Costumes

Here are my ghouls.  The costumes turned out great!
Preston is a black-eyed p.  Isn't that funny?










Alex is Alice Cooper.  Can't you tell that he is thrilled?



  
The whole bunch!  Emma is Minnie Mouse.  We have a Mickey Mouse costume that went thru 2 boys and she wanted to wear it, so I added one of her dresses.  It turned out ok.  Jonah is Wolverine and Connor is the Reaper.

Can't forget the pumpkins.  This one is Alex's.

This one is Preston's.

This one is Connor's.

Last but not least is Jonah's.  Emma didn't have one this year.  She used one of the plastic ones with the lightbulb in it.

Hey let's go!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Time to dress up for work once again.  Since Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, there weren't many of us at work.  Here are the few that dressed up.

 Steve is a scented candle.

Sami is a hippie.

Amanda is Thing 1...don't know where Thing 2 is.

Blake is....well not sure what Blake was trying to be.  He kinda looked like Howard Stern with that hair.

Here's a blast from the past.  My picture from Halloween when I was in the 7th grade.  Unfortunately it wasn't much different than what I would wear to school.

Here is the gang from 1987.  Starting from the left going clockwise is: my brother Jarrod Dearden, Me, our cousins Shannon Shupe Porter, Bobbi Shupe Jones, and my sister Dawnelle Dearden Call

Emma's New Do

Today I decided that Emma needed a new hairstyle.  She doesn't keep barretts and elastics in her hair, so I thought a short cut would be way cute.  Plus it would keep the hair out of her face.

She looks so adorable with her hair this way.  It looks tons thicker too.  She sat so quietly while the stylist cut it.

We got chicken nuggets from McDonalds for being so good.

Daddy wasn't very excited about getting it cut.  He likes long hair.  But I know that he will think Emma is still as cute as ever!

A Little Vacation

Finally after all the stuff that happened in September we were able to have a little family getaway.  We went to St. George for the weekend and went to Zions National Park.  We walked the trail that takes you to the beginning of the Narrows.  It was fun to play in the river.  The kids had a blast!

Waiting for the shuttle.

Beginning of the trail.

Playing in the river.  It was quite cold!

Emma liked playing in the water.  She kept asking to go in the "iver".

Taking a rest.  I bet their behinds are freezing!Preston took this picture of Mommy and Emma.  Just taking a break from the cold water.

Saying Goodbye Again

Today I am saying goodbye to my grandpa.  My Grandpa Dearden passed away yesterday, September 17, after a long battle with prostate cancer.  He was 89.  I know that he is at peace now and out of pain, but that doesn't stop those of us left behind from missing him terribly.  He was such a great man.  He and my grandmother went on 2 missions.  They served in the Phillipines and in Illinois.  They worked at the Ogden Temple for many years.  During their time there, they did sealings.  My grandpa performed the sealing when Randy and I went thru the temple.  He had such a wonderful testimony of the gospel and I know that he is with our Heavenly Father and he is watching over his great family.  I know that he will be a guiding angel for me and my family for the rest of our lives.
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Grandma and Grandpa have 5 kids...Cathy (& Mel), Kent (& Rhonda), my dad Craig (& Sheryl), Gaylen (& DeeAnn) and Paul (& ReNae).  They have 36 grandchildren and 38 great-grandchildren (if my numbers are correct).  I have to admit that this time has been one of sadness and happiness.  We have been gathering at Grandma's house over the past week and it has been nice to see all of the family.  My cousin Kristi flew back from Washington.  I miss all of the times that we get together as a family. 
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I remember Thanksgivings at Grandma's when we would set up tables that ran the length of the basement and we still didn't have enough room, so the adults would go upstairs and eat in the living room. I remember going upstairs to sit with the adults because the kids were too noisy.  I may have been a kid, but I didn't like hanging out with the kids.  What can I say....I have always been old. 
Christmas was the same.  We would pack ourselves in Grandma's little house and play present games.  We would all bring a white elephant gift and then we would sit in a circle and pass the gifts around.  By the end of the game everyone would be fighting for the orange sticks or the chocolate covered cherries.  Grandpa would sit back and shake his head.  I know that he was thinking we were crazy.
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I will miss him very much.  I love you Grandpa!!

(I am posting this at work, so I will post pictures when I get home.)