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.