Remember Clark Griswold and Mary the store clerk?

Back by popular demand, my friends, is another update of what's going on in The Patin Palace. Ok - well I don't really know about demand, but I did promise Heather I would blog - and in fact, I do have some really interesting things to share with you.

First of all, today is Halloween - and by even mentioning it, I'm going against all that I believe in when it comes to this pseudo-holiday. I will save you from any further explanation, but let's just say my reasons are purely economical. Umm...here's this year's punkin -

Brian, a good friend of mine, joined in the carving festivities - his is on the left.
The only good thing about H-------- is when it's over, the holiday season begins. That's right, this weekend we're making the trip in our '85 wood paneled wagon to the rural country to find ourselves an oversized tree only to be stampeded over and burned to a crisp by Cousin Eddie's dog and Uncle Lewis' cigar. (I'm sorry, Christmas Vacation is a holiday must to bring in the Christmas spirit)

I'm sorry - I'm getting too excited for Christmas this year - I have in fact, already watched C.V. once for this upcoming holiday, and plan to this weekend...I'll miss you Steve :(

Back to H--------, our friends the Walkers are known for great halloween (tired of typing dashes) parties - and they hosted their second annual one a few nights ago. Great games and even better costumes made the night one to remember. It's always fun to see what LDS adults come up with for halloween - I'll spare the embarrassment of everyone that was there in hopes that they put themselves up on their blog - This was Heather and me this year -

Okay - well that's actually Erin, who dressed up as Juno (along with her husband Mike, as Bleeker - awesome) and Heather, who dressed up as Erin. As of this past Tuesday, Heather's costume is no longer valid, for the Featherstones added another citizen to this great city of Chicago - A-train.

Everything about this outfit is real.

This past weekend we had the Stahelihs (mispelling intentional) in town from one of the forks in Utah. They're decent people and we enjoyed the company.

In all seriousness, we had the most fun we've had in a while. Other than their appreciation for country music (must be a Kanab thing), it's nice to know Patin Culture is represented outside our 22x16 ft. apartment. (That is not meant to be pretentious, and in fact, I don't know what Patin culture even means...)

We decided to take a lake and river tour on the Wendella - it was pretty good. I would recommend it if you'd like to see Chicago from a different point of view.

Spoon - Chicago at Night...?

Okay, so among doing other things that took an hour and a half - I must move on with my day - stay tuned for further updates from the Griswolds...Patins.

Getting back to blogging...!

So our biggest and latest news is…….We’re going to Cambodia! Yes I know I’ve been saying that since we got married, but it’s really happening! Much credit is due to our friends Juan and Whitney (Juan served with Allen in Cambodia and now lives here in Chicago) for bringing up the idea of going together. We tried our best, but due to our different schedules we will be going in January, and for 3 weeks! Now I’ll be honest, I’m a little scared, and I’ve never been out of the States so I don’t know what to expect of a third world country. But with Allen serving his mission there, knowing the language and the people, I know we’ll be fine! Hopefully we’ll be able to do some good while we’re there (Allen has mentioned of renting beach cruiser bicycles like he had and getting dressed in Sunday clothes while riding around all day to get a feel for what he went through…he says the crazy looks are enough for you to forget about how hot it is).

I whipped up this little number in a couple of days. It’s my first diaper bag - and no, I’m not pregnant, I just fell in love with the fabric and wanted to make something. I’m pretty impressed with how it turned out, considering it’s the first thing I’ve made using a pattern. And the best part is…it’s reversible! Oh, and the label will be the name of my company when I start one!

Last Saturday was the most gorgeous and memorable day all year! Just picture it - it’s clear, sunny, about 72 degrees, with a slight cool breeze…simply breathtaking! I had a couple of hours to spare with Allen studying really hard for tests, so I decided to take a walk and get out and take advantage of these last few days of warmth and sun before the snow rolls in. I took my camera in hopes of savoring these times - Look I’m a tree hugger!

Allen - he’s sweet and thoughtful, but I would never call him selfish except when it comes to sharing my homemade strawberry freezer Jam. Since strawberry season is almost over, it was time to stock up for winter. This weekend I made 8 more jars (you’d be so proud Mom, it’s part of my food storage - that is until Allen eats it all up). I was feeling adventurous so I made a couple jars of raspberry too. Yum – o! (shout out to R.Ray)

So Allen’s family decided to get a Shi Tzu, and initially I had bad thoughts about the whole thing but after Mom and Dad’s visit last weekend, I am hesitant to say… I’m an “Ollie” lover! He’s the cutest puppy I’ve ever seen! But you be the judge…