Happy Halloween!

Well....normally I would post some cute photos of the kids in their costumes. BUT...Rylan decided to get a 103.5 temperature and hold it off and on for the past two days. Then...Mae decided to get sick last night and tonight, a few more of us are starting to feel queasy.
So much for candy induced hysteria. Shoot! Really....major bummer.

Great Halloween Films!

We are all getting into the spirit of Halloween.

These are some favorites of ours! Enjoy!

Daddys and Daughters

Mae is a nightowl. Thank heavens because this mama is NOT a morning person. Tonight, after the kids were asleep, daddy and Mae had some quality drawing moments. Too sweet.
Meanwhile, Rylan is sick. He came home with a headache and is just miserable. Looks like he will be missing his first school Halloween party. I just hope that he can rest and feel well enough for our ward party on Saturday.

Indie Banditas ALL STARs

Over the river and through the woods.....Grandmothers House

More like, up the road and down to the spit....to Grandmother Sandras we go.
I am SO happy that she moved back to the Island.
The kids are in love with her electronics and her Porche. Go figure! The beach house has 3 bedrooms. One for Grandma, One for Shane and I and the third for the kids equipped with 2 sets up bunkbeds. So far we have had family dinner on Sunday, two sleepovers (the kids) and tomorrow night a bon fire. So THIS is what it's like having a grandparent close! I love it.

Mindy Gledhill goodness

Congratulations Hiram

Hiram, is Rhondas youngest boy (so far). He is Rylans best buddy and I love him so much.

He has such a light and I was happy to witness his baptism today in the Puget Sound.
Half our family was home from church sick, so we opted go to leave them at grandmas while Shane and I went alone. We had originally thought that he was going to be baptized in their pond. Rylan was horrified! He kept telling us no way would Hiram get baptized in the "swamp".

He was right.
Instead, we all hiked down the concrete steps to their neighborhood beach, where Matt and Hiram climbed into the water and he was baptized. It had been pouring rain all day, but I just knew that it would clear up in time for his baptism. Just a week or so ago, another sweet little boy I love, was baptized in the Puget Sound as well. Same story...it had been raining but, for his baptism, it was sunny. Something tells me, that heavenly father had a hand in this. :)

It was such a sweet baptism. In true Topham spirit, many of their neighbors and non member friends were in attendance. They are such great missionaries. Congratulations Hiram!

Moms Birthday

It's 1 am and I can't sleep. Moms birthday was yesterday...the 23rd.

She would have been just 56 years old. This mother of mine, such a loss.

She was a mother of 5, just 38 years old. We were her life.

The gospel was her life.

After she died, my uncle, the baby of the family, after my mother, played this song for me.

He broke down. I broke down. Now, every time I listen to this song....it all comes back to me.

I love you mom. I know you are here, there and all around me.

There isn't a day that goes by that I don't long for you.

An hour late

In keeping up with my EVERY day post...I find that sometimes...it is hard to keep up

Brennan woke up this morning too ill to make his football game.

This mama, after finally falling asleep at 4am or so, took a dayquil at 9am that kept her anxious throughout the day.

Myron won his soccer game. YAY~

Mama and Brennan cuddled in mamas bed all day. The rain continued to pour and allowed this mama to call in a "rain check" with her mama for the nights festivities.

Myron is spending the night with grandma, Nathan was at a friends bday party and the rest of us, snuggled together at home.

Aren't families great?

Nothing much to blog about!

It's been a pretty normal day. Grocery shopping, visiting and cooking for my dear friend who just had the most ADORABLE little chipmunk (baby) I have ever seen, and now....Dateline.

Nathan is with friends at a Haunted House, Brennan and Myron are in our bed watching a scary movie, Rylan is cuddled up with me on the couch and Mae is...well....taking out each of her books from her bookshelf to stack up on her brothers bed. It is strangely calm in this house.

Grandma Sandra ( my godmother) needs time to herself today, but tomorrow night we will all

spend the night with her, kayak out to set the crab pots, have a bonfire and enjoy her new home.

So THAT will be a great blog. I hope!

Mamas here!

My godmother, for lack of a better title, is back here on the Island.

She lived here for 20 + years before deciding to move to Eastern Washington in 2000.

I have known her since I was 12 years old and we have always had a special relationship.

Now that she has moved back, this is an entire lifestyle change for us. I am so excited.

She is renting a little place right on the spit, next to Fay Bainbridge. The house is amazing.

3 bedrooms, one equipped with 2 bunk beds! It's RIGHT on the water and is heated by a wood furnace. She has two kayaks that we plan to use regularly and 4 cars. Two of which she needs to sell. Her first day here....she wanted to have the kids over. They are already planning a sleep over on Saturday. I feel so blessed. I can't wait to re introduce her to the ward!

New horizons?

I was just asked by an old writer friend if I would be interested in doing reviews on green cleaning products. Hm...if you know me at all, you know how truly laughable this is.

I hate to clean. I do it, because I have to and at this moment in time, being home again means...

that I have to. So...he is sending me a proposal tomorrow and I will figure out if this is something I can do to bring in some extra income. I haven't written reviews in a very long time so here's hoping that it all comes back to me like riding a bike.

If any of you are interested in trying some of their products out, let me know.

I will post more as the details come in.

Ps- Welcome Torah!

It's no secret that I am pretty baby hungry right now. Fact is....this is not in our picture for a few more years. Enter, sweet friend Brooke, who just gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Torah,

Isn't she beautiful? I am so excited to hold and kiss those chubby cheeks.

Congratulations Russells!

Just when I think I had nothing to blog about....

Sweet little Myron above? Hm...not so sweet. He is the culprit behind the below photo.
Tonight all the kids were wrestling, dancing, spinning...etc. in the living room.

I let it go on a little longer than normal because they were having fun and no fighting had ensued. Just when I was about to say..."alright cool it"...Rylan noticed that he had lost a little something important while Myron was pinning him. Yup...his front tooth. It had been wiggly for weeks, but he has been so nervous to lose it or let me touch it. I am so glad that it came out this way. Another funny story!

Hostipals....

Yeah....hostipals. You'll find that I will always have an alternative word for a word.

Tonight, I went back to see Cindy and pick up her kids to bring them home.

She was still forgetful and out of it, but we still managed to make her laugh.

What an amazing opportunity to get to know my sister and her family better.

Her children are so much fun to be around. I never knew!

A friend reminded me today of a time when Cindy and I were at odds with each other.

I had honestly forgotten. I love my sisters in the church (and out). There may be a disagreement or all out war, but in the end,...we forgive, forget and move on.

I feel bad for those that haven't gotten to know their sweet family as I have these past two days.

Her children have such a love for her. They are dedicated to doing whatever she needs. Tonight, Jesse gave her a foot massage and a little tickle for good measure. I watched as he spoke to the doctors on her behalf, confidently and maturely. His younger siblings look to him to take care of them and he has really stepped up to the plate.

This will bring this family closer together and to heavenly father who I know, is looking out for them at all times.

Goodnight!

Sunday...sweet Sunday

After a late night, we woke up a little late this morning and were 30 minutes late.

It was nice to be back at church after a long sabbatical.

In Relief Society we learned that Cindy R. had been hospitalized after collapsing at the Casino.

She had to be resuscitated. Brandi and I visited her after church today.

She seemed to be doing better and we actually had a great time sitting and laughing with her.

When Brandi visited her last night, she had about a 5 minute memory. Today, she seemed nearly back to her old self. Tomorrow they will do an angiogram to find out the cause of her irregular heart beat. It was a wake up call for me. Cindy is just 42 years old. Shane has high blood pressure and is overweight. I am overweight.... Last night, I couldn't even go on one of the kiddie rides with Mae because the bar wouldn't close over me. Now...if that doesn't sound like a Richard Simmons testimonial...then I don't know what does! Time to get healthy!

Wild Waves Freak Night!

A friend gave us 8 tickets to Wild Waves Fright nights over in the Seattle area. Since Brennan had a football game out there, we picked him up and headed over to the amusement park.

It was frrreeezing cold tonight! Luckily we got all bundled up.
Mae had so much fun. I can tell that she is going to be just like her brothers in the "thrill seeker" tradition. Rylan wouldn't go on any rides that went faster than a slow pull, but Mae...forget it! Her first ride was the little roller coaster and she giggled and screamed the entire time.
Bren, Myron and Nathan went off on their own to hit the scary rides. We got there right at 5, so the lines were pretty small. It wasn't until 8 or so that the lines started taking over a half an hour to get on a ride. A LOT of kids were out.
I totally bribed the kids that to give me a good photo before we went on any more rides.

It has been so long since we have all been together!

Rylan was shaking like a leaf before he got on the ferris wheel, but he was glad he did it.
Mae on the roller coaster with daddy.


Shane managed to hit some roller coasters with the boys. That man is fearless!
It was a great night. We called it quits at 9:30. We had been looking for the haunted house all night that bragged about it's 20 rooms of terror. Much to our disappointment, when we finally found it (to the left of the entrance instead of the right like everything else) the line was probably over a half a mile long. Next time. ...

Punkin Walk and Punkin patch

Nathan was at a friends out tonight and Myron was feeling grumpy, So....we went to the Pumpkin walk and pumpkin patch without them. I was excited that they let me have several squash blossoms. I can't wait to stuff them with cheese and fry them up! It is a delicacy that few people get to taste, including me! This is my first time, but every episode of Top Chef, that they appear on, my mouth waters.
I love the photo below. Now that I have a mac, I have to figure out how to make it my screensaver. Any suggestions?



I had to put "punkin" because my best friend (39) STILL calls them that. Too funny.

Night all!

Rocky Horror Picture Show

I have been fortunate to become close with the cast of Rocky Horror Picture show, our local BPA crew. I sold quite a bit of the films paraphernalia in my store before there was even talk of the play. This is a play that is not for the weak of heart. Bryan, played Rocky, and was absolutely brilliant. He was upset with me for not being at the first half, but I was in Seattle stuck in traffic, trying to get back in time. I say this because, his parents will not get to see him perform in this play. In fact, most members will not get to see him perform and it is a shame.

I have never seen him act or sing so well. He truly shines in this role.
For me, theater is art. It can be beautiful, ugly, shocking, and provocative. That is the beauty of it. The acting was incredible. This may just be the most risque play that BPA has put on and you could feel the excitement in the air as we all watched.
The music, staging, lighting...it all was truly broadway worthy.

The "risque" scene. Not really risque, but for this little Island, it is. Many children were in the audience, although it was stated it was PG-13. Again....theater is art.

Frankfurter, the transvestite from Transylvania. I actually think that Frankfurter could have done a little better if he was actually gay, but alas, this Frank is married to a woman in real life.

He seemed a little stiff and uncomfortable in parts.

I had a great time, even if I only caught the last half. I intend to go back and watch the entire thing.

It's over~ In pictures....

Just the store anyhow...