To: A Dear Friend

Dear FHA (Fun has Arrived),
You have been like a second father to me. You had an answer for everything. Its not fair that you think you can leave us all behind to figure the rest out on our own... You are a wonderful man, you have a wonderful family, your influence has reached so many people. The world will be missing a huge part of it. But I love you and will miss you. I look forward to seeing you again. Thanks for all you did for me.

Jessica

P.S. Please remember to come get Max...

Witches' Dinner Party!

I have been plotting this party since mid-August. Each detail proved a perfect piece to the masterpiece. Thanks to those lovely girls who attended this year. It was so much fun! I can hardly wait until next year!

Don't pay attention to the smudge on the frame...How did I miss that?

Theme: Black and Purple with Silver accents.

 Menu:

Appetizer: Ghostly Greens

Main Dish: Bat Wings and Monster Mashed Potatoes

Dessert: Sinful Delight

Drinks: Mulled Cranberry-Blackberry Cider Spritzers

We ate dinner in candle light. It added to the creepy ambiance and created a fun atmosphere. The pictures doesn't do it justice, but it also helped that you couldn't see the full horror of the bat wings... 

Homemade, Halloween-shaped croutons.

Bat wings. Garlic cauliflower mashed potatoes.

No-bake Nutella Cheesecakes. mmm...

Recipes for this devious dinner can be found here(Ghostly Croutons), here(Bat Wings), here(Potatoes), here(Cider Spritzers), and here (Cheesecakes). 

We had some fun entries for our food contest. Congrats to the ladies who won. :) It was all delicious and so fun to see the creativity. 

I especially loved the Witch costumes worn this year. I couldn't be happier with the turn out. Our "Best Dressed Witch" was... electrifying. Her hat was wired with lights! Again, the picture doesn't do this lovely lady justice... but it had to be taken in the dark for full effect. 

Each lovely lady got to take home her very own vial of homemade lavender sugar scrub. And their contest prizes. The dead flower bouquet (in the first picture) also went to the Best Dressed Witch. 

The details for the next party are already underway. *wink, wink* 

Beware! Witches are coming!

With the month of October literally flying by, I can't help but feel a little left behind. So much is happening and I can hardly keep up! But I can hardly keep my excitement about my upcoming dinner party contained... and so I thought I would give a bit of a hint... and maybe a sneak peak. :)

What do spider webs, witch hats, and the color purple have in common? That's right they will all be present at my dinner table this weekend! The Witches' Tea Party has transformed this year into a more dinner-type party. I have had a lot of concocting the details... *insert cackle here* Witches only! I am grateful to those gal pals that have agreed to be my guinea pigs as this is the first dinner party I have ever thrown. And now, as promised, a little sneak peak.

Happy Haunting!

Trip to Tuacahn

A little vacation time was desperately need for my mom and I. And so we took it. You know it is a going to be an awesome trip when you see a zebra at your rest stop... not kidding, a zebra. And an ostrich and emu... who knew you could find those in the middle of Utah? Don't believe me? Proof.

I did not know how tall those birds are! Pretty fascinating!

If only that were the only wild life we saw on this adventure of ours...

Mom got us tickets to see the plays at Tuacahn this year. Disney's Aladdin and Hairspray. Aladdin was the first night we arrived. We settled in, did a little shopping, ate at the Brick Oven (an all time favorite) and made our way into the sunset toward the outdoor theater. If you have never been to a play at the Tuacahn, you are missing an awesome experience. Outdoors opens up a variety of things you just cannot do in an indoor theater. They always put on a fabulous show! These were no exception! We did decide that October is the time to go too... the crowd is... older less rowdy, the temperature warm but not too hot, and it was fun to get away from the busy life back home for a few days.

I loved the 3 narrators in Aladdin. They kept the comedy subtle (sometimes) and the music was pretty fun. I even got a picture with the leading cast.

A crowd in the parking lot drew our attention as the dad fiddled with something in the gutter... with a stick... My first thought was "lizard" until I saw the legs... I had to zoom in for this one... more wild life.

Just looking at that picture make me squirm. And he was angry too. He stood very still with that backside in the air... eww... I'm just glad the other people found it before it walked by mom and I. We would not have been so calm about it...

We spent the next day shopping, and relaxing. I want to send a very special thanks out to our friends that let us stay at their pleasant little house while we were there! It was a lot of fun to to have a "home" for a few days. So thank you, thank you, thank you!

Hairspray was a blast! I may have liked it more than Aladdin (the jury is still out on that one...). The music is so fun, the cast was amazing, and the old commercials during intermission were amazing. I laughed so hard I was crying at one point, and I had the songs stuck in my head for the rest of the trip. No spiders after this play, though we walked into the parking lot with caution...

We didn't linger in St. George the next day. Mom wasn't going to keep me from my 3rd anniversary. Thank you, Mom for an awesome get-away. I can't wait until next year!

P.S. For those of you worried about my son, let your minds be at ease. He spent the week with his other grandparents... and I am pretty sure they spoiled him rotten. I don't think he even missed me... I am happy to have him back though. Thank you to Mom and Dad LeBaron for graciously taking him. It was a lot more stress-free knowing he was with you!

3 Years

We celebrated 3 years together yesterday. 3 years is hardly any time at all, yet I forget what life was like before I met the man of my dreams. I wouldn't trade places with anyone.

Reasons I love my Superman:
He makes me laugh, and tries hard to do so when he can see I am having a difficult day.
He calls me every day to see how my day is going.
He supports me in my crazy parties, my dreams of the future, and in my role as wife and mother.
He will do the dishes, without being asked and does so without complaining.
He works so hard and takes pride in his accomplishments. I am so proud of the things he is doing.
He plays with the little guy. I can the joy in both their faces.
He is strong, kind, faithful, and friendly. We cannot go anywhere without him knowing someone.
He loves me for me. My faults, my imperfections, my tears... I know he loves me. And there's nothing better than knowing that.

Here's to the rest of forever with the most perfect man a girl could ever hope for. I love you babe!