Thomas is Buzz Lightyear this year for Halloween.

My sister in law, Jenny, made these amazing Halloween decorations!

All of the kids decorated Halloween bags to catch the candy from the piniata.

Jenny read a couple of spooky stories to the kids before lunch.

Thanks to everyone for contributing to our delicious lunch! We had five different soups, hot rolls, crisp apples, spiced cider, and hot chocolate.

Jenny and Carly

Lets EAT!!

Pinata Time!!

The frenzy of kids gathering their loot.

Carly

Bella

My Mom came in from Boise for the weekend!

Tyler and Chase

Jump Houses

We also had a couple of Jump Houses at our Halloween Party!
The next morning we took Dad out there to show him much fun we had.

Thomas

911

Me and My Mischievous Thomas

Yesterday, Thomas sat by me on the couch and said "Mom...911 calls the Mystery Machine (A Scooby Doo reference. He is a huge Scooby Doo fan!) I was a little puzzled! Then my mommy senses went off and I ,with shock and a little anger, asked if he called 911 AGAIN???
You see this would not be his first offence...he has done this a couple of times in the last month or so. A puppy eyed Thomas looked up at me and said " Yes Mommy. I sorry, I wont do it again." "Thomas I said 911 is only for emergencies, like if our house is on fire, or Tyler is REALLY hurt, or if Mommy is lying on the ground and cannot talk to you, THEN it is OK to call 911". You see since Thomas has already done this a couple of times, I know that 911 calls you back to see if everything is OK in your home. But this time no call. I didn't think anything of it so I settled back in on the couch getting caught up on Survivor that I had Tivo-ed last week, when out of the corner of my eye I saw two police men walking across my lawn. Thomas saw it too and his eyes lit up. "I don't want them to take me to jail Mommy! I don't want to go with them." I didn't respond to Thomas. I thought the natural consequences that were going to happen the next few moments would teach him soooooo much more than I could. I got off of the couch and opened the door. Thomas' little body clung to the back of my leg. He peered out from behind me to see the big policemen. "Hello Mam" said one of the police officers "is everything alright?" "Yes" I answered " I just have a little 4 year old who wanted to call Scooby Doo." Thomas came out and shook their hands and said "I'll never do it again. I'm sorry... I promise...I'm so sorry. I just wanted to call the Mystery Machine. I don't want to go to jail." The two Police men got a chuckle out of his apology. Needless to say, Thomas is not in jail, and I don't think he'll be calling Scooby Doo any more!

Larry's Retirement Party

The Federal Courts gave the most poinient tribute to my father in law.
Brad, the boys and I went to Boise to celebrate his years of service on the Federal Bench and the Idaho Supreme Court.
Brad was one of the keynote speakers. I know it truly was a honor for him to represent the Boyle Family. Brads tribute was so heartfelt and articulate. I am so proud of what an amazing job Brad did!

My Mom, Alice was there represent our family in honoring Larry.

The Tribute was held in his court room.

My Boys and Grandma Bev.

Autumn Fun at the Corn Maze

We went with the our family to a Corn Maze in Meridian while we were in Boise.
I love all of the fun things to do in Autumn!

There was a huge Corn Box instead of a sand box. It was so cool!
Tyler could have played there for hours on end!

This is Thomas with cousin Katie.

The rest of the Boyle Family.

The Boise River

Every time we are in Boise we head down to the river with my Mom, the boys and the dogs to do one of our favorite things...throwing rocks! The river looks amazing this time of year because of the brilliant colors in the leaves.

This is Gus, my sisters dog. We rescued him from the pound here in Davis county and gave him to Brennan and Brad for Christmas a couple of years ago. He was soooooo ugly when we found him, but dispite his appearance we knew that he was the dog for them! He has turned out to be such a great dog, and my boys LOVE him!
Tyler told me several times this trip "Mom, I really need a dog!" My answer is always the same..."Go talk to your Dad!" That way I am not the bad guy when the answer is NO.

This as Anna and Thomas (cousins) on the picturesque Green Belt.

"Tagged"

I was browsing blogs a couple of days ago and came across my sister's, blog. Courtney had been "Tagged" by one of her friends . Apparently "Tagged" is a challenge to write six interesting things about yourself. Courtney's six tid bits about herself were so funny!!! Thanks Courts for the tag. I am always up of a challenge so, here goes...

1- I secretly want to live the life of a surfer girl. I love the beach and the ocean! The ebb and flow of the water never tires me. I love the smells, the sand, the sounds, the peace, and the feel of the waves as the water pulls you! The ocean captivates me and I find myself thinking about surfing often. Like I said before I love a challenge, and surfing is one of the most challenging sports I have ever tried. "Tried" is the key word...you see I have only surfed once, yes once! I know I am such a nerd to be so in love with a sport that done only one time. But, I think I could be really good at it!

2- You know the silly question "If you knew you were dying tomorrow...what would you last meal be?" Well, my last meal would consist of steamed artichokes dipped in real butter, sweet snow crab legs dipped in real butter (none of the fake stuff!), and like 20 cream brule's. Why 20? Because my favorite part of the cream Brule is the top. The crunchy, golden, brown, sugar on the top with a little of the cream underneath is divine!! I need at least 20 to be satisfied!

3- Wide open spaces make me want to do acrobats. Yes, my inner gymnast wants to come out in open fields, gymnasiums, parking lots, and even in my own front room. It doesn't matter what I do, hand stands, back hand springs, or cartwheels ,it is all fun to me. I suppress the urge often in fear of making a fool out of myself, or embarrassing the people I am with, but every once and a while I can't help myself, and I go for it!! Once,Thomas saw me doing handstands in the front room and he asked me to help him do one. That lead to a handstand contest. After we were done he put his little hands on my face and said, "Mom, you are the cutest girl ever in the world!" Oh, make my heart melt! I guess that my acrobats are good for something, my kids now think that I am the coolest mom in the world!

4- Not a surprise... I love to EXERCISE!! I love it! It is my sanity! I swim, bike, run, weight lift, I love yoga and Pilates! I love my spinning class, and kick boxing. All of it. I'am willing to try anything that involves exercising my body! Oh, and I love to race! I have done several triathlons(The Buryl Spudman is the most fun!), couple of half marathons (The race to Robie Creek was my favorite) and this last summer I was part of a relay team the ran 189 miles in the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay. Our team finished 54 th out of 600 teams!

5- I want to have a second home in Ireland! More specifically Thomas Town, Ireland. Not because of the name, but because, to me, it is the most beautiful place on the earth.

6 - A few things that make me happy... really good food, mowing my lawn, shopping with my sisters (that includes all you sister in laws too!), good smells, symmetry, reading to my kids, a clean and organized home, the Gospel, the sound of my kids laughing and playing together, good night kisses, and BRAD!!

Now it is my turn to tag...Melissa Niu, Stephanie Smith, Jennifer Smith, Lindsay Taft, Krista Tobler and Jennifer Souter. Have fun girls!