travartine (sp?) tile went in. Steve got me started and finished it up, but I helped a little with the tile install. Yay to me! The kids are checking out the new potty. It flushes!

So Funny!

I copied this from ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?section=magazine&id=3642825&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1

LIFE OF REILLY
How much do you love football? So much you'd cut off a pinky to play it? That's what Trevor Wikre did.
by Rick Reilly

Buddy Bear
Wikre (No. 53) sacrificed his right pinky to play his senior season at Mesa State College.
You say you love your team? You say you're totally committed? Please. I'll show you commitment.
Meet 6-3, 280-pound Trevor Wikre. He's the starting right guard for Division II Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colo. He loves football like wolves love pork chops. He'd do anything for his team. Two weeks ago, he proved it.
During a practice, Wikre, of Berthoud, Colo., caught his pinky on a linebacker's jersey during a sweep play. When he looked down, he happened to notice his bone was sticking out of his skin.
"Just tape it up," he told the trainer. "We got practice to finish."
Instead, they sent him to the hospital, where doctors told him they'd need to insert pins and reconstruct the ligaments. It'd need at least four months to heal. He'd be done for the season.
"OF ALL THE BODY PARTS HE COULD HAVE TAKEN OFF," SAYS TREVOR'S FIANCÉE, "THAT ONE WASN'T SO BAD. I FEEL KINDA GOOD ABOUT IT."
"No way," Trevor said. "This is my senior year. We've got to make this work."
"We can't," the doctor said.
"We can," insisted Trevor. "We can cut it off."
Cut if off?
"To have somebody tell you that you've played your last game of football, I just wasn't going to let that happen," Trevor explains. "I couldn't do that to my teammates. I'd take a bullet for those guys."
Or a bone saw. So he made the doctor lop off his right pinky. Problem solved!
Two days later, he was ready to play against Colorado School of Mines, only the doctors wouldn't let him. "Some stupid thing like the stitches would rip," he grouses.
And how do his teammates feel about his sacrifice? They hate him for it. Especially the ones who have missed games with injuries this season. "Thanks a lot for making us look like wussies," one said to him. The rest of them just kid. When Trevor does something good now, they hold up their hands and holler, "High four!"
Trevor only has one regret. The doctor didn't give him the finger. "I wanted to make a necklace out of it." It'd also be a great gag at Subway!
Feels odd, though. The finger that isn't there aches and itches. He wakes up at night to hold it against the throbbing, only to remember it's gone. It takes him longer to get dressed now. And it turns out you need your pinky to hold the remote—and handfuls of M&M's. But his biggest problem has been typing. "I look down and notice that all my p's are missing."
What's funny about this story is that Trevor doesn't eat light bulbs for breakfast, or ram his head through plywood. He's actually a level-headed guy. "He teaches me patience," says his mother, Kim. "He's the calm one. And it's like he told me, 'Mom, I'm not gonna be a piano player or a surgeon. I'm a football player. I gotta play football.' So I'm perfectly fine with it."
Well, except for the first time she saw his hand in a video on the Internet and had to leave work, sick to her stomach. "I can understand that," Trevor says. "She was happy I was born with 10 fingers and 10 toes and now I'm short one."
Life of Reilly Bonus Content
What can Trevor Wikre expect from a life without a pinky finger? We asked a hand specialist to find out.
But, hey, could be worse. As Trevor's fiancée, Traci, says, "Of all the body parts he could've taken off, that one wasn't so bad. I feel kinda good about it. I know that if he ever needs to sacrifice for our future, he'll do it."
What's off-the-charts unbelievable is Trevor's head coach, Joe Ramunno, did the same thing. He slashed his left pinky in a high-school shop class 29 years ago and insisted they cut if off rather than miss his senior season. "It didn't occur to me until afterward," Trevor says. "My coach and I had the same thing happen!"
High eight!
So, has it all been worth it?
"When I think about how much I love football, and my team, I just get goose bumps," says Trevor, who, big shock, wants to coach after he graduates. "To be able to play and hit people and not get in trouble for it? Man, it's a blessing. I love my team. And I'm a big believer in actions speaking louder than words."
Every pancake block now seems sweeter, every snot-producing hit more precious. And Ramunno says the team is playing "inspired football since Trevor did this." In fact, Trevor helped Mesa State clobber Colorado State-Pueblo, 26-3 this past Saturday, helping it raise its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference record to 5-0.
"When you get a second chance at something you're so passionate about?" he says. "Man, your love for what you're doing just skyrockets."
So does the respect his teammates really do feel for him. "Amazing," says Mesa State quarterback Phil Vigil.
Personally, I think they should type him a little note of thanks:

Trevor,

We areciate you and hoee you don't miss your inky.

With resect,

Your als

Presidential Picks When You're Four Years Old

At the dinner table we were discussing the upcoming election. I was telling Ben about my friend who has decided to vote for Obama instead of McCain. S. adds her two cents: "I'm voting for Obama. . . I mean Dora." (from her fave Nickelodeon show). But just wait until she hears Big Bird's stump speech!

Because C. Stands for Cute!

When you find a bandaid, sit right down and stick it somewhere (she's whispering "owie!")
She's always perched on something.
Rock-em-Sock-em makes C. laugh!
See?
From this summer: Cousin T. (Ali and Ryan's 4th) is not smiling because she would rather not be photographed without her diaper--cousin C. is fine with it. They had gotten so muddy at the "beach" we had to hose them off!

Sa-tur-day is a Special Day

Saturdays that precede General Conference Sundays are the most special days of all, y'all. Now stop right there before you give me too much credit. Don't go thinking that I'm blogging about watching the Saturday sessions, because nope, that's not it at all. What I love about today is that today is "the day I don't have to get ready for Sunday." No bathing kids (so what if they smell funny, I'm not going to church tomorrow!), no laying out church clothes (they can wear the grubby clothes they've got on, I'm not going to church tomorrow!), no packing a church bag full of "quiet" toys and CTR 7 lesson materials (they don't keep babies quiet anyway, not that it matters, I'm not going to church tomorrow!), and no early bedtimes (what do I care if the kids are a little grumpy in the morning, I'm not going to church tomorrow!).

When I Did This in 1999, Ben Called Me a Boy

Too short?
Rudolph was pretty happy that I was taking pictures of myself. She wanted a piece of the "cheese" action. The simple joys of life. I'll have to hold on to this picture so when she's a horrid teenager I can remember how happy she once was.
Okay, so I just got off the phone with Steve and he's convinced me that it's just better to NOT CARE about the election. Know why he convinced me? The electoral college. Yup! And he's right, you know. Our votes don't count the way they should and I shouldn't have to spend my life wishing I lived in a battleground state. Your vote should count as one vote whether you're a republican in Hawaii or an undecided Floridian whose just punched a possibly-dimpled chad. Steve and I agree that the mudslinging and heated discussions don't deserve the effort exerted because the electoral college is lame beyone lame. So vote for whoever, see if I care. (Okay, I'll care, but I won't want to!)

Back to the very important debate topic of the day: How do you like the new hair?

Shark Attack in Kaaawa

I just found out about a shark attack from google news. We lived next to Crouching Lion for about a year so this is a little too close to home for me.

The link took me to the Ke Alakai (BYU-Hawaii's student newspaper). Nice new website. I also peeked at a story about plans to close the temple for renovations.