Once again, the Wolfley clan waited until the last minute to get completely ready for Halloween! Thanks to a good friend, my three youngest children were happily bedecked in hand-me-downs, but Breje had too chose a costume herself and she just couldn't decide what to be! ( I wonder where she gets that problem?) In case you're not sure, she is a Go Go dancer. That was the last costume left in her size in our entire town. I am so happy that she was actually thrilled with it! We found her some really fun fake eyelashes to go with it (I wish I would've got a close up! She looked very Goldie Hawn from Laugh-In) and threw on her favorite hat and I think she looks pretty great! Spidey is actually Trayson in disguise and Kutter has been dying to be a Fire-fighter ever since fire prevention week at preschool. It took awhile to get Brielle to let us take her picture It took awhile to get Brielle to let us take her picture, even though she was absolutely thrilled with her costume. This one pretty much captures her mood the entire night. I didn't think she'd really grasp the concept of the costume, or the trick or treating so we forced this quick picture in anticipation that she would refuse to wear the costume very long and just beg to go home. I was so so wrong.

This little bug made it very clear that she felt adorable in her costume and that she should share her cute-ness with the world! She did the rounds at the trunk or treat a couple times and refused to let anyone else actually touch her bag of candy, saying "I hold it" or "mine" any time someone came close. By the end of the night she actually had "trick or treat" and "thank you" down at the appropriate times, but she spent most of the evening muttering "more, more, more, candy, more". It was hysterical, and a little bit disturbing! Does she look at all like she's on a sugar high?

Black and Blue

... and purple and green, and yes--a little bit pink! Trayson's played how many rough and tumble soccer games, football games, and basketball games, not to mention the numerous wrestling matches between him and his brother, and gets this fabulous shiner playing soccer with one other kid right in our front yard! This is just a couple hours after it happened. It got quite a bit more colorful by the next day, but he was feeling less cooperative so these will have to do. His dad says he looks tough! What do you think?

Have you ever taken a step back and looked at your life and thought maybe you were a little more blessed than you ought to be? That's how I've been feeling lately. I've had my fair share of stuff to deal with, but I have always been really blessed with the amazing people in my life. Anyone who knows me knows how wonderful my family is (yes, I like to brag). Well, the best part about military life is the incredible friends I've made over the years. To me, it's more proof that Heavenly Father knows each one of us as individuals. He knows I'm gonna need help! I think He especially knew how much I didn't want to move here, and from day one I've been able to call the best women in this town my friends. This lovely ladies have helped me millions of times -- they've taught me how to be a better wife, mother and friend, loaned me good books, shopped with me, consumed tons of calories with me, laughed with me, and even cried with me on occasion. As if that weren't enough they just threw me a fabulous birthday party. Yeah, that's right, I turned 33 this year and I got a party complete with tons of friends and the perfect cake (Caramel chocolate cheesecake, to be exact. Do they know me or what?!) I'm feeling pretty loved these days! Here's a picture of the beautiful ladies that made it. To those who couldn't come -- the food was worth having your picture on the Internet! We missed you!
Angie made the fabulous cake. We laughed at her a bit, because it took some muscle to cut through all that caramel! I'll copy the recipe at the end, because joy like that should definitely be shared!

I tried to get tons more pictures, but apparently my camera was having a very bad day. I'm sure all my friends will be very disappointed that the pictures I took of them eating all that good food did not turn out and make it to my blog! I did manage to get it working again so that I could take a picture of my fabulous presents all gathered together. Again, I feel so loved! Thank you all so much!

Caramel Chocolate Cheesecake

INGREDIENTS

2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

30 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs

DIRECTIONS
In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Mix well and press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Pour on melted caramel/pecan mixture and chill for 30 minutes.
To make the Caramel Filling: In a small saucepan, combine caramels and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Stir in chopped pecans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
In the top of a double boiler, heat chocolate, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold 1/3 of the filling into the melted chocolate, then pour the chocolate mixture back into the filling and mix until no streaks remain. Pour into crust.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until center is almost set. Place a pan of water on rack underneath cheesecake as it bakes to help keep it from cracking. Cool in oven with door cracked open. Refrigerate at least 5 hours before serving. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to US!

I can't believe it has been 5 whole years since Kutter surprised me with an early birthday present -- coming over two weeks early the day before my birthday! It's hard to believe that sweet, dimpled baby boy is already so old, but he is still constantly surprising us-- usually with mischief, but quite often with his sweet charm as well. I am so grateful that I've been able to share my birthday weekend with him ever since!
I totally messed-up and sent the pictures of his friend birthday party home on my Mom's computer (that's what I get for being such a lazy blogger). Let's just all assume that it was a fabulous party because I am so creative and talented and just the best mom ever1
Anyway, I did manage to save some pictures of the main event-- our birthday weekend with family. We were lucky enough to get Grandma, Grandma, Uncle Cody, Aunt Amy, and cousin Simon here for 3 whole days! We got presents, literally, the second everyone walked in the door. Can you tell how excited Kutter is? My birthday demand was a day of shopping and good food in Boise with my mom and Amy. Unfortunately, this meant bringing 5 kids along, as well. This picture pretty much tells the story of how thrilled we all were with the entire situation by the end of the day...

... on a positive note, despite tantrums, arguments, meltdowns, and lots of messy faces (Grandma brought out yummy bribes in full-force) we all got some pretty great buys. Especially me! Yay me!

Grandpa and Cody came through big time this weekend, spending most of their trip converting the boys' beds into bunk beds (pictures to come if we ever get it stained!) and then building the "kids" a rocket to launch in the back yard. That was a definite hit with everyone!

The best part of the whole weekend was watching the kids get to spend some serious bonding time with their cousin. It's been over a year since we've had these guys here, and it really meant a lot to me to see how well they get along! Trayson has always had a pretty strong bond with Simon, and this time Kutter was able to form a pretty great friendship with him, as well. Don't they look so deceptively sweet?

I think Simon, who is usually surrounded by little girls, really relished all the time he had to get out his aggression with Kutter. They were constantly wrestling, driving cars, and just being really really boyish. It was also a very pleasant surprise to see how much Simon and Brielle enjoyed each other. She just adored him the whole time and she clearly brought out his sweeter side!

Thanks, you guys, for packing so much into one weekend just for me and Kutter. For making that long, boring drive, and for making us feel so special!

Travis, Hayley, and girls, Just so you know, you were here in spirit-- especially when we were eating good food, shopping, laughing at dad, and listening to Momma Mia! We missed you!

The Pumpkin Patch

Kutter's preschool had the opportunity to visit the local pumpkin patch yesterday, so Brielle and I tagged along. They had a mini-maze for the kids, a tower of hay, bins of corn for the kids to play in, and then everyone got to choose their very own pumpkin to take home. (Kutter made me carry around the biggest one he could find!) Then we all loaded behind the tractor for a bitter cold hay ride and a picnic lunhc. The kids didn't seem to notice that it was positively freezing-- and eventually even Brielle convinced me to let her play in the corn. They had a blast!

Daddy's Little Girl

Jody has the day off, and nobody is enjoying it more than Brielle. She has a special smile that she saves just for him and it melts my heart everytime I see it. I'm so grateful that Jody has such a special relationship with each of our kids! Seeing that joy on her face really brightened my day, so I just had to share.

Brielle is still constantly keeping us on our toes. Her latest thing is to wake up early -- right in the middle of getting Breje and Trayson ready for school. I think she knows that I am only half awake and really distracted, so she'll be able to get away with more. It's totally working! I was doing Breje's hair on Friday and was tired of dragging Brielle out of all the bathroom drawers and it didn't take her long to figure out that I wasn't paying much attention to her. All of a sudden Breje looked down and just started laughing. This sweet face is what she saw...

...apparently she already knows where the eyeshadow goes (sort of)! The worst part is that, as soon as she saw me with the camera, she gathered up the rest of her contraband (a shirt from the dirty clothes, a couple hangers, lipstick, and a bottle of lotion) to pose with for her picture.

Then there's Kutter. I got home from Trayson's football game on Saturday to learn that Kutter had been particularly difficult, so I decided to ask him about it. I said, "Kutter, what happened today?" His response? "I made a decision to be more obedient to you and Dad." So what am I supposed to say to that?

TOUCHDOWN!

Trayson scored his very first touchdown today! It's an especially huge accomplishment considering his team had only scored one touchdown in his previous four games! Today was their fifth game and they finally scored touchdowns 2 and 3, resulting in their very first tie. Trayson ran the second one in from only the 10 yard line. I don't think I've ever seen him run so hard for so long! His team regarded him as a true hero! During the car ride home, Trayson told me that this was the greatest day of his entire life!