Friday, October 31, 2008

Halloween!!

Well, it's basically been Halloween WEEK!! We have had so much fun! I decided, in my head that Trae was going to be...



a chicken. I bought this costume back on Winni's first Halloween as a future costume. I forgot it was a size 5T! So, Trae tried it on and went to show Grandma. Then when it came time for "the real deal" he decided to be a dragon.



Hmmmmm....something look frighteningly familiar??

If they don't remember, or care, then I don't either!! :)

Gwen, the blonde beauty queen, joined us for a little Trick-or-Treating.



Grady was a cute little spider, even though he didn't like it much. I had visions of him crawling like a normal kid in this cute costume with all of his legs going everywhere. However, since he still does the "army crawl" his legs didn't work so well and he wanted to be held a lot, without his cute had on. Oh well, he is still the cutest spider I've ever seen. And, the only spider I'm inviting into my house!
Now, not only do I have enough soda for the winter, I've got enough candy, too!! Do me a favor, go check out Melinda's blog. What a great idea for Halloween costumes with 6 kids! :) LOVE IT!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

My Harvest!!

My sister Becky did an great post about her amazing hard work in preparing and harvesting for the winter. She inspires me to be more domestic and self reliant. So, I did some harvesting of my own.



I think we are set! We have enough Root Beer and 7-up to last us through all the Christmas Parties! As far as being domestic, please notice the 3 bottles of peaches. I mean, seriously, I'm turning out alright!!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

I'd love to babysit...

But I make no promises to wipe noses or bumbs! I will claim that her nose just started running and I hadn't noticed the poop smell until I saw you walking down my stairs! Oh, and the Mt.Dew??? She said something about starting the day off right? I don't know what you do at your house, but I didn't want her to miss you, so I gave her the whole can!



Every Monday I watch Miss Q while Julie volunteers in Abe's class. This week she was a little monster! She was totally acting her age! She kept turning the TV off and making Winni mad, she would turn the disposal on and walk away, and then she went through my cupboards. She found the "supply" and helped herself. No, I didn't open it for her, but I did allow her to walk around with it while she licked the top. Then, when I started taking pictures she started turning her head so I could get her mug shots! This girl is TROUBLE!!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Dance Halloween Party

Apparently when I got the call to have Winni wear her costume to dance class this week I didn't read the small print which stated I was to make a very cute and creative goody bag for the kids! I guess you could say I'm new to the whole give other people's kids stuff. Like birthday parties. You come to my kids birthday party, I feed you cake and ice cream in exchange for the gift you gave (or didn't give) my child. Then, I'm supposed to make a gift bag for your child?? I'm so confused. Am I not the one who endured 9 months of pregnancy and then child birth?? What did you bring me??? OOOoops, sorry! This wasn't supposed to go that way. Anyway, now you know how I feel and why your child will leave my children's birthday parties empty-handed. Unless I have leftover cake!

Back to the Halloween party....Here she is with her dancing friends..


Wonder Woman, TinkerBell, Ariel, and Uniqua!!

Here are the treats they brought. Well, at least the packages they brought them in. Very creative and crafty. Very impressive! I vote for them for room mother!








When I got there and other kids had treats to share I thought, ah crap!! So, I ran over to Albertsons and got a treat to share. Now, presentation might not be the best, but I heard cheers when Winni handed out her treats!!



And, of course, my frozen little Wonder Woman. It's so convenient that she doesn't grow all that fast. Her elephant costume lasted 2 years, and here is the 2nd year at being Wonder Woman. Heck, this costume has a good 2 more years in it!

For example...

Tonight I got an email telling me to go to the previously mentioned restaurant site and put in the code "TREATS" for 80% off!! PEOPLE!! That's $2 for a $25 gift certificate. Now, go buy, go out to eat, and then multiply and replenish the earth!! (or whatever it is you do!) :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GG!! We love and miss you! Can't wait to come and visit....SOON!!! :)

Sunday, October 26, 2008

A Good Day at Church

Today Walter treated me to Relief Society with no kids!! i got a whole hour without a wiggly one on my lap. I love it when he is able to attend church with me! (ugggghh!! it's drill weekend next week so it's Single Mom Sunday!) Anyway, when Walter showed up for Sunday School Grady was asleep in his arms. The thing that was different was that he had kisses all over his face! Very cute! I asked who they were from and Walter actually had no idea! hahaha After "accusing" a few females of marking my son I was dumb-founded. It turns out that while Walter was visiting in the hallway Grady got attacked by his Grandma! Ahhhh....I guess it's ok if she marks her territory.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Good Food...Great Prices!!

So, lately I've found www.restaurant.com! This has become quite the handy little website. You buy gift certificates on there to participating restaurants. Why you ask?? Because you can buy a $25 gift certificate for $10!! However, if you are a www.couponmom.com member you get emails about special codes. Like the one I got that made my $25 gift certificates only $4!! So cool! We decided to go out last night and used one of them. We went to Grille from Impanema. It is a brazilian steakhouse, where they bring all different kinds of meat to your table. The meat is good, but the salad bar is so so! Not quite sure it was worth $50, however we had our coupon. Well, turns out they have a new owner and the old owner sold all those gift certificates to restaurant.com and won't give the new owner any money for redeemed certificates. So, we got to pay $50!! I'm hoping I have better luck with my other certificates!!

BTW, this post wasn't meant to be a downer. I'm still excited about the site. I can use my certificate at Braza Grill (the previous owner) or I can turn it in for my $4 back. I think it was worth the $4 gamble. If I can get $25 gift certificates for $1 I'll be getting one for all of you for Christmas!! :)

And, might I add a

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEPH!!



I can't believe you are so old. But, don't worry...I won't tell anybody you just turned 40!! They'll never believe me!! Hope you partied like a rock star!

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Crafty!!

Looky what I made tonight!! At this point, I'm feelin' pretty good about myself!



And, I'm all ready for next month!!

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Tonight I finally made dinner. It's been pretty scary the last few days at our house. But, tonight I mustered up the desire to make a meal for my family. I pulled out the crockpot, put in 3 chicken breasts, covered them in catalina dressing and pushed GO! So, after all my hard work, I was pretty miffed when my kids ate cookies while I cooked the rice and broccoli. Then, they didn't want to eat dinner. Trae went as far as to throw his dinner at Grady on the floor. So, I took Trae to his room, put his jammies on, brushed his teeth and put him in Grady's crib so he couldn't get out! I was pretty proud of myself for not losing it. I didn't even yell. However, and apparently, it was obvious that I wasn't happy with the nights events. After dealing with Trae, Winni comes in singing some new song I hadn't heard before. It went something like this, "Is it nice to be the GROUCH!" I turned to her and said, "yes, it is!" Needless to say, everybody is in bed, and the grouch is heading there too!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

A HA!!

So, as I have been laying on the floor for the past 2 days I have been able to accomplish....nothing! I've been in pain due to my back. I believe I slipped the disc again, or something like that. Either way, I've been whining since last Tuesday! My poor husband! Anyway, I had a wonderful a ha moment. It went something like this...my kids are cool! I just can't believe I helped make these little people. (I'm a pretty big deal at my house!) I really truly loved just laying on the floor and playing with them. Not a care in the world. Well, maybe the occasional put food in the kids followed by changing a poopy diaper. But, other than that we just played and watched movies. I cannot tell you how many hugs and kisses I got these last 2 days. My house, on the other hand, didn't feel so loved. But, ya know what??? My kids need their mom. I would much rather them hug me than the vacuum. I want them to know me more than their toys. And I want them to think I'm cooler than Dora. If I can accomplish these things, I will have won! As long as the prize is the love of my children and a longing to spend lots of time with them, I'll take the days on the floor.

Monday, October 20, 2008

I'm an AUNT...again!! :)

Charles Alan Alexander Brewer


Alex was born last night at 9:19 PM. He came in at 8 lb 1 oz and 20.5 inches long! His mom, Mandy, is Walter's step sister. Her and her husband live in North Carolina, they are both in the military. So, I won't get to hold this baby anytime soon. But, I can hope that by the time I do he isn't too much bigger than he is now!

CONGRATS PHILIP AND MANDY!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Me??? Cook??

Why yes! While I do enjoy good food, I find that sometimes the best way to get it is to invite myself to someone else's house, or find a fun recipe and cook it myself. Sometimes, I combine the 2!

Last year Marv helped Walter, a ton, with the lovely Greenhouse. Or hillbilly hut, depending on who you are. Anyway, we wanted to take him and his wife, Amy, out to dinner to say thanks. Well, we didn't quite get to it and the next thing we knew, Amy and I both had our 3rd babies in 3 (or less) years. I finally got around to it this week. I decided to make the dinner I had made for cooking club. It was so yummy!! So, I thought I'd share it with y'all!!

The MENU:

Electric Lady Blackberry Lemonade
Ragin Hormones Free Chicken marinated in Forbidden Nights Moroccan Pesto
You Goat, Girl
Spaghetti Squash with Hot Lips Chili Butter

For the recipes, along with many other wonderful recipes, click HERE.

The Chicken, grillin away



The Chili Butter, ready for a smashin!



You Goat, Girl! Which is a really yummy Green Bean Salad! It has figs, walnuts and goat cheese! mmmmm yummm!!



So, I think the Goeck's enjoyed the meal. And, it was fun to let the kids play! The chili butter also goes great on corn on the cob, or corn in the skillet, or on bread as a sort of garlic bread. Ahh....just use it on whatever! I'm sure it would be a good shaving cream too, just slather it on! But don't cut yourself, ewwww wee! Chili powder on open wounds probably isn't a good idea. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!

Thursday, October 16, 2008

DJ Cooly G and his mix master side-kick Fred

Hmmmm....this also looks familiar! I guess, technically, playing on the computer is no longer just a dad trait, mom does it a little too much too. But, here again is proof that my children take after their father. Not only in their DJ'n skizzills!!


But, also when it comes to "cuttin a rug!"



I love how Trae just walks around with his hands in his pockets, like he's too cool or something. Or maybe he is making sure that little boy doesn't make his move with his sister! Especially after that little dance move where that kid made Winni's dress fly up, then she held it up for him!! Dirty dancing, Winni style.

We love you DJ Cooly G



"CHEEEEEESAAAAA!"

(This lovely event was a wedding for our friends and Walter's classmate, Chad and Keira. It was a beautiful wedding in a greenhouse. It was a perfect location, for sure! It was complete with a brick pathway that kept Trae busy. He kept digging the dirt out from between bricks. Much better than before his discovery when he found loose rocks and water fountains!)

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Oh, my sweet Zie Zie!!

Trae, at his mature 2 years and 3 months, has found love!! Meet Suzie Christensen...



Aint she a peach!! Trae likes his ladies with smooth heads and hairy legs!! Every morning Trae wants to call Zie Zie. Every time we pass her house, he wants to play with her. When we get ready for church, he asks if she will be there. Now, I'm not putting all my eggs into one basket, but, if she turns out anything like her mom, we're sitting pretty!! With no hair out of place, (thanks to what I believe was a whole bottle of hairspray(I know, high maintenance)) isn't she sweet!!


Of course the mohawk was on purpose! It's all the rave among the toddlers! Ahhh...Zie Zie, no matter where Trae grows up, he will come and find his first true love!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Witches

Last week we went to Gardner Village with some friends to see the witches! Last year we went with Kari, Katie and Suzie. Winni and Katie were scared, so our visit didn't last long. This time was a different story...


Winni was so excited to see the witches. Maybe it was her fab sunglasses that were protecting her from the wickedness of these fun witches. Whatever it was, she was a lot less tense.



Here is our crew. "Don't worry ladies, I'll protect you!" I'm assuming that is what Trae is saying. Or maybe that is his GQ pose! Anyway, we had lots of fun!



Winni had to get a picture with the "well endowed" witch while holding Grady. If that witch had been any more endowed Winni's head would have been sucked in!! Last year I had to trick her into this picture! hahahaha

The best part about this whole adventure?? Well, I knew us ladies couldn't not have lunch after getting together, so I came prepared. (I don't like ordering food for my kids, cause they usually would rather play or not eat.) Little did I know they were going to want to stop at the bakery first and have donuts!! So, I did what any prepared mother would do. I grabbed the leftover pizza from last night, put it in a ziploc and my kids ate cold pizza while the others ate donuts! hahahaha Who's the wicked witch now?? OK, the pizza was followed by a donut.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Proud Papa moment!

Ahhhh....living up to his name!



Laptop in place...remote in hand..."Where's my breakfast, woman!!" My baby's growing up to be just like the WEG's that came before him!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Starring...Winifred, and those other Primary Children!

Today was our primary program at church. The primary consists of all the children in our ward (congregation) ages 3-11. Which, of course, includes Winni. She even had a line to say. This is what she said, "My name is Winni Gunter. I am a Child of God. I am special because I'm 3 years old (3 fingers up) and my name starts with a W (turn fingers around to show a 'W')" She did a great job, and she knew it! As soon as she was done, she got down from the microphone and did a little side leap of sorts for everyone! Then, throughout the program she would wave to mom and dad and everybody else. At one point, Kari, who was strategically placed between Winni and her friend Katie, turned to Winni and asked her who she was pointing at. She looked at her and said, "all those people!" You know, because all those people were there to see her and her shining moment! She was doing what any other 3 yr old star would do! She's so funny. At the practice yesterday Winni would not sing. Kari was trying to get her to sing and she wouldn't. She tried encouraging her by praising the kids around her for their singing. She turned to Winni and said, "Isn't Sam singing so good, Winni?" My sweet little (cough cough stubborn) girl turned to her and said, "I know, I'm not!!" I guess the reverse psychology eventually worked because today she sang...most of the time!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAMPS!!
(THE FIRST!)

Saturday, October 11, 2008








Guess what today is??



Walter's birthday!! The cradle robber in our family turned 33 today! We decided to go low key for our birthday's this year, so last night we went to PF Chang's and today the kids and I decorated the living room while he was gone! We were going to surprise him with a cake, but Winni forgot it was a surprise and told Daddy all about it!


Oh, and it's falling apart at the bottom because Trae decided to take a bite out of the bottom layer. It was pretty yummy!! It was a pumpkin cake with a cream cheese frosting! Not only did we decorate for him, we got him some matching socks, too! Well, they match each other, not his birthday. But, that is what makes them different from the rest of his socks! He actually told me that for his birthday he wanted matching socks. Pretty easy guy! Which, of course, is why I married him! ;) Love you BABE!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WALT BABY LUV!!
(THE SECOND!)


Friday, October 10, 2008

Again??



As if the picture didn't give it away already...Trae put an airsoft pellet in his ear...again! He did it while I was showering and he told me immediately. However, being the super responsible mom that I am, I waited a little while to take him in. When we finally got an appointment I told him where we were going. From our house to the dr's office, he traveled with his hand over his ear. When he had to hold my hand, he switched hands. His right ear had to be covered! So, he knows it hurts, he knows he shouldn't put things in his ear, but yet he continues to do it! HELP!!

PS So, as I cheat and post this one, oh on the 14th, Trae comes into the room. He is supposed to be in bed, but has snuck into the living room. He hands me the space bar from Walter's laptop (again) and tells me he has something in his ear. Well, after about 20 minutes of squirting water and trying to scoop in his ear, out pops part of the spacebar. What's a mother to do??

Thursday, October 9, 2008

I thought...

I had a few more years until I had to start doing fundraisers, but here I am! Winni's dance class is selling flower bulbs for their fundraiser this year. All you have to do is let me know what kind you want (i.e. crocus', tulips, stuff like that) and give me some moolah and they will send the bulbs directly to you! So, let me know if you want some. Now is the time to get them in the ground so order away!!

P.S. So glad it's not cookie dough or wrapping paper!!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

It's BaaAAaAack!!



My favorite show is back on! I'm so excited! After the writers strike I never heard anything about it. I was so sad. Then, last sunday I happened upon the season premier! It was a wonderful early birthday present! I guess you could say I'm definitely a military wife. I watch The Unit, then 2 episodes of Army Wives! It gives me something to look forward to while I'm sitting in 3 hours of church with 3 little ones.

Monday, October 6, 2008

McKall tagged me....like forever ago!!

I guess it's time I catch up on my tags. I'm such a slacker, but here's a start...

You are supposed to list 3 joys, 3 fears, and 3 irritations.

3 JOYS

1. My family


2. Flip Flops


3. Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccino



3 FEARS

1. Tarantulas


2. Shoe shopping

There are just so many options...what if I buy the wrong ones? What if I look like a goof?

3. Cooking lobster, or anything you buy still living that has big pinchers!



3 IRRITATIONS

1. The dishes are NEVER all done!


2. Not knowing where we'll live next year!


3. Belts that hold your pants up aren't "in style"


Alrighty then! I'm tagging someone this time, cause I haven't in a long time. It's all you Melinda Beth!!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Go UTES!!

So, Thursday was Kari's birthday! And, what do we do best for birthdays?? We go out! We had an amazing night with wonderful food at Epic and a funny little show "Scary Poppins" at Desert Star! So so fun!! I just love Kari, and her sisters! They are so much fun! Thanks for letting me be a part of your family, Kari. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! With me going out, that left Walter in charge. So, he decided to take the kids to the football game!



What a brave man! Sure, they look innocent, but really they are crazy fun!!



One thing I know dads are good for...FUN and TREATS!!



Alright, honestly there were many pictures of my kids enjoying their treats, but this one showcased my hard work the best! Isn't her hair so cute! I can never get this headband to stay put! Well, it aint going anywhere now!!! :)

Oh, and this bag of chips. Not one of the treats daddy purchased, however, it is apparently the one Trae wanted. Turns out the lady in front of them was enjoying these chips. He must have used his Gunter charm to get a few chips, then the lady caved and gave him the whole bag! Nice work buddy!!




Either she totally knows that Utah is about to make a comeback and win, or she is just a poser. I'm thinking poser!!




Also, when dad keeps you out til 11, you can't help but get tired. Isn't she sweet! I wish it was appropriate, or at least acceptable for me to do the same thing sometimes!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Dentist!!

We finally decided it was time to go to the dentist! Winni had been before to Harold, but Trae had never been. I love having Harold as my dentist, but I wanted my kids to go to a pediatric dentist. So, we got appointments at



This is not meant to be an advertisement, but we had a lot of fun there! And, the kicker was, while we were there, David Archuleta's song came on the radio!! whoot whoot!!

Anyway, the kids were so brave for their x-rays...


And their cleaning...


Clean teeth CHEEEEESE!!!


After their cleanings they got a little prize package with a sticker, flossers, toothbrush and toothpaste. They can't wait to go home and brush their teeth!


They were even brave for the dentist. However, poor little Winni has 5 cavities!! What a horrible mom! She is turning out to be our most expensive child, although she did have a head start!