S'more Please!!

When: back in October (yes I realize it's almost December)

What: a S'mores roast!!

Why: mostly because I LOVE Fall and any excuse for a party, but also to quietly celebrate two very important birthday's - Brett's 30th and Weston's 1st

To me, Fall and parties just go together, so when the weather starts to cool, I start to get the party itch!  Since we were celebrating two milestone birthdays this year, I was dying to throw one big combined birthday fall bash.  My unpretentious husband shot that down real quick. :)  Instead, Brett allowed me a low-key s'mores roast to celebrate the fall season, where the only mention of my husband's looming oldness was a vague banner hung in the background.  Good enough for me!

The invite...

The set up...

We munched on...

...s'more popcorn,

 ...s'more pops,

...and s'more goldfish. 

Seriously, what doesn't taste good with a little chocolate, marshmallow, and graham?!

For roasting we had...

...marshmallows: strawberry, toasted coconut, chocolate-vanilla, mint chocolate, regular, and jumbo;

...chocolate: Hershey's, Reese's, and Cookies and Cream;

...and graham crackers: regular and chocolate.

Talk about YUM!!

Then we got our roast on...  :)

Overall, we had about 40 friends and family that came to help us enjoy the beautiful night, great weather, and yummy treats.  Thanks to everyone for such a fun night!  I think I see a new fall tradition brewing.  :)

Some "Corny" Fun

Last weekend we got a group of friends together and headed to a local corn maze for a GREAT date night out.  Have you ever been to a corn maze AFTER Halloween???  DO IT!  We had the ENTIRE corn maze to ourselves.  Seriously.  In November they normally close at 8:00pm, but stayed open till almost 11:00 just for us.  Talk about AWESOME! We had such a fun time racing through the maze and *almost not* finding our way out.  Since when did corn mazes become SO HARD?!  6 acres of corn = one SERIOUSLY confusing maze!

The Whole Gang: Us, Romneys, Piepers, Ashtons, Walkers, Forreys, Starrs, and Demases

Getting our gab on around the fire after our very competitive race

We had SUCH a fun night and are planning on making these big group dates a regular occurrence.  HOORAY for babysitters!!

THRILL the World!!

Is there anything better then dressing up in costume and getting totally into character???
How 'bout dressing up in costume, dancing "Thriller" with a few hundred other people locally and tens of thousands all over the World, and attempting to set a new World Record?!!

On Saturday, October 29th, Brett, my sister Taylor, and I participated in "Thrill the World", an annual worldwide simultaneous dance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller" to earn money for charities and attempt to set a World Record for the “Largest Simultaneous Thriller Dance."

For weeks prior, we studied and learned every move to the 6 minute routine.  Then Saturday morning we got together early to "zombify" ourselves.  I think we did a pretty good job...

(please don't mention my totally out-of-character sandals.  i have a split toenail and i seriously tried every other option.  these were the only shoes that didn't send shooting pain up my toe.  yes, i realize they look horrible.)

Once we were looking the part, we headed out to the Arizona State Fair, where our "Thrill the World" event was being held.  We made a few pit stops along the way, and got some very fun reactions. :)

We got to the fair around 3:00pm and then spent a lot of time waiting, finding our dance spots, waiting, watching the sun go down, waiting, touching up makeup, waiting, rehearsing as a group, and waiting some more.
We had plenty of time to pose for more pics...

...and visit with our fans. :)

Then finally...the official dance! 

We did a world-wide synchronized countdown with 226 other "Thrill the World" events located all around the World, and then at exactly 7:00pm we all danced "Thriller" simultaneously!  Our Arizona group had 236 dancers!!

Here's the "official HD video" for Guinness World Records.  It is taken from very far away so it's sometimes hard to tell what we're doing.

Here's an "unofficial" video closer up.

Once the dancing was over, we were finally able to enjoy all the exhibits, rides, and fried food the State Fair has to offer.  Yum.

To say we had a BLAST would be a COMPLETE understatement! The official head count is still underway, so we won't know if we set a World Record for awhile still. Either way, it was SO MUCH FUN, and we are already planning our outfits for next year!

" 'Cause this is thriller, thriller night

And no one's gonna save you from the beast about strike

You know it's thriller, thriller night

You're fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight"

My Little Monster

Oh how I love my little monster!

Before suiting up, we spent a little time getting our jump on...

...getting our "cheese" on...

 ...and getting our fight on (apparently it's *hilarious* to hit Grandma in the face. who knew?).

Then we shed a few tears...

...gave a few snuggles...

 ...and got ready to pArTY!!

Oh, how I love my little monster!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Painkillers

When FOUR big new MOLARS are popping through and you don't feel good, sometimes it's just best to cuddle up with a blanket and watch cartoons...

...or play video games...

...or watch more cartoons.

Hmmm... does anyone else see a VERY bad trend starting?! :)

26.2

26.2 miles.  46,112 yards.  138,336 feet.  1,660,032 inches!
On Saturday, October 1st, Brett ran the St. George Marathon!  I still can hardly believe it!!  Considering that the furthest distance I have ever run is 7 miles, 26.2 seems almost impossible.  Even more unbelievable, he did VERY LITTLE training for it!!!  Brett started running only a few months before the race, and ran only one 16-mile and one 20-mile training run before the race!  Seriously, who does that??!!  Brett does.  He has more mental strength than ANYONE I know.  (And I'm not just saying that because I'm his wife.  He also ran a triathlon a few years ago with NO training whatsoever!)

Weston and I drove up through Snow Canyon to cheer him on with hugs and kisses at mile marker 16.  Then we headed back into town to claim our spot at the finish line.

After watching runner after runner get hauled off in ambulances, I literally burst into tears when I finally saw Brett turn the corner heading for the finish line.  I have never been so happy to see him safe and still in one piece, and never been so PROUD of anyone.  Ever.

Who looks this good just SECONDS after crossing the finish line??!!  Seriously.

Brett's final chip time was 5:03:41.  With the amount of training he put in (or lack there of :]) I can't believe he was able to finish in that amount of time!  He even said that he never felt winded, but that he felt like his legs literally couldn't hold up his body another second.  Apparently his mental strength won over, because he finished his last mile in 7:30!  Seriously amazing!

His #1 fan is very happy to see him. :)

Brett's brother-in-law Gabe ran the marathon as well.  We had fun seeing Brett's sister Bobbie, Gabe, and their kids for the few days.

While in St. George, we were able to stay with Brett's best friend John and his family.  It was so fun to spend time with their cute family, and so nice to not have to pay for a hotel!  While at their house we played games, watched General Conference, and enjoyed some absolutely uh-maz-ing meals!!  They even took us to visit their neighbor's brand new baby pigs.  SO fun!

Thank you thank you to the Leavitts for letting us invade your house for 3 days! 

And thank you thank you to Brett for surviving the 26.2 miles and not making me a widow.