Halloween

I'm going for a record number of entries since I started blogging 18 months ago. I swear this is because the days are going by more quickly as my kids get older. The more activities we have to write about, the more quickly the time passes!

Tonight I asked my friend, Wendy, "How do you make yourself sit and enjoy yourself without getting mad or stressed--without even taking pictures? Even then you are watching through a lens and you're not really enjoying yourself. She assured me I'd be able to do that when my kids are older. I could only think that by then they won't want me to watch them, let alone take pictures of them!

So tonight, I tried to sit and watch the kids play their games, pass out candy and interact with the other kids at the ward trunk or treat. I don't do that enough. In the kids' classrooms this year I didn't sign up to run a booth or do anything other than provide supplies and be there to watch. I actually had fun, had time to hug them both and laugh at their antics. It was a good feeling to just watch and see what they enjoy. I still had to take pictures, though!

Old mommy saw too many farms...

Well, not really, but I think I'm done visiting farms for the year. It's just too cold. Like 60 degrees. Only in Phoenix, Arizona, would 60 degrees and some wind be considered legitimate excuses to suffer on a field trip and cancel baseball practice. I even thought to myself when considering whether to leave my jacket on the bus today, "It's 60 degrees, how wonderful! Enjoy it!" So I headed out with 100 first graders and had to get a sub for my group as I headed right back to the bus for my jacket. I guess a 30 degree swing in temperature in two days can do that to a girl. I did survive, though, and came out ahead with 6 radishes, 2 cucumbers, a zucchini, 1 pumpkin and the delight of my 7 year old who still thinks it's great that his mom is riding on the bus with him and his friends. Priceless.

From Collages

On Friday we celebrated Matt's 42nd with a visit to Schnepf Farm in Queen Creek, AZ. Quite a little jaunt, but well worth the drive and the $12 each (Stewart is still endearlingly free). After arriving at 2 p.m., we hit the hayride, Whitney had her face painted, we checked out the Arizona mushy pumpkin patch and overall enjoyed the beautiful farm and wide open spaces and mature trees. Eight hours later, the kids still didn't want to go home. Because we started in the day, they were able to ride all the rides without a wait. Stewart LOVED the roller coaster and swings. Unbeknownst to us, he rode well under the height requirement. That night, we paid the price when his passage was denied for a repeat. Whitney even 'tried' the roller coaster, something we've been practicing, and she decided she probably didn't like it. I was proud of her for trying. We rode the train at dusk, the perfect time to ride before the 'spooks' turned scary. Then we ended the night by roasting marshmallows and listening to some blue grass music. I loved the carousel, the gocarts, and the numerous playyards, treehouses, trains and places for the kids to run. We'll definitely return. Next year.

From Collages

A Halloween craft?

OK, so I've never posted a craft on my blog, but I love reading other people's blogs for craft ideas. This one turned out so cute, I just had to share it. The idea came from a MOMS Club activity that we weren't able to attend. I was excited when a friend made them at her daughter's birthday party, where we made the kids' t-shirts. From there, we made dad a shirt for his birthday.

The kids' upside down footprint made the perfect ghost. Their hands (minus the thumb) overlapping at the palm made a scary spider, even fuzzy around the edges. I thought it especially clever to add my OWN hand print spider right on his shoulder. :) Regular acrylic paint worked just great and washing the shirts beforehand prepares the surface better to absorb the paint. We used fabric paint for the eyes.

It took 3 tries to get the transfer to work right, but it was pretty easy once I followed the directions on the package. I didn't know about the mirror image feature in Word/Publisher, but it worked just like it said it would to rotate the text and pictures before printing them on the transfer paper. This feature can be found under the 'Arrange' button, then select, 'Flip horizontally.'

TIPS: Use a paper plate under the prints when using black paint so the color doesn't bleed through to the other side. Have a bucket of water handy to rinse off the paint.

MOMS: Make a shirt for you, too!

Dear Santa

Dear Santa,

This is my last list. I really want a real telescope and a Bakugan set and Magic Tree House Books 31-100 and one baby sister. Can you give me a list of where the reindeer go?

a maid
a motorhome
I will get a kite [for the reindeer]

from Casper
10-21-2009

A is for Apple

Autumn day, autumn day,
God gives richest gifts today.
Look on every side and see
Pleasant things for you and me.
Apples red and apples yellow,
Round and juicy, sweet and mellow,
Load the trees till they bend over
And their branches brush the clover.
Child, be glad with all that lives,
But forget not God, who gives.

I just love this time of year as the weather realizes the calendar page has turned to October. This Primary song was a perfect description of our trip to Utah to pick apples and celebrate Fall with our families. The first branch we picked from was literally broken from all the fruit and the kids ate apples nonstop, right off the trees. I enjoyed watching JoAnn's patience with the kids as she shared her process of making homemade applesauce.

Early this afternoon Stewart and I spent the day OUTSIDE while he rode Whitney's scooter and I put out Halloween decorations. After school, Whitney and Casper are playing OUTSIDE on our half-built playyard. Acorn squash is baking in the oven, stuffed with sausage and apples from my mother-in-law's apple tree.

I WAS THANKFUL I wasn't sweating!

I AM THANKFUL no one is fighting!
I AM THANKFUL dinner is done!

I AM JUST SO GRATEFUL.

A nice, early beginning to the season of Thanksgiving.