Our Happy October

October is always a crazy and wonderful month.  We have lots of Palmer birthdays to celebrate (Eliza is four!), fall festivities to enjoy, and for the dad, lots of animals to be hunted.

We started off our October with a trip to Utah to enjoy General Conference, cousin birthday celebrations at the cabin, and to meet the newest member of the Palmer clan, baby Tytan Bankhead.  It was a sweet weekend with lots of reminders about what matters most in this life, which is family.  We are lucky to have such great ones.

Ryan spent a few weekends hunting with friends and family, and was excited to finally get a deer this year.  He decided to take on all the fun that follows a successful hunt, and did a great job preparing the meat and turning the skull into a European mount.  It ended up being a lot of work, so I wouldn't be surprised if next time he just hires someone.  However, his homemade jerky did end up being a big hit and Stella keeps encouraging him to sell it to everyone we know, probably even a store.  

The girls enjoyed the usual days full of dress ups and photo shoots with their baby sister, an occasional nap, and a night of face painting at the ward harvest party.  They also did a great job in their primary program, reminding us through word and song just how much our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ love each one of us.

As for the mom, it's the little things that keep me going through the chaos.  Happy mail days full of perfect family photos, $19 Walmart booties, and organized storage rooms are the things my dreams are made of.

October was a big month for Stella.  She is growing up way too fast these days.  Two lost teeth, her first parent teacher conference, and a growing love for books have me wondering when I got old enough to be the mom experiencing all of this stuff.  One thing I personally took away from conference this October was the truth that we all have our own divine nature and personality, especially our children.  As a mother it's something that I am not always good at recognizing, but I know that I will play a large role in helping my children recognize and develop into the person they are meant to be, so I am working on it every single day.

The week of Halloween was insanity, with Eliza's birthday and party, two field trips, doctor appointments, Halloween parties at school and home, trunk or treat, and of course, the main event itself.  Somehow I managed to make it to both field trips (gotta love the pumpkin patch two days in a row) without any extra kids, and it was so fun to be able to spend a little one-on-one time with my oldest girls.  Eliza's trip was on her actual birthday, and the highlight of Stella's morning was definitely getting to ride the school bus for the first time ever.  I don't think she stopped smiling the entire way.

Three little cupcake babes.  The nostalgia was through the roof this Halloween. 

And then, of course, there was Halloween itself.  Still not my favorite holiday, and after what felt like ten days straight of sugar and costumes, I was really ready to be done this year.  But I think the girls had a great time, and just like 95% of parenthood--that's why we do it.

We had a fun weekend at Nana Joni's that included witches night out for the moms and a party for the kiddos, the kids both had a party at school, and I even gave in and let Stella throw a little Halloween bash with some of her friends.  I honestly think by Friday afternoon the majority of the kids were Halloween-ed out, so the party basically consisted of one silly game, a donut, lots of playing and watching a Halloween movie.  Successful enough for this tired mother.

Halloween day found us finally carving some pumpkins, and enjoying chili and rolls with some friends before heading out for the night.  A family in our ward set up their own little haunted house, so after Stella bravely took a turn there (Eliza took three steps down the stairs and then joined me back in the kitchen) we walked the neighborhood collecting as much candy as possible.  After every door Eliza would run up to me, lift her bucket to my face, and exclaim, "Look what I got, mom!"  I really couldn't see anything when she showed me, but it was so adorable that it lasted the entire night.  True to form, after about an hour Stella was tired and ready to be done, while Eliza said she could do this "for three more hours!"  Even more true to form Eliza continues to ask for 10 "treats" per day, while Stella has probably eaten five total since Halloween.  Silly girls.