You may remember when I posted the pictures of my darling girls all decked out in their Halloween attire, I sent out a bit of an S.O.S. for ideas to create a Haunted House for my daughters. Good people responded via Facebook. Another called me all the phone and showed up at my house with some of her best not too spooky embellishments for our Haunted House-in-progress. Thank you, Jennifer Warren. Your assistance helped us pull off a very successful and fun Spook Alley in our basement. And the virtual ideas were also appreciated. Rachel's cute little friends had some tricky and tasty snacks while they watched Pirates of the Caribbean--on Stranger Tides. The whole evening was a smashing success, complete with screaming girls and only a bit of girl drama. I am also appreciative of parents who were willing to let their girls party with us until late that Friday night.
There are no pictures of our awesome Haunted House. We actually had one group of girls that came through that screamed at least five or six times. I consider that evidence that we did our job. At least one girl refused to go through, but I promise it wasn't that scary; just a few good surprises in there. I kind of wish I had asked my husband to take a picture of me as a spooky fortune teller with my crystal ball, but it was pretty dark, so it probably wouldn't have worked anyway.
Saturday, my husband and sons headed out in search of the elusive buck. He was pretty hard to find, considering the best ones were already taken, either by hunters or drivers (it really was a rough week on drivers. I heard of at least two victims of deer-in-headlightitis). They also spent that particular day with a couple other friends, Josh Nielson and Mike Jensen. They spent almost the entire day out there searching, searching, searching. It just didn't work out. It's too bad one of them couldn't have just shot the three-point buck that was a half a block away from our house Friday night at 11:30, when I was coming home after dropping off all the little girls. Yes, we live in town, and no, my boys wouldn't really shoot at a deer in the middle of the night in the middle of town. Those dang deer are on to us! Anyway, my men and their friends finally returned home at 5:00 that evening, but none of them had filled their tag.
And we are actually glad they didn't, because then how would we convince them to head out on the Amazing Race Surprise Birthday Party for Mike Jensen? When Mike's wife, Keri brought the invitation by earlier in the week, Britt sort of wondered why, since we don't socialize a lot with Mike and Keri. I just teased him that they must have heard how much fun he is or how competitive he is. Yeah, it was definitely the competitive thing. At 6:00, Britt and I showed up for the party/race. I have to say, we had a blast! Our team ended up being one of the last to return, so obviously we did not win the Amazing Race Blanding style, but we had a fun time trying, and we are definitely ready to take the challenge should we ever have the chance again. We are thankful that Keri thought to include us. And thankful for fun friends, Jay and Michelle Jones who raced along with us on our team. Thanks to them, Britt and I didn't yell at each other once. They are such nice, easy-going people, I would have felt foolish being ornery to my husband. I will admit I got very little sleep that night, as I stayed up thinking of the things that I would have done differently, little mistakes that slowed us down. And scheming up other things I would do if I were planning an Amazing Race in our area. It was a fabulous way to spend our evening together. Even if I am a little sad we don't get any video of Britt's awesome Zumba moves.
Sunday was our Primary Program. Each one of the girls said their parts perfectly, and the whole primary sang beautifully. I am so grateful to the good people in our ward who do everything they can to teach our kids to value the scriptures, and to love our Savior. I am also grateful for the quality friends my kids have at church, who help them see it is cool to be righteous.
Our home teachers invited us over for Sunday dinner and a little football. Yes, we love our religion, and we love our Steelers, too. We are grateful for the Macdonalds, our good friends. They know how to keep track of us and be aware of our needs, including when those needs involve getting to watch an awesome football game, since we don't have T.V. at our house. Thanks, Paul and Lisa. And Preston, even though you didn't get to make Britt wear your Patriots jersey Monday, thanks for being a good sport.
I am especially grateful to good friends, friends of mine (Brooke Pehrson) and friends of my girls, who were willing to take my daughters trick-or-treating last night so I could spend the evening with my husband. We are also thankful to the Cards for inviting us to their fun Neighborhood Halloween Party. It was so nice not to have to worry about dinner, and I know Britt had a great time listening to Buddy Redd's crazy stories. We so rarely get to just hang out and be social, it really was the best time.
I also have to mention, I appreciate the Macdonalds for including Cole in some of their hunting expeditions this week. We have a lot going on at work, and Britt just couldn't always get away to take the boys hunting. Cole would have been happy to be on the mountain every minute of daylight of this hunting season, but since he couldn't, we are just glad there were others willing to get him out there.
The fact is good friends truly are a blessing in our lives. This week I was also able to re-establish an old friendship with some people who are very dear to me. I look forward to that friendship growing and strengthening in time. To be able to pick up where we left off, to be able to share in each others' experiences is such an amazing miracle! I am so grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who puts good people in our paths to help us experience the love and joy meant for us.
2 comments:
You have been a blessing in my life since August 1991. Although our lives have taken us in different directions, I think back to the amazing friend you were during a difficult time of my life.
I love you Nan. I will always be eternally grateful that you made the decision to go to USU and become friends with me!
Oh, Angie! That was so sweet! I am thankful for you, too. You have no idea what a blessing you have been to me as well. Thank you!
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