If you build it, they will come.

No, I'm not talking baseball diamonds in the middle of cornfields. I'm talking the soccer mom's mecca of all meccas - Costco!

Now many of you may be saying to yourselves, whoopedy-do, Costco. Allow me to explain. Pocatello isn't exactly a booming metropolis. In fact, for one of the largest cities in Idaho, it's kind of pathetic how few stores and other facilities we have, at least when it comes to having a variety of places to choose from. So anytime a new restaurant or store comes to town, there is some understandable excitement. The opening of the new Costco has been much anticipated since it's announcement over a year ago, so even though Chris and I aren't at all the type to withstand the crowds of people just to find a deal, or participate in the hoopla of a grand-opening, we decided it was worth it today. I'd never even been in a Costco, and may I just say that as a mom of four, seemingly bottomless pits of hunger, children, I think I will appreciate the opportunity to buy in bulk!!

I'm sure over time the novelty of being able to buy gargantuan pies and enough Kleenex to supply all the classrooms in an elementary school will wear off. But in the meantime, I'm sure going to enjoy one of my new favorite things: a Very Berry Sundae made with non-fat frozen yogurt and strawberries - at Costco!!

Tragedy.

My sister-in-law's older sister recently lost her 13 year old son in a tragic car accident. We didn't know him personally, but I know it has, of course, deeply affected my sister-in-law and their entire family. I thought I would post a link to the mother's blog and the obituary for the readers of my blog to look at, if they wish. Sometimes when things like this happen, it's a reminder to us all how fragile each life is and how important it is to show our loved ones we care while we can.
To read the obit, click here:
http://ads.heraldextra.com/articles/2008/10/19/obituaries/332432.txt

To read the grieving mother's blog, click here:
http://donnandkids.blogspot.com/

I wanted to emphasize that a fund has been established in Calvin’s name at Central Bank. Anyone wishing or able to make a contribution may do so at any bank branch.

A learning experience.

Chris has been asking me for days if I was going to make any new posts this week. The truth is, I've been a little preoccupied with a minor disaster that occurred on Tuesday, and I've been embarrassed, if not a little ashamed to write about it. For your entertainment and to purge my feelings of guilt, here goes:
As it turns out, this "groomer doesn't have it"! I was giving our little pooch a bath when I noticed he had some matted fur around his tummy. So I grabbed my little trimming shears, and started to clip away. At one point I had pulled his fur taut and he moved just as I snipped, then he yelped and I immediately saw that I had gotten his skin! It was awful and scary, and I felt terrible! Luckily there wasn't much blood because it wasn't a deep cut, but it did make a flap in his skin and I knew I was going to have to cover it somehow to avoid infection.

I called the vet and described the wound to see if it may need a stitch, to which they said probably not. But in the meantime I have been nursing our little fuzzball back to health, changing the bandage and dressing a couple of times a day. He HATES the restriction the bandage puts on him, and he does quite a bit of thrashing around, licking and biting on it, trying to get it off.

Now for those of you who don't have pets, or maybe aren't "dog people" (as Chris and I used to proclaim), you may think I'm a bit overly emotional about him, after all, he's just a dog! The thing is, he's made his place in all our hearts so quickly because he's such a sweet and loving little thing, and I already can't imagine not having him here. One of these days I have to get some video footage of him when Chris comes home from work - his tail wagging excitement is hilarious. He has a gentle temperament and is so great with the kids. Plus, he's sooo cute! My heart melts when I look at him, especially the past week as he's been mopey and withdrawn. He's slowly starting to act more like the playful little puppy he was before the incident, and rest assured that once his wound has completely healed, I will be making an appointment with an experienced groomer!
Here he is by the front door, as if he's waiting for the opportune moment for escape!

Can it be??!!

Yes, we haven't even made it to Halloween and the white stuff has already made it's first appearance of the season. This will be my 5th Idaho winter, and I still feel a little twinge of disappointment that the warmth and beauty of summer and fall are so quickly coming to an end. Okay, I admit, there's not much snow yet, but today's weather signifies, for us, the beginning of so many things. Clothing in layers, boots, constantly cold hands and feet, Chris working lots of hours because of bad roads, kids with sniffles, higher utilities bills, the list goes on, and this for the next 7 or 8 months! Aargh!

Shameless plug.

My friend handcrafts these darling flower clips. They come in a wide variety of sizes, colors and flower types - they're super cute! Visit: www.stellapearl.etsy.com to check them out. They would make really fun stocking stuffers for all your little girly-girls, or you divine mommas, for that matter! My Sophia loves them and picks one out each day to match her outfit.

A thing of beauty.

These are some snapshots of some of the beauty in my life.

I will never, and I do mean never, tire of this beautiful image!

Every night I lay by her before she goes to sleep and I just smother those cute smooshy cheeks with kisses.

A baby and a puppy - need I say more?

Who doesn't love some yummy little baby toes.

Moosecapades!

A few years ago we were looking for an idea for a little mini-vacation, somewhere we could go to see the fall colors and have a couple of days to break up the monotony of the first semester of school. After doing some research online, I made the exciting discovery that, with a little effort, there were some great deals to be found on hotel rooms in Jackson Hole during October, being that it's the off-season for the ski-resort town. Only a two and a half hour drive from our house, and offering some of the most unbelievable landscape and wildlife viewing around, it's quickly become a much anticipated family tradition.
This year we decided to take a bit of a detour and venture through Yellowstone National Park. It was absolutely well worth the additional driving time. We also had the added excitement of being able to make the trip equipped with the camera Chris got at the beginning of this year. So all of the photos you will see in the slideshow and posted elsewhere on the blog were taken by either Chris, myself, or using the tripod.
Unfortunately, the trip wasn't without incident. Nicolas is still having episodes of vomiting, etc., going on a week and a half of fighting off the flu virus. Thankfully he has become familiar with the idea of "getting it in the bag", as we have shown him how to throw-up into a Ziploc bag while driving in the car. And a tired and stressed out daddy doesn't particularly mix well with rowdy, whiny kids, so the first night of our trip involved a bit of drama.
All in all, though, the photographs and memories we came home with made it worth the effort, and I'm sure the tradition will continue for as long as we're able to make it work.