It was like coming home...

I felt like I was coming home as I walked into Bally Gym.  The bikes, treadmills, and elypticals all feel so familiar.  I just love the feel of dumbbells in my hands and the familiarity of the bench.  It's not anything fancy, but it takes me back to High School Basketball and lifting everyday for seventh period.  I love the look of dumbbells all lined up against the mirrors.  I love to feel the burn as I try and do the 14th and 15th rep.  I love feeling sore and hungry all the time from working out.  The freedom to go whenever I want and not having to rely on Brian being home is like being back in college.  I feel so empowered and free.  It's not something I have felt since having kids:-)  I love the smell of a gym and seeing a bunch of people trying to be healthier.  I love to sweat and when I'm done with a hard workout feeling it in my lungs when I breathe for hours following.

I have to thank Brian who found this gym for me a few days before the promotion was ending of $30/mo. including childcare.  I was feeling...well, lets just say my eating disorder was bearing it's ugly head and Brian did something about it for me which meant so much.  I am so grateful to Brian for researching this for me and providing me this great freedom and life saver.  I can go and sit in a hot tub while someone watching my kids, or just ride a bike and watch TV or listen to music.  There is so much power in that I feel like a new woman and just had to share!!!!

Funny Abby/ Madison Teaches me...

Abby was looking for her pink shorts (even though it feels like winter here) and when I found them for her she said, "That's what I was finding for."

When I woke up a few mornings ago there was frost on the ground so I pointed it out to the girls and Abby kept saying, "There is frosting on the ground" and then she would look up and say, "the trees are broken" meaning the leaves are falling off the trees.  I love what she says!

Sunday morning:

After the whole Halloween on Sunday fiasco and Madison in tears when I told her "we don't trick-or-treat on Sunday because it's the Sabbath day and we keep the Sabbath Day holy."  To that she replied, "I don't want to keep the Sabbath Day Holy."  I was feeling a bit deflated and sad that she didn't want to keep the Sabbath Day holy.  Had I taught her right?

I have felt impressed to study my scriptures in the morning and not at night and so I started Saturday morning.  Madison had come in on Saturday and saw me studying my scriptures.  I didn't think much of it and just put my scriptures away once the kids woke up and played for 20 minutes before coming in my room.  But on Sunday morning I heard Madison wake up, crawl out of bed without waking Abby, and sneak into my room.  As she came into my room I noticed she had her Book of Mormon.  She didn't say a word as she climbed up on Brian's side of the bed, opened her scripture case and pulled out her scriptures and started to read them with me.  Of course she can't read, but it touched my heart so deeply.  I was reassured that she did want to be good and is such a spiritual giant.  I pulled her over to me and we read scriptures together in Alma 45.  She hasn't done it since, but it was a great experience for me.   My girls really are watching me and observing what I do and how I live.  I feel so blessed to have Abby and Madison for daughters.  I know they are spiritual giants and have so much to teach me.

G. Photoshoot

Gibson shoot...more here.

Pumpkin Carving

 Madison spent a lot of time convincing Abby how fun it would be to be a ladybug.  This way Madison could wear the 3T costume of Curious George again this year even though it is a bit too small and Abby would fit it perfectly:-)  Abby was so happy to be a ladybug and Madison loved being Curious George with Brian as the Man in the Yellow Hat.  I went as a domino.  Sorry, no pictures of me, I am the camera woman:-)

 Abby loved carving pumpkins this year.  It was really her first time and she loved it.  She told daddy that she wanted teeth like "this".  Brian said she when he looked at what she meant by this he saw Abby with her eyes shut tight and the biggest smile plastered on her face showing all her teeth.  She got a pumpkin with teeth!

Madison had a blast and has been talking about carving her pumpkin for a while.  She even remembered her train from 2 years ago.   I had a photoshoot and wasn't able to carve pumpkins with the fam this year.  

Brian said that Madison told him how to carve all the pumpkins.  Mine is the one with heart eyes...well, one heart eye, a squirrel ate the eye on the right.  Then Madison went on to tell Brian how to do all the others.  Can you tell which one is Abby's?  It has all the teeth.

Downtown Trick-or-treat

 Abby carried her dog the entire time and loved getting candy at every stop! It was so fun to see downtown and we saw so many friends.  What a fun holiday!

 Got to love her face!  

 Smile Curious George.

 Running to the next store to trick-or-treat.

I loved this door downtown.  It's such a fun place and I loved seeing in tons of different shops I have never been in before.  There were restaurants, granola type stores, jewelry stores, yarn and homemade stores, florists, etc.

Happy Halloween!

 Madison had a party at her preschool and chose to wear the ragady anne costume for that party and then...

 wear her curious george outfit to go trick or treating downtown.  Abby was just being silly and wanted to go and get candy 'now' instead of taking pictures.

The excitement was so fun.  Madison knew what to expect this year and had told Abby time and time again what it means to trick or treat and how people give you candy.