Halloween!!!!! Scary!!!!

Does it seem like when Halloween is on a Sunday, it lasts for days?.......and days? or even a Saturday I guess for argument's sake. The kids love every second of it, right? Get to dress up for school, get to dress up for the "real" Halloween day, get to dress up for the school carnival, etc., and on, and on. Maybe it just has seemed extra long because Abi has had something every night this week that has entailed her dressing up in a costume.....although not the same one every time. Anyway, the kids are out trick-or-treating right now and I'm home as Cowgirl Sally answering the door. It's great fun. The kids think I'm totally AWESOME and love my southern drawl, and Josh......TOTALLY embarassed.....which is even better. He's gone now.....off with friends....I had him man the door for awhile while I ran to the Halloween store to buy him a mask....last minute of course.

This year was fun watching Meili. I think for the most part, she has been very confused....and even downright scared at times. I had to run into the Halloween store this week and she was with me. There were certain isles she would absolutely not even go down.....honestly, I don't blame her, they even scared me. But tonight, the confusion dissipated....or at least she decided she didn't care why everyone looked like goons because she soon realized after the first house that she is willing to put up with it all if she gets candy at every door they knock on. Abi was loving every second of having a sister tonight. She even showed up an hour late to her friend party so she could have some trick-or-treating time with her sister. Even though it rained pretty hard tonight the kids still had a great time.

My favorite memory as a kid is coming home after the trick-or-treating and sorting out all the candy. Then trading with siblings and trying to get the best trade...like 3 smarties for a snickers bar or 1 smartie for a snickers bar if you were older and smarter than the rest of them. So the little boys are home now doing just that....sorting it all out and counting....offering me up their cast offs and in some instances, just to be so sweet, giving me actually the good stuff just cuz they love me.

Well I'm going to go cuddle up by the fire with some hot cocoa. Hope you all had a very Happy Halloween. Here are some pics of our little monsters.....well you really can't include our Mulan "princess" in that category because she is absolutely too sweet.

Josh was too scary to include in the kid photos.....so I might have to put one in later. He has on some creepy clown mask that would send Meili over the edge so we left him out.

Go Aggies??.....

Yesterday was homecoming for our beloved Utah State. We go every year to the Homecoming game. Russel has a leadership reunion right before and it has become a tradition. The reunion was great and the weather held out during that part of the day. Now it is my understanding that USUALLY the homecoming game is chosen according to what team they are pretty sure they can win?? Maybe I'm wrong in this presumption.....and that's maybe why we actually LOST 45 to 7!!!!! What???!!!!??? Some of you may be scratching your heads since just a few weeks ago we trounced on BYU. Oh Ya!! :) Well, this game was definitely not up to par (maybe I shouldn't be using a golf term to describe it?) Anyway, it was pouring rain after the 1st quarter and I took three of the kids and went home. When I got home and looked out over the valley, it was a gorgeous site to behold. The beautiful fall colors, the fresh rain making everything sparkle, it was one of those moments when I know why we live here and love it so much. And I love this time of year....fall is definitely my favorite. I wish I would've thought to grab the camera. So, Russel stayed with J.D. and Abi and even though it was so cold and so wet, they still had a good time. The blankets seriously weighed about 20 pounds when they were done. And mommy had hot cocoa and chili waiting for them to get them all warmed up and happy. We did get some cute pictures at the game and I just want to point out how drastically different Meili looks when someone else is behind the camera. We have a perfect example......family pic with someone other than daddy taking the picture.......

Daddy taking the pictures.....what a difference. She must just love her Daddy. And I'm thinking that's about what our family pictures are going to look like. We still haven't got them back but we couldn't even get her to crack a smile on her individual pictures and I know the family shots weren't any better. She's just such a happy sweet girl, it makes me sad that she doesn't look happy when we are taking a family picture. She really does love us.....I think. :)

Here are a few more from the day.....

Well here's a little update on Gutter....the kitty....in case you forgot. Russel is pretty much insane!!! We tried to pawn him (the kitty, not Russel) off on neighbors, friends, abi's facebook, etc. but we didn't get a taker until Russel bribed a patient with no co-pays for a year if they would take the kitty. Needless to say, that kitty was one expensive adventure.....but more importantly it now has some very loving children doting on it every second. I'm sure it's much happier.... as am I.

We received Meili's certificate of citizenship and have started the paperwork to refinalize the adoption here in the U.S. I just can't believe we've only had her in our family since the beginning of August. It's amazing to me that we all can't remember what life was like without her. Cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Grandmas, Grandpa, friends, and on and on love her like we do and have embraced her like we have. She has touched many lives and it's easy to see that those lives are touching her in a very special way as well.

As I'm thinking about all the wonderful qualities she has and how much we absolutely adore her I have to laugh thinking about this morning. I'm home from church today sick and I can't take much for it since I'm having some tests done tomorrow and I'm on a very strict diet of basically nothing so I pretty much just have to deal with the throbbing headache, congested head, etc. But of course I'm keeping Meili home with me but the other kids are scurrying around trying to get ready to go. I was in my room actually proofreading some stuff trying to help a friend get started with medical transcription and Abi comes in and says Meili spilled hot cocoa everywhere. Not a surprise to most moms....right? Somebody spills something at least once a day. So I sigh and drag myself out of bed to see the damage....that Abi has already tried her best to clean up. Wow!! This is not just a little spill of hot cocoa.....I guess I can thank my lucky stars it was just powder and not hot cocoa that was actually mixed up. She basically has taken the entire container and, what seems like, must have jumped, ran, hopped, skipped, whatever all the way through the house including down the stairs. There is hot cocoa on every banister post, on every stair, wiped on the walls, all over the tile, all over the carpet......and I'm still trying to figure out what she was doing with it in the first place. Anyway, so while my head feels like a freight train has run through it, I'm trying to direct traffic away from the worst areas so it doesn't get tracked into the 2 inches of the house that she didn't spread it. Russel calls to find out if I can bring the kids down since he is doing some church business.....well within 2 seconds he has a neighbor on their way to pick up the kids. It's wonderful to have good neighbors and friends. We wouldn't survive without them. So for now, I think I have every crevice free and clean of hot cocoa. And still.....even after all of that....I can't find one ounce of me that doesn't think she's still the most adorable thing ever. Oh and did I mention, she was covered in it too?? Nick immediately took her in and got her in the tub. I still thinks she's totally oblivious to anything......she was just having a great time. :) What a sweetie! Typical 3 year old stuff.

So tomorrow I'm headed to Ogden for some medical tests....one of which is 3 hours!! Since my mom and dad are in MESA right now (and by the way, I'm not bitter one bit....especially since it's cold and rainy here with snow expected on Wednesday), I won't get any entertainment for Meili. They did say during the 3-hour test, I could maybe run some errands.....and you all know that I definitely know how to shop....so that's my plan and hopefully Meili will think that's okay too. I forget how nice it is to have a little bit younger child. I think I will even be able to pick up some Christmas gifts because at that age, they just don't pay that much attention....especially if they have a treat. :) So here's to a productive day tomorrow. Hopefully the snow doesn't come early.

Oh and I have to include this cute picture of Abi with her friend Marissa. Marissa's mom, Janna, owns this cute craft store (similar to Quilted Bear) and they had a "Witches Night Out." She asked Abi to come and help hand out goodies, etc. The girls had a great time! Such cute friends.

McKenna Kids To The Rescue.....

I've been meaning to post some pictures of our children in their "rescue operation 101" which was cute and all... until we experienced "rescue operation 102!" Let me back up to a couple of weeks ago. The kids are outside playing and they hear this horrible screeching sound. Of course they are off to find out exactly what it is. As they explore the yard, they finally realize it is coming from the neighbor's rock wall. As they investigate a little further, they find a tiny little kitten stuck inside the rocks. The kitty is very scared and hungry so they try to coax it out......they bring out saucers of milk, they talk lovingly to it, etc. and when all else fails.....well J.D. starts stomping on the rock to "scare it out." Obviously the last tactic probably wasn't the most brilliant since now it won't even peek it's head out. The kids are just distraught thinking about the poor little thing being trapped in there. So I call our awesome neighbors who are the pros with cats. They bring up some food and try everything they can think of to get the kitty out, but it's not budging. We finally decide we better just leave it alone for a bit and let it calm down a little. The next morning is crazy and Abi leaves for school. The boys get up and decide they better go check on it. Well, just a few minutes later, J.D. is the proud rescuer of "Rocky." Well of course it's darling.....but no way are we keeping the sweet little thing. Cats are great......for other people!!! Why can't they figure out a way to make a kitty that actually stays a kitty? They might be a little more tolerable if they stayed little. Anyway, we finally find a wonderful family, who just happen to be our close friends, that have been looking for a kitty. Since the family is in Lake Powell, the kids get to take care of Rocky for a week and they loved every minute of it. Then we (mommy) gladly delivered the package as soon as they returned home. End of story....right? Nope, not with our kids. Today they are out exploring and what do they find? another one! Probably Rocky's brother, and he is trapped in a pipe in a new subdivision at the end of our street. Of course J.D. comes to the rescue again by climbing into the very little pipe and sitting there for 20 minutes coaxing the kitty out.....and then he, himself, comes out covered in dirt from head to toe. Well, much to our dismay, the awesome family who took in Rocky are refusing to take "Gutter." Oh c'mon, what's one more?....especially when they are brothers :) So now we are running an animal shelter. If anyone has any stray animals they want to drop off, feel free.....(very thick sarcasm of course). Well at least our kids have compassionate hearts.....now what's the number for the animal shelter?

Here are a couple pictures with Rocky......I'm sure we will eventually have some with Gutter too.

Beautiful Drive up Logan Canyon...

On Saturday, we decided to take a little drive up the canyon and look at the beautiful fall colors and my oh my were they gorgeous!! We've been up there twice this week and just can't get enough. This time we remembered the camera. :) The kids loved seeing the vibrant leaves. The drive is truly an hour of awesomeness. Plus it's always nice to know there's a very yummy fresh raspberry shake waiting for you....not to mention chocolate covered raspberries. Just a few of our favorite moments in Bear Lake. Here are a few of the "hundreds" of pics that Russel took. He has "trigger finger." I think I narrowed it down pretty good though.....although sometimes it's hard to tell if #95 looks better #3. :)