Happy Halloween

I'm a little behind here I know, but at least I'm getting these pictures up before Thanksgiving.  There's something about having to upload photos that always delays me...

 

Anyway, we had a fun Halloween last week.  During the day we started our Christmas shopping (hee hee) and in the evening we went trick or treating.  Considering we had no budget for costumes, and I had no patience to make any this year, I was pretty happy they all had something to wear.  :)

 

Alex was excited when I pulled out the Thomas costume.  My mom found this for us at Goodwill four Halloween's ago, and this is the fourth year in a row it's been used.  Alex was excited about it because he LOVES trains right now, BUT he was less than thrilled to put it on.  I bribed him with candy.

Logan's Superman costume consisted of a t-shirt and pajama pants he already owned, and a $1 cape we found at Goodwill.  The best part is that once he put the coat underneath, he bulked up just like he was supposed too.  :)

I was set to make a butterfly costume for Annie out of fabric scraps this year, but when we found this at Goodwill for $4 I was happy; I didn't really want to sew for Halloween.  I'm busy focusing on Christmas!  She still considered herself a butterfly because this little fairy dress had wings on the back.

They were excited to go!

We trick or treat in a different neighborhood every year; we're strange like that I guess.  Anyway, we went to a couple of streets near the church, and ran into two families we are friends with.  The kids had fun trick or treating with their friends, and knocking on the doors of five families we know from church.  After three short cul-de-sacs their bags were FULL.  I couldn't believe it!  Gone are the days when you get one piece of candy per house I suppose.  I remember it being work to get a good bucket of candy as a kid!  :)  As a parent I can't complain, though; it sure went fast.

We unloaded their loot when we arrived home.  They had a LOT of chocolate!  Nobody was complaining.  :)

Happy (late) Halloween!

Parenting Joke

A man came home from work and found his three children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dog.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.

He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, 'What happened here today?' She again smiled and answered, 'You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?'

'Yes,' was his incredulous reply.

She answered, 'Well, today I didn't do it.'

(Side note:  Jim never asks me what in the world I do all day; I just found this really funny.)

Nauvoo Pumpkin Walk

On Saturday we went to Nauvoo so Jim and I could attend the temple.  Our plan was to come home after we'd both finished a session, but that totally changed.  Since we had the kids with us, we were taking turns.  While the kids and I were waiting for Jim we learned that there was going to be a pumpkin walk that evening.  The whole town had carved pumpkins (the missionaries told us there were 900) for the event, and there was to be a costume parade.  We decided to stay, and since we were going to be there later anyway, we also decided to watch the play the missionaries put on every night, "Rendezvous".

 

So after a nice day in the temple, visiting historical sites, and doing everything in the Family Living Center (Logan totally charmed everyone in there), we checked out the pumpkins.  The missionaries were making kettle corn for the whole town and handing it out for free (as well as bags of candy for kids), so we had a yummy snack while we walked around. 

 

There were several of these picture posing spots, and the kids wanted to take a picture at every single one.  We took pictures at two because my hands were pretty busy.

After looking at hundreds of lit up pumpkins, all nicely carved, I decided I should probably take a picture of at least one.

The parade started just minutes after we'd managed to look at all the pumpkins on display.  It was short, but we enjoyed seeing the costumes.  Some groups were throwing candy as well, and the kids came away with a fair amount.

It was getting really cold as the sun went down, so I snapped this final picture and we got in the car.  There were still a couple of bands getting ready to play, and a few other activities, but we were just too cold.

Since we wimped out from the pumpkin walk (but still had an hour of fun) we had some time to kill before the play was due to start.  We snacked in the car and the kids bounced around overwhelming Jim and I.  Once the doors opened for the play, we were inside!  We had another half hour to wait, but everyone was happy because we were warm, and the kids had room to stretch.

I snapped some pictures while we waited before the seats filled up.  Alex LOVED the play.  He was so cute and enthralled with all the songs, and he definitely charmed a few hearts (he had lots of little waves from the acting missionaries throughout).

Annie and Logan were totally enthralled as well.  It was fun to hear the kids' laughter when there were funny parts.

Jim and I had a good time, too.  We made it home VERY late that night, but I think it was worth it.

Pumpkin Decorating

We had plenty of pumpkins to carve this year, but oddly enough, Jim and I weren't in the mood.  I usually carve something fun every year, but didn't feel up to it the night the kids did theirs and haven't found time since.  Oh well.  Maybe I'll carve a Thanksgiving pumpkin.  :)

 

In years past, I've always ended up doing the kids' pumpkins for them because they've always chosen something too complicated to do themselves.  This year I wanted them to do their own. 

 

I drew a picture of Annie's choice on hers and she colored it.  Due to our permanent marker selection, it ended up looking like a Frankenstein lamb.  Too funny.

I wrote 'Boo' on Alex's and he had fun scribbling.

Logan chose this pumpkin on his field trip (see other blog) and was super excited that we were letting him carve it himself.  Jim helped him draw the face and poke some guiding holes.

Jim did have to help him a little bit with the carving (that was one of the toughest pumpkins we've ever carved!), but Logan did it mostly himself.

Alex stuck a red marker in his mouth, and I thought the effect was hilarious.

Here are their finished pumpkins.

Family Evenings

I loaded pictures from my phone last night, so I'm doing a little catch up.

 

Every six months we go to Chuck E Cheese's because we get free tokens for the kids' birthdays and half birthdays.  It works out that they each get a coupon the same month because of the spacing of their birthdays.  Nice!  They each redeem their 20 tokens, and we play for an hour and a half.  It works out to be a totally cost free and fun evening.

 

While Annie and Logan love the kiddie rides, Alex was terrified of them.  These are the only two pictures I took that night.

Safe to say, Alex earned most of the tickets that night because he likes all of the ball throwing, bubble popping, whacking, etc. sort of games.

Another evening, Jim and Logan were having an awesome serious discussion.  I definitely have pregnant brain because I can't remember what they were talking about!  I did attempt some pictures.  Cell phone=blur 

Kids Say

Annie to me, "I have a new recipe for you to make.  First you put in graham crackers really deep.  Then you put in milk.  Then mac n cheese.  Then you put in chicken and cook it.  Then it is ready to eat!"  To which Logan very sincerely replied, "That sounds like a good recipe!"  Annie's response, "It is very yummy.  At least I think it is."

Logan, "When I'm grown up I'm going to open a paper airplane shop!  I will give them away for free because I want to serve kids."

Overheard in Senior Primary (children's class at church), "I was born right at my birth!"

Annie, "I'll show you how to squirt up."  She then proceeded to stand on her tip toes.  She has defined this action as 'squirting' and uses the term frequently. 

Logan while driving toy cars on the back of Jim's birthday shirt, "It's like giving him a back missmage."

You know the clean laundry is in a bad state when your six year old looks at the mountain that is taller than him and says, "Wow!  How did you stack it like that?!"

While running on our elliptical one morning, Annie wanted me to look at something she was doing behind me.  When I told her that I couldn't her response was, "Can you get your eye out?"  She was referring to the 'eyes in the back of my head' that she sincerely believes I have.

Annie was telling me that something was, "...too yittle!"  (AKA little)  I repeated her, "Yittle?"  Then she tried to correct herself, "Luh-yittle!"

Logan, "Can you believe I run faster than Superman?"

Logan when we were learning about the bones in our bodies, "Annie!  Do you want to know how you get a broken leg?!  You fall off of something really huge like a house and then the bones come apart!"

Logan in his prayer one night was expressing gratitude for every member of our family by name and a specific reason he was grateful for them.  He included himself, too.  This is what he said, "Thank you for me cause I'm so smart."

Pop!

I've hit my two favorite pregnancy milestones in the last couple of weeks. 

 

1. I've started to feel the baby move.  I was pretty skeptical when I first starting feeling movement at week 14, but after so many times I knew that's what I was feeling.  I LOVE it. 

 

2. I've pulled out my maternity clothes.  The second one might seem strange, especially since I know I'll be sick of my maternity clothes by the end, but it really did make me happy.  I think pregnant women are totally cute.  So I admire my growing belly all the time; I love seeing that my baby is growing.  My maternity wardrobe is also a lot cuter than my normal wardrobe, so that's part of my excitement.  Plus, this is pretty much the only time I don't want to hide my waistline.  There you have it.  :)

 

I've popped out sooner with each baby.  I didn't even look pregnant this early with my first two kids, much less look this pregnant.  16 weeks.

Jim's Birthday

We celebrated Jim's birthday in two parts.  The first was a fantastic date for just the two of us.  We dropped the kids off at 2pm (on a Saturday) to a wonderfully kind friend, then headed to several places.  First we had ice cream at Culver's.  Then we went shopping for clothes for Jim (my present to him).  We also headed to another store to start some Christmas shopping.  Lastly, we had delicious burgers at Red Robin.  I think we were gone for almost 6 hours!  It was such a nice day together.

 

On the evening of his birthday, we had a nice dinner, cookies for dessert (Jim didn't want cake), and the kids gave him their presents.

 

The first few presents were hilarious.  The kids love to give gifts, so they put various items into gift bags for Jim.  Annie gave Jim one of her hats.

Logan gave Jim a craft he made.

Alex had the 'real' present.

This was sparked from a couple of ideas.  First of all, Jim makes wonderful farm animal noises, and I've been telling him our whole marriage that we needed to get him a shirt with farm animals on it so the kids could push his 'buttons'.  So we took an old shirt and drew the farm animals on it.  The kids had a great time pushing his 'buttons' so he'd made the noises.  Funny.

The back of the shirt was inspired from a post Jim put on facebook recently.  He had a picture of a man wearing a shirt with a road drawn on the back and kids driving cars on it.  It was titled, "How to Get Your Kids to Give you a Back Massage."  I joked then that I knew what to get him for his birthday.  Then we actually decided to do it.  :)

I took some pictures on the days we made the shirt.  I was pretty pleased with my animal drawings.  I have no confidence in my ability to draw, so I looked up some clip art and visually copied them.  Tracing would have been preferable, but was impossible, so I was happy with it.

The kids colored the shirt.

We did the road a different day.  The kids chose what types of buildings were going to be around the road, and then they colored it.

Happy birthday Daddy!

For Papa

This post is especially for my dad.  I promised him I'd take this picture so he could see Logan on his new scooter.  My dad often sends the kids giftcards for their birthdays.  While they enjoy opening gifts, they also enjoy shopping for a gift afterward.  Logan bought this scooter with the giftcard my dad sent him this time and has been having a lot of fun with it.

The reason this one is for my dad is because of what Annie said.  She wanted tight curls for church, so we put sponge curlers in her hair Saturday night.  Once she was ready to go on Sunday, she looked in the mirror and said, "My hair looks like Papa's!"  Funny girl; it really did look like my dad's curls.

General Conference

We had another fantastic General Conference weekend.  What a lovely holiday!  It seems funny that we consider it so, but our family looks forward to it that much.  Here are the kids enjoying the first session yesterday along with snacks.  They really do well considering how many hours we spend watching Conference.  Today Annie even took notes during the last session!  I was super impressed.

I LOVED so many of the talks this weekend.  So many of them spoke to my concerns about our country right now as what we really need to focus on.  These children that were spoken of so much need the right direction!  That was expressed so much. 

One talk that I really loved yesterday was by Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  Here's a quote that is already available (I'm looking forward to all of the talks being available in full text):

"The Savior taught that the first and great commandment is:

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. …

“And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

“On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37, 39–40).

"The Savior’s words are simple, yet their meaning is profound and deeply significant. We are to love God and to love and care for our neighbors as ourselves. Imagine what good we can do in the world if we all join together, united as followers of Christ, anxiously and busily responding to the needs of others and serving those around us—our families, our friends, our neighbors, our fellow citizens."

I love this!  "Imagine what good we can do..."  Really!  Imagine it!  There is SO much good we can do in this world of ours.  We can have such a positive influence!