Halloween

I think I got the worst Halloween costume pictures of all time this year. Bummer.

But, here is how it went down, in case you were wondering....

Dal was a bat with wings courtesy of a (now dead) umbrella. They looked good, but he found that having such a big wingspan was prohibitive when reaching into candy bowls at the neighbors' houses. He still managed a sugary haul, so I guess it is all good. Oh, and he was a little disgruntled that the wings didn't actually provide flight.

Kate's {simple} request to be a mermaid proved a bit challenging to this mom who refused to create flesh colored anything and doesn't believe in shells for shirts.  Plus, my sewing skills are pretty minimal.  Luckily, she was thrilled with this funny tulle and sparkle fin and even agreed to wear long sleeves.

Have a 2-year-old at Halloween is so fun!  Love this little kitty!

Having a picky 3-year-old is NOT so much fun at Halloween.  Davis had a cute scrubs set, courtesy of Gram, and I cut down one of Chad's old lab coats (he is holding it in his hand), but he refused to wear ANY of it.  Except the stethoscope (his adoration of which provided the inspiration for the costume in the first place). Ah, well, maybe next year.

that's how it works

It was my turn to teach sharing time in Primary on Sunday.  The topic was about doing temple work for your ancestors.  In case you haven't been in Primary in a while, let me tell you, this is kind of a BIG topic for little people.  Here are a few funny comments that came from our discussion:

* (In response to the question of how someone could get baptized if they had already died) "In heaven, there are clouds with water in them, and that's how people can get baptized up there."

* (After reading a quote that said each foundation stone of a temple strengthens the power of God on the earth) "Are we supposed to just go around and put foundation stones in the ground anywhere we want?"

*"When people die, they go to the spirit world and then they learn about the gospel.  Then, if they want to get baptized, Heavenly Father sends their name to the prophet, and he tells the people at the temple."

Well, that's how it works, folks!

Gotta love kids.

denial

I've been in denial about summer ending.  Even though the kids have been back in school for nearly a whole term, even though leaves are changing and falling, even though the calendar says OCTOBER, I was still thinking it was 'summertime'; wearing flip flops and short sleeves and basking in the warm weather.  Until yesterday, when Jack Frost blew to town. I guess Fall is really, really here.
Sniff.
I'm just not ready this year.

Lea, enjoying the last warm day with 'trampoline hair.'

science

I love volunteering at my kids' school, especially when I get to actually work with the kids. Today I helped with 4th Grade science. The students were making "boats" out of paper cups. They had to measure how tall their boat was, fill it with water, then measure the water with a syringe and beaker to determine the capacity of their boats.  Over the course of this 40 minute project I saw:
* one girl spend the ENTIRE time thinking of a name for her boat (and trying to persuade others to use her ideas to name THEIR boats)
* one group argue over who got to make the 6.5 centimeter boat (only one in each group could do each size and, apparently, 6.5 cm was the coveted size)
* one boy completely lose it because it was 'too hard.'
* one little guy wander around the room for 30 minutes looking for his misplaced pencil.
* one boy giving a very LONG explanation about the merit of the name SS Everest over the name SS Titanic.
* one girl quietly playing with the water, syringe, and cup without a clue about what she was supposed to be doing!

And, the take-home lesson:
Some children are definitely MORE likely to become scientists than others.

on blooming

Last September 24th, after nearly a year of planning and prepping, building, celebrating, crying, making changes and making do, we were finally moving into our house. It was a day much anticipated by everyone, but, as with any big change, also a little bittersweet. We had ended up living in our 9-month rental for 3 years and had many wonderful friends in our neighborhood. The kids, particularly, were sad to leave their bike riding, mud-pie-making, fort-hiding, Lego-building friends behind.
Chad picked up the moving truck Friday night, and on Saturday when the crew of helpers showed up to load it, we were surprised to find the most beautiful potted mum left, secretly, inside. I still don't know who the giver was, but the plant meant so much to me. It was the first thing I unloaded at the new house and it sat proudly on our front porch 'till the snow came.
When the blossoms started to fade, I was so heartbroken...I couldn't just throw it away. So, I planted it, right off the porch, in memory of my first 3 years in Colorado.
By spring, the plant wasn't looking so good. Other plants started to shed their winter brown, but the mum was just as crispy and dead-looking as ever. I started pulling back the leaves and nearly pulled it out of the ground completely, when, like Dicken in "The Secret Garden" I noticed a bit of green. It was wick, it had a light about it! (if you don't know the music from the musical, you must get it today!)
With hope, I made sure my baby plant got water every day, and after a few weeks, it started to revive.
Now, a year later, it is big and beautiful and blooming!

 Like my mum, I have grown a lot this year, too. It took longer than I thought it would to feel like I could bloom in this new place, even though it wasn't so far from my old place. But, I am grateful for the roots that are a pushing down here, for the people around me who have been my sun and water and helped me along, and for the opportunity to keep growing and blooming, year after year, in such a wonderful place as this.

pwaytime

The plan was to get the kids down and tackle my still-long Saturday to-do list while Chad spent a late night at the youth dance. But, I couldn't resist her sweet plea to "p-way ponies, Mom!" and I wasn't up for yet another bed time battle with my girl (who is growing out of her 3 hour naps, but still taking them, which translates into not wanting to go to bed.)

We sat on the floor and she dumped out her bag of ponies (as in, My Little); I set to getting them all dressed and accessorized.  Lea started 'cooking' because "Ponies are thirsty, Mom."

"Put in marshmallows. Pour in milk. Mix. Mix. Mix. Sluuuurp! Mmmm! Tasty!  Ponies like to drink it."

When did she start saying marshmallows?  Just last month she would ask for a buffalo when she wanted one.  I miss it. 

"The ponies want to eat popcorn now. Mmm. Yummy! It is amazing!"

{smile} Amazing.  This girl is amazing, if you ask me.

"Hey! Where is the shoe? The pony needs another one.  I don't know? I'll look for it. Hmmm. Hey! My hippo!  See my hippo, Mom?  It is a hat! Uh-oh! Fall off.  Tricky!  I tricky too!" (somersault)

She is pretty tricky at getting out of bedtime, too.

"The pony is thirsty again.  Mix, mix, mix. Oh, yeah.  Boo-yah!"

That one made me laugh, and as I'm chuckling, she looks up, flashes a smile, and says, "I funny?"

It was worth ditching the list.

the family bed

This is what my bed looks like. Every morning.

Okay, we so we don't have a dog or cat (or, hopefully, a mouse and flea), but our bedposts sag under the weight of too many folks in the bed.

Although I used to be a big 'hamster nap' kind of girl, I'm afraid all this interrupted sleep is making me look more and more like the granny in this picture.  But, I'm trying to be more like my long-suffering hubby who says, "Just enjoy it. They won't climb in our bed forever."

At this point, it looks like they might!