I was a gypsy like 3 years in a row in elementary school cus I was allowed to wear big hoop earrings and a bunch of my mom's scarves and jewelry. Like mother like daughter I suppose cus my make-shift office party costume today came completely from my own wardrobe this morning.


But I've said it before- I'm a bit of a fair weather Halloween fan. Like New Year's Eve, in theory it's ripe for a crazy party evening...but oh so often it just ends up kind of falling more on the mellow end. Which is fine by me in these years until I have little babies I can dress up as hot dogs (I will dress my children like hot dogs). I'm glad though I did a couple of social pre-Halloween activities; I've gotten all the spirit of the season and pumpkin treats without any of the plastic costume and spray on hair paint smell.

Like pumpkin carving at the 3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party...

and pumpkin vomiting,

and Pac-Man jack-o-lanterns.

Or Aaron looking so cute and domestic in the kitchen preparing leaf tortilla chips

to go with his Halloween 7 layer bean dip,

which we took to our friend Dallas' very specific Martha Stewart Halloween Dessert Party (I made the pumpkin tart with the spider web on it).

And I even kind of wore a costume when Brita and I tried on our prizes for winning the food appearance competition.


Happy Halloween!

witness blues

I guess saying inappropriate things around parents isn't limited to me and isn't limited to just my mom. I got this text from Elizabeth two days ago:

i told dad i love pesto cavatappi so much i want to take it behind a middle school & get it pregnant & he didn't even dignify it with a response.


Is it a good thing or a bad thing that our parents have to ignore half the things we say?

baby it's cold outside

I meant to post about these in the spring when they were $34 all over the place. But I didn't and alas, the price is back up to their usual $60 a pop. However, since it has started to SNOW around here, it's still a good time to pass on this gem.




Since Katie worked for Tretorn, I got the maroon pair of boots pictured above last winter and they were by far my favorite cold weather item. They are great, like GREAT for winter. It's tricky to find winter boots that actually do snow duty and wear all day duty. I don't want to tromp through snow drifts in leather boots and I don't want to sweat inside all day in rubber rain boots. These Tretorns though hit at mid-calf so they're light and they're lined inside so you don't even have to wear socks. I found they are awesome to slip on when running a quick errand or out to my car. I wore them when we went bird watching in the thick mud and they were great and super easy to clean. I wore them to the rainy, outside Lupe Fiasco concert and they were comfortable and warm to stand in all night. I wore them on this day after Christmas when it snowed a bunch and Joel and I were clearing the 3 feet of snow off the sidewalks and our cars. I wish I'd taken them to Santa Cruz this past spring for the cool evenings and mornings there.

I have a testimony of these boots because they are cute and very functional. You can find them in lots of internet stores, but I like Piperlime cus they have free shipping and free returns.

immature

Am I the only person who, whenever presented with the phrase 'we're trying to get/want to get pregnant', can't help but think about that particular couple doing it?

(I'm not a pervert.)

having a party

In case I missed you on Facebook or in person, tonight is the 3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving Party. So please stop by with a pumpkin to carve if you're in the neighborhood!

Because two years ago there were lots of people in a little room,

Tom Waits,

and super cool jack-o-lanterns.


Last year's party included Halloween colors,

a grumpy baby Morgan,

and pumpkin carving (of course).

I'm excited to see what happens tonight...

family snapshot

After the race last weekend Sterling and Megan and Garrett came to Salt Lake for a visit. Which means I got to take pictures of 2 nephews at once.


It's funny that these boys who are not even a year apart in actual age, are so far apart in baby age. Morgan only mauled Garrett once or twice and he did fairly well with attention being directed only partially his way. Especially once he realized that interacting with Garrett made him a real crowd pleaser.


It was also fun to see that my mom had pulled out Sterling's old blanket for Garrett to take home.

The story goes (I believe) that when Sterling was little he wore through his baby blanket. My mom decided to make him a new one and stick the remains of the old one inside it, so he could still have the old one. The new blanket sat on the quilting frame for a while so Sterling could peak through the two sides and make sure the other one was still there. Once he felt good about it, he allowed my mom to go ahead and make the new STERLING blanket.


And I decided that when I have kids I'm totally going to spell out their names on not only their blankets, but on EVERYTHING.

Also, cousin attack!

great escape

Okay, picture time hommies.

This is Van 1 at the start line.

This is apparently stretching.

And this is Kevin about to pass (and smoke) this other guy.

This is an improvement upon my gorilla run.

This is my favorite picture.

This is Megan starting out in the desert.

And this is the whole team reflecting everywhere.

This is sibling pride.

This is what the middle of the night looks like.

This is Van 2.

And this is what being done looks like.

These are mamas.

These are friends.

This is the finish line.

And this is the reward.

morning bell

The Vegas race was a success for our team. We finished in under 28 hours and everyone is happy and home.

I have some photos to post, but I feel like I can't talk about the race without first including the sad news that a runner was killed during it. Our second van would have been finishing up their final legs when it happened so we heard about it after we got to the finish line as the rumor, and then confirmation, made its way around. It happened in Henderson on Saturday morning. Jeremy Kunz was giving his runner support on the side of the road when he was struck by a drunk driver and killed. More details here. This was his third Ragnar relay and he was on a team with his wife and other family members. It was somber news and the last thing you imagine happening during an event that seems so light and fun. The nice thing is that there seems to be really lovely support to the family. There are so many people connected to the Ragnar series, so many people who have participated in races, that it feels like a community is really coming together to offer condolences and asking about ways to help.

After the race our Osmonds team went on with our post-race activities...showers and naps and laughing about each others' sore legs walks, eating a rewarding and hefty dinner and sleeping like rocks on Saturday night in amazing hotel beds. It was probably pretty close to how other teams spent their time too. And normally no one would have thought twice about it. But I think most of us ended up thinking more than twice about it since we all knew it ended so different for team Wanabees. I know there is a lot of heartache and a lot of questions in the future for the Kunz family and friends. And I know there isn't any immediate good that comes from a tragedy like this one. But driving home yesterday I was aware and thankful that the van full of faces I went with were all coming home with me too. I have been more thoughtful about our safety during this race and the 4 we've done before it. I am touched by competitors and strangers rallying around a mourning family. They are all nice reminders that while mortality is always close by, so is kindness.

stressed out

Bob at work just told me to google 'I am' without pressing enter afterwards:

Oh man, I love the internet.

In other news, we're off today for Vegas! And I even think I packed efficiently using just one small bag (this is a big deal for me, I'm the worst packer ever). Plus I think that the worry/stress has worn off and the road trip and sun and running fun parts have sunk in. This is my 5th Ragnar race so you think I'd be a more normal human being about them by this point...but nope. Total headcase! So much fun for the other 6 people in the van down with me!

a good kind of crazy

So I will find out more about Caitlin's dress for all interested persons...cus yeah, amazing.

However this week's focus is not weddings, but rather, running. During the fun and excitement of Wasatch Back in June, Aaron convinced me and 10 others to do the Vegas version of the race in October. At the time I thought, "Of course! Look how much fun we're having! It'll keep me in shape!"

Now, 4 days before the race I feel a bit differently. We've been frantically scrambling and scrambling to find a last minute replacement for the team and YESTERDAY got one. Then big shocker...I haven't been training very much. And finally, this is the first time anyone has done this race so it's a little stressful (to me) to go into it with so many unknown variables.

But of course, on the flip side, I will get to see nephew Garrett since his mama is running. Since we ran Wasatch Back we get special finish line medals that read "Saints to Sinners". And while Ted Danson will live forever, our Vegas t-shirts are also awesome.

Oh yeah, and it'll be like 80 Degrees in Vegas so I'll get some sunshine since Utah decided to be winter already. So I guess the pros outweigh my grumpy cons.

In fact, anybody want to run the Northwest Passage next July?!

wedding bells

So Nate married Caitlin on Tuesday. Or as this watermelon says, Nat married Caitlin on Tuesday.

It was a delightful day because they are two great people.

And Caitlin wore the World's Most Adorable Dress.

And these jokers were all around.

There were cans of Diet Coke at the reception.

And enough old friends to make Aaron smile and shake hands 1 million times.

Plus also, a sparkler send off (which is my favorite kind of send off).