Our house wasn't quite as scary as last year, but we still had a few neighborhood children who didn't want to come all the way to the door.  Halloween Success, in Brad's book.

Only in Texas would the pumpkins and chrysanthemums you'd expect to see in October be sharing the same porch with the geraniums and impatiens I planted last spring.

I'm not proud of this, but I may have purchased a Halloween costume for Joey.  When I was alone at Walmart.  With none of my children present to blame it on.

I had to take Pep and Adam to soccer practice tonight, so I wasn't able to go to our ward trunk-or-treat.  But, rumor has it that Brad, Luke, and Joey were all there dressed as varying versions of Darth Vader.

Tonight, we broke tradition and actually carved jack-o-lanterns for Halloween.  We haven't done this for years--in Germany it wasn't really a thing, and we forgot last year.

Lest you think my children have been scarred by our lack of Halloween spirit, I should point out that my boys had zero interest in going to the pumpkin patch to pick out their pumpkins.  So, it was just Jess and I at the patch, snatching up the first four pumpkins we could find.  

Once we got them home, there was more enthusiasm for the project, with a brief detour into groaning about the grodiness of pumpkin guts.  But once they started carving, everyone seemed pretty excited about it, and we ended up with some exceptionally fine jack-o-lanterns.

A picture from the past.  This was taken in October 2006.

Lukie was only three months old, but he was such a stiff little guy that he could stand on his own if we propped him up.  I'm sorry, but just look at those legs!  What a toughie!

Today we experienced a rare soccer miracle.  All three boys had their games in the same place, so Brad and I got to stay together and watch them all.

Pepper got to play goalie for a while, which has been his fantasy all season long.

I'm sorry that the above photo is so out-of-focus--I have not mastered the phone picture yet.

But, I'm even more sorry that the following picture is so in-focus.

The wind was crazy today, so I snapped this thinking I could show you how my hair was in my eyes all afternoon.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a photo of my neck fat and the insides of my nostrils.

I need to be grounded from my phone camera.

This picture of my little nephew Jack was in my inbox today:

You'll recall that Jack's mom, my sis-in-law Becky, was part of the awesome girls' trip to Scotland.  She purchased this kilt for Jack on our trip, and last Sunday he totally ROCKED the wee Scottish laddie look.

It is absolutely impossible for me to look at this picture and not smile!

Look!

I have my very own new Walmart!

OK, so I know it isn't my very own, but it feels like it is.  This new store opened up a couple of weeks ago, and it is awesome.  It's only about 5 minutes away from my house, and as you can see from the nearly empty parking lot, it isn't crowded at all.  Plus, since it's new, it is super clean and all the employees are super nice (they've only been working there a few days, so they haven't become jaded yet--an inevitability for a Walmart employee).

Nirvana, people.  Nirvana.

It's Brad's birthday, so this afternoon Lukie was helping me set the table and do the general birthday decorating.

We finished, and I left to go do something else.  When I came back to the kitchen a few minutes later, I saw that Luke had added his own touch to the birthday table.

He blew up this balloon as a centerpiece, but because he hasn't mastered the tie-it-off part, he improvised with a twistie-tie.

You know there is no way I was going to take it off the table.

How I love this man!

Happy birthday Brad.  My world is infinitely better because you were born.

Tonight was Adam's school choir concert.

So, I got to spend a delightful hour listening to my boy sing.  Plus, I sat by a couple from my ward that I really like, so I also got to chit-chat with them.  On the whole, I was having a fine night.

And then, like a big 'ole cherry on top, I saw this guy:

  Texas rocks.

Adam came home all excited last week because they made ice cream in his math class (they are studying ratios--it makes sense).

So, tonight for FHE we tried the ice cream recipe he got from his math teacher.

It was fast, easy, and delicious.  Everything I want in an FHE treat.

Here's the recipe, in case you also love fast, easy, and delicious:

PUT INTO A SANDWICH-SIZED ZIPLOC BAG AND SEAL SECURELY:

1/2 cup cream (can use half&half, we used heavy whipping)

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

 

PUT INTO A GALLON-SIZED ZIPLOC BAG:

3 cups crushed ice

1/3 cup rock salt

Put filled small bag into the larger bag and seal securely.  Shake for 10ish minutes until ice cream in the small bag has set.  Grab a spoon and enjoy!

My sweet Baby Pepper

How 'bout that smile?

I am posting pictures of Adam and Luke playing in their soccer games today, but only because it was impossible for me to take a picture with my phone of me playing Candy Crush on my phone.

That would have been a more accurate depiction of how I spent my time.  Mother of the year...

As per my usual, I have discovered something cool years after everyone else already knew about it.

I'm a little bit addicted.

So, you already know how I love to read.

This makes me so happy.

My two older children are not big readers, but Adam has his nose buried in a book every chance he gets.  And now, it looks like we've lured Luke over to the dark side.  

Yessssssss.

The final step to Jessica's room redo.

She got this vinyl sticker that looks like tree branches, but it couldn't be on freshly painted walls, so she had to wait a while before putting it up.  As she did with the painting, Jess enlisted the help of a friend--I thinks she's a bit like Tom Sawyer painting his fence.  These things always sound funner before they actually start doing the work.

 

Lukie is supremely proud of this house he made out of a big cardboard box.  That yellow lump on the roof just to the right of Lukie is a flashlight that he carved a hole for, so he can have light.

It really is pretty cool.

The kids were off school today for Columbus Day, and the boys' rooms were in serious need of some Spic-n-Spanning.

So, I reached into my secret chocolate stash and dumped this little pile on the kitchen counter.  The deal was that after each stage of room cleaning was done (picking up, vacuuming, dusting), they could have two candy bars.

This is what eighteen fun-sized candy bars will buy you:

It's a bargain.

Inspired by my recent stay in my mother's house, I endeavored to create The Perfect Sunday Dinner today.

Let me point out the key elements:

1 - Napkins folded at each place setting.  Because it's lovely.

2 - A small plate for jello, since gravy and jello are a bad combination.

3 - Roast beef slow-cooked to juicy goodness, not over-cooked to grey nothingness, which is my specialty.

4 - Jello.  For the love of all things gelatinous, I MADE A SUCCESSFUL JELLO!!!

5 - Carrots cooked with the roast.  Best vegetable known to man.

6 - Gravy that actually tastes like something other than salted, fatty water.

7 - Homemade rolls.  A must.

8 - Placemats, which I purchased yesterday for this occasion.  Because, again, it's lovely.

9 - Mashed potatoes made from real potatoes, peeled and boiled, then mashed just enough to allow for occasional soft, potatoey lumps.

It was a triumph, a triumph I say!  It may never again be duplicated, but I now have photographic evidence that I can create The Perfect Sunday Dinner.  

Please, hold your applause.

Brad One and Brad Two

As a reward for good grades for the first marking period, Brad bought Adam this chess set and spent the evening teaching him the ropes.  They both looooooved it.

Sometimes it's scary how alike these two are.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

I flew home to Texas this afternoon, and for the first time in almost two weeks, we all sat together as a family and had dinner.  That dinner came from the freezer section of the grocery store, but it still counts, right?

When Brad booked my flights for the funeral, he gave me an extra day in Utah so I could spend a little time with my family.  

 

If I'm going to spend time with my family in Utah, you know that at least one hour of that will be spent at Cafe Rio.

And then my mom, who is awesome in every way, put together this dinner with my sisters and their kids.  Immediately following this dinner, we played Mormon Bridge, and my dad--my DAD--beat us all soundly.  It was unprecedented!

After one night at home, in which my husband, dog, and one son seemed genuinely happy to see me (the others--meh), I hopped on another plane to attend the funeral of my Uncle Jim this morning in Utah.

Uncle Jim has had cancer for some time, and the week before I left for Scotland, I learned that his doctors were ceasing all treatment and letting him spend his final weeks at home.  So, when I got Brad's text on Saturday telling me that Jim had passed away, it wasn't a surprise.  I'm just very glad that I was able to attend his funeral and spend a little time with his family.

The service was so nice--each of his children spoke and shared stories of their dad--some good, some funny, all perfect.  I kept thinking that if Jim was there listening, he'd be laughing that quiet, kinda sputtery laugh of his.  It was a lovely tribute.

Aunt Linda, Aunt Julie, and my dad

All of my family that could be there

It's impossible for things to get too heavy when there are little kids around.  And, there were lots of them.

After the graveside service, we all met at the Garland farmhouse for pies supplied by my cousin Marisa's ward in Bountiful.  It was the perfect way to wrap things up--everyone gathered at the family farm where Jim and his siblings grew up, with nothing to do but chit chat, eat pie, and remember Jim.  I couldn't help but think that a similar gathering was happening on the other side of the veil, only instead of pies, they'd be eating Grandma's twisties.  We all know there are twisties in heaven.

This photo was actually taken yesterday, but it captures perfectly how we all felt early this morning as we said good-bye and parted on our various airplanes to take us to our various homes.

Sigh.

 We made a pact today that no one would mention the words "last day".  Too sad.

 

  We started with a quick trip--like 15 minutes--to Urquhart Castle.  We showed up, read the sign, took the requisite photos, visited the gift shop restroom, and moved on.

Yep, there's Urquhart Castle--another ancient, romantic structure surrounded by stunning scenery.  See how callous we've become?  Magnificent Scottish castles are so Everyday to us now.

Next was Culloden, the site of the last Jacobite rebellion battle under Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745.

This totally makes my heart thump, even with the missing apostrophe.  Those are powerful words.

 

I have to confess that my knowledge of Culloden comes exclusively from Diana Gabaldon and her books.  But, she insists that she researches heavily, and everything I saw today in the visitor's center corroborates perfectly with A Dragonfly in Amber, so I consider her a good source.

The ground at Culloden fairly aches with stories--whether fiction or not, it doesn't matter.  A good story is a good story in my book.

When we bought our tickets to Culloden battlefield, the man at the desk asked us if we were wanting to see Clava Cairns.  I automatically shook my head "no", as we had a very tightly scheduled day, and frankly, I could barely understand his accent.  He went on to explain that he could tell we were from North America, and most North American ladies who came to Culloden wanted to see the standing stones.  At the words "standing stones", we all straightened to attention.  At our fierce nods of interest, the man pulled out a little hand-written map he'd photocopied and gave us directions to Clava Cairns, which were a short drive from Culloden. 

 It's a bit embarrassing to be so easily pegged, but I'm very glad he recognized us for the Outlander fans that we are.  It would have been a shame to miss seeing a stone circle in Scotland!

Finally, we headed to St. Andrews.

The ruins of St. Andrews cathedral

 Just wandering the town of St. Andrews was delightful.

Google told us that Prince William met Kate Middleton when they both attended boarding school in St. Andrews.  Apparently, this is the exact place that happened.

 St. Andrews Castle

On our way out of St. Andrews the town, we stopped at St. Andrews the golf course so Becky and I could take a quick photo.

Brad, this is for you.

Then, it was back to Edinburgh and the inevitable last night before we all fly home tomorrow.

Sad, but in an awesomely beautiful way.  How I love these girls--I mean lassies!