Witches Night Out!

Witches, witches, everywhere! The girls and I went to the Gardner Village's Witches Night Out with a bunch of friends last night, and it was SPECTACULAR! We did have to stand in line for an hour for food, but the scones were absolutely worth it! What really got me excited, though, were all the AMAZING hats! Oh, my gosh! Those hats were sooooo darling! The little girls loved all the witch displays, and we moms and teens were happiest browsing all the charming shops. Top it all off with gooey, delicious carameled apples, and you have some truly happy witches. Next year, I'm definitely working on making some fabulous hats for us! My favorite "coven" was the group of Red Hatters in full witchy costume. So cute! I didn't have time to snap a picture, though, so you'll just have to take my word for it. If you've never gone before, you really should plan on it for next year.
This is absolutely going to be a new tradition for the Riley Girls!

New blog - just for fun!

I had a little too much free time this week, so I started a new blog. Please go check it out and tell me what you think!

Martha Made Me Do It

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Lindsey's Baptism

Our sweet, adorable 8 year old was baptized and confirmed yesterday by her Daddy. She was, of course, a little nervous and very excited! She's such a sweet, friendly, little girl! We had almost all of our combined families there to witness this sacred event, including Kent's mom and stepdad from Washington. Lauren gave a cute - and short - talk on baptism in honor of her little sis, and Emily made sure Lindsey got thoroughly dunked. :)
I loved seeing my little Lindsey take this big step on her spiritual journey. I'm not sure how much of it she really understands at this point, but I know that she will eventually grasp the significance of yesterday's events. Right now, the experience of having her (large) family there- just for her- is still a profoundly important message that she is loved tremendously by a lot of people. My hope is that she'll feel and recognize the Holy Spirit's presence strongly in her life, and find comfort in the gift of repentance. The rest will develop over the months and years ahead.

Happy 8th Birthday, Lindsey!

It's official - our little blondie is 8 years old!
Birthdays are huge in the Riley home, and this one was no exception. After I scoured Target's dollar bins for MONTHS to find Hello Kitty trinkets, Lindsey announced that she reeaalllyy wanted a Halloween theme. Hmmmm....Okay. How about a witch party? Can I puuhhlleeesse have a sleepover? I'm old enough now. Plleeeaaasssee, Mommy?

Oh, dear.

So, Friday night, a dozen or so little witchies descended on our (haunted) house for games, goodies, and ghoulish fun. We made candy bracelets, whacked a pinata, hunted for ghosts, and watched a movie until 8 little girls (some got homesick around 10pm) plus 3 teenagers (under the guise of helping with the party) finally fell asleep on the family room floor. One would think that staying up until midnight would make little witchies tired enough to sleep in. One would be very VERY wrong. At the crack of dawn - okay, 7:30 - a great noise woke Kent and I from our slumber. UUggh.
Apparently, little witchies don't know how dangerous it is to wake teenaged witchies from their beauty sleep. Especially by kicking them. Yeah.
All in all, Lindsey proclaimed this birthday to be a success, and immediately began planning her ninth. Meanwhile, we're trying to impress upon her the serious and sacred nature of her upcoming baptism this Saturday.
She just really, really likes her new dress.