Where did the last month go?

Ok so I fell off the blogging earth for a few weeks. Lately it seems like I can't even keep my dishes done let alone blog. So for my own sake I am going to do one eternal post to catch up. Are you ready for this? No? Either am I.
Cassidy's Birthday Oct. 19

Cassidy is 7 years old. Cannot believe it. Her smile brightens our lives. She is an example to all of us. Can't imagine life without her. She had a birthday party on the 18th with some of her cousins. They played games and decorated cookies. Megan helped organize all of the games and helped out a lot. I think they had a good time. (Sorry about all the fuzzy pictures. I dropped my camera the other day and it isn't working right.)

Dinner at the mall. Fire drill anyone? Oct. 18th.

After Cassidy's birthday party Natalie (who had brought Joanna's kids to the party) and I realized it was dinner time so decided to take the kids to Chick-Fil-A. Everything was going rather smoothly. The line wasn't very long. The kids were well behaved and ate. Natalie and I had fun talking. The kids finished eating and had to go play on this car you see in the picture of Logan and Wesley. Well as you can see right above the car on the wall is a fire alarm. Why would you place a fire alarm within a child's reach right by a toy car? Just as I was starting to clean up and get ready to go. This really loud alarm starts going off and I realize that Cassidy has just pulled the fire alarm. As you may know I hate undo attention brought upon myself so I am sure my face turned the brightest red you have ever seen. I really didn't know what to do. Of course I asked Cassidy "Why did you pull that?!!!" She was so scared she ran out of the mall. I tried pulling the alarm back down but it wouldn't budge. I know stupid but I was desperate. Eventually an employee came over and Natalie told him that a child pulled it. So it was turned off rather quickly and we were able to track Cassidy down just outside the doors. The fire trucks didn't come, thank goodness, and we left no questions asked. I was so afraid that the trucks would come and that I would be charged a million dollars for a false alarm. We had a good laugh. And years from now we will tease Cassidy about the time she evacuated the whole mall. (Well a few people exited but actually most people just ignored it but we can pretend.)
Canning Salsa

My sister Jilleen wanted to learn how to make salsa. So we spent all last Mon. and some of Fri. canning salsa. It was hard work but I am glad she motivated me to do it because we enjoy eating it.

On Friday I took Cassidy to her nephrology appt. Her kidneys are plugging away at a steady 30% function. The doctor was very happy with the results of her blood test. He said it looked really good except, of course, her overall kidney function which we know will not get any better. I was so happy because this is the first appt. where there has not been something out of whack a little bit. Especially her potassium level and that was even good. So we don't have to add any meds. or change anything at this point. I am so happy about that. Keeping her diet in check has been a trial for me but it is keeping her potassium down and all the medications are doing their jobs. So we will keep doing what we are doing. Cassidy is doing amazingly well. The full day of school was a big adjustment for her and would wear her out but she has gotten used to it and is doing great. She qualified for some special ed. So she goes to resource for an hour a day. We are still waiting for word on the aide situation. It would still be really helpful to have someone there to help her for a couple hours during math and reading.

Scarecrow Festival Oct. 16

The kids were out of school on Thurs. and Fri. for fall break. So on Thurs. my sisters Debbie, Shelly, Jilleen and I took our kids to the Scarecrow Festival at Thanksgiving Point. There was a lot of kids there. They had fun playing on the blown up slides. They each got to go on a pony ride and they got to sit inside the highway patrol helicopter. Megan tried out a pedal car. We got to see a magic show and eat popcorn and cotton candy. Megan said it was a lot of fun. Mostly I think they were just happy that I took them somewhere different. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I was afraid to let Cassidy go on the blown up slides because I was afraid she would get trampled and hurt but Megan and the cousins were great to help her get around. She did fine.

A New Nephew Oct. 12th

My sister Marci gave birth to a boy on Oct. 12th. Congratulations to her and Tony. Chandler is a cutie.

A New Niece Oct. 13th

Lorin's sister Joanna gave birth to a girl on Oct. 13. Congratulations to her and George. We can't wait to meet Erica.

Joy School Halloween Parade

Last Tues. was Logan's Halloween parade for Joy School. He is dressed as a knight and as you can see he didn't really sing the cute witch song. What a cute group of kids.

Witch-A-Palooza Oct. 11

I had a fun girls day with my mom and sisters on Sat. Oct. 11. We went to Park City to eat lunch and to do some shopping. Then we went to Gardner Village for the Witch-A-Palooza dinner theater. It was a lot of fun. We missed having Marci with us. We will excuse her this time as she was busy giving birth.

I fit right in. I make a good witch most of the time. I have the best mom and sisters! Thanks for the fun day.

My Turn to Teach Joy School

Two weeks ago it was my week to teach Joy School at my house. It went pretty well for having 9 kids to keep entertained. This is a cute picture of them dancing to a song. I have to admit I was relieved when the week was over and I hope they learned something.

I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home

This was the scene when Lorin got home from hunting the first time. He is gone again for the next two days. The kids love him so much and can't get enough of him when he is home. I hope he has a great time hunting. Work will still be here when he gets back.

Well if you have made it to the end of this post without falling asleep or getting entirely bored then I am amazed. My mind is blank right now so nothing sounds very exciting or cute. My heart is heavy today as I just found out that my Aunt Karen (my mom's oldest sister) is not going to be with us for much longer. Our thoughts and prayers are with Uncle Russ and all their family. It is never easy to say goodbye to someone we love so dearly and who has influenced our lives for good.