Random October

I did Halloween lunches again.  For the dessert I stuck some googley eyes into the middle of the donut holes.  They looked really cute, the pictures don’t do them justice.

My basketball group dressed up for Halloween ball.  I couldn’t quit laughing the entire time that I was playing.

 

The little girls and I went to a giant pumpkin contest in Old Colorado City

    

The big girls did a SOCO season on the same team.  It was wonderful having one practice and one game for two girls.

Rae Rae won a little indoor soccer round robin against 54 other girls.  It was set up Dutch style.

Jacob went on his first date.  I didn’t get a picture.  He doubled with Hampton.  Jacob was nervous, and his date sure was cute!

Spider Magnets

The girls made the cutest magnet spiders over the weekend.  They started out using THIS tutorial for pompom spider bookmarks.  Yet somehow they morphed into cute magnets.

They were going to hang them in their lockers at school.  Key word is “were”.  They are all over my fridge, keeping my kitchen nice and Halloweeny.

Rotten AND Moldy

I just got back late last night from an awesome trip with family.  Now to play catch up with everything that I neglected. 

Last week before I left, Jerrica and I did a quick project that I had seen on Pinterest.  We pulled out the magnetic alphabet letters and spelled out this little description…

We took the colorful letters outside and spray painted them black.  When they were dry Jerrica brought them in, and spelled out the phrase again on our refrigerator.  As the kids came home from school they were freaking out that I would put something like that on our fridge.  I reminded them that it’s Halloween time…..  :)

Googley Eyes

Jerrica and I picked up these huge, glow in the dark googley eyes from Target’s dollar section.  All the way home we talked about what to put them on, the piano, toilet, headboard, mirror, door, …  In the end we stuck them around the kitchen. 

We have had a lot of people comment on them.  My teenage boys even commented on them, and they don’t comment that often!  ;)

The Week

Jake, Kaylee and Jerrica all had parties over the weekend.  The other three whined that they didn’t.

We went to sporting events.

 

Projects were made.  My reader couldn’t resist making a Fall leaf bookmark with all of the beautiful leaves outside.  I thought she was going to laminate every leaf in our yard.

We also made some leaf imprints in salt dough, baked, and painted them.

We listened to Halloween songs all week.   Jerrica would lay on her belly in front of her little CD player listening to this particular CD and a Halloween story CD.  She would constantly grin up at me asking me to sit with her and listen.  All of the stories were so cheesy, but her expressions made them worth it.

We did our traditional Halloween lunches for school.  The girls helped me wrap extra juice boxes with streamer paper for Jerrica’s Halloween party and for their lunches.

Then we made these cute donuts for the lunch desserts.  I found the idea on Pinterest and its from the Lovezilla blog.

(photo from www.lovezilla.net)

I took down all of the Halloween decorations the day after Halloween, and put up all of the Thanksgiving decor.  On to Thanksgiving……. :)

My Witch

Jerrica wanted me to take a picture of her flying.  She envisioned Stephen holding her high in the air or her broom magically taking flight.  She talked about a flying picture as soon as she decided on her witch costume.

Well, Hollywood uses “green screens” for special effects.  Shauna uses “trampolines”.  Jerrica jumped away as I snapped away.  We ended up with pictures of her flying!

She was THRILLED with our result and wants one in a frame in her room.  :)

I however, loved the silhouettes.  As she jumped her spider necklace would sometimes get in the picture.

 

So just remember when you don’t have a green screen just use a trampoline….

Sure loved my little witch this year…

Jack-O-Lantern FHE

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matt. 5:16)

Start with a happy little pumpkin with his candle lit.

Have you ever been just afraid of the dark? Have you ever been in a place that was so dark that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, even with your eyes wide open?   Think of when we have been camping and used just a small flashlight to see our way around.   What a difference it is to have light!   Even a small light makes a big difference in a dark place.

Jesus Christ taught those who followed Him were “the light of the world.” He said that you don’t light candles and put them under baskets. When you light a candle, you put it on a candlestick so that it gives light to everyone in the room. He told us, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (See Matt. 5:14–16.)

What happens when you cover this pumpkin with a blanket?  Is the light as bright?  Eventually the light will go out.  What happens when you don’t share your light?  Would it be hard to relight the light within you, when it goes out?

How can you let your light shine? One way is by keeping the commandments and choosing the right. When we are honest, when we keep the Sabbath holy, when we are kind, we are letting our lights shine. When we obey the Word of Wisdom, when we dress modestly, when we use the names of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ reverently, we are letting our lights shine. Each small light makes a big difference!

Uncover the pumpkin and talk about how good it feels to have light in a dark situation.  Then testify and share how good it is to be in the light!

Of course this is perfect for carving pumpkins as the activity!  :)

Glow in the Dark

I have said many times that my sisters are very, creative and crafty.  Here is yet another example…

Aunt Tanya made a glow in the dark tic-tac-toe game.  She used glow in the dark puff paint to draw the game lines.  Then she sewed little orange pockets to the bottom to hold the glow in the dark spiders and snakes.

 

Kaylee and Rebecca played one night in their room after we first got it.  Today I played with Jerrica in my walk in closet.  It was fun to play with snakes and spiders.  I had to smile at all of Jerra’s comments as we played.  She is SO enjoying this Halloween!

Thanks again Aunt Tanya!  We love it!

Magnet Mummies

The last couple of Fridays we have been doing Friend Fridays.  Rebecca had a blast over at Neely’s last Friday.  I didn’t think she was ever going to come home.  I know she would live over there if I would let her.

Kaylee had Emma over here.  Those two are so funny together.  They wanted to do a project and decided to make mummy magnets for their lockers.  They used the white first aid adhesive tape and googley eyes.

I’m so grateful for good friends.  Just listening to the giggling and laughter makes me smile!  :)

Little Bits of Randomness

Ashley and I were walking to the parking lot after her field day.  She ran up to the cross walk guard and threw her arms around the lady saying, “Mom, I want you to meet my favorite life guard”.  I quickly corrected her that she was a “crossing guard” and not a life guard.  She then quickly corrected ME.  “Are you serious!  This is a lady that saves lives from these fast cars that go by.  You wouldn’t just say crossing guard when she is really a life guard!”

The crossing guard was beaming just as big as Ashley.

Nathan is finally home.  He has been off at Mountain Lab with his 8th grade class.  He was THRILLED to share a cabin with 12 of his favorite friends AND have Mr Brunk as their chaperone. 

Nathan is so good to pitch in and do jobs without me asking.  It was hard having him gone.  He really enjoyed the games, speakers, and FRIENDS!

Over the weekend the girls wanted a project so we made these skeletons. 

Do you notice anything special about their bones?….

Yes, each is quite unique with their own name.  Jerrica’s “J’s” jutted out for perfect clavicles.  Kaylee and Rebecca’s cursive names were fun.

Rebecca was trying to be scary by her skeleton and let’s just say she DOES look a little scary.  :)  I found the idea for this here - Name Skeletons

 

Randomness

I took a look at the calendar for Saturday and had some serious anxiety.

This is the family calendar that everyone writes on when they have an upcoming event.  We had SIX games, a swim meet, dance rehearsal and a Fall social.  It was WAYYY busy, but I enjoyed every second of it.  I love watching my kids.  I love seeing how much they enjoy their activities.  I love how different each of them are. 

Our apple witches shrunk and DID get scary by the end of October. 

A few weeks ago,  I cut out a couple of silhouette haunted houses for the little girls to draw characters in the windows and doors.  I smiled when I saw Ashley’s in by the Polly Pockets’ houses.  It WAS the haunted house as they were playing.  There dialogue was cute as they were opening and shutting doors scaring the Polly Pockets that would visit.

I’m going to miss Ashley’s Halloween drawings and her “BOO!”s that she has been making non-stop.  I guess it’s turkey drawing time now.

Last week  Jerrica and I pulled out the Thanksgiving decorations.  It’s Fall decor, but I save it for November to have something new after Halloween.  I decided to buy a few Fall flowers for a bouquet.  The flowers were half off and I couldn’t resist the pretty colors.  I really enjoy flower arranging.  There is just something about how each little sprig adds to the finished bouquet.

One more bit of randomness.  We had a lesson Sunday on “Being Comfortable, being Uncomfortable”.  I keep thinking about what he said.  The guest speaker spoke about when we are upset or uncomfortable about a situation, we immediately try to remedy it and try to get back into our comfort zone.  However because we are trying to jump out of the  “uncomfortable” as fast as we can, we fail to listen to another or learn from the experience because we are too busy trying to make it “right” again.  It’s OK to be uncomfortable.  Relax, listen and learn. 

I always get my mouth going or an email flying to rectify something.  I know I need to be patient a little longer.  I need to listen a little bit more than I do.  I need to show a little more love, even though I’m uncomfortable.  It is then that I will grow and BE comfortable.

All of that probably doesn’t make sense because I can’t express myself. AND all of it can be taken out of context, BUT it makes sense to me  and I want to remember it THUS I include it here on my blog!  :)

Carving Pumpkins

We had a fun weekend with the Halloween party, carving pumpkins, and then Stephen also took the kids to the Coffin Races.  I wish I had pictures from the Coffin Races.  There must have been an amazing Cruella Devil there, with a team dressed up as Dalmatian dogs because that is what Ashley has her heart set on for next Halloween.  She even wants Jerrica to dress up as a Dalmatian dog.

Anyway, here is our carving this year.  I handed out prizes for “Best Eyelashes, Happiest Jack-o-Lantern, Most Scars, Best Animal Silhouette…” 

Nathan had like three votive candles in his, thus the transparent, glowing pumpkin.  He wanted to make sure the little pumpkin could be seen. Nathan’s mini pumpkin that his big pumpkin is eating.

Pumpkin carving is so messy, but always so fun for the kids to create.  We were extra excited this year that we grew our own pumpkins!

This morning the little girls ate breakfast with their little Jack-o-Lanterns.  Their conversations with them made me smile.  Inanimate objects just come alive as they give them personality and dialogue.

Spider Buckets

Jerrica and I have been busy in the afternoons with Halloween projects.  Today we went up to the big kids bedrooms, tidied  them up, and left a little candy bucket on their pillows.  Jerra helped glue all of the googly eyes on the notes.  She was SOOO excited for the kids to come home, and as soon as they walked in the door she literally started yelling for them to go check their bedrooms.

She cracks me up in this picture, trying to look like the spider on the bucket…

Everyone enjoys a little surprise every once in awhile.

Crafting with Cari

We had a lot of friends in and out this week.  Cari was one of them!  She’s always ready to craft and came to help me with the little girls.  We decided to make these pumpkins from Better Homes and Gardens.  Here is their LINK, and here is our rendition of them…

You fill the bottom with beans so that it can sit up, and then fill the rest of the way with cotton.  I dumped all of the ribbon, beads, and buttons out on the counter so that everyone could create their own unique pumpkin.

Kaylee got carried away and made TWO.  She and her friend, Morgan had each made one the night before and also made little rock spiders.  She requested a picture of HER creations…

 

I love little quick and easy sewing projects to get the girls comfortable sewing.  A big thanks to Cari for coming and helping!