A Yikes! Moment

This is what greeted me on Friday (11/2) as I headed towards the library in our house.

Both hands and her face were covered with white stuff (obviously). I was shocked and afraid at first but then realized it was just chalk. Then I was alarmed at what might have happened, due to the General Conference talk that was shared by Elder Bowen this past October. (Find it here) We need to be more careful with the things we leave around at her level - which is getting higher and higher now that she pulls up to stand on anything and everything, and will even tip-toe!

Happy Halloween

We started the day with yummy pancakes - banana, coconut, chocolate chip pancakes!

Ben was very creative with the batter and really enjoyed his time helping Mom.

We took them all Trick-or-Treating for the first time. Well, Ben went when he was 1 1/2 but he doesn't remember, and Marissa was in the stroller and doesn't remember either. So, this was a first for them. It was a last minute decision so no one was really prepared. The girls rolled with it and were able to get themselves together. Ben had a really hard time with the whole idea and almost didn't go. The first house was a friend of ours - practice. The kids were very unsure about going to the door and asking for candy. They didn't think they were expecting us and they were all really nervous. Unfortunately, our friend wasn't ready, so it was a total bust and Ben was ready to just go home. We went to a few more houses and the more we went the more fun the kids had. On one hand I was glad to give them the experience. On the other hand, maybe they don't need to get used to expecting strangers to give them candy when they ask for it. I guess one day a year it's okay but truly, I think it's a strange holiday tradition and our country wouldn't be the worse off if we discontinued this tradition. I'd be just as happy sitting around our living room sharing our favorite candy with each other. Or doing jobs around the house to earn it. Anyway... 

Firefighter, Princess, Cowboy, Marshmallow, Soldier, Cowgirl

Miss Harmonie fell asleep in the car with Dad.

After a few pictures she actually smiled at me in her sleep. Sweet, happy Harmonie!

His name is Jack, of course

Carving time! I had the kids pick their pumpkins off the porch in the morning of Oct 29th. We brought them into the house so they could be cleaned and warmed up for the evenings activity! The kids drew their faces on paper and Dad drew them on the pumpkins (I think he did). As we started I decided we needed more adult help so I asked our neighbors, Tracy and James, to help us. I'm not sure why I didn't think about it earlier but it was a last minute invitation and they accepted. They came over and ended up carving jack-o-lanterns of their own, as well as helping the kids. I helped Domonique but also took the pictures so I wasn't really much help. (I was also tending to the pie that was taking forever to bake, because I didn't want it to burn.) Everyone had fun and you can see a couple of them even got a bit naked to clean out their pumpkins. I think we all had a really fun time!

Finished products!

Emily, Xiomara, James

Tracy, Kemiah, Marissa

Domonique, Ben

What a lovely porch with such wonderful faces to greet you! Come on by and see for yourself!

Real Homemade Pumpkin Pie

A wonderful friend from Church gave me 4 pie pumpkins so that I could prepare them and can them and use them in baking. I decided to finally use two of them to make pie for our Family Home Evening refreshments on Oct. 29. I thought it was fitting because we were carving our pumpkins for FHE. I cooked the pumpkins in the oven in the morning. I scooped out the stuff and blended it smooth before lunch. The pie wasn't actually completed, baked and all, until right before it was time to eat it. I had lots of other things to do during the day. It was fairly simple but I'm not sure I like it enough to do it very often. It tasted yummy with real whipped cream!

Not Quite Halloween

It's funny to me how long we can make a one-day holiday last. If I wasn't such a hum-bug then maybe I'd really enjoy it. Anyway, our Ward had our Trunk-of Treat and chili dinner on Oct 27th. I am a simpleton when it comes to costumes and so the kids were sort of on their own. Although I did have some great ideas... Here's how they ended up: Ben and Marissa were cowboys (although she determinedly stated that she was NOT a cowboy but a cowgirl); Emily and Xiomara were missionary companions; Kemiah and Domonique were pepper and salt (the kind you find on the table at meal time). I did not decorate the Beast's trunk but we did hand out candy. Kevin signed us up for chili and pie, but we were focused on other tasks throughout the day so we brought store made chili and pies - better than nothing. It was an enjoyable evening and the kids even won a prize for their paired costumes!