Ward Trunk or Treat!!!

Amazing. That is the word I would describe our ward Trunk or Treat. Tonight was so much fun. I had heard from some friends at Church about how awesome our ward trunk or treat was so as it got closer and closer the more excited I was. There were tons of bounce houses and slides, pony rides, a swing carnival ride, a train ride, a mechanical bull, rock climbing wall, face painting, unlimited snow cones and cotton candy that seriously never ran out. Hot dogs, chips, chili, mud pudding, cookies, doughnuts on a string, and more. Brooke summed it up the best..."Mom this is like the best party ever!"
We had such an amazing night and I'm so grateful to live in such a fantastic ward full of the most giving, loving and most friendly people I've ever met. Enjoy the pictures, my camera died not even 30 minutes into the fun and I was so so so bummed. At least I was able to capture some of the fun! I should mention that Brody was being a stinker and did not want to ride the ponies, swing ride or eat any cotton candy hence there are no pictures of him having fun at the party but i was able to snap up some pictures of my sweet little werewolf and my leopard kitty before the party. Enjoy!

The Pumpkin Cookies

A few days ago we made Pumpkin sugar cookies. Yum!! We had so much fun and Brooke really enjoyed decorating the cookies. It was so nice to sit around the table and nibble on some goodies and get creative with our faces. Brody is obsessed with candy corn and asks for it every single minute of the day, during our little activity that is all he wanted. All this week I found my little stinker sneaking candy corn out of my pumpkin candy dish, I guess I underestimated how far he can stretch his arms on my island to reach his beloved candy corns. Tonight we go searching for our pumpkins!
Next post the picture quality will be better, took these on my phone because I was too lazy to run up the stairs and search for our camera...terrible I know! I was so tired that day!

The Albee Family Rules

Months ago I was browsing through pinterest and saw something similar to this. The wording was a bit different but very cute. It had me thinking, I'd love something like that in my living room. So I searched and searched and stumbled upon this on Esty.
I. Had. To. Have. It.
It was pricey...so I had to wait. Brody's room is in transition and I finally bought his dresser to complete his bedroom set. I had his changing table/dresser combo to sell since we no longer have the need for it and lucky for me someone snatched it up very quickly on craiglist. This gave me the extra funds for this piece. I'm so very excited! I was able to work with the seller and change all of the fonts so it will match the decor better in my living room. I have to wait over a month and 1/2 for it to get here since it's being custom made and the seller is entering her busy season with the holidays fast approaching.
I need to put the brakes on Pinterest. I'm so addicted. It has its pros and cons. I'm getting in touch with my DIY side but the recipes and treats are tempting me far too much and I don't want to pack on the 50 plus pounds I've shed in the last 15 months. If you have not joined pinterest yet, check it out! It's super fun!

You Need An Exterminator!

"You need an exterminator!" Those were the exact words of a lovely older couple that walked by our home last night. It took me three days to decorate our home for Halloween. Three days of figuring out that crazy spider-web stuff, climbing up and down our ladder (not realizing how tall our house really is) and making spiders. I had a Halloween decorating budget and totally blew it at the very beginning of the month on those super adorable Halloween yard stakes. I could not resist. Lucky for me that spider web stuff is super cheap and 10 bags went a long way. Brooke and I really wanted to get those giant outdoor spiders but because I blew our budget we could not get them this year...so I went to Hobby Lobby this morning and 10 bucks later, two bags of foam balls, a bag of black pipe cleaners, and a can of spray paint and voila! We now have giant black spiders! I can't wait for Brooke to be surprised when I pick her up from school this afternoon. I saved some for her to choose where they go on the house.
I love, love, love the holidays and even more so now to be a homeowner and have the opportunity to decorate the outside of a house that is ours. Yay! Enjoy the pics below and don't mind our poor little dead tree in the front, it's being replaced soon!

Lombardi Ranch 2011...plus more

Last week was fall break. Yay! No school! Bryan and I packed the kids up and headed out to CA to attend Bryan's grandpa's funeral and have some fun. The "fun" was short lived. On Monday, after our visit to the best Pumpkin Patch ever ( I have photos of Brooke since birth as well as Brody at Lombardi's) my sweet little girl was not feeling so great. I figured it was a bug, no big deal, a few days of rest would do the trick. By Thursday she was no where near better..she was kind of worse than Monday. I took her to the doctor and after a chest x-ray the doctor determined my Brooke had pneumonia.
After strong antibiotics and more rest she's doing so much better. Last week was hard but I kept reminding myself that it could have been far worse. We are happy to be home now. We were not even home a full 24 hours and we were BOOED. I seriously love my neighbors so much! Small things like that seriously made unpacking today easier. Tonight we decorate the front of the house for Halloween!Enjoy the pictures above from our favorite pumpkin patch Lombardi Ranch!

Career Day

Yay for Career Day! My sweet princess went to school as a doctor. Brooke said she (for now) wants to be a doctor when she grows up so she can help people when they are sick and give shots.

Yes I've Been MIA

Today I talked to my mom and my dad was in the back round proclaiming..."Why is your blog not updated!?" I had no idea he even reads it from time to time and noticed that it's been well over a month since my last post. When I started blogging well over a year ago I promised I'd do my best to update it as often as I could especially living so far from family..at least a few times a month, but alas life happens. September came and went and I have no idea where it went. I was sick for about half of it and busy with volunteering at Brooke's school, soccer and a new calling at church. While this past month has been busy it's been such fun as well. Brooke is thriving at school, she loves it and I see her progressing and growing everyday. It brings me such joy to see her so happy. Brody has turned into a chatterbox and is thriving in his own way....terrible twos need I say more? It has it's challenges but I enjoy those sweet moments, he still hangs on my leg from time to time conveniently when I'm cooking or need to use the bathroom, and I love those random kisses and those chunky, sticky arms wrapped around my neck as I carry him up the stairs for his afternoon nap (literally it's both of our favorite time of the day).
I never had the opportunity to experience much of the Young Women's Program at church. I was 17 when I converted to the LDS church and had maybe 8-9 months of it before graduating High School. Imagine my shock when I was called to serve in Young Women's as a Laurel Advisor. I had my fears, mostly I didn't think I was qualified enough for it, I'm not even sure if qualified is even the right word.
I cannot even begin to tell you how much I've grown in the last 6 weeks. I've learned so much and have gained such a love for the Young Women's Program that I'm even more excited than I ever was before for Brooke to be able to experience what I never had the opportunity to. I'm really excited to see what challenges and opportunities for growth this calling will bring me over the course of however long I will be serving in it.
So my plate may not be as full as others but I'm hoping that I can do my best to post here and there..at least once a month especially as we head into the busiest three months of the year. Dad if you are reading this, it's now updated for you and I love and miss you and mom very much! Enjoy the new posts below!

A Few of My Favorite Things

Back in August we had our family pictures done. I was thrilled with how they came out especially since it was so hot out and my 2 year old was less than thrilled about taking pictures that day. I can go on and on about how wonderful our photographer is and I feel so blessed to have, over the past few years, such gorgeous photos of my little family plastered all over the walls of my home. Thank you Nickell!
Check out her work at...

www.nickellphotography.blogspot.com

What Brody Has Been Up To...

Brody has been nothing but your typical 2 year old boy....when he is not jumping off of our couch onto a pile of pillows, hiding in our pantry trying to sneak snacks, or pulling his big sister's hair he LOVES to pretend to drive. The other day I was scrambling to get things done when I walked into the living room to see my clean laundry that was about to make it's way up the stairs scattered everywhere...while a sweet little boy was sitting inside the basket pretending to drive making all sorts of driving noises too. He never saw me but luckily my phone was sitting handy and I was able to snap a picture of it. It was definitely one of those moments that will stay etched into my mind forever and in case you are wondering yes sappy, sensitive me shed a tear or two.

Soccer Fun!

Soccer started up a few weeks ago and it has been so much fun! Brooke LOVES it and enjoys her soccer practices and games so much. Yesterday she played in her second game of the season and scored her very first goal! It was so awesome and she was so very excited about it. Above my picture quality is terrible, I was too lazy to upload my pictures from my camera, so with the limited time I have to update my poor neglected blog I opted for my iphone pictures instead. They still are super cute though!One was taken before her very first practice and the other girlfriend was getting her game face on before her first soccer game. Enjoy!