Irion Fam

You gotta love Halloween. I've always thought Halloween was the bomb but since I've had kids I think it is even cooler. It is just too much fun looking through costumes and finding some for your kids. It is even better this year because Grace is in love with her costume and might be wearing it for a couple more days. Don't be surprised if you see her in it at Stake Conference this weekend. Frankly, it is not a battle I care about winning.
Duncan, on the other hand, can't wait to get out of his getup. It makes me sad it makes him so hot because he looks adorable in it. It was such a hit with the ladies yesterday that he won a costume contest at the med school. How could you not award this little face though???

Seriously, I love the fall. I love the fall for the crisp feeling in the air, for the leaves changing colors, for the start of sweater and coat wearing season (Yahoo!), and for those rare days where it is so warm you can't help but be outside and enjoy yourself. We had one of those rare days this past weekend. It was so beautiful. You couldn't stay inside without feeling bad about wasting the weather. We took full advantage of it by going with our friend's the Leavitts, packing up the kiddos and heading up to a farm 30 minutes north of our house. We had a great time letting Grace pet and feed the animals, play in a mini-maze, jump into a big pile of hay, going on a tractor ride to a pumpkin patch, bowling with pumpkins, and swinging on swings. I'm not one to get too sappy on a public blog but I will say that it was a day I hope not to forget. Grace was so happy and the weather was so perfect and Duncan and Ricky were so cute, it was just great. Okay, it was great until Grace practically stuck her whole hand in a goat's mouth and got bit. She still has the little bite mark to prove it. Don't worry though, on the way home we asked her if she wanted us to stop by McDonalds and get her some chicken nuggets. Her response: "Yes, chicken nuggets help my finger feel better." Such little things to make her happy. My other favorite comment from her came when she saw the rabbit in a cage. "Eww, rabbit poo! Wear a diaper." Enough said.

Disclaimer: Before I begin, I'd just like to say that any reference to me as an "okay wife" or "good wife" or "great wife" is merely from my estimation. Let’s be honest, Ricky better never say I'm just an "okay wife."

So, for as along as I've known Ricky, and I am sure for years before I entered the picture, Ricky's family and extended family have had an ongoing doughnut tradition. Each year, after the two Priesthood sessions of conference, Ricky's family gathers together to eat homemade doughnuts and talk about what everyone learned from the conference. All the ladies in Ricky's family gather during priesthood to eat soup together and make the doughnuts. Even though this has not always been my tradition, I really love and admire it. It is a tradition that is steeped in laughter, happiness, love, family connection, and spirituality. I think it is a rare gift to hear your brothers, dad, uncles, cousins, and grandpa talk about conference and tell you want they learned. It is a tradition I am sad to miss because we live in Wisconsin.
Anyway, it has always been one of Ricky's favorite traditions but I have never really come through for him. I mean, I've sort of come through. We've been married for six year and every year I've bought some wonderful doughnuts for Ricky. One year I even thought I was quite the wife because I went out of my way and bought Krispie Kremes. Ricky has NEVER complained but I knew the tradition wasn't the same without homemade doughnuts.
I've always shunned away from making them though because I am freaked out with hot oil. I mean, that stuff is lethal. So, yesterday afternoon I was outside with some neighbors and after I told my friends about my attempt at replicating Ricky’s tradition with my store bought doughnuts one of my friends told me doughnuts were actually easy to make and she would help me. Yes! I had a chance to move from "okay wife" to "fantastic wife." And that is definitely what happened. Last night five of my friends came over and we turned my kitchen into a doughnut making factory. I was so proud of us. We made glazed, powdered sugar, and cinnamon sugar. Plus, we made enough doughnut holes to last us until next conference. (Well, not that long because they are too tempting and way TOO easy to pop in your mouth.)

The doughnut tradition has finally made it to Wisconsin. It was a real treat to see Ricky come in to see homemade doughnuts. I know they are not exactly like home (We made some from biscuits. Way easy and really good.) but they were at least homemade. Ricky ate three in minutes so I think we succeeded!
(I have no idea why my arm looks like it is dislocated.)

Next challenge in becoming perfect wife: eggs-a-la-goldenrod. I promise, that's coming!

This has been such a fantastic month. California twice in one month is my kind of month. Can we do this all the time?? We had such a terrific time. We were able to spend about a half an hour at the beach on Tuesday and Grace had the time of her life chasing seagulls and running away from the water. Andrew would run with her down to the water and she would yell, "No, no, don't go into the river." She's a character and Duncan is such a charmer. Ahh, fat little babies are the best.



Could you ever get sick of lookin' at this little pudge??

DISNEY!

How could I pass up the chance to blog about my favorite place on earth: Disneyland! Honestly, it truly is the happiest place on earth. That phrase is more than a slogan to me. Ricky, Grace, and I were able to go to Disneyland with the whole Irion clan last week. Yup, all 22 of us walked around Disneyland and lived in Fantasyland until we thought we deserved a room there. There were nine grandkiddos and 13 adults. That is quite a crowd. I loved the look on the Disney worker's face when she asked how many in our group and we responded "22." Yup, we practically had the entire Casey Junior Train to ourselves. It was a blast.

I honestly can say that Disneyland is my all-time favorite vacation spot. Pooh, pooh to beaches and relaxing. My idea of fun to getting to Disneyland before it opens, running to Splash Mountain, walking on most rides, eating a churro while watching Fantasmic or the fireworks, staying until the park closes and then getting up and doing it all again the next day. Ahh, bliss.
Now, this trip was a little different because we brought baby Grace. (We actually only had Grace and Duncan stayed home and had a party with Grandpa Hutch and Nana Deb.)

Yup, first time with kiddos changes the pace a little. I will be honest, when we walked in the park and Gracie saw Minnie Mouse for the first time I actually teared up a bit. No joke. Ricky started laughing at me. I think Graced loved Disneyland. I say "think" because we had to cover her ears for most rides for her to enjoy herself She is a little scaredy-cat and found the loud noises a little too much. She did love Dumbo, the Teacups, and the new Toy Story ride. She also loved to ride Casey Junior and the train around Disneyland. She loved seeing the characters and even though she would never look at the camera when she needed to, she still had a great time.

Thank you so much Rich and Gloria and fam. It was a blast! Ahh, I can't wait to go again. Oh wait, I'm leaving again on Tuesday to go with the Hutchison clan. This is my kind of month.

Duncan
Just wanted to remind everyone that we do have two children. Duncan didn't make it to Disneyland but he still had a blast. He got to hang out with Nana and Grandpa and was the hit of every party. According to my dad, Duncan is the "light of his life." He and my mom just fell in love with this chunky little guy. In fact, here is a conversation I had with my dad when I got home:
Dad: "Katie, I think you're very mean."
Katie: (completely shocked) "WHY?"
Dad: "Because your mom can't have children anymore and you can so you should leave Duncan here with us and go back to Wisconsin and have more babies of your own."
Katie: ??? What???
So, Duncan is a hit with anyone he meets. I mean, who could deny this face!

Russell's D-Day
One other reason the kiddos and I came back to Utah was to see Ricky's brother Russell before he left on his mission to Hamburg, Germany. We had a great time with him in California and loved spending all our time with him. He is one amazing kid and will be an incredible missionary. We are so proud of him and so grateful for his example to our kiddos. Just a shout out of love to this wonderful missionary!