My Belated October

late: it's the story of my life, lately

Woefully late, I considered not even doing a post for last month. However, in an attempt to capture some semblance of our family's personal "history", I am here to tell our October 2012 stories.  I'm just hopeful that the pictures will jog my memory enough to actually recall what happened!

More Fundraising for Mom

Thankfully, we weren't in charge of this fundraiser, but one of my mom's good friends came up with the idea of a giant garage sale, which she planned in conjunction with a neighborhood-wide sale.  Part of that event was a bake sale.  I figured while I couldn't really help with staffing, I could pitch in some baked goods.  At left, you see the lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting; at right, a bounty of my most popular chocolate fudge cupcakes with peanut butter/cream cheese frosting.   I think in all, I made  approximately 4 dozen cupcakes, but Diane, my mom's friend & coordinator of the sale, said she could have sold dozens more.  I was just happy to help out, but it's always nice to hear that your efforts & hard work were well-received!

Crazy Hat Day

Benjamin's preschool planned a Crazy Hat Day the first week of October.  Dave took the reins with this one and came up with the idea for a Thomas-themed creation (genius!).  I helped with cutting and pasting, but Dave totally rocked this project!  We were both surprised that he actually kept the hat on - both that evening and during preschool.  Miss Julie, his teacher, told me it was the most creative hat at school that day.  Benjamin really dug this thing; in fact, just recently it met its demise because it was loved *that* much.

Bob's Pumpkin Patch 

I wish I could say this was a magical day out at Bob's Pumpkin Farm.  The temperature was in the low 70s, it was sunny, and there were a million fun things to do and see there; it was the perfect combination for a perfect fall, family outing. Unfortunately, I was feeling very pregnant that day, Dave was tired and Benjamin was hopped up on crazy.  While I was using the restroom, he bolted into a field where they were shooting targets with projectile corn (thankfully he was not hurt, but it was quite the scare).  After a few rounds of chasing, chastising, crying, wrangling and such, an epic meltdown - ultimately and sadly - had us heading for the car.  Alas, not every day is perfect... but you all know that, right?

Showered with Love

Seriously?  Look at this amazing, bountiful spread!  Everything looked and tasted good; the pictures don't really even do this beautiful buffet justice.  I loved it all, but my favorite?  The baked French Toast was HEAVENLY.  In fact, I may or may not have gone back for a third helping.  My doctor told me I needed to be eating more, so I was just following her advice, really.

Awesome cupcakes, puff balls galore and so many thoughtful gifts - what a day!

Friends and family - surrounded by so many amazing and wonderful women that morning.  I felt all the love and so much gratitude.

Mom :)

Here are my lovely & uber-talented friends, Rochelle & Suzanne.  They were the creative directors behind this wonderful shower.  Fun fact: I have known Rochelle 10 years!! (Everett singles ward days) and Suzanne since 2003 (Halls Lake singles ward days).  It must have been divine providence that we all ended up in the same ward years later.  Oh, and yeah, they basically rock.

Halloween Party #1 - Beverly Park Ward

Dave's brother, Jon, and his wife, Aubri, just moved in to our old ward.  We attended their ward's big Halloween bash because 1) we could introduce J&A to some of the lovely folks there 2) Linda invited us, and 3) Beverly Park knows how to throw an outstanding ward party!

Halloween Party #2 - Seattle Hill Ward Carnival

I wish I had more pictures of our ward party, but because Dave was manning the cupcake walk, I was tasked with running after Benjamin.  We all dressed up this time: Benjamin was a NASA astronaut (thanks to Aunt Julie's costume collection), I was a pregnant witch (complete with long blonde wig and black/orange-striped socks) and Dave was a rockstar/Billy Joe Armstrong (complete with skinny tie, black wig, and studded belt).

After a soaking rain stopped, the Trunk R' Treat was a fun romp in candy collection.  Once inside, we discovered a variety of carnival booths which were sponsored by each of the youth groups: Whack-a-Shark (or Deacon - put on by the 12-13 yr old YM); Kissing Booth (guess how many Hershey Kisses - put on by the Laurels); Photo Booth with cute props-on-a-stick (put on by the Mia Maids); Donut-on-a String (put on by the Teachers Quorum) and of course, the hugely successful Creepy Cupcake Walk (put on by Dave's Priest Quorum).  The cupcake walk was Benjamin's favorite; we spent so much time walking/dancing around those letters, he won about 8 times... only one cupcake though. :)

The big finale is what I captured in the pictures.  Stephanie Johnson, a BYU Cougarette (dance team) alumna, was the teacher of our master class: "How to do the Thriller Dance and Look as Silly as Possible".  It was all kinds of awesomeness, as old and young alike joined in the claw moves, hunches and lurching.  Surprisingly, Benjamin took to this group line dancing like a fish to water - he LOVED it.  And worked the room like a seasoned politician.  It was classic.

And, with that, I wrap up our crazy October.  There are a lot of things I didn't document in pictures, so sadly, they are not discussed here.  With 9 days left until the arrival of Baby Girl Goodwin, I am hoping that I have some moments to jot down at least another blog or two.  After November 13th, we go from the well-known & well-accustomed model of a family of three to a family of FOUR.  It's going to be wonderful, exciting and terrifying - all at once!