Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet........

We have always gone to Lisa's house for trick-or treating, but this year we decided to stay home. With it being a school night we thought it would be better to get the kids in bed earlier. When Lori Anne heard that we were staying home she said that we should join her boys to go trick or treating on her Mom's street. We had a lot of fun! Judy made us all a delicious meal and then we headed out. There were hardly any kids on their street, I think we only passed about 5. Almost every house was handing out candy & they were giving each kid a handful. By the end of the night Claire's basket was overflowing and spilling out; it was pretty ridiculous. Kate received so many comments from just about every house we went too. Everyone said she was so cute! Her candy basket was getting so heavy, but she would not let us carry it for her. She was a real trooper.

We came home tired and ready for bed. I can't believe the amount of candy we got. We decided to separate all of it & we counted 35 kit kats!

I am so ready for November to be here. The kids dressed up 6 times in their costumes this year. I wish I could say that things will calm down but I have so much going on it makes me tired just thinking of it!

Halloween Parade At School

Busy day at school today! I'm thankful that our school still allows the kids to dress up in costumes but it sure is a lot of work. The entire school has a parade at 10am, so Kate and I decided just to stay at school when we brought Carter & Claire at 8am. We were in Claire's class and Kate had a lot of fun playing with the little kitchen and coloring with Claire. Kate also got to go to recess with Claire & play hopscotch and ring around the rosies. It was fun to see all of the different costumes as the parade. Kate loved going to find Carter where he was sitting with his class. Half way through the parade she was getting pretty cranky so we went home to get lunch & get ready for her nap. Cory came home at noon and they "pretended" to sleep on the couch. It was so nice to have Cory home so I could go back to the school for the parties in Carter & Claire's classrooms. Carter's was first and they played heads up 7 up. His teacher said that the Moms had to play as well. I haven't played that game since I was a kid and it was a lot of fun! Next I went to Claire's class to help them make the spider lollipops and help with her party. Such a busy and tiring day for everyone!

Halloween 2012

Follow The Yellow Brick Road...............

Claire as the witch

Carter as the scarecrow

Kate as Dorothy

Candy Spiders

The room Mom in Claire's class asked if I would come up with a little craft for the kids to do during their Halloween party. I have a million things going on right now, but I really wanted to help her out, so I went to Pinterest and found a fun & easy project. I picked up all of the supplies and everything is ready for the kids to make these cute little spiders. 

Claire's Pumpkin Farm Field Trip

I went with Claire's class on their field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. They were supposed to go last week, but the one day that we had rain this fall was the day they were to go on their field trip! Luckily her teacher rescheduled so that we didn't have to go in the rain. The class rode the bus, but I decided to drive my own car so I could leave early & get Kate down for her nap. We rode on the tractor that took us on a little tour of the farm. Then we saw all of the animals & Claire pet the goats. There was a corn maze, some slides & a hay pyramid too! Most of the kids were brave and went in the Haunted Barn. It was a bit creepy, but I just kept telling Claire that everything was fake. Lastly, they got to each pick a pumpkin to take home. Claire had a lot of fun with her friend Sarah, they go everywhere together.

Halloween At The Eco Station

Today the kids & I went with Lori Anne & her boys to a Halloween party at Stars Eco Station, which is an environmental science museum and wildlife rescue facility. There were a bunch of different booths where the kids played games, made some gak, and colored some pictures. We went into the reptile room and saw lots of huge snakes. One lady was walking around with a corn snake, which the kids could pet. All of my kids touched it & I think Kate liked it the most.

We now have more candy and 3 more pumpkins! Such a fun day!

Trunk Or Treat

This evening was our ward Trunk or Treat and potluck dinner. The Primary Presidency was in charge of this function, so we had to do all of the setting up and getting everything ready. We just finished our Primary Program last week and I felt like that was taking so much of our time and we didn't prepare much for the trunk or treat. It ended up being a great activity and everyone had fun. I heard a comment from someone that it was one of the best functions they have been to in 4th ward.

Can A Character

Carter had a book report due, but this was a different kind of project. They were to pick a book to read & then decorate the outside of a can (oatmeal canister, coffee can, etc) to look like their favorite character. Carter chose to read Magic Treehouse #47 "Abe Lincoln At Last". After they decorated the can they put strips of paper in the can that explained different things about the book. Carter described what Abe Lincoln looked like & why he was his favorite character. I think he did a great job on this project!

"I'm Going Running"

Kate put these headphones on and made at least 10 laps around the house. Each time she would come through the kitchen she would say "I'm going running." She little heart was pumping fast and she was out of breath. It was so cute to watch her "go running."

Kate's New Trick

I was finally able to capture Kate's new trick on camera. She can look out of the corner of her eye & it is hilarious to watch her! I laugh so hard every time she does it. 

Miss Hollywood

Lost Another One

Carter lost tooth #4 today. His top 4 front teeth are also loose. Let's hope they all don't come out at the same time!

Primary Presentation

October 21st finally arrived!! I've been waiting for this day all year. This morning was our Primary Sacrament Meeting Presentation. I was in charge of it this year. I came up with the script, assigned speaking parts, made the seating chart & spent hours making sure everything would run smoothly. And guess what.......it did! It turned out wonderfully. All of the children did an awesome job with their speaking parts and singing. We had an opening duet of "I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus" played by 2 girls on the flute and harp which sounded amazing. Another Primary girl accompanied the children on the piano while they sang "When I Am Baptized."

Claire's speaking part was: "Our theme in Primary this year is Choose the Right."

Carter's part was: "Christ taught us an important part of why we are here on the earth when he showed love for others by healing and serving them and by forgiving those who hurt him."

I gave a couple of the kids a topic to speak on & they wrote their own talks. I was so proud of how well they did.

We received so much positive feedback from the ward members. I received a couple of emails today that made me feel so good.

Marilyn Johnson wrote:

Alyson:
I am guessing you wrote the program this time! You are so quietly amazing. I think this
was the best, most organized Primary Program I have observed. The flow was perfect,
the reverence was amazing and the singing was terrific. I know it takes a whole
presidency to make it happen but you have such great ideas and calmness that it is
conveyed to the children and it was apparent.  Thank you! Although I love Activity Day
Girls, I miss the primary children.  and.....I miss working with you.
Claire did a great job and I love her. Carter is another amazing boy that you can't help
but adore. He is  strong, capable, smart, and wonderful too. His talk was forceful and
perfect. Please tell them since I didn't get a chance to talk to them.
Hugs,
Marilyn

The Primary Second Counselor sent this:

hey Alyson... in case i forgot to mention it, you did a wonderfully awesome job with the program! my mom was raving about it when i got home and i received so many compliments on your behalf for how wonderful it was!!!! you totally rock!!

We also passed out little cards for the ward members to share their thoughts on the program. We had such positive feedback & we shared all of the thoughts with the children during Primary.

Now that October is almost over I have so many projects I need to get done. Until next year....

Claire's Quips

We pulled up to a convertible Mercedes at a stop light today. They had their top down & the kids thought it was pretty cool. Claire rolled down her window and yelled "Hi!" to them. They didn't hear her but I thought it was so funny. That girl is not shy!

Kate's Kandids

On our way to school this morning Claire saw a Volkswagen beetle and yelled "slug bug". Then Kate yelled out "slug bug white!" Boy they catch on early!

Dress Up

Claire & Kate looking cute in their choice of dress-ups this afternoon.

Getting It Done

Sometimes you have to look past the way your kids are doing their homework & just be happy that they are doing it. Case in point above: Carter was so engrossed in this Magic Tree House book, he was reading it while laying across the dining room table. Did I make him get off? No, I was just happy to see him loving this book. 

Our Fall Leaves

I noticed today that some of the leaves on our big tree in the front yard have started to change. There are little patches throughout that are changing to yellow and orange. We had a couple of days of cooler weather last week, but it has warmed up again and we are sitting around 90 degrees. We are still in shorts, t shirts and flip flop mode around here but we are looking forward to maybe having some lower 80's soon.

Carter's Dental Appointment

This morning Carter had a dental appointment to have a cavity filled. After his appointment we swung by Chick-fil-A to get a milkshake for him. Half of his face was numb & the dentist did not want him eating for a few hours. It was almost lunch time when we got back to school so Kate & I waited a few minutes and stayed with Claire during her lunch period. Kate loved sitting at the table with Claire & her friends. Claire shared her sandwich with Kate too! Right after Claire leaves to the playground, Carter's class comes into the cafeteria, so we stayed for a few minutes and sat with him. He ended up not getting to eat his lunch at all, so he was really hungry when school got out.