Happy Boo-day...!

We had a fabulous time celebrating Katherine's 1st birthday. It was on Wednesday morning so Geoff could be there and it wouldn't affect any of the kids' naps. We are so grateful to Nana, Grandmother, Ruth, Paul and the Fallers for driving up. We blew bubbles, opened presents, and ate the Spudmonkey apple spice cake that Geoff designed and Nana taught me how to decorate. it was so fun! Katherine ate a monster chocolate cupcake that Ruth made her - at first she was apprehensive to get her hands smudged, but once it smeared her face, that chocolate was ALL over! Definite good times!
After that, Lindsay and I took the kids to Chick-Fil-A at Deer Valley Towne Center. The service was awesome. Lindsay told them it was Spud's birthday and they gave free ice cream, balloons and a stuffed cow! The play gym was fun. We will definitely go back.
Halloween itself turned out be an interesting day. Geoff at 6:30am to say our car died and he was stranded on the freeway! We love AAA and the fact that his sergeant drove past him, saw him, notified DPS and he was off the freeway within 10 minutes. Katherine and I picked him up at the dealership and drove him to work. Since we were close to East Phoenix, we stopped by my old office to visit and dropped off the leftover cake. It was so good to see everyone. We drove home and I made Katherine her first pb&j for lunch. We played with bubbles again, tore into a toilet paper role, and had another short nap before having to drive back to South Phoenix to pick up Geoff from work. We stopped at Luke's for Italian Beef sandwiches in honor of Spud's birthday because I had Geoff make a special trip for dinner the day she was born - It's my favorite! We actually had a few trick-or-treaters. It fun talking to both of my sisters on the phone that day. I can't wait to see their pictures from Halloween.
Side note: I received another calling. Guess who has become a ward organist???! Doesn't that sound crazy since I don't yet play organ AND I am still scared to death of playing in front of people???! In a way I'm excited because I will finally learn and be forced to get over my fear. The biggest challenge will be Katherine. There are plenty of ward members willing to help and that she is getting to know, but she spazzes out if she still is able to see me. Fortunately, I will be on a rotation and it won't be every week.
I just learned that Genet & Sarah are going to visit during the first of December - so exciting.
Life is good. I love my family. I'm very grateful to the Lord for keeping us safe and in good health. I'm grateful to be able to vote on Tuesday and I pray for our country regardless of who wins. We have to protect our rights, reduce the size of government & spending, and pray for our leaders. What a crazy time we live in! I was sent a new website that was interesting http://www.neverfindout.org. Good luck in your states!