Halloween cookies.

I don't bake. Unless I absolutely have to. It brings me no joy. But it's a great thing to do with Nana. Thanks mom.

The flu.

Man I don't feel good. Being sick blows. I need to drink more orange juice. But I hate it.

Vegas

We spent the weekend in Vegas visiting Mike's sister and her family. We don't usually go to the strip, especially now that Jaida is older and FAR too observant. I don't really need her accepting all the porn handouts on the street. She loves pamphlets and collects them wherever we go so I know it would be a fight to take home the naked ladies.
We spent our time eating lots of food (thanks Bec), watching four soccer games in a row, movies, college football (what would a Saturday be without it), and more soccer on the Sport Court.

And what would Vegas be without a little "Toddlers gone wild."

Thanks Paxtons. It was a much needed get-away. Now it's your turn to visit. We'll be waiting.

Family Home Evening at our House.

We don't have one of those nifty FHE boards to help you decide who does what. So I let Jaida be in charge of the assignments. I usually give her a little bribe to put Dad in charge of the lesson, and me in charge of the prayer or song. But lately she has decided to put herself in charge of the lesson. And you can only imagine the possiblities from there.
She stands up by the TV, insists our complete and undivided attention, holds her scriptures and her primary song book, and the sermon begins.
A few weeks ago we learned about the vision Nephi had about Laman and Lemuel and "Adinnerplate" (we think she meant Abinadi). She then proceeded to tell us why Jesus is sad when people don't get baptized and how Noah built a boat. This went on for about 10 minutes while I covered my face, trying to make my eyes look serious while hiding the smile on my face.
After 15 minutes of very jumbled gospel facts (a mixture of things we've taught her as well as things I'm assuming she learned in primary or absorbed during sacrament meeting), we told her it was time to rap it up. So she did with a very enthusiastic "Amen."
We sang another song (usually the "Hello, hello" song mainly because Mya can sing it with us), and prayed, again (we like to do things twice around here--repetition is the mother of all learning, right dad). After a brief pause she said "Let's start over." Um. . .maybe next Monday.

Oh. And in case any of you don't know, there's a new article of faith. According to Miss Jaida, it goes like this:
"We believe in God, the soul, Jesus Christ, and so forth. We believe in one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all and so forth."
Get it memorized people. The song is coming next.

And for anyone out there who has NO IDEA what I was talking about during this entire post, check out this site for more info, or I'd be happy to send you a book that would clear things up. (Missionary work--check).

Is it possible to already miss them?

Keeping your money safe.

Don't take my word for it. Read it here. DON'T PANIC.

We need help!!

Hey everybody!
My family is doing a coat drive for the homeless shelter. Many of you know we have a special affection for the people who run the Road Home and those who live there having had a brother who has spent his fair share of time there. (A story for another time).
Anyway. WE NEED YOUR COATS!! New, used, whatever. All sizes.
We'll probably be taking them to the Homeless shelter the first week of November so I need them before that. You can drop them off at my house, my mom's house, or my sisters house (she's in Draper).
The homeless shelter is already overflowing and winter hasn't come yet. Last I heard there were 17 new families. SEVENTEEN.
So go through your closets and DI piles and pull out the coats so we can keep some kids warm this winter.
Thanks for your help.

One of the many reasons I absolutely adore this girl. . .

. . .because she insisted I take this picture. And of course, monkey-see-monkey-do!

Words you never want to hear. . .

"Mom"
"What?"
"The water is really high in the toilet."
"WHAT?"
"I made the water high in the toilet." (Note-she said this proudly, not remorsefully)
Inspection.
Yep. It's high. And all over the floor.
And the roll of toilet paper I just put on is gone. Well, not entirely gone, there were flakes of it still in the "high water" in the toilet.
After 5 solid minutes of intense and vigorous plunging (which included far too much splashing and two very eager helpers) I gave up and locked the door.
Mike went to work when he got home. I listened from the next room to the sloshing.
In case you're wondering, it's still plugged.
Bathroom out of order. Time to find a toilet "snake".
Jaida now on bathroom supervision.

Don't panic and DON'T BE STUPID

So here's my take on the financial "crisis" in our country.
If anyone has taken Economics 101 there's a few things you hopefully learned. Recessions and Depressions happen when people PANIC and pull all their money out of the banks, stock market, etc. If everyone does this, markets crash, and then we're screwed. So instead of freaking out, just be sure your money is safe.
Another thing from Economics--this is NOT a good time to be pulling your money out of stocks (if you're investing long term). Then you're selling low and buying high. Not the way it's supposed to be done.
So here's a few tips I've gathered from a few sources.

1. Make sure your money is somewhere safe. If it's at a bank make sure it's federally insured. You can go to www.myfdicinsurance.gov, answer a few questions, and see if you're insured. From what I understand, if you have less than $100,000 dollars in a bank, you're insured.
2. If your money is in a credit union, make sure it is insured. It's not federally insured, but there's a company NCUA that insures it. 2% of credit unions don't have this so make sure yours does.
3. PAY DOWN YOUR CREDIT CARD DEBT. Seriously people. Credit cards are from the devil if you don't use them responsibly. Don't put more on the card than you make. Simple as that. If you have a problem doing this, GET RID OF THE CREDIT CARD. Use a debit card, or go to cold hard cash.
4. Don't cancel your health insurance--I said DON'T CANCEL YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE--to save a few $100 a month. One car accident, one malignant tumor, one freaky accident, will absolutely ruin the rest of your life if you don't have health insurance to take care of it. It's not worth the risk (especially if you have kids). One of the number one reasons for people filing bankruptcy is because of a health issue they couldn't pay for because they didn't have insurance. Do anything you have to to keep health insurance.
Also, make sure you have life insurance. Sure you're husband will tease you that you're just going to "off" him, but whatever. Get it anyway. Because you never know. And don't buy whole, just get term. It's way cheaper and it will get you through the years where life insurance is so important. If you want a reference for an awesome life insurance agent who will take care of you and answer all your questions, I know one so e-mail me or call me.
5. Don't stop investing in a 401K. Monthly contributions you put in now will buy more shares and earn your more money in the long run.
6. MOST IMPORTANT--Stop spending what you can't afford. This is why we're in the crisis in the first place. Mortgage companies, banks, and people got greedy and now we're all paying for it.

So. Don't panic. Don't pull all your money out and hide it under your mattress. Everyone needs to settle down and be smart about the money they spend. We'll get through this. Big deep breaths people. And please don't buy into the things the media says. They feed off of crisis and drama. My advice--quit watching the news. There's generally nothing worth watching on there anyway. Except the weather. :)