Two totally random things:

1.
My cat excessively grooms all the hair out of her belly. I think she has arthritis, and so to relieve her achy joints, she obsessively grooms. It drives me nuts...not just because it makes her look silly, but because she is so loud about it.

2.
I have been crocheting a lot lately. Everything from slippers to scarves...from little flowers accents, to baby caps.

The result:

Yes, this is a sweater on a cat. Yes, it is the wrong cat it is on. Yes, this is the male cat wearing a pink sweater. And, yes, I crocheted this pink sweater on the male cat. The cat it was intended for is awfully ornery when I try to put it on her. And she is rather overweight, so I should have made it a bit larger. Maren is the one who put this lovely pink sweater on this man-cat. I have proven myself as "an old cat lady" in my children's eyes...crocheting garments for my cats.

Snow!

We had a pretty big snowstorm on Saturday. It started Friday night, making the kids exited to see the first snow falling. By Saturday morning, it was at least 4 inches deep on the grass. The trees were taken by surprise, since they had not lost all their leaves yet. The birch trees in my front yard looked like weeping willows. I'm surprised none of the branches snapped. Most of it has melted now, which is a good thing, since I had not raked the leaves that had fallen yet. However, the snowball remains!

The kids had a blast rolling a huge snowball in the back yard.

Erik pushes the start of the snowball, while Liam and a neighbor-boy look on, tramping in the path.

They pause for a picture.

It starts to grow.

Final product, with Maren perched on top.

Even Jack, our Siamese cat, joined in, frolicking in the new-fallen snow. Here he intently stares into the tree where some birds were seeking refuge.

Butternut Squash Soup

My next-door neighbor was nice enough to share some of the squash from her garden with us. (Thanks, Melissa!) I made this delicious butternut squash soup for dinner tonight. I was skeptical, and didn't think the kids would try it, but they did and it was a hit! It is a Betty Crocker recipe.

Slow Cooker Butternut Squash Soup
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 butternut squash (2 lb), peeled, cubed
2 cups water
1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaves
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
4 chicken bullion cubes
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed

In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender. In a 3- to 4-quart slow cooker, mix onion, and remaining ingredients except cream cheese. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

In a blender or food processor, blend 1/3 to 1/2 of the mixture at a time, until smooth. Return blended mixture to slow cooker. Add cream cheese. Cover and cook on Low for another 30 minutes until cheese is melted. Stir with a wire whisk until smooth.

Enjoy!

Halloween

Mario and Luigi trick-or-treating

Kade decided to be a convict.

At the very last moment, Erik decided to pull out Ben's Santa suit that he uses at Christmas and go trick-or-treating as jolly old St. Nick.

Maren went as a cat.

There is a house in our neighborhood who decorates like crazy for Halloween. The themes are usually different each year. This year they had a pirate theme, complete with music from Pirates of the Caribbean, mist, and lots of pirates.

I fit right in.

This year, Ben's friend Randy had a costume party at Classic Skating. This place always reminds me of elementary school when we would go skating for field trips, etc. Even though this one is in Layton, and the one of my youth was in Orem...they are nearly exactly the same.

Ben skated, but I could not find my rollerblades. Last time I rented skates, it was so much work just trying to keep them going in the same direction, I decided to pass.

Fall Colors

Utah is full of beautiful colors this time of year. This is my favorite season of the year.

Ward Halloween party

Our annual Halloween trunk-or-treat party for the ward was last night. We had a great time. Ben decided he wanted to be Captain Jack Sparrow this Halloween. I was able to come up with a costume for him (even after swearing to not make Halloween costumes ever again a couple years ago). I made myself a pirate costume, as well, since I found a cute pattern at the fabric store. L and D went as Mario and Luigi. K didn't tell us in time what he wanted to dress as, so he went as a 6th grader. M and E had an orchestra concert, so they were missing in action.

Luigi (Liam) attempts a golf putt.

Marion (Dallin) gives it a shot.

Captain Jack Sparrow (minus the goatee which wouldn't stay on)

Pirate wench

Erik's follow up appointment

This morning Erik had another MRI and a follow-up with the surgeon. There was a little line that showed on the picture but the doctor is confident it is just the healing process and scaring. He wants another MRI in three months, so we have that sheduled for the 19th. We may as well get as many medical procedures in before the end of the year, since we have met our out-of-pocket maximum for insurance. Erik also needs his wisdom teeth taken out, so that will be something else we need to work in. I can't believe he is getting wisdom teeth at 14 years old. He was an early teether, but this is crazy!

Erik played a piano solo in sacrament meeting last Sunday. He did a great job. Maren is still doing soccer and improving all the time. Kaden has decided to play the cello in orchestra. He is very excited about this. And Liam and Dallin are starting to read like crazy. They are good hard workers in school when I visit their class to volunteer. Overall we are doing very well. We have been so blessed. We still feel a deep appreciation for all the prayers that have been offered in our behalf. We truly have been blessed with wonderful family and friends!!