~Happy Halloween~

Well, this isn't the order that I down loaded the pictures, but oh well.

So another Halloween. I'm so glad it's over. I have decided this year that I am not that big of a Halloween fan. Sorry Halloween lovers!

(Savannah went as BATGIRL)

The kids had a good time at their class parties. I was able to go and be with them and brought the little girls along in their costumes. They enjoyed running around Savannah's classroom, playing with everything. At 5 we headed to the church for the dinner and Trunk or Treat. There was hardly anybody there which made it easier to get our food. After making the kids wait around until 7 (which was torture for them and the parents) we headed to the parking lot. We went from trunk to trunk and were done in about 20 minutes. It was a beautiful evening, probably the best weather for Halloween that I have seen in Washington.

(Payton went as Anakin Skywalker)

Of course the evening would not be complete without the usual "Gifford Vomiting." (My kids tend to get sick at all sorts of public events, i.e graduations, stake conferences etc...). When we got back to the car to leave, Payton got sick all over the parking lot. At least we didn't have to worry about cleaning it up!

(Isabelle as a duck)

(Jillian as a puppy)

My kids are so dang cute!!!!!!!

Well, I really haven't had that much to blog about this past week. But here are a few little stories about some of the things Jillian has said.

The other morning she got up and Doug said, "Good morning, dear." She quickly said, "I am not a dear." "You are my dear." Doug replied. "No I am not Bambi, I am not Bambi."

Then the other day, I was in the bathroom. One of the things the little girls like to play with is my..."woman products." Isabelle had spread tampons all over the bathroom floor. Jillian held one up and said, "What is this?" I answered honestly..."It's a tampon." "Oh, ok. I LOVE TAMPONS!!" Yeah, she won't when she is older.

Elipses Day (what does that mean anyway?)

I am...tired.
I miss...my body the way it was before kids.
I think...that I am a little cazy sometimes.
I know...very little about a lot.
I want...to take a long, lovely, uninterrupted nap.
I have...a fabulous family.
I search...the dirty laundry for something to wear.
I wish...I was more intelligent.
I hate...loose hair...gag!
I am...a junk food junkie.
I fear...losing someone I love.
I always...look both ways before crossing the street.
I love...a good romantic comedy.
I feel...that I am trying.
I hear...the Backyardigans and Isabelle speaking her gibberish.
I smell...really good, I just took a shower after not having one for a few days. (You know you all do it sometimes).
I don't...exercise enough.
I wonder...how I ended up where I am. Dang, I got lucky!! (blessed, really!)
I care...too much about the little things.
I regret...most of my past.
I am...a Daughter of my Heavenly Father.
I believe...in people.
I dance...like nobody is watching. And I think I am pretty good at it too!
I sing...in the shower, in the car, to my kids, to my husband, while talking on the phone...
I write...poetry, stories on this here blog, a few other things.
I win...at most of the games I play against my husband and he hates it.
I lose...my boobs when I am done nursing...sad :O(
I never...get places on time.
I listen...to music that makes me feel good.
I read...my scriptures, yes, I do!
I can...do whatever I put my mind to.
I am...extremely blessed.
I tag...whoever wants to do this.

Time Out for Women...Time Out for ME!!

(Brace yourselves, this is going to be a long one).

I learned something this past weekend...FAN is an acronym for Friend And Neighbor. I am glad that the silly Mary Ellen Edmunds explained that to us because I was feeling more like a "stalker" kind of fan.

This was my 3rd year at Time Out for Women and it won't be my last. I had such an amazing time. For those of you who don't know what it is, here is a short explanation.

It is an opportunity for women to get together and feel "spiritually revived" on more than a Sunday church level. There are inspirational speakers and musical performers that will bring you to tears. (In M.E.E.'s case, they were tears of laughter). It was so informative and inspiring. I walked away from it not feeling like I was lacking in any way, just inspired to try and be a better person in every way. I took so many notes, I just wish that I could remember absolutely everything.

Holly, Nanci (Katherine), Dawn, Eileen, Becki, Heidi, Me, Brenda

We got there kind of early, so we were able to "schmooze" with Kenneth Cope. He is super, super nice and he performed Friday and a lot on Saturday.

Diamond Rio Dan is what the band members call him. Dan Truman IS actually a part of Diamond Rio and was super nice to take a picture with us, and along with everyone else, autograph our tickets. (That is why I was feeling more like a "stalker" fan).

JASON DEERE is awesome. I don't know if I have ever been around someone who has such an overwhelming testimony of Joseph Smith. Him and his band performed songs from their CDs "Nashville Tribute to the Prophet" and "The Trek."

Chieko Okazaki was the only speaker on Friday night. But she was good. She spoke about how to teach our children correct principles and allow them to govern themselves. I am sure that there will be hundreds of families implementing the "Discussion Chairs" now.

After a near sleepless night, we were up and at em'. We headed inside and had plenty of time to do more "schmoozing." Nanci wanted to have Katherine's picture taken with Kenneth Cope and he was more than happy to comply. (She also had a pic taken with Jason Deere the night before). She became a very famous baby while we were there. Nanci has a lot of pictures to put in her baby book.

Seeing as there were about 1800 women there, we were bound to run into people that we knew. Above is our friend Dennese Mahoney from Olympia and below is Stacey, Janel, and Leanne from Adna. There were a few others, they just didn't get their pictures taken.

Ironically, I had just started listening to a few of Cherie Calls songs. She had to fill in for someone else that was scheduled to be there that got sick. I really enjoyed her music. She writes a lot of her songs from very particular and personal experiences, which I think was amazing.



This lady, Camille Fronk Olson was pretty dang cool. She is a master scriptorian and just so dang nice. She talked to us about having our own Book of Psalms. Heidi and I both had the chance to share a few things with her, and she was awesome enough to give her email address. I think it will be awesome to have someone who is so deeply rooted in the scriptures to answer some of our questions. I am way excited about that.

There were a few others that I didn't get pictures with, Elia Gourgouris, Emily Watts and Mary Ellen Edmunds.

Some of the other things I learned this past weekend.....

You teach correct principles by precept and example.

Doing right is more important than being right.

(Chieko Okazaki)

"The Gospel of Jesus Christ is not insurance against pain, it is a resource in the event of pain."

We don't get to control other peoples (our kids in particular) reaction to things, but we do get to control our own.

We need to stop feeling guilty about the things we have no control over.

A funny thing Emily Watts said to her kids; "I give you the gift of an imperfect mother so you don't enter into marriage with unrealistic expectations."

Don't misjudge or miscalculate someone else's life.

God gave us weaknesses so we can become humble.

When the Lord chastens us, he purifies us.

Psalms 30:5 "...weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning."

You can study the scriptures better when it ceases to be a duty and it becomes a privilege.

(Camille Fronk Olson)

We need to listen to others with our "3rd ear"...the spirit.

Trust, communication, forgiveness and love are keys concepts in improving relationships.

Forgiveness is for the brave.

We should learn to speak one anothers love language.

If we truly love someone we need to show it in the way they need it.

"Ask not what this relationship can do for you; but what you can do for this relationship."

(Elia Gourgouis ~ More Joyful Relationships)

Joy comes by working to be a peacemaker.

JURU = Expert

SELAMAT = Peace

Jesus is the "Expert of Peace"

Peace is for the peacemaker. Kindness is for the kind. Merci is for the merciful.

We should try to control our "natural reactions" to things.

(Mary Ellen Edmunds)

These are just some of the things that I wrote down. I had a wonderful weekend and I am excited to do it all again.

"As a man thinketh, so he is in his heart."

Well, today is my husbands birthday! He probably is going to hate the picture I chose, but I thought it showed a different side to him. He is a very thoughtful and patient person, who takes the time to show how much he loves me and our kids. I just really appreciate all that he does for our family and for others. I hope that you have a fabulous birthday honey. You are the best, really you are.

DEER MEETS JETTA

(sniff, sniff)

Clarissa Gifford, Reporter

Early Sunday morning Clarissa Gifford received a phone call from her husband. He seemed to be perfectly fine. Clarissa recalls the phone conversation. "Well, he acted like he was just calling to see how my morning was going. He leaves early for meetings and sometimes he is concerned with my sanity trying to get all the kids ready for church. Then he said "It finally happened." I was pretty confused with what he meant by that. "We hit a deer!!" And then he just started laughing. I, of course, was a little worried and very sad that the car had been damaged by a doe, a deer, a female deer. I asked him why he was laughing and he just said that he thought it was pretty funny. It must have been the adrenaline talking. He filled me in with the details and informed me that he hadn't been the one driving. He had asked his dad to drive so he could eat a yogurt! It was a very foggy morning, so that made it more difficult to see in front of them very far. All of the sudden Doug looked up and said, very ironically..."Oh, DEER!!" But it was too late, the damage was done. Of course his dad feels absolutely terrible about it. But I am just grateful that neither one of them was hurt."
The car still drives fine, but you have to pull a "Dukes of Hazard" move to get in and out. The door won't open.
This is some hair and flesh left by the accused.

I was changing Jillian's diaper the other day (yeah, the potty training didn't take). I grabbed her arm to help her back up and she sort of stumbled a little. Instead of saying "ah oh," or "oh my goodness," or "holy crap," her phrase of choice was (very energetically) "HOLY SPIRIT!!"
It was so stinkin' funny. Then she asked if she could sing the "temple song." Man, I love that kid!

Vintage Style I think that we have created a monster...
We decided very last minute to head down to Woodland and watch the Vintage dirt bike races. We found out that Payton could race and we were just going to watch him and a gentleman from our Ward, Brother Bille (who is 72 years old) race. I spent most of Friday loading up our trailer. It is amazing how much stuff you need for just ONE night of camping. We got to the track, found a parking place and went to get settled in for the night. Well...we knew that the trailers battery was pretty dead BUT we found it was REALLY REALLY dead. We had brought the generator to make sure we had power and heat but even with it plugged into that, NOTHING. We hopped back into the truck to let the battery charge a little. First we said a prayer that we would be able to figure out what was wrong and be able to have heat and power. Then, we decided that since we were doing nothing, we could tackle the whole family scripture thing. When we were done with that Doug headed back out to see if things had changed. It took a while, but soon I looked back and saw a light on in the trailer. It turns out that something was loose and we didn't have another problem with it. Awe, the power of prayer. The night went pretty well and we were nice and toasty in our generator powered trailer on a freezing cold night. Morning came fast and no one slept in. After eating some pancakes and getting dressed Doug went to check things out with getting Payton registered. There were so many people showing up that they got things started later then expected. Brother Bille showed up and with that Doug came into the trailer grinning ear to ear. "Brother Bille is going to let me race his bike!!"
I should have known that Doug wouldn't be able to just watch. He had conveniently packed his dirt bike gear and was all prepared to ride a bike he had never even sat on before.

Doug and Payton did an awesome job but more importantly they had a really fun time!
This is Brother Bille. It was pretty cool to see so many "older" men out there racing. I have a feeling that Doug is going to be like that when he is older.


Payton looks so much bigger than his 50. I think next time we are going to take his 65 instead.
I get so excited watching Doug do something that he loves so much.
Doug did really good. He was absolutely exhausted afterwards. But I am sure that he feels like it was well worth it. The first race he got 2nd place and then the second race he got 1st place. So, he got 1st place overall. He got a plaque and a 1st place placard to put on it. If he races for the series he will get a placard thing with the place that he finished to put on it every time. He had a really really good time and I think that he is in the market for a Vintage bike now. I am pretty sure that he wants to shoot for the championship now. Like I said, I think we have created a monster!! Payton did awesome too. He raced what they called "The Schoolboy" class. So, he raced kids that were his age and older and on all kinds of different bikes. He finished 9th and then 8th, so 8th overall. He did, however finish 1st out of the 50's. We all had a really great time. It was (after it warmed up) a beautiful day for racing. I am so proud of my boys!

Me and Miss Traci. I forgot to put this picture in the other posts.

S*P*O*K*A*N*EThis past weekend Rachel and I took a road trip to Spokane (Spocompton according to Rachel) to visit our beautiful friend Traci!! I picked Rach up on Friday morning ready for a girls getaway.
We past the time with conversation and giggles. Of course, you can't have a road trip without stopping to eat and go to the bathroom. We got to Cle Elum and pulled into Safeway. After relieving our bladders we ordered some yummy sandwiches and fruit. The whole drive went by incredibly fast and we were there in no time.
HELLO, BEAUTIFUL!!! I had my camera ready when Traci opened the door. After a few minutes of silly squealing, jumping up and down and hugging we made it inside her house. In true Traci fashion, she has made that place her home. It is very cute and cozy and it just feels good when you are there. IT'S NOT GHETTO, TRACI!! Not at all.

As soon as Todd got home, we were out of there. We got checked into the hotel and headed to our room. WE couldn't even walk into the room. WE opened the door and were hit with the nauseating smell of cigarettes. Wow, it was awful. We immediately turned around and went to request a different room. I volunteered to check it out before we bothered to take our stuff up. I took a deep whiff, and it was good. We spiffied up a bit and went to paint the town red. (Is that how that saying goes?) We drove totally the wrong direction at first, then when we finally figured out where to go we were laughing at the fact of how close we were to where we wanted to be if we would have just turned the other direction. It took forever to find a parking spot but we laughed the entire time. For dinner we went to PF Chang's. Or, according to me..PT Chong's. Whatever. It was an hour wait so we went into the mall.
When our little thing started blinking and vibrating, we high tailed it back. We were all pretty hungry and didn't want to take any chances of them giving our table to someone else. We ate some yummy Lettuce rolls, shrimp with honey glazed walnuts, and Mongolian beef. The Mongolian beef was super chewy, so we let them know. They had the manager come out and talk to us about it. They took that charge off the menu and she bought us another serving of lettuce rolls. It ended up being a very inexpensive dinner for the three of us.
Outside the restaurant, they have this huge statue of a horse. I wonder how many people have posed for a picture on that thing?
Get em', TIGERS!!

So, we thought it would be fun if we went and got matching pj's. Yeah, not that fun when there is hardly any selection. WalMart was a little disappointing. But, we found these silly pants and recycling tshirts and called it good. In some of the pics, it looks like the pants are pleather or something. But I assure you, they are cotton with little strips of shiny thread in them.
Rachel had a hard time keeping her hands off Traci.
We finally figured out the self timer on our cameras. These are the "appropriate" pictures we took. (Traci!)
WE tried to imitate Rachel with her model like poses all the time...I don't think that it worked. When we finally settled down after being SO incredibly silly the whole night and recovering from seeing Rachel half naked, it was time for bed.
Saturday morning we just sort of hung out in the hotel room and talked. After getting all pretty upped we headed to Anthony's for lunch. Rachel's brother and his wife live in Pullman and drove over to see Rach. The food was really good, but the company was better.
After lunch we drove around until we decided to go see the movie "Nights in Rodanthe." It was sad, but a good movie. After, we headed back to Traci's house. Sadly, something happened with Traci's throat and voice...she couldn't talk or laugh or anything. Poor Traci! It was pretty low key for the rest of the time. We mostly just visited. Traci's husband is a chiropractor, so we talked him into adjusting us. I have never been before, so I was a little nervous. I didn't know that is was possible to have that many things pop in my body. It sounded like I broke into pieces.
A little later, Todd and Traci taught Rach and I how to play Hand and Foot. Todd and I took a strong lead, but Traci and Rachel took it in the end. From what Traci says, Todd will probably never want to be my partner again...sorry Todd.
We were all so tired we called it a night...sort of. Rachel and I ended up staying up and talking for what seemed like hours. I don't know what time we finally turned the light off and rested our little heads.
The next morning was time for us to go. SAD:O(