Halloween Fun (and more!)

Though it was hard, in a lot of ways, to come home--it has been good to be a part of life again.  Brian was great to take the kids on a hayride to the pumpkin patch while I was gone, and the kids were great to help staple rubber bands to campaign flyers (6700 of them!!!!).

We spent what I was afraid was the last good-weathered Saturday putting flyers on doors throughout the city, but were blessed AGAIN, with good weather to allow for yard and garage cleaning work!

We enjoyed a nice FHE w/ Nate & Stacey & Dad & Kathy (who were in town for a couple of days), then carved pumpkins (okay, the kids and Brian carved pumpkins while I was writing thankyous), and enjoyed some school parading, class parties, and Trick-or-Treating that night.

We spent the next Saturday demolishing our yard (or so it seemed--looking like a tornado had gone through!--I only wish I'd done better w/ before and after pics!--though you can see from above pic how the bushes were blocking our path!)--Brian (and the boys) took a saw to some of our monster bushes, and we had 2 VERYFULL vanloads to the dump and 2 overflowing cans by the end!

I left that excitement as soon as I could pull away for Anne's first Suzuki Grand Concert, where I was SO grateful for the fact that even though we were late, we happened to get there just in time for her pieces (it never happens like that!)

The week I got home, I was able to be in time for concerts for Brent and Maddie in band and orchestra (respectively), as well as the 4 oldest playing in a Halloween Recital (which I left early from for Great Aunt Connie's viewing).

Then came Election Day, where we spent the afternoon and quickly freezing evening, holding signs on the corner for our favorite candidates! (I couldn't help but remember the last time we did it--during the Primaries--Dad was here helping!).  Brian felt like he had been able to accomplish a lot in the 2 years since his City Council appointment, and it was so hard to tell what his chances really were, especially with the weekly flyers coming in the mail from the opponents.  We were prepared for either outcome, but when it was a victory (as we found out during the campaigning party that night in the new mayor-elect's home), we were quite ecstatic!! Our favorite mayoral candidate (that we campaigned heavily with) won soundly, and though Brian came in a close 2nd--29% of the vote, and 31% to 1st place, for City Council, there were 2 seats to fill, and he will have one of them! Though we felt like we would be fine either way, after all of that campaigning effort (on the part of SO many!), it would have seemed so fruitless to end in a loss.  The best part is looking forward to the years of service ahead, where he will have MUCH different surroundings, and a GREAT absence of contention and negativity that have made things so challenging thus far.  HOORAY!!

Another few shots:
Emily and a scarf she knitted during General Conference (she's really put her looms to good use!)

We've woken up to snow a few times already, and even with just a skiff, all of the snow clothes are quickly donned---and I had to catch Spencer in this So-Screech-Like snowsuit that I found at DI last year, and that he LOVES, for not having to wear a coat w/ it :).

Next on the list comes Thanksgiving (at our house) and Baby (at our house too)!--so Brian was a great sport, after picking up campaign signs around town, to move the girls' bunkbeds downstairs so that their room can be the nursery again (no small feat, as those beds are SOLID!), and Brent, Maddie, and I pitched in to assemble Spencer's new loft bed to go over Brent's.  I'm so glad we did it with a few weeks left, as I forgot what an effort it can be shifting all of the clothes, etc. around! My midwife came for her "Home Visit" this week, and we were happy to find this little one head down :).  Such fun ahead.  It is nice, that no matter how inept I feel through pregnancy to add anything to my already bursting load, it does get to a point where you feel that ANYthing--including sleepless nights with a newborn MUST be easier than being THIS pregnant!