pumpkin time

so, it has been a crazy week as i have been on night shifts for most of it. on wednesday, we finally had time to carve our pumpkins. then we made treat bags for gryffie's joy school party and jonas' fall celebration party. it was lots of fun. the boys look forward to carving the pumpkins each year.

boo and the dancing gorilla

these videos crack me up!

poor jonas getting scared by the crazy gorilla. i told him daddy had a surprise...



the dancing gorilla really likes the kooks!



unfortunately, we returned the monkey suit, but it was fun while it lasted.

carnegie mellon university- thursday

be there, or be square. argyll's revenge is playing at 9:00 pm. this is their show after winning the battle of the bands. for those of you who are unfamiliar, argyll's revenge is a funky-rock band in which my hubby, ben keller, my b-in-l, chris keller, and our good friend, colin pinto-martin plays. i know a few of you have asked to hear their music. they are on facebook and myspace and have several videos on youtube as well. i also have previously posted some short clips on the blog. here are some links:

myspace

video-mimi's coming

fail like a man

scissors

white horses -tribute to the fallen Pgh officers

mimi's coming

happy thoughts

jonas gave his first talk in primary yesterday. it was on the family proclamation. ben helped him and jonas did such an amazing job. i am amazed with how he has changed over the last year. last fall, he wouldn't even get up to sing in the primary program, he was so shy. now he jumps up and can do things on his own. he is looking forward to the program in 2 weeks. i am so proud of the little guy he is becoming and i really think school helps a lot. he is still loving school and gets stickers daily for good behavior. yeah, jomi!

i taught in relief society yesterday as well. the lesson was on president monson's talk "what have i done for someone today?" this was the 2nd time i have taught in relief society. i have horrible nerves, but for some reason, i feel so comfortable and at home when teaching in rs. i think heavenly father is really watching out for me. and guess what, i LOVE teaching. i never thought i would, but i do.

one last thought, 2 weeks ago, we were sitting in our teaching the gospel class for sunday school. patriarch fields is in our ward and he was giving a brief lesson on someone that had touched his life. he spoke of the prophet and had a wedding gift from him when partriach fields and his wife got married. i was so inspired by partriarch fields, so touched by the spirit. and my spririt was lifted to remembrance of something i didn't realize. when i was 16, patriarch fields gave me my patriarchal blessing. i knew he was in my ward, but listening to him made me remember that it had been in that very same room that my blessing was given. i hadn't connected that the ward i am in now was the same ward where that occurred. it was an amazing day and i was so happy to be able to remember it in that way.

porter's place

my friend marie sent me this picture. it's a place in lehi, utah. i love it.

congrats again

to sadie and dustin. saturday night was a ring ceremony/reception held in their honor at the bower hill fire hall. it was a wonderful evening. i was able to eat tons of great food, hang out with wonderful friends and family, and dance with my wonderful best friend carrie! unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries, so no pictures were taken, but again, here is a picture of the beautiful bride and groom.

dinner guests

we had a big dinner party last night for all out of town guests to celebrate sadie and dustin's wedding. grandma kelly offered her home and about 25 of us crashed for dinner, dessert, and a celebration. here are a couple pictures of the night, including the bride and groom and an awesome pumpkin grandma kelly carved for them.



mr. pumpkin



the bride and groom



grandma krashna



cousin nancy and aunt betty



grandma keller



me and portie

here was the menu:
veggies with dill weed dip
warmed brie with apricot preserves on crackers
cool berry soup
chicken salad on rolls
linguine salad
mixed green salad with poppyseed dressing
apple crisp with vanilla ice cream.

yum.

side note: sadie and dustin got married in april, but had a ring ceremony/reception scheduled for saturday night.

one fine day

my portie is 1 today! i can't believe it. he is such a wonderful sweet boy. he is starting to get into everything!!! i love his snuggles, his smiles, the way he giggles and says mama, dadda, and all done. love that boy.

highlights of the day included a pizza/salad dinner with the kellers, including gma and gpa keller who are visiting from colorado. happy birthday sweet porter!

a year in review



my little thumbsucker- day 1



lovin' the daddy



trying to sit up



4th of july



1 year old

zoo, zoo, zoo

we go to the pittsburgh zoo. a lot. the boys love it and i love that they run around and get some exercise. except for porter- he doesn't even walk yet, lazy baby, who i love with all my heart. anyway, here are some wonderful pics of our zoo day (from a while ago, notice the shorts and we aren't wearing shorts anymore...) the boys LOVE the new shark exhibit, and of course, we alway head to the play areas to play first. port was cooperative this day and fell asleep, so we saw all the exhibits, even the stinky monkeys. ahh, i love the zoo!

the prize

i think it is wonderful that president obama won the nobel peace prize. he won the presidency for a reason and he is making great strides towards world peace and helping the citizens of our country become more hopeful during a difficult season. it's an honor.

here's a great article on cnn.

totally rad

each year in pittsburgh, there are radical days. these are days that different venues throughout the city offer free admission days, activities and performances. on sunday, both the children's museum and the aviary had free admissions, so we took advantage. despite the crowds, we had an amazingly wonderful time together. we parked at a meter then walked to the children's museum, then the aviary, and spent some time as well at a little park on the northside of the city. pittsburgh is a beautiful place and i was happy to spend another fun-filled day with my beautiful boys.



my boys



gryffie posing as always



portie



jonas happy to be playin' in the water

the joys of fall

ahh! let me tell you how much i love this time of year- i love the change in season, the cooler weather, the trees changing color, and most of all, the start of a fabulous holiday season! the next 3 months are ones full of numerous celebrations. each year we go to trax farms at the beginning of october. it really helps get me in the spirit of the holidays. some of the fun at trax farms includes lots of games for the kids, the feeding/petting zoo, taking a hay ride to the pumpkin patch, going through the corn maze, sampling the delicious treats available, enjoying time with family, and eating a delicious lunch that mom and dad keller provide for us. so much fun! porter was very well behaved as were the rest of the boys. it is hard to believe that last year at this time, i was just pregnant with port stuff. (harder to believe that he will be 1 in 9 days!!!) anyway, as always, multiple pics of our family fun! please note, i had a tooth infection and was taking high doses of vicodin (hence the glazed look in my eyes!)



jomi's first horsie ride



mr. stylish on the pumpkins



my pumpkin with a pumpkin



yet another attempt at a family photo... neigh impossible, let me tell you

burnt popcorn

i love eating popcorn late at night at work. i have a conundrum, however. if i make a whole bag of popcorn, there is no way i can eat it all. i try to share with my co-workers but they say they don't want any. i try to make one of the single serving bags, and without fail, it burns... oh, well.