And you thought I posted a lot of pictures before!

Did I mention that my brother-in-law, Brian, is a photographer? In fact, one of my favorite photos that he took is hanging in my dining room! And did I also mention that he was here this week? So would you care to guess just how many pictures he took? Not nearly enough, actually. But it was still a lot. And even with all the shots he got, I'm afraid kids in the 5-and-under crowd are a tough bunch. But still. He took a lot of pictures. Tons. And I'm going to only share my favorites here. But it's still a lot.

You have my permission to scroll through these quickly, if you would prefer. But there really are some gems in here. And some pretty funny shots, too, actually.

Enjoy!

Aunt Tracy with Eliot (who was enjoying a pants-free day. Um, Eliot was, not Aunt Tracy!)

Sister Shot

Do NOT mess with Buzz Lightyear.

Samuel demonstrates his wand skills

It's not often I get a decent picture of myself!

Bentley the goofball. I love that you can barely tell how wide open his mouth is. And Ryder just puts up with it.

Despite the random pillow, I'm pretty sure this picture captures Bentley's personality exactly.

Love this.

Cute Caleb. I used to suck those same fingers!

I love that Eliot is in focus here as he desperately tries to get back to his mommy!

And I love Bentley's look of utter annoyance here.

Now, Bentley looks like he's making up his mind to never have children. Ever.
And can you blame him?

Samuel is always excited to play with Bentley's Buzz Lightyear toy...

Trying to do something with Kendra's hair.

Natalie is already making sure her kids love dinosaurs

Ryder isn't sure how he feels about getting hugs from Kendra

Caleb and Eliot plot to shake down the baby gate together

Who doesn't love a trip to Kidwell Farm?

Dressing Up, Cousins, and Dressing Up with Cousins!

All right, readers. I promised you pictures, and I never go back on a promise like that. So here are some from Halloween:

Snow White and Batman! Gotta love it. And since it was chilly, Snow White got to wear a long-sleeved shirt under her costume.

Ah, yes, and our cow costume. We've gotten a lot of mileage out of that one...

Being greeted by our next-door neighbor

Even though these pictures are a bit blurry, I still really like them

And then, with three of my four sisters coming this week, I had to get some pictures of all that:

Aunt Tracy pushes the kids on the swings

Me with my two big sisters! (Notice that I'm looking a lot skinnier since my New York trip-- booyah!)

With Cousin Samuel (aka, Buzz Lightyear)

And then they switched costumes (which is why Bentley is suddenly so much happier-- Samuel was very nice about that!)

And then they were joined by Snow White. And Ryder!

Ryder with his cousin Caleb (love that red hair!!!)

And then, we realized that we had ALL of my parents grandchildren in one place! So we tried to get a picture of all of them. It did not go well. Much crying, looking the wrong way, squinting, and blinking ensued. This was the best I could get, and they're all pretty bad. Oh, well, Mom and Dad-- we tried!

We had to have mommies come and hold babies, but at least you can see all the cousins here (clockwise from top left): Eliot, Samuel, Caleb, Kendra, Ryder and Bentley

That's all for now!

The Calm After the Storm

Last week, I felt like I was being pulled apart in every direction and letting everyone down. I had oodles of visitors coming, but I couldn't keep track of who was coming or which days they were staying for. I had an activity to plan for Young Women's and no time when I could meet with my advisor to plan it. I had visiting teaching appointments that I wasn't sure I'd be able to stay awake for. And a house I desperately needed to get clean. And instead of doing any of those things, I was driving to Ikea to buy a lamp and another baby gate (not that I ever mind a trip to Ikea, but it is very time consuming!). I felt like I couldn't get anything done.

Which is why I didn't manage to blog at all.

Yesterday and today, I am feeling more on top of things. And it's a lovely feeling.

Not that my house is so clean, but it was clean when the majority of my visitors arrived (sorry, Natalie, you're the only one who got the shaft on that one!). And even though most of them will be returning in the next day or two, I don't feel the need to have it über-clean again. Sure, I'll probably vacuum before they show up. But I won't dust this time!

Yesterday, I got up, ran 3.4 miles with my friend, showered, said farewell to my sister and her two kids (who will be coming back tonight-- yay!), started the roomba running upstairs, started a load of clothes in the wash, made dinner in the crock pot, and even had the kids dressed and fed before my friend came over to finalize plans for the Young Women's activity. I managed to hit Costco and also pick up some extra bread that my Relief Society president was giving away. I found time to get a quick nap, and read my book for a few minutes before Craig came home. And I think the young women all had fun playing our version of Family Feud.

Big sigh of relief!

It's funny how just getting up and getting stuff done makes you feel so much better! Today, I feel like I can drive around and appreciate the fall leaves some more (aren't they spectacular this year?). And, also important, I can get around to blogging.

Today is going to be a good day.

And it probably doesn't hurt that my sister offered to get us Cafe Rio tonight!



Halloween pictures and cousin pictures coming up soon!