Halloween

Halloween this year felt a little bit crazy. Ben was in charge of the food for the trunk or treat at the church and I was teaching piano right up until it started. So, the kids were kind of left to their own devices.  Other than Amelia loosing her kitty ears right before we left, and me forgetting the lights for the jack o lanterns decorating our trunk, things came off great and the kids had a fun night!

 The whole troop

Iyah the Dementor 

A the black cat 

El the horse (she did not like her costume BTW) 

G the "Lobster-back" His only complaint... "Some people got it wrong and thought I was a patriot, but at least they had the time period right." I wanted to say, "That's because it's weird that you wanted to be the enemy-the enemy that lost, no less!" But like a good mom, I held my tongue. ;-)

Happy Halloween!

First Day of School!

It was a good first day of school! Hopefully the rest of the year will follow in kind.

 I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from our trip to Utah. As usual, I forgot to take the camera along on most of our outings, but we managed to get a few pictures. One of the best parts of our visit for the kids was playing with their cousins (above). These guys really hit it off together and I even caught Amelia in a rare show of emotion when she hugged her cousin Mia when she came to Grandma's one day.

 The kids and cousins with Great Grandma and Grandpa Jackson

 The kids with Grandma Great

 Isaac displaying one of his fish from the much anticipated fishing trip with Grandpa.

 George and one of his fish.

 Taking a break from fishing with Grandpa.

 Winter Quarters, NE. Cute little pioneers!

Nauvoo. It was REALLY hot- 108 degrees. The kids were good sports. George said he wished we could live there. :-)

I managed NOT to get a picture with Grandma and Grandpa- how I don't know, but we had a great trip and really appreciate all they did for us and for putting up with us for so long. Thank you G&G!

Christmas Casualties

Christmas time is always busy and things get kind of crazy sometimes. The kids have been staying up too late at parties and other things that are going on. On the way home from the store the other day Amelia found some stickers that one of the other kids had left in the car. She entertained herself with them and then passed out. When I got home I turned around and this is what I saw.

The ward Christmas party was Saturday night. The kids were excited for time to play with their friends that they usually only see on Sundays and were chasing each other around. George and one of the other little boys crashed and George ended up with quite the eye/cheek injury. We had several nurses in attendance that checked him out and declared him sound. A really cool black eye was his present for the night.

This is his eye today-3 days after the fact.

Sunday Morning Conversations

My kids are constantly surprising me with the little tidbits of knowledge they acquire. I haven't quite got over the days when I taught them everything they knew. Now that they are older and reading and going to school, they are constantly teaching me new things in interesting ways. This morning was a great example.

It being Sunday and fast Sunday at that, I was lazily resting in bed when George came in and climbed up on the bed next to me. He was breathing funny-panting. This is how the conversation went.

Me: What are you, a dog?
George: No, I'm a lungfish.
Me: A what?
George: A lungfish. I'm a fish that breaths air, and then when the dry season comes and the water dries up I encase my body in mucus and go to sleep until the rainy season. See (pulling the covers up around himself) I'm encasing my body in mucus.
Me: (laughing) That's disgusting!
George: No it's not, mom, I'm just pretending. I'm not really going to cover my body with snot.

See, you learn something new every day!

Halloween

Okay grandparents, these are for you. Here they are...

Here's cute Amelia as a kitty cat. We had a hard time getting her to say thank you at the doors, but once in awhile she would meow.

Isaac the pirate. Need I say more? The kid is obsessed. I should post a picture of the gigantic flag over his bed.

Ella...with a smile? She really was very cute.

George the Knight. He made his own costume. Dressing up has always been way more important than getting candy to this kid.

CARVING PUMPKINS

Arrrrrgh!

Following in the footsteps of her older siblings, this little pirate loves to dress up! Today in preschool we were talking about the letter X, so we read books about pirates and I sent the little pirates on a treasure hunt. Pretty soon, little Amelia brought me a bandanna and patted her head to show me that she wanted to dress up too. I think she stayed "in character" longer than any of the preschoolers.

I have to admit that I loved dressing up as a youngster myself. My friends and I played out some pretty good stories while wearing my mom's old dresses, paper cup beards, or what have you, and I've got some awesomely embarrassing pictures to remember the good times by!