Happy Halloween

Our Halloween festivities started out with pumpkin carving.  The boys were very excited about this and kept busy planning out the perfect number of days before the ward party for the carving so they would be in peak condition on the oh-so-important night.  Another major consideration was what they would carve.  Chris helped them scour the internet to find the perfect idea that was sure to win!

Noah and Ian were also excited to do some of their own work.  With the handy little tools that I thought I paid to much for, the boys were able to do it on their own.  Ended up being worth every cent!

I helped Sage.  After a vigorous search and trying to assert her opinion amongst the boys she settled on a Hello Kitty pattern for her pumpkin.  She loved it!

 

Ian's

Noah's

Sage's 

A day or so later it was time to dress up for the Trunk or Treat at the church. Sage was a pirate princess (the princess is due to the "princess" sleeves on her dress).  The eye patch came out just before we left and she (surprisingly!) loved it.  She wore it the whole night.  (I couldn't believe it!  What two year old really does that?  And why won't she leave hair things alone?)

Chris was Moses. Several thought him to be a shepherd.  Guess that makes some sense as he is the "shepherd of his flock."

Ian was a ninja again and Noah, having picked several months in advance, got his wish to be a skeleton. He is pictured here without his hood/mask because of a little scare we had. 

I was trying to pin Sage's pirate hat on when Noah came to show me his costume with everything on.  He appeared in the bathroom doorway.  I didn't even know he was there till Sage screamed and ran farther into the bathroom trying to get away.  The hat was part of the terror apparently because she refused to wear it or look at it again.  Noah very compassionately didn't put the hood on again in her presence.  In fact, I could hardly get a picture of him because he was worried about Sage seeing him and being scared.

There were games to play and some treats to eat before the Trunk or Treat but they were of virtually no consequence to the boys.  It was all about the jack-o-lantern contest.  I cannot express in words how relieved I was that both of the boys won a category.  Ian's was announced first-Most Original.  Noah's was announced next-Scariest. And then, after the funniest was announced, Sage won Crowd Favorite. Having them all win was slightly embarrassing but it really put the gold star on the evening for the kids.  Candy and a win-perfect combination!

Now, in Greendale they are smart and start school after Labor Day but they pretty much manage to nix any good feelings about that by the time Halloween comes around because they designate Sunday as the trick-or-treating day.  To make it less fun (in my opinion), in past years, the designated time was 1-4pm.  Just this year they changed it to 4-7pm but it is still on Sunday.

Sorry, folks, no can do.  We hand out candy and consider it being a good neighbor.  This year Noah totally got into it and was super diligent about answering the door and handing out candy.  I think he enjoyed seeing some of his friends come through in their costumes.

We made plans to go with some friends to a neighboring community who still trick-or-treat on Halloween.   It was a school  night so we wanted to get started early.  I picked up a pumpkin pizza for dinner.  He kinda turned into a clown pizza in the oven.

Then it was time to get the kids dressed in costumes.  Again.

I have friends who attended several parties and activities in the week prior to Halloween and by the actual day arrived they said they were all Halloweened out.  This was not actually my problem.  I went to the doctor that morning to confirm I had strep throat and get some medication.  By the time costume time came around again I was not in a great place, having not slept well in two days and feeling like I was swallowing ground glass.

It was finally accomplished. The only change was Sage-the lion costume allowed me to layer her up against the weather and provided a hood.  She didn't have to wear a coat over her costume.

Here is Noah with his hood.  We were super sneaky so Sage didn't see!

I opted (sadly!) to stay home.  The cold weather made breathing even more painful.  Chris took them out with our friends and they had a great time.  Sage even got brave and told Chris to stay back off the porches while she went up herself to say twick-or-tweet and tank you or happy h'weeeen!

I didn't get any pictures of their loot this year but it was enjoyed over the course of several days.  I even got better enough to enjoy a snitched candy bar or two!

Out of the Mouth of Babes

I had a good mommy moment today.

Being a parent of young children means that I frequently hear the advice to "savor the season" whenever it is time to change a poopy diaper or clean up other bodily fluids from the carpet, couch, clothes or vehicle.

But really, those are not things that I want to "savor." In fact, I do my level best to forget about them as soon as they are past. I won't ever miss changing a dirty diaper once all my children are past that phase of life.

Instead, I want to savor the sweet moments when my children do amazing, adorable things.  And the times when they do the regular, everyday things that we all have to learn.  Sometimes good mommy moments are when I have the perfect answer to that tough question. Or when one of my children tells me that they love me. Some good mommy moments aren't really about what I did well, but are moments when I see their potential as a child of God, when the love I feel for them bubbles up inside and spills over. When I get a glimpse of a spiritual peer that I have been tasked with teaching and find myself being taught.

So today's moment was during sacrament meeting. Due to Stake Conference it was fast Sunday for us. Our opportunity to share our testimonies.  Early in the meeting Noah asked me "what was a testimony?" I explained that it was a statement of belief or knowledge. Like "I believe Jesus is our Savior" or "I know He answers our prayers."

I asked him if he wanted to share a testimony.  "How old do you have to be to share your testimony?"

"Anyone can share, you don't have to be a certain age. Do you want to do it?"

He looked, to his mother who knows him so well, like he wanted to say yes but was nervous about the whole idea. I suggested that we write down his testimony so that he wouldn't have to worry about forgetting what he wanted to say.

He agreed.  I wrote for him (sometimes he can't read his own phonetic spelling) as he dictated.

I believe that the Church is true. I believe in Jesus and I know he loves me, knows me and answers my prayers. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

He wanted me to go up with him to the stand.  We walked up together.  It felt very momentous.  And while it was short and over quickly, it was very momentous.  My son spoke confidently about his belief in his Savior.  We try to teach our children about the gospel and I worry so much about their personal spiritual journey and the experiences that will be pivotal in the development of their faith and testimony.  As the world around us deteriorates I wish more and more to know that my children will be steadfast and immovable from the rock that is our Savior, Jesus  Christ. That their faith will not falter in the face of wickedness, temptation, and moral decay.

What a good, sweet, precious, mommy moment to know that Noah is on that path!

Pumpkin Picking

Fall means the temperatures cool, the leaves start to fall off the trees and it's time to set a date to pick a pumpkin. This year pumpkin picking was very important to the boys because they had a plan.  They talked for weeks about the scary jack-o-lanterns they would carve to win the contest at the ward Halloween party.  

We tried for a Saturday and couldn't make it work (go figure, since Saturdays are our busiest day of the week usually).  So the following Monday, right after Chris arrived home from work, we returned to the same pumpkin patch we visited last year.  They had added a couple of things and started charging for others but it was still a fun time. 

The kids were so excited!  There was jumping and running and maybe some yelling too. They were very impressed with the selection.

But easily persuaded to play before picking. The maze was a hit.   

Lately, the boys have caught on to mazes and love to do them in activity books or even on cereal or cracker boxes.

Getting to do a life size maze was fun for them and even though the boys are tall, I think they enjoyed the help it gave them in finding their way out.

The llamas came next.  Another event of note in our family because the kids were brave enough to try feeding them this time!

More running, yelling and fun ensued, including:

Goat petting and feeding

Racing to the top of the pyramid

Cutouts and slides

(Those poor kids, boiled for being so much trouble! Let that be a warning, if I ever go blonde watch out:)

and playhouses.

And then, final decisions of the perfect pumpkin.

Pumpkin picking down, carving to go!

Apple Holler

We couldn't pass up the chance to go to Apple Holler with friends/family (how lucky to do you have to be for them to qualify as both?!).

We wandered around the animal pens they had and then visited some of the other fun play things.

It was a little bright! "Co-ver eyes, co-ver eyes, mommy!"

The train entertained for good while

We declined to pay extra for a ride out to the apple rows.  Sage and Cole trailed behind.

We finally filled our bag with (I think) three different kinds of apples.

A couple of weeks went by and despite my best intentions I still hadn't gotten our apples made into applesauce.  Grandma and Grandpa stopped in for a day while on a trip and Grandma was our applesauce making heroine.  The boys were excited to help and watch as the apples went from crunchy to...to...well, saucy:)