Tis the Season!

Giving Thanks...

I am so thankful for THANKSGIVING. I absolutely LOVE to prepare every last little detail of Thanksgiving dinner. I am thankful for my wonderful husband who was willing to iron all the table linens for me!! I love the smell of the baking turkey, and coordinating every side dish so that everything is done and ready at just the right moment. A lot of people don't care for all the work and the leftovers, but I absolutely adore the process and relish every leftover. I loved that Brett could come down to spend Thanksgiving with us. I do not love that I was so busy enjoying everything about Thanksgiving I didn't think to take any pictures! The only pictures I took were the ones I grabbed just before Brett headed back to Alaska, when he was all decked out in Army gear.

Kate helped me get the lights set properly--the feather boa is for effect, and she thought the poinsettea was so beautiful we needed to take a shot of it too!Jessa calls Uncle Brett "Brandon".

Kate loved the hat and ended up keeping one.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Snow Angel: Kate was so excited for Halloween because it it the only day she gets to wear REAL lipstick. She loved getting all dressed up, and I even curled her hair for the first time ever; I had no idea she could sit there so patiently!

Our little ladybug--the cutest ever!

Kate made it to our neighbor's house before she zonked out. She had been so excited it was Halloween that she just couldn't take a nap! She slept through 2 houses, and then woke up for 2 more. We had every intention of making it in to the church trunk-or-treat, but we had a lot of fun visiting with the few people looking forward to the rare trick-or-treaters in these parts. At the last minute, I threw on Doug's turnouts and smeared black on my face to join in the costume fun.

Gearing-up for a Hipwell Halloween

How to prepare for a Hipwell Halloween:
Step 1: Get down the Hallween tote and try out all of its contents....

Step 2: Take a break for some bird hunting with friends Step 3: Have a ghoul and a goblin help bake up some festive cupcakes

Step 4: Sometime in the month impusle buy new dresses for the season at Costco

Step 5: When Halloween is getting REALLY close, invite a few people you normally don't do anything with for a Pumpkin-Carving family night.


Step 6: Proudly display your phenomenal pumpkin-carving skills until the pumpkins shrivel up and start to rot away--in true Halloween fashion.

Halloween has always been one of my favorites because I have a lot of great Halloween memories. BOO!

Something Light to Break the ice.

I am a creature of habit, and I just needed something "just for fun"to break the ice that has been thickening on my blog... Alyssa posted this on her blog and asked what's in your name...

T-Loved by everyone
I-Loves to laugh
F-People wild and crazy adore you
F-People wild and crazy adore you
A-Dead Sexy
N-Can kick ur butt
Y-Great kisser

A: Dead sexy
B: Loves people
C: Really easy to fall in love with
D: funny and sweet
E: Freakin Beautiful eyes
F: People wild and crazy adore you
G: Never let people tell you what to do
H: best smile
I : Loves to laugh
J: makes people laugh
K: Really silly
L: easy to fall in love w/
M: makes dating fun
N: Can kick ur butt
O: Has one of the best personalities ever
P: Popular with all types of people
Q: A hypocrite
R: good bf/gf
S: Lives life for fun
T: loved by everybody
U: gets blamed for everything
V: Not judgmental
W: Very broad minded
X: Never let people tell you what to do
Y: Great kisser
Z: Lives life for

In Loving Memory of Stormy Bodet

Stormy Bodet Edwards passed away peacefully in a green alfalfa field this month. She was 14 human years old. Stormy was born on an unknown date in or near Rexburg, Idaho in the fall of 1994. Of mixed ancestry, Stormy was saved from the fate that met her siblings by Cara Edwards, whom at the time was a student at Ricks College. Cara obtained the puppy with the intention of gifting it to her sister, and temporarily called the small puppy stormy, after the treacherous weather that hit the first night Stormy was in the care of her interim guardian. On Cara's next trip home to North Powder, OR she took the puppy to its intended owner as a birthday gift for Tiffany Edwards, a high school freshman. The name Stormy fit, and remained with her throughout her life. The timid little puppy soon found comfort in her new life and was known by all as a happy, sweet dog with personality. Even small children that were afraid of all other dogs couldn't help but love Stormy. Stormy's favorite pastime was running along with the four-wheeler at amazing speeds. She was often described as a greyhound at heart, and particulary loved to run through shallow water, splashing it up as she graced through. In 1997 Stormy moved with her family to Murphy, ID where she resided for the remainder of her life. Though her early days on the Idaho ranch were spent getting small puppies into trouble, she soon wisened up to her new surroundings after dozens of ticks had to be removed from her coat daily, and twice her owner had to spend entire evenings picking porcupine quills out of her face and mouth, where it appeared she tried to bite the porcupines. Once she got into a very substantial amount of rat poision, but was luckily able to pull through with veterinary assistance and medications. Stormy despised haircuts and baths, but loved to play and get brushed. During the last three years of her life, she particularly enjoyed playing with Kate and Jessa and digging under the chicken coop door at night to salvage table scraps the the chickens had not devoured before roosting for the night. In recent years, Stormy's age was obviously catching up with her. She lived a long, joyful life and was loved by all who knew her; she will be greatly missed. She is survived by her owner and immediate family, but was preceeded in death by Hercules Hipwell, her beloved cat brother. A small family graveside burial service was held at sunrise on Monday, September 8th 2008. Stormy's last photo: Running Toward Home

Little Country Cowgirls

Kate has always been a little cowgirl, but guess who has been pulling out the boots lately?....Jessa! It is not just the boots and hat though--you should see her fearlessly ride that spring-loaded rocking horse thing on the porch! YEE HAW! She stands up in those stirrups and gets bouncing and rocking so crazy all over the place that I am sure she is about to buck herself off. Kate is a pleasure rider; Jessa prefers broncs!This one captures Kate personality perfectly, and notice Jessa likes to always wear her hat crooked.

Sisters!