Trunk or Treat

Our Wicked Witch!
Our Fierce Ninja!

Saturday night our ward had a Halloween party. It was packed with lots of fun things. They really went all out. I wasn't expecting it. First there was a yummy chili cook off. That I participated in. When they passed around the sign up sheet at church, no one was signed up for chili. and so I felt like I should contribute. Here is my special secret recipe! Then the games began! They had a big blow up bouncer things and all sorts of games, that the kids loved! Then they decorated paper bags and then started the trunk or treat! Lauren couldn't say trick or treat, it came out more like..."MORE!" We better practice that for Halloween night. Because the thank you part isn't understandable either. Zach made some new buddies and had a blast running around with them! What a fun night we had!

"MORE!"

Zach and his new friends!

Google Reader

I think this is going to save my marriage! Just kidding. But no really it will make my husband a happier man. He is so sick of me blogging. Why? My house is always clean! Just make sure you call before you come over!! :) Anyway, I was telling my friend the other night that Gerry hates blogs because I am on the computer all the time. What can I say, I love to hear all your fun stuff going on. Anyway my friend told me of the best invention yet. And maybe you all already know about this and I am the last. But thought I would share. Google Reader. It's amazing. It keeps track of all you blogs or whatever and lets you know when there is an update or new posting. Amazing. So I thought I would share, and if you are already using this, shame on you for never sharing. You ought to check it out! (Thanks Jessica!)

Aunt Rhiannon & Uncle Clark

We were so excited to have Rhiannon and Clark come and visit us for the weekend. The kids were so happy to have their aunt and uncle here. Well Rhiannon and Clark got here Friday afternoon in time for us to go to Monrovia's weekly "street fair". The city closes down the whole street for a few blocks. It's like a farmers market, but a big deal. The street was filled with lots of places to eat, a lot of different little vendors selling clothing, jewelry, soaps, you name it. It was a lot of fun. For dinner we enjoyed the warm fresh spicy tamales, grilled corn on the cob, and freshly made kettle popcorn. It was the perfect night to be out and about. The fair also had a little petting zoo set up right in the middle of the street. Well I am too cheap to pay to have my kids go in, why would you when you can pet them through the fence for free! ha ha. I am sure the people running it weren't too impressed as I stood there taking pictures as Lauren tried to lift up the chain link fence to get the ducks. Oh well it was fun!



After the fun, we went back home and got the kids to bed for some more fun. My favorite. Game time! For some reason Gerry doesn't find it fun playing two player games with me. He must get sick of losing :)!! Anyways it's always our favorite to play games! Clark and Rhiannon taught us a new one called, Bang! Although I lost every round, I still loved every minute playing. I am a gamer. (Is that a word?) What can I say!

Then Saturday, Gerry, Clark and Rhiannon went golfing. Gerry was way excited about that. It was the perfect day to be out on the course. After they got back the kids had a blast playing baseball in the backyard until it was too dark. Later that night we went to dinner at Rosco's Chicken and Waffles. Sounds weird if you haven't been there. I was a little skeptical about the combination even after many people saying how good it is. When we got there the place was packed, which is always reassuring. Of course we had to order the famous fried chicken served with a side of yummy waffles. It was so good. Even the kids loved it. That's saying a lot. And Gerry is still talking about it. Can't beat nice greasy chicken! After dinner we went home and the kids sadly said their goodbye's since Rhiannon and Clark were leaving the next morning. We then had to get the Settler's of Catan going and enjoyed playing until late hours. All and all the weekend was a lot of fun and it was so sad to say goodbye!

Stinking Rose

On Monday Gerry took me and Lauren (no babysitter in the day) to lunch in Beverly Hills. Gerry had seen this yummy restaurant on TV (I think it was on Rachel Ray) so he thought we should try it out. When we pulled up and I saw Stinking Rose Garlic Restaurant I thought that it was an odd name, but if it was on Rachel Ray it better be good. When we got inside, I realized it is probably somewhere you would go on a date night without kids, but we figured for lunch we couldn't ruin too many peoples romantic meals. The atmosphere was so cool. It was all lit by candle light and the walls were painted in all sorts of garlic themed pictures, hence the name. Many of the tables were under their own individual tent. It was so fun. With Lauren it wasn't very romantic, but it could have been. Anyway being the garlic restaurant, we were served yummy yummy garlic rolls. And then our delicious meals came. I got chicken asparagus with spinach noddles. It was so good. It had so much flavor. Gerry got short ribs which were also very tasty. After we stuffed ourselves we thought we should try out their garlic ice cream. We usually never have room for dessert, but we thought we better try this one. Our waiter also said it was very good and lots of people like it. The menu said it was served with carmel sauce. So I thought that would take away the garlic flavor. The 1st bite I almost couldn't breath, it was so strong. I couldn't believe the waiter had lied to us. No one in their right mind could like that. I thought Lauren would like it because it was ice cream. After her 1st bite she said ew, caca and grabbed a napkin and wiped her mouth, then went quickly for her drink. She refused to try another bite. It was the funniest thing to see her so grossed out by it. Gerry on the other hand had to keep eating and said it's not that bad after the 1st bite. I told him I rather pay $7.00 to not eat that! That was after he realized I didn't care if I hurt his feelings, I wasn't eating it. He quickly agreed how fowl it was. This picture they had on their website looks so good. Very deceiving!

Anyway I thought I would share our lovely lunch. Other than the ice cream the place was YUM O! (Isn't that what Rachel Ray says?) If you are ever in Beverly Hills you should give it a try! Also if you are in Beverly Hills, you better be visiting me too!

Hello From Monrovia!

So we are finally moved! But not quite all the way moved in! I have joined the vampire lovers! I am addicted to Twilight! If you don't know what I am talking about, you have to go get the book today! I heard a while ago from a good friend this book was so good about a love story with a vampire. I thought it was quite funny. Then when I was shopping at Costco and saw the book for only $10 I thought I ought to see what everyone is talking about. I thought if it was stupid it was only $10. And so it has become 1st priority over unpacking. If I could just read all day then I would be able to finish, but I really don't want the book to end. It's that good! Good thing there is 2 more sequals after it! So who knows when we will really be all the way moved in.

Anyway, we moved to Monrovia about 2 weeks ago. Being away from family it was scary to think of moving all by ourselves. Gerry's strong all, but I am no help. We were so blessed to have such great ward members from both our old and new ward who came and helped us. We were so thankful to have so much help! The big move really is only about 25 mins away from where we lived before, depending on traffic of course. but it has been a great move for us. We love having a back yard. It's a free babysitter. Honestly, I don't know how we have gone this long without a backyard. And although the house we are renting isn't much bigger than the apartment we came from, it's like a whole other part of the house having a backyard. It's amazing!

We went to our ward on Sunday for the 1st time and we are happy with it. Everyone was so welcoming and nice. It's quite a bit smaller, but there are at least 3 boys Zach's age, which he enjoyed meeting. Also, Lauren stayed in nursery all by herself the whole 2 hours. That is unbelievable. That has only happened 1 other time, and being her 1st time there I was so excited that she enjoyed it. There was one bad thing about moving into a new ward. And I am terrified for 2 weeks when we have to speak in sacrament. We have been married 4 years now and lived in 4 different wards and never had to speak. I don't know how we have been so lucky. Well actually in the last ward, I was in the hall at church one Sunday and one of the members of the bishopric asked if we had ever spoken before, and I jokingly said "yes" and smiled like I had been caught. But the guy quickly responded "oh yeah I remember when you talked" and I didn't want to embarress him and tell him I never really talked, so I thought it was better left that way. Not the most honest thing. I am not sure why I am sharing I just thought it was so funny. I guess it is our time to talk. I am just terrible at it. I am starting to feel sick now!

A couple weeks ago we had a great visit from Malinda and Thad. It was so fun to have them come out and visit. The kids loved having their aunt and uncle here with us. While they were here we visited the LA Temple, which is so gorgeous to have this amazing beautiful clean Temple in the middle of this crazy dirty city. We also went to Old Town Pasadena, and The Grove in downtown. It was great to see them and have them stay with us. Sometimes it makes it harder to have family visit because it makes me miss them so much more. but it was well worth being home sick for awhile!