Halloween Wrap Up…

The week started off with some of the white stuff and once again, I find that I need to invest in some “boy-appropriate” hand-wear…

Such diversity in one family—the sweet witch, the nerd, the ballerina, Luigi, Paul’s mom,  Brian Wilson of the Giants , and yes, you should fear the beard…

Inside was most certainly less rainy than outside was…

Luigi and Mario in all of their trick-or-treating glory with their super-sport dads--no amount of rain could keep these fellas away from the serious candy-collecting…

The Goff girls and company “after-hours”—if one nerd is good, then a whole gaggle of them are way better…

And no Halloween retrospective could be complete without my most favorite costume of all time!!  I wanted to be Casper the Friendly Ghost so bad, and then when my dream came true—let’s just say it is still magical.  I loved being Casper, and you can certainly see why—that costume was the bomb!  My trusty little bro, Aaron, made an ideal Bugs Bunny—he likes carrots and all things nutritious.  Good times…

Things I Love…

 

There are many, many things in this world that I absolutely adore.  These little goofy boys are definitely among those things. This giant “honey bun pouf”  (from a fantastic new Amy Butler pattern) is most certainly another…

Pumpkinville + a little Football…

 

My funny boys checking out the sights, sounds, and smells of the petting zoo—everything is so much better with a Mario hat…

Cael is so ready to do a Gap ad…

Kylie is queen of the pumpkin patch—and hooray, we actually had some pumpkins grow this year…

The red ninja and super Mario are also pleased with the pumpkin bounty (now if I can just keep the croquet mallets out of their hands as they are “appreciating” the pumpkins) …

My firstborn, #70 there, in between plays and hooray again, the mighty Grizzlies were mighty victorious…

Morgan, Cael, and Kendell—all big supporters of #70 and also fans of sweatshirts (it is October after all, and the crisp and lovely fall weather has finally arrived), with the exception of Cael.  A sweatshirt becomes completely unwearable if any droplet of water from a drinking fountain comes in contact with said sweatshirt, that is part of the Cael creed. It is the Cael way.  Now a Mario hat-- that is something that can be worn in any condition…

If One is Good…

So, if you find a hot deal on a really great green striped shirt at Old Navy, and your newly-brunette buddy also finds a really great green striped shirt on the clearance rack at Old Navy, what are the odds of you both showing up at the very same place at the very same same time wearing the very same thing?

The odds are actually very fantastic!!  And if you hurry on over to the Old Navy clearance rack and you have dark hair and big sunglasses and if you were wondering what you would like if you bought this super shirt for yourself, now you know. You’re welcome…

After such an extended absence from the blogosphere…

you’d think I’d come up with some sort of grand excuse about my serious lack of quality blogging.  Alas, it is simply life, the world we live in and life in general—kids, summer, work, laundry, allergies, memory card is full, overdue library books that are missing and then found, kids, just regular summer life stuff.

Morgan and Kendell are both enjoying gray shirts and being in jr. high…

 Cael and superbuddy Zander are so excited about kindergarten that they can’t even keep their eyes open (mom most certainly picked out a stellar camera angle for that sweet shot)…

Kylie is LOVING her 4th grade status and fabulous teacher—hooray!!

Curtis is all smiles after the Grizzlies posted a mighty fine win over the Jaguars this week (48-0)—perfect game to have friends and grandparents come to see…

The ginormous zinnia pillow pic is for my fave sis, Kari—it is giant, it is a zinnia, and I like it…

Hey look—all 5 of my kiddos in one picture looking in the same direction and smiling!!  The planets must have been completely aligned…

And finally, you thought your 5-year-old was talented, but can he a) come up with such a keenly coordinated outfit as this and b) operate his sister’s DS with his toes while lounging? 

Wow, he didn’t get that from me, that’s all I’m saying…

Happy Birthday, Kendell!!

 

So today is the day that Miss Kendell turns 12 years old!!  What possible better place could there be to spend such a birthday than at…Girls Camp!!

That’s right, this lucky little lady got to celebrate the very day of her birth in the great outdoors with her favorite big sister, the girls and leaders from her favorite ward, and her mom (playing the role of the afternoon craft lady for a few hours)!  What could be better?  Actually, a mattress pad that is thicker than one inch might be the cherry on top—we’ll try to remember that one for next year...                     

 Happy Happy Birthday,   Kendell!!

How I Spent my Summer Vacation…

We took a little drive to the Pacific Northwest to spend a little quality time with these smiley folks…

 

Then we found as many small children as we could so we could all enjoy the SuperMall together, because nothing says family togetherness, fun, and good-thinking like a trip to the extra-super SuperMall …  

 

 

 

 

 

We got some face time with Uncle Kyle and Aunt Kari’s wonder-pony, Chance, and as a bonus- some quality cousin togetherness at the zoo…

Kylie got some piggy-back rides from Uncle Jens…

  

 

 

 

 

And then it was the water fight of the year in Gramma Jan’s backyard, where everyone got points for participation, strategy, and wetness.

Much fun was had.

           The end.

big television debut…

So my Mongo Flower Carry All got a little air time this morning!!   

http://connect2utah.com/2news-this-morning-story/?nxd_id=96915

**sorry the video is a bit “choppy”—but the dancing is still amazing…

the summer season is upon us…

  Curtis, the eldest of the Goff children worked on his eagle scout project,

and then headed out west for the Stake handcart pioneer trek, completely delighted to have his camera-wielding mother follow him  (for the record, I did ask him if he would like to have suspenders like some of the fellow pioneers in front of him—he said “no”,  I said “whatever”)…

Kylie, aka Miss Pink Sparkly Hat, had her debut as a background singer in her class production about traveling to Mars; of course I’m sure that was the topic you figured the play would be about with the sparkly hats and all…

Morgan anticipated the blessed day when she would be getting her driver’s license (still a few years off) and if she is so lucky, she may actually be able to pilot our beloved blue “driveable wheelbarrow”…

Cael remained a little unsure about his feelings after his first tooth “just fell out.”  It had been loose for about a month and the time had come.  There’s still some work to do on the toothless grin front…

  Kendell played shoulderbag model for her mom’s first (hopefully not completely last, who knows) original bag…

while I’ve tried to make other people jealous with my finely manicured nails, but hooray, my “Mongo Flower Carry All” pattern is d-o-n-e- DONE!!

My Parallel Universe…

  

Says Cael:  “My mom likes to go to Disneyland.”

Says Mom: “That’s right, Cael, I am your mom and I do like to go to Disneyland.”

Says Cael: “No, my other mom.”

Says Mom:  “You have another mom?”

Says Cael:  “Yes, I have another mom and her name is Kristie.”

Says Mom:  “You have this mom, Kirsten, and another mom named Kristie?”

Says Cael:  “Yep, and my other mom likes to go to Disneyland and buy me suckers.  I have another dad, too.”

Says Mom:  “Who is your other dad?”

Says Cael:  “His name is Paul.”

Says Mom:  “That is your dad’s name…”

Says Cael:  “Yep, and my other dad is named Paul, too.  And he likes to go to Disneyland.”

Says Mom:  “So you have one mom, Kirsten, and another mom named Kristie, and two dads both named Paul?”

Says Cael:  “Yep, and my other mom loves to buy me suckers at Disneyland.”

I must admit to some emotional confusion--I’m not sure if I should be insulted or intrigued, or if I should really accept that this child is clearly suffering from severe sucker-deprivation.  (He is right on the money about his regular mom not buying him a lot in the way of suckers, though.)   Hmmm…this is the same kiddo that just informed me that he would like some fishy crackers tomorrow for “Kids Day” because today is “Father’s Day” and since I gave him the “every day is kids day” line and he is a kid, he would like some fishy crackers.  For Kid’s Day.  And his other mom would love to buy him a sucker… 

Things that put a smile on my face…

My dancing girlies, Kylie and Kendell with their end of the year gala, where both of their parents were actually able to see them perform in all of their dancing glory, as opposed to missing their routines while attending to their convalescing brothers (as was the case with little puking boy and big shoulder separated boy in the emergency room at the St. George competition in March)…

 

Cael’s end of the year field trip to Wheeler Farm, where he had soooo eagerly anticipated bringing his very own carrots to feed the bunnies, only to be denied and completely bummed out by the sign “please don’t feed the rabbits.”  Oh well, he gets points for preparedness and also shaking-it-off-like-a-champ-edness…

Preschool was so great for Cael this year!  Letters, numbers, field trips, crafts, songs, magic tricks, buddies –of course the letter “H” is still the BEST!!  We LOVE Miss Amber—such a grand year!!

  One of the many bonuses of being married to the wonderful husband that I am married to is the delightful extended family I consequently acquired!!  Cousin Christy’s beautiful wedding was so lovely and fun, complete with a real photo booth (so clever and totally fun) for mementos…

I LOVE the library!!  Are you kidding me??  Hart to Hart Season 1 on DVD??  How can you  not love Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, along with Max the Butler/all around domestic great guy, Freeway the dog, Hart Industries, and a car phone in Jonathan’s Mercedes?  So sweet…

I do love finding sweet notes from one sibling to another—Curtis does feel strongly that this kitchen stool should stay in the kitchen…

 

Though the lighting is less than super, I do love the orange “Nie Nie skirt” (pattern by Pink Fig) that was my first project for my new high-powered corporate gig at The Material Girls Quilts (actually it is very part-timish)—I LOVE pretty fabric and Kylie LOVES ruffles…

And then there is our goofy kitty cat, Zeke.  It would be so much easier if he could just talk and tell me exactly what is on his mind, but when he jumps up on the barbeque, stretches out all tall, and peers inside longingly, I generally get the idea… 

Good Good Times…

Captain Birthday here made the official jump from being a little guy of 4 to being a “big one” who is 5 YEARS OLD!!  He requested a Haunted Mansion (“Nightmare Before Christmas” style) birthday cake—fortunately, Jack Skellington is not a character of intricate details.  Also fortunately, Target has some fantastic striped birthday candles right now that add so much to any birthday celebration…

The parents of the birthday boy with the very favorite tree during its limited engagement week-long glory of blooms…The Goff Family spring soccer  superstars—Cael was initially devastated to find out that he wouldn’t be on the black jersey team.  He has quickly adapted to his team’s color scheme and the rest of us are also adapting to seeing him in purple at all hours of each and every day and night…

And HOORAY!!  A grand and glorious weekend was had by me!!  My one and only delightful mom came with my one and only delightful sis, who also brought her equally delightful lovely little lady, Miss Kate.  Their flight was delayed 3 hours, but we most certainly made the most of our limited time together…

We made our venture to Alpine to the fabulous “Dear Lizzie”—oooh, such fun lovely things to look at and such fun tasty items to taste…

And if one yellow apron is good, three must be super good…

Love my sis, love my mom, love my husband for holding the fort down on Saturday while I gallivanted around to every girly place we could think of in the valley and beyond…