Family and Fall.....two things that I love!

This is our "Halloween/Aunt Christy is coming" countdown calendar.
Rob asked Gabe, today, whether he was more excited for Halloween or Aunt Christy. He totally picked Aunt Christy (of course). She will be here November 14th. We can't wait.



Gabe and Cael. Not really fall related (except they have their collapse able trick-or-treat bags upside down on their heads. Just cute).

We had a really good time this weekend with family. Rob's sister Amanda, her husband David, and their precious little girl, Isabel came to visit (from Nebraska). We haven't seen them forever and were really glad we had the opportunity.

We also got to see Thad (Rob's brother), Julie (his wife), and their three adorable children (Kaipo, Sarah, and Ben).

We all went to a pumpkin patch to enjoy a bit of fall festivities. It was freezing cold and way over priced but worth it. The boys had a good time and we got to get out of the house.

On our train ride

Here Gabe is pictured with Uncle Kyle on the train. Kyle ended up moving over by us and Gabe stayed with his cousins....of course.

Cael, Isaac, and a few pumpkins. Very exciting. Does Cael's face look like one of those plastic trolls with the crazy hair, or is it just me?

Gabe....with same pumpkins. I swear! I had to force that kid to spend any time with me. He gets so caught up with COUSINS, he forgets he's part of us, too.

Afterward we all bombarded Carrie and Brett's house (Rob's sister), ate dinner and hung out. Good food, good conversation, and good memories. What more could you ask for?

A GIRL!

Here is a picture of the girls (Gillespie and In-Laws) with their daughters. Notice....I am the only one without a daughter....so, I hugged my leg instead.
(L to R: Corissa, Carrie, Amanda, Isabel, Me (I thought about patting my tummy in the picture but didn't want to start any rumors....NO WE ARE NOT PREGNANT!), Julie, and Sarah)

Aunt Amanda turned Isaac into a mad scientist. The look kinda suits him.


The old and the young!
The next generation of Gillespie's (exept for baby "XX or XY," which still has up to 9 weeks to grace us with it's presence. Hang in there Amanda!)

Look how sweet Gabe is. He put his arm around his little cousin Sarah. I'll tell you what, sometimes that kid surprises me. Why can't he be that nice to his brothers?

My new DO!

No....I am not ticked off. That's my seductive look, can't you tell? (no wonder Rob is always accusing me of sending mixed signals.....I'm kinda scary!)

From el side-o!

You like-e?

In an attempt to find JOY......

Don't we all feel a bit upside-down and stuck in a rut sometimes?

Life is really busy and REALLY stressful right now and I find myself upset/yelling much more than I care to admit. So....in an attempt to find a bit of Joy in my life I decided to take a few pics of my kids last night.

Gabe----ever silly Gabe. Why don't I appreciate his sillyness more. Was I not the queen of sillyness in my younger days?

Cael-----Cheeseball of the century........So aggravating yet so endearing. Most of the time, I don't know whether to laugh or yell. Often times, I do both.

Isaac-----piggy, piggy, piggy. And always smiling (unless being assaulted by one of his brothers...which happens a lot).

I really do love my kids. I just take life a little too seriously and forget to enjoy them.

The other day I read a blog entry of a friend. She had taken a picture of her child doing something obviously naughty but very funny. Then she went on to describe how they laughed together about it.

It never would have dawned on me to do that. I would have just gotten upset instead.

No......I am not a bad mom. I just act like it most of the time.

I am ready to turn over a new leaf and make it a goal to actually sit down and spend time with them at least once a day.

Today we sat down, all together, and made these.....Spider Snacks and Ants on a log.

Don't we look like were having fun? (I know you can't see me, because I am taking the picture, but pretend you can. I have a big smile on my face).

We also made a countdown calendar to Halloween and extended it from there to November 14th when Aunt Christy comes to visit. We are SOOOOO excited!

FUNNY! A Message for Caleb (but published for all to see)......love, Grandpa!

Since you don't know them.....

Rob's brother Caleb (in Mexico)

Rob's Grandpa Thiessen (no he is not flipping off the person behind him....he just lost some fingers in a band saw accident).

Rob's Grandpa Thiessen called me a few weeks ago and asked me to do him a favor. I agreed! He wanted me to post a message for Caleb, Rob's brother who is on a mission in Mexico, and figured that because I am so popular, even with the missionaries, this was the best way to get the message to whom it needed to be getting to. So here goes:

The message is this, "BUCK UP AND DEAL WITH IT."

I'm sure you will want an explanation....who wouldn't (Caleb, I am sure you, too, are wondering what the heck this is in context to). Well, I'll tell ya.

We have, in the not so distant past, received many words from Caleb about the turmoil his body is going through down there, in that "not-so-sanitary-place" (my words, not Caleb's), and along with these, words of the less than satisfactory condition of the bathroom accommodations he is so often forced to enjoy.

Grandpa and I agreed that here, in the US of A, we are completely spoiled with our "running-water-flush-it-and-it-goes-down-the-hole-forever (not so much in our house) system." Grandpa says things are different in every other region of the world (what do I know, I have never been anywhere but the Western United States) and Caleb had better just, as said above, "BUCK UP AND DEAL WITH IT."

Then he related a funny story which I will share with you now.

(Grandpa you will have to forgive me if I lost some of the details in translation. It has been a while since we spoke. And Dad.....yes, you did raise me to be more lady like.....this story holds no reflection on the type of upbringing I had....please forgive me."

When Grandpa was fighting in the war the "walls" to their "bathroom facilities" consisted of an open tent/tarpy thing (he tried to describe it to me over the phone). A trench would be dug and a board, with four holes (usually) would be placed over the trench. There is where you were to do all your "duties." In the open, for everyone to see.....and into a trench (disgusting.....can you imagine the smell?)

One night, a man in his barracks woke up, in the early hours of the morning, to use the "facilities." He did his business, came back to the tent and climbed into his sleeping bag. His tent mates were flabbergasted by the smell he brought with him and asked if he had just passed gas. After repeated claims to the contrary, he rolled over in his sleeping bag and discovered the source of the appalling smell.

Turns out that when he had taken down his long johns (it was winter there) to use the restroom, they had fallen into the trench. He hadn't noticed, even when placing them back on his body, and now he, AND his sleeping bag were covered in........well, you can figure that out.

So Caleb...........again, "BUCK UP AND DEAL WITH IT" (from Grandpa).

I suggest you keep your suit up and out of the camode and before you crawl into bed at night, do a through smelling of yourself and your companion. At least, then, you will be far better off than that poor soldier (and those who had to sleep in the tent with him that night).

(Note to self: If you ever feel like complaining about having to clean two toilets, shut your mouth and just do it. Second, be grateful for the ready use of a washer and dryer, just in case any dip-age should happen........come on, we have all worn overalls at one point in time.)

So Grandpa.....I hope this message was suitable enough to portray your message to you poor sick grandson in a country far far away (actually not so far away, in proximity, but far away in modern conveniences).

Caleb, we love you and hope you start feeling better. At least for a day or two before you catch the next nasty bug.

HUSBAND TAG!

1. Where did you meet? In Spanish Class at Snow College. We were smitten right from the get go. He loves red heads and I love football players.

2. How long did you date before you got married? Including the time we broke up? 548 days. We got married a year and a half, + one day, from our first date. I, of course, was ready to marry him from the get go he just needed a little time to get used to the idea. That's why I dumped him (Don't worry he came crawling back after he had a taste of what was out there and realize there was no one else like me). :)

3. How long have you been married? Almost 6 1/2 years. Wow........Eternity seems forever when so much has already happened in 6 years.

4. What does he do that surprises you? He empties the dishwasher all the time. It still catches me off guard. He brings me flowers out of the blue (or did, when we had cash flow), and he pulls me into him for a juicy smackaroo every once and a while.

5.What is your favorite feature of his? His "Gillespie booty", his dimples, his cleft chin, his full lips, his bulging biceps and pectorals.......yum, I could go on forever.

6. What is your favorite quality of his? He is so supportive. He allows me to follow my dreams, my whims and my spontaneous actions. He is an AWESOME husband and dad. He takes his turn with the kids every day. Bathes them, feeds them, and even changes diapers.
SUPER ROB TO THE RESCUE!

7. Does he have a nickname for you? He calls me Mel. I'm sure a few other words have crossed his mind (especially during my postpardum bout with Isaac) but he has never actually verbalized them (except for the one time.........you'll have to ask him about that. I will say, however, ....he was justified). :)

8. What is his favorite color? Green. Definitely Green. Although, he looks really good in Red.

9. What is his favorite food? He loves meat. Red meat....."Mans meat." He also loves Raspberry Ice box desert (Thanks Cathy for making it for him on occasion.) enchiladas, Panda Express, Azteca, Butterfingers, etc.

11. What is his favorite sport? FOOTBALL. To say anything else would be an insult.
He does enjoy keeping tabs on just about every other sport (at least the ones he considers sports). One time we went through all the Sports questions in the "Trivial Pursuit 2000 special addition." He got all of them right except 4-5. Crazy......if you ever need to know someone's all time football record, Rob's the one to call.

12. When and where was your first kiss? In the driveway of my apartment building. I had just told my mom, earlier in the day, that I would take things slow with him and not rush into kissing him. But, my roommates wanted ice cream (you see we had to buy the whole house cookies if we held hands and ice cream if we kissed) so when Rob asked (yes, he asked me....I know!) if I wanted to buy my roommates ice cream the next day, I said "sure" (I actually said "sure".......We are so lame). Let me tell you, if relationships depended on the quality of the first kiss, Rob and I would not be where we are today. It was a total bomb (I'm not sure Rob would appreciate me discussing his blunder in front of such a large audience but if you really want to know....call me, I will tell you). Don't worry, with a bit of training things got a whole lot better.

13. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? That's kind of a personal question don't you think? No.......just kidding. We like to laugh. We like to rock out to music together (lately it's been to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Even Isaac (1 yr) head-bangs to it. It's great). We like to have time away from our children. We really enjoy curling up on the couch to watch a movie (I usually don't stay awake for the whole things but we love it anyway). We also like to sit together on the couch and read, side by side. Yeah.....super exciting.

14. Do you have any children? 3 boys.......did you not read the title of this blog?

15. Does he have a hidden talent? He can collect an incredible amount of belly button lint.
No, really...... it's true. He's also a really good listener. It works out well for us because I am a really good talker.

16. How old is he? 30 years and feeling it. He's been whining since he hit 26 and has not stopped.

17. Who said "I love you" first? He did. Sitting in my living room. Christmas lights aglow (we had them hang up around our ceiling. Funny thing.......it was January. We never did take those lights down until we moved in May.) It was very romantic. My heart pitter-pattered for a long time afterwards.

18. What do you admire most about him? His ability to relax and take a break from the realities of life. I wish I could do that. I also admire his ability to put up with a woman like me. It can't be easy and he does it SOOOOO well.
He knows so much about the gospel and has a very strong testimony. He always remembers to do the "little" things (scripture study, prayer) and is a worthy priesthood holder who blesses our lives as such.

19.Do you think he will read this? Absolutely! He checks my blog about as often as I do.

I "tag" anyone and everyone who blogs and wants to take the time to do it. Leave me a message and let me know if you fill it out. Then I can come and read yours too.