Halloween Happenings

The last few years I have really wanted to have a family theme for Halloween. In fact, last year I had our costumes all planned out, but I ended up spending Halloween in NC when my Daddy was in the hospital. So this year I thought I would try again. We bought the new "Alice in Wonderland" when it first came out on DVD a few months ago, and we all love it. So when I suggested that we dress up like characters from that movie, everyone was on board. Even Aaron.



Sarah was Alice, Katie was the White Queen, John David was the rabbit, Aaron was the Mad Hatter, and I was the Cheshire cat.



Here we are at the ward Trunk or Treat. Don't you love the satellite in the background? I wish I knew how to fix it. Oh well.



This was as close as I got to a picture of the three of my little sweeties. John David was way more interested in the candy in Katie's bucket than looking at the camera.



He actually went to a few cars to collect some candy for himself. He couldn't manage to say "Trick or Treat", but he did say "Tan tou" (thank you) every time.



I thought he might get scared walking up to this one, but he just collected his candy and did what he did after each time he collected some candy--he wanted to open and eat it immediately.



So after three or four stops, we went back to the truck with Daddy to hand out candy. And he was very content eating what little bit he had collected.



Tonight we went over to the Zachary's for a Halloween party.



Barack, Hillary, and Sarah were even there.



And so was Cindy Lou Whoo. She's so cute! And she's really getting taller. She must be eating her Wheaties.



Andrea and I planned some fun things for the kids to do. First they made haunted houses out of graham crackers.



Then they made some yummy looking caramel apples.



Then the kids went hunting for body parts in the back yard.



John David wasn't quite old enough to appreciate the activities we had planned, but he found plenty of stuff to do at the Zachary's. He really enjoyed playing with their dog, Pipen.



Thanks for a spooktacular night of fun Zacharys!

Celebrating Pumpkins

Today all of the first graders had a Pumpkin Celebration.



Sarah was so excited that she could wear her pumpkin shirt instead of her uniform shirt. And she was excited to see me too. I love that she gets excited to see me.



They started the celebration by listening to a parent read "Pumpkin Soup." Then they got to try pumpkin soup. Sarah wasn't crazy about it, but I thought it was divine, and I asked her teacher for the recipe. I can hardly wait to get my hands on it and make it. Mmmm!



Then they got to try pumpkin punch. This picture cracks me up because it looks like this lady is trying to scare Sarah, but she was actually just trying to convince Sarah to try it.



She wasn't crazy about the pumpkin punch, but I thought it was divine too. I asked for this recipe too.



And I fell in love with the pumpkin that this lady's husband carved to use it as the punch bowl. So cute!



And Sarah's teacher roasted pumpkin seeds for the kids to try too. She didn't like them, but again, I thought they were delicious. I asked for that recipe too. I'm thinking I need to have a pumpkin party myself.



Then the classes rotated and they did different activities in each one.



In this classroom, they tried to guess the circumference of the pumpkin. Then they tried pumpkin cookies. Sarah didn't like them either.



In this class they listened to a story, and then got to try pumpkin pie.



And the verdict......she liked it!



In this classroom they got to feel the inside of a pumpkin. Sarah said it was gross, but she couldn't keep her hands out of it.



Then they listened to another story.



At the end of the day, Sarah passed out these pumpkin cupcakes that she told everyone that she made. :) Such a fun afternoon spent with the cutest first grader I know!

The Pumpkin Patch

Today we went to the Pumpkin Patch with our playgroup friends. John David didn't seem too sure about it when we first arrived.



He just stood and looked around.



I think he was trying to figure out what all of the big orange things were.



I took him over to this cute little area they had set up to take pictures.



But he was so not interested.



He hopped right down..........



...........and ran over and picked up this little pumpkin and said "Ball!" And threw it. And several others before I could get to him. I tried to explain to him that they were not balls, but pumpkins. I don't think he cared one bit. He just wanted to throw the "balls".



I don't think he quite got the point of the games they had set up either. But he did love this little bridge. He must have run across it, and under it, at least fifty times.













Then a nice man offered to take a picture of us. And I let him, because I am trying to include myself in more pictures with my kids.



And I think it turned out pretty cute.



And we took a group picture with all of our little playgroup friends. What a bunch of cuties!



Oh, and my little man has learned to say "cheese" when taking pictures. It's pretty cute, except that he has a funny look on his face when he does it. But at least he's looking at the camera, right?! Oh well.



He's still dang cute anyway!

Nothing could be finer......

........than to be in Carolina with no kids! Ha! Just kidding! Now I love my kids, and treasure the time I have with them, but I have to confess that I did jump at the chance when Johnice offered to keep John David so that I could go to North Carolina with no kids in tow. (Have I mentioned how awesome my husband and his parents are? Yeah, they all pretty much rock!) And I did miss them, but it was so fun to go for a quick trip all by myself. We packed a lot into the few days that I was there. Here are the highlights.

As soon as Melissa picked me up from the airport Thursday evening, we went to the ball field and I got to watch two nieces and one nephew play ball. It was so fun to see them all in action.



Friday morning we got up way too early (4am to be exact) and went to the 6am session at the Raleigh Temple. It was the only time we could squeeze it in.



And it was so worth it! It's not very often that the opportunity comes for me to be able to go to the temple with my family, so I'm so grateful for Neal's wonderful idea to squeeze in a session while I was there.



Here is my sister Melissa, my two younger brothers, Neal and Cory, and my Mom and me. Sure wish my sister Kristie and my two older brothers, Dale and Eric, could have been there. Maybe next time. It was a beautiful day--inside and outside.



After the temple, we went back to Melissa's house and changed and we all went to the NC State Fair. Neal, Cory, Melissa, and their families, and Mama and me.



I haven't been to the NC State Fair since I was a kid, so it was a treat to be able to go again. I did feel really weird being there without my kids though. In fact, I looked around for them several times. They would have had a blast there with all of their cousins. Maybe someday.



We stuffed ourselves silly with all of the delicious fair food. I think we must have tried at least one of everything. And it was all divine! But the best was the fried snickers and the chocolate dipped cheesecake--aka, heaven on a stick!



It was so much bigger than I remember as a kid. There were tons of rides. It was fun to watch the kids having so much fun. And taking pictures of their cuteness. Man, I have the cutest nieces and nephews on the planet! This water ride was the funnest to watch though. Love the expressions on their faces!



Saturday we spent most of the afternoon getting ready for my nieces' Kyleigh and Marleigh's Halloween/Birthday party. We made all kinds of creepy Halloween food and treats. It was lots of fun.



The kids dressed up in their Halloween costumes. They played games and had a spooky good time.



This was the best part of the evening though. Since the party was for both of them, they were also sharing the birthday cake. But they each had their own candles to blow out. While Kyleigh was trying to figure out what to wish for, Marleigh made her wish, and blew out her candles......and her sisters too! Opps! It was so funny!



But the whole reason I made the trip to NC was because my sweet little niece Marleigh called my a few weeks ago and asked me to speak at her baptism. How could I say no to that? Well, I couldn't. She has such a sweet, beautiful spirit, and I was honored that she asked me to speak at her baptism. Sadly though, I had forgotten to charge my camera battery before I left, and it died Sunday just as I was about to take some pictures of this sweet little girl. So I got this one of Marleigh and her Daddy from her Grandma's facebook. Thanks Connie!



Thanks to my sweet MJ for asking me to speak and giving me a good reason to go home to make some wonderful memories with my family! Love you all, and can't wait til next time!