just a bit of hocus pocus!

This was kyle and I's first halloween together!

We had quite a fun time celebrating this spooky holiday!

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Anyone who knows me knows that I am NOT a fan of haunted houses! Well my sister and husband convinced me to go to a haunted house in Idaho Falls

(proof I went through)
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pretty sure I can cross that off my bucket list and NOT do it again!! It was so scary! I just plugged my ears and looked at the ground. I was not a fan.
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We also carved pumpkins! I havent carved pumpkins for a long time. While cleaning them out, I remembered why! We both made some cute pumpkins though! :)

Our favorite part of the halloween fun was dressing up for our ward halloween party. We were originally going to be mario and luigi, but we couldnt find overalls. But in our search for overalls, we found a walker instead. So Kyle and I dressed up as an old couple! I thought we looked pretty legit, especially Kyle! I'm convinced he will be the most handsome old man when we grow old! :)
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We had fun, but I am excited for halloween to be over and to move on to November! That means we can listen to Christmas music!
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I know, some of you are thinking that the beginning of November is way to early to start listening to Christmas music, but I think if it insists on feeling like Christmas outside, it might as well feel like it inside too!

Baked with Love

Since I've been married, I've learned a few things about myself (Im sure Kyle has as well...maybe someday I'll get him to write a post!)
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one thing I've learned is I detest cooking
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ok, detest is a little strong, but I really am not a fan of it. Im not even good at it, although my husband would tell you otherwise. (one of the many reasons i love him!)
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but as much as I dont like to cook, I love to bake!
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My mom makes the most delicious sugar cookies I've ever consumed in my life! Dont believe me? Visit her for any holiday and your taste buds will be enlightened! I've made them once before, and although they were not too bad for a first time, there is nothing like hers. I only dream of one day being on equal sugar cookie baking ground with her.

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Earlier this week I was craving those sugar cookies. I didnt want to make them, I just wanted her to arrive on my front porch with a batch warm out of the oven. Of course that didnt happen, so I was on my own to provide this heavenly delicacy for my taste buds.
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In my mental preparations for baking sugar cookies, I also noticed we had some bananas that were going bad, so I put banana bread on the baking list. Of course, my mother also makes divine banana bread so I had to call her for her recipe.
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When I called her to get the recipe, she told me she had made pumpkin bread that day. So of course, it being fall now, pumpkin bread also made it onto the list, quickly followed by pumpkin pie.
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I made the pie (simple delectable) and made the sugar cookie dough with hopes of completing the process (rolling, cutting, baking, frosting) the next day. Unfortunately, I highly underestimated the amount of time I would spend doing school and homework (I do that often) and the sugar cookies never were baked. In fact, four days later, the dough is still in my fridge, although its quantity has been significantly reduced (cookie dough is almost equally as delicious!)
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so all my baking ambitions for the week have now been saved for the weekend. {My tastebuds are watering just thinking about it!} and I think I shall enjoy every minute of baking and tasting every delicious food my taste buds encounter! You all are welcome to join me!

we had questions...

he had answers.

I am in a women's health class and the teacher is good friends with Elder Bednar, so for her retirement she wanted to take her students down to have a question and answer with him.

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It was such an incredible experience.

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He knew just what to say to touch those who needed to feel the love of our Heavenly Father. He knew which scripture to use right off the top of his head, He knew that the Holy Ghost would teach us better than even he could and he encouraged us to be taught by the Holy Ghost.

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Girls asked questions about everything from how to handle not having your family be in the temple when you get married, how to be a good mother and how to deal with depression in your life and in the lives of those you love. There were questions about how we can better ourselves as women, wives and mothers in the church and he had a way of giving us the guidance we needed in such simple terms.

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Nothing he said or taught was new, profound doctrine that I didnt know before, but he had a way of making grey situations black and white.

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Im not sure why it works that way with general authorities. Why is that when they say something we go "ohhh" like some new doctrine had been taught to us, when really they just remind us of the doctrines that help guide our lives.

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Maybe thats just erroneous thinking on my part, but I really am grateful for the way he reminded us of the simple elegance the gospel offers us.

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Some things I learned was reminded of...

we are meant to compliment our spouse, not change them to be more like us. you need to be a good wife before you can be a good mother. make the comfort and convience of your spouse your highest priority. offer more, take less. self-worth comes from living righteously. "It is more important to not shrink than to survive" ~ Elder Neal A. Maxwell. we cannot accomplish everything through great measures, but rather one step at a time. the atonement is important to redeem us from our sins, but it also gives us power beyond our own to overcome every affliction, trial, sin and sorrow.

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I am still in awe at the spirit that can be felt in the presence of these great men who lead and guide our church and teach remind us of the astounding simple blessing the gospel is in our lives.

a boquet of sharpened pencils

"dont you just love [rexburg] in the fall. if I new your name and address I would send you a boquet of sharpened pencils!"

For the first time ever, I believe I am experiencing fall in rexburg!

Normally it goes from summer to winter over night!! But this year we have been so lucky! instead of snow, its been warm enough to have rain! so now I can actually step on crunchy leaves instead of snow! :) its a beautiful thing, my friends.

i love fall time when the leaves fall of the trees and its just crisp enough that all you need is a jacket and your nose gets just a tad cold instead of frost bite.

The leaves are falling off the trees and today it even smelled fall-y.

I know the snow is just around the corner and our lovely weather will be gone for another 7 months, but I think I will enjoy this lovely fall day while I have it! :)

today is a good fall-y day :)