Pumpkin Carving

Nathan and Joshua spent days before our pumpkin carving "sketching" options. Here's Nathan's final copy...that Greg used in carving. (I think all the "P"s on the drawing are from when he declared it "perfect".)

Joshua's Halloween Party

What a great year for both Joshua and Nathan to have a fun place to go for a Halloween celebration.  Joshua's preschool did a really cute job on their Halloween party.  Maybe I'll record more of what they did later for duplication purposes.  =)  We stayed for the first 20 minutes to hear several Halloween songs they'd practiced and to give each child a chance in the middle of the circle to "introduce" their costume.  You can also see their Jack-O-Lantern trick-or-treat bags they made.  Each of the 18 children brought 18 "sugar free treats" to share.  They took turns "trick-or-treating" around the room to collect their surprises.  Joshua took little erasers, and came home with a bag full of everything from juice boxes to a small homemade monster matching game.   

Joshua having his turn in the middle of the circle.  His teachers are the one in the pumpkin suit and the lady with the cowboy hat and mustache!

Nathan's Halloween Party

I got to go in to the school for Nathan's class Halloween Party. What a great glimpse into first grade!

Please note Nathan's teacher and student teacher in really cute matching Crayon costumes...and Nathan's great friend, Mayu, on the front row as a pink flamingo!

Nathan with his friend Zac in their matching costumes!

A very creative twist on fruit for the party.  One mom cut out apples and cantaloupe in the shape of bats, pumpkins, and cats.  A very cute idea I hope I never do myself!  =)  She used clay cutters for the shapes.

Joshua as SUPERMAN!

No Strings Attached!

The Muscle Flex

Nathan the Spooky Skeleton

Nathan was going to be his favorite soccer player, Landon Donovan, this year until we happened on to the great skeleton costume.     

Nathan's favorite thing to do after school to "unwind" is ride his bike.  Unfortunately we don't really have a great "loop" of sidewalk, so Nathan does laps around our home.  I think by now "off-roading" is part of the excitement.  Here he is killing time until we the trunk-or-treat...cruising through the back yard.

Our Dainty Girl

Elizabeth's favorite animal noise to imitate is a pig.  She's a great little snorter.  So, I was excited when initially I found a cute pig costume for her to wear for Halloween.  After my mother gave me a bit of a hard time about not doing something more dainty...I went to Old Navy determined to make the most of finally having a girl to dress up! 

When Elizabeth tried on this lovely outfit in the dressing room, she could tell it was something special.  After carefully checking herself out in the mirror, she said what anyone at our house wearing an important dress-up says, "HIIII-YAHHH!"  "HIIII-YAHHHH!  "HIII-YAHHH!"  (In her best little karate voice!)  Nathan tried to quickly help recover things by teaching her how to twirl...and Joshua gave her a little talk about looking "soo pretty".  But, it's pretty evident that no matter how much we try to girly this girl, she's always be a girl with two brothers as her "super heroes".  

 

Sweet Dreams!

We've had a great Halloween!  (I don't think our kids know it's actually tomorrow...and I'm not going to be the one who tells them!)  With Nathan as a Skeleton, Joshua as Superman, and Elizabeth as a Fairy/Princess/Girly-Dressed-Little-Thing we've had a lively time.  This is how we found Joshua when we checked on him before we went to bed (after our ward's trunk-or-treat).  It's just so totally him!  This holiday wouldn't have nearly the magic it does for us without this imaginative little guy!

Life's Real

 

Not this week but last was filled with four of us having the stomach flu...me first!  (Beginning the morning of our Primary Program...that I was in charge of!)  By the time we recovered...it was time to send Greg off for a Friday night, all day Saturday Scout training.  I was excited to let Greg sleep in Sunday morning...and then going to Stake Conference.  But, our boys were up at 5:15 p.m. and by 7 a.m. Nathan had (laying in bed) taken apart a flashlight and stuck a ring-shaped piece of metal around his finger…that wouldn’t come off.  I woke Greg up and he tried soap and cold water and even vegetable oil.  But, the edges of the metal were sharp and the “ring” was too small.  An Urgent Care visit and a “really cool tool” later…we dashed off to conference! 

Bowling

In an effort to help increase kind words and helpful behavior (that's a really nice way of putting it) we've had Nathan and Joshua earning marbles. They each got to pick their own reward for when they filled their jar. (They've been earning since before school started.) Nathan got a set of new Lego wheels, and Joshua got to go bowling. We all reaped the benefits of Joshua's accomplishment!

One Off the "Bucket List"

As you probably know, a "bucket list" is a current "buzz" phrase for a list of things you want to do before you "kick the bucket." A few Sundays ago, our family made a "family bucket list" around the dinner table. Nathan's top item was getting to ride in an "SRT".

Some of Greg's favorite memories as a child are when his dad would get to bring home a fun car for a few days from Chrysler. I think it's always been a dream of Greg's to do the same for his own boys.

Instead of riding the bus home from school today, Nathan knew that Greg was going to pick him up from the “car loop”. What he didn’t know was that he’d be picking him up in a Dodge Challenger “SRT”. Sounds like by the time Nathan figured out it was Greg in the car he was jumping up and down! So fun to have a dad and a boy come home “pumped” together!

(Out the sun roof.)

 

All of us have gotten in on the excitement.  But you can see that Nathan had in mind several "shots" he needed to have taken with the car.  We'll have a great week riding around in it and return it next Monday.

Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

Today we had a really fun time going with Joshua's pre-school class on a field trip to a local farm. We got to do a corn maze, pick a pumpkin, play on hay bales, and drink cider made at the farm. What a perfect fall day!

Joshua playing in the hay and picking pumpkins with his friend, Patrick.

 

Just can't get over what a beautiful place this is to "do" fall!

Kid Craft Space -- Details

I was inspired by this family's organization board on "The Idea Room"...and wanted to have a spot in our house to help keep my brain straight!  With not quite so many kids to keep track of...I thought we could all fit on this little calendar (just found it at Staples).  It's magnetic, so I just mounted each person's activities on a different color of card stock, and then added a little magnet to the back.  Wish I could say it meant that I'd stopped forgetting things!  But, at least we're reducing the probability right?!

Nathan's class participates in the "Book It" program...where you can earn the Pizza Hut coupons for reading a certain number of minutes daily.  We thought it would be fun if Joshua had a chance, too.  So these are their two calendars of for reading.  If they each fill them up by the end of the month...Nathan will get a coupon from school and Joshua will get a coupon from us.  Good motivation for me...as much as them...to get reading! 

Other things in the crafty space...

The table we're using is just a Sam's Club folding table. I got some fall fabric as a "table cloth" and then just a strip of plastic "picnic table" covering from JoAnn's to cover it.

Above the magnetic calendar are two clipboards...one for each boy.  That is where we hang their latest artwork from school.  It's nice to have one spot...so when something new comes home I am forced to take the old one down and either chuck it or put it in a "keepsake" spot.  My new goal is, "Keep things well or don't keep them at all."  (We'll see how long it lasts.)  I've Modge Podged them with scrapbook paper to make them slightly decorative.
 
It's been fun to "project" again a little...especially to create something I think will help our lives run a little more smoothly.  Now back to the reality that is my life...the dishes, the laundry, and maybe even the children!  =)

General Conference

Well...what a great General Conference weekend.  (True confession...we didn't manage a "King Benjamin" tent...but that's probably safer considering what happened to the last "King Benjamin" item we constructed.)

Two things I remember being General Conference traditions when I was a child are:

Pulling out my brother John's old gray shoe box full of Lego's, and building while we listen.  So fun to have my three "boys" sit around the table "constructing" together this weekend.

Making "Conference Treats".

We'd roll mini marshmallows in butter and then a cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Then we'd flatten tube biscuits into little pancakes, place 8-9 marshmallows in the center of each, and gather then sides up...hiding the marshmallows in the center.  We'd them dip the pinched end in butter and put them in a muffin tin to bake. 

Magically while cooking, the marshmallows disappear and leave a gooey sweet "empty" roll behind.  They're still as good as I remember!  And the "magic" fun to pass on to the next generation.  =)

So Much Fun...We Had to Try Another

Monster Rap

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Our Monster Mash!

We've had a crazy week!  See the evidence below!  (You'll want to turn off the music at the bottom of the blog before you push play.)

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October "Falling Leaf" Tree

I was checking one of my favorite blogs and saw this fun idea for making fall leaves from melted crayon shavings and waxed paper.  We decided to try our own.  Some are hanging from the ceiling and get especially exciting when the heater turns on and the air blows them around.

I also read an idea in a "bulletin board" book that suggested making a tree with 31 leaves...and having one leaf "fall" (and get re-placed on the "ground" below) for each day of October.  We made our tree from a brown paper bag.  It has little branches so that as the leaves disappear it will look like the "bare" tree it's supposed to be.  =) 

Autumn--Knocking at Our Door

Winter is an etching,

Spring a watercolor,

Summer an oil painting and

Autumn a mosaic of them all.

~Stanley Horowitz~

(Beautiful fall creeping in on the street where we live.)

In Her Monkey Suit

When Elizabeth saw this outfit today she started saying "EEE! OOO!" and scratching under her arms. This girl loves monkeys! It's no wonder a bit of animal print had her convinced she was one!

Can a face get sweeter than this?!

 The knowing look in her eyes is becoming more clear each day...and it means only one thing...

Mischief!!

Under Dog!

Summer Summary

Nathan was asked early on in school to create a t-shirt of something he did this summer.  I just love that our great trip out West (that I've agonized for months over how to properly "record") my 6 year-old has managed to document so well in one darling drawing!  (The spelling is my favorite!)

Science Museum Adventure

Our library has "museum passes" you can check out that get you in free a several great local spots.  Nathan had the day off of school on Friday, so we decided to go on a little "adventure".

 The T-Rex and the Chicken (?)

Digging for bones

 Curiosity and a determination to learn come in all sizes!

 Nathan loves to play with his Webkin -- Slink.  (A pet on the computer.)  One of the games he loves to play is a "Gem Hunt".  He's got a collection of amazing gems on the computer...and somehow it made the gem collection at the museum the most exciting exhibit of the day!  (Who'd have guessed?!)  This is Nathan by the "Glow in the Dark" (fluorescent) Gems!