Hope your Halloween was purrfect!!

Our was great. And before you think that I am a bad mom who is playing favorites since I only put up a pic of our "evil kitty" in costume, Kobe decided that he was too old to dress up this year. My little baby is all growed up! I think I was around his age when I decided that Halloween was for the "litte kids." So while Tehani and I spent the evening trick-o-treating with Simone & Eva at the University Mall with the rest of the crazies, Norm and Kobe enjoyed some fun at the nickle arcade.

A fun Halloween was had by all. I'm also looking forward to the fact that now that this holiday is oficially over, I can put our jack-o-lanterns out in the trash can. Yeah for me!)

Our favorite time of the year

And no, it's not Halloween. It's the time of year when I get to wish my little "baby" brother Raymond a Happy Birthday. I went through my pics to make sure I found one embarrassing enough to share...

And since I'm in the mood for sharing, here are a few other little known facts to help Raymond celebrate his special day:

• Raymond the Rebel--When Raymond went through his "rebellious stage," my sister and I used to get in trouble every time he came home with a new tattoo or pierced body part. Somehow this is our fault?!


• Show and tell--I believe Raymond was just in kindergarten when he got in trouble for bringing real bullets to school. Had we known that he would end up being a cop, we could have just told the principal that he was practicing for when he would carry bullets with him every day!


• Raymond the Roomie--One of my favorite years was when Cynthia, Raymond and I all lived together in Utah. (I'm pretty sure my parents sent him out here to "keep an eye on me" but it was fun none the less!)


• Get this kid some Ritalin--Raymond used to get a little "crazy" when my friends would come over when I was in high school. I recall him barking like a dog and several occasions of him snapping the bra straps of my friends (I believe he was about 8 at the time :)


• Little Ray--I know most people call him Ray but to me he is and always will be "Raymond." The only other name that I know him by is "Precious" which is the nickname my Dad likes to tease him with :)


• Raymond the Marine--It only makes sense that if it was mine and Cynthia's fault every time a new tattoo was inked, it would also be our fault when Raymond joined the Marines. I tried to explain to the P's that it was not my day to watch him (It was Cynthia's) when he went down the recruiter and enlisted. None the less, we a very proud of lil' veteran.

So here's to you baby brother--Hope you have a very Happy 30th Birthday!!

Love,
Your favorite big sister Laura
(PS--Don't worry, I promise not to tell Cynthia that I am your favorite!)

It's the HATE Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

Can I just tell you that I HATE pumpkins? I'm not sure if it comes from the fact that I absolutely detest pumpkin pie or if I had a bad carving experience as a child, but the thought of cutting into a big orange gourd just makes my skin crawl! I should also mention that at some point during my childhood I was actually called "pumpkin head" by little bully at school so I'm assuming that some of my "pumpkin-hate" feelings may come from that event as well...


At any point, this anti-pumpkin mom was very excited to come home Tuesday night to find two expertly carved pumpkins waiting in the kitchen. So while I was at school enjoying a rousing evening of EMBA 504 (Corporate Financial Reporting), Norm must have broken down to Tehani's constant nagging of "WHEN are we going to carve the pumpkins?" I must admit that the kids have never had such nicely carved pumpkins in their life(and NO, I am not just saying that so Norm feels pressured into doing pumpkin duty each year :)

PS--If this tells you anything about how much I HATE pumpkins: Our nicely carved pumpkins are now sitting in my living room. This is where I study at night. I thought I was going to VOMIT from the pumpkin smell that is now permeating the room--so much so that I actually had to study in a different room last night. (If I get a bad grade on my assignment, it is all the pumpkin's fault!)

Paleontologist in training

If Kobe ends up being a paleontologist when he grows up, I'll know it all started because of the great time he had on the 4th grade overnight camp out. Yes, you read that right--there is a teacher brave enough to take a group of 9 and 10 year olds on a mini-dino expedition.

Kobe came home from his weekend to Vernal talking all about Dinosaur National Monument, Fossils, Josie's Cabin, Petroglyphs, Pictographs and more. (I may have to go back to 4th grade just to find out what all these things mean!)

I do know, however, that Kobe had a fabulous time and is LOVING 4th grade. Sometimes I can't believe that he is in 4th grade already (mainly because I remember when I was in 4th grade and I don't want him to be old enough for all of that yet :)

So here are a few of his pics from his trip. The pics also confirmed:

1. Kobe is gigundo boy compared to the others in his class...
   
2. And even when I pack Kobe a bag of clothes for the trip, he will keep on his favorite yellow "video game" t-shirt the whole time :) Typical boy...

Tehani's Special Day

I'm a little late in posting about this but I wanted to share a few of the pics from Tehani's baptism. Tehani turned eight all the way back in September so she was super excited that it was finally the day she was going to get baptized. It was also the first baptism that I was in charge of helping with (I'm in the Primary Presidency) but aside from the stress of that, it was a great day.

Uncle Afa got to do the actual baptism and other than some audibly loud comments from Tehani when she was getting out of font (something along the line of "Brrrrrrrrr") the baptism--and confirmation by her Dad--were very nice. The only minor concern on Tehani's part came when it was time to get dressed for the baptism. Our fashionista in training was a little unhappy with the available selection of jumpsuit wear. I tried to convince her that the XL jumper was not too big for her but she wasn't buying it :)

Tehani was happy, however, to be getting baptized at the same time as a friend of hers from Primary. It was also very nice that my Dad was able to come from Chicago for the event (even if we had to whisk him to the airport a few hours after :)

Thanks to everyone that made Tehani's day so special!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Leave it to your kids to remind you that you are getting old. Here is a conversation Tehani and I had the other day while I was getting ready for work...

Tehani: "Mom?"

Me: "Yes Tehani..."

Tehani: "WHAT is that black stuff under your eyes?"
Please keep in mind that this was AFTER I had put concealer on. I was actually all the way done with my makeup--meaning this was as good as it was going to get :)

Me: What black stuff? (with a slightly annoyed voice)

Tehani: Right HERE...
This would be when Tehani physically puts both of her hands up to point to the dark circles--as if I couldn't see them already. I think she was careful to not touch the bags under my eyes (just in case they were contagious or something)

Anyway, I cannot wait for the day when my daughter is old enough--and stressed and sleep deprived enough--to have black cirlces of her very own!!

Grandpa's Day

Technically its called Grandparent's Day--Meridian School does it every year and this is the first time that my Dad has been able to come out for it. Grandpa was going to be in town this weekend for Tehani's baptism so it was perfect timing for him to be able to spend the morning with the kids at school. After spending time in art class, science, PE and enjoying the 3rd grade rendition of Green Eggs and Ham, Grandpa took us all out for lunch at Chuck-A-Rama, one of Tehani's faves.

The kids even finagled Grandpa out of a present from Sam's Club--Kobe got a new DS game and Tehani picked out some Halloween basket thingy. At this rate, they'll never want my Dad to go home!

You better watch out Grandma--looks like there's a NEW pushover in town!!

Dear Grandma

Dear Grandma,

Hi. it's me Tehani. since Mommy has been too busy to write on her blog, I figured that I would write to you (so don't tell Mom I'm writing on her blog)

How do you like it there in Tahiti? what do you and auntie jungle lady do all day? me and Charlotte ane kobe miss you alot. don't wory though cause me and kobe still remember what you look like so you don't need to send us a picture. Kobe wants to tell you something...

Hi its me Kobe. I miss you alot and I hope you are doing well. Its 6:00am here but me mom and tehani are awake . who goes to get the fitifiti donoughts since Tehani and I aren't there? Have you gone to the roulette to eat? I sure miss Tahiti. Love, Kobe