Frantic Flurry of Fall Frivolities

 

It’s getting late and my mind begins to run away from me…

The fall activities thus far un-posted shall be compiled into one simple - or perhaps long - post.  It all depends on the quantity of pictures and how much they are calling to me, begging me to be included.

Though Halloween itself and the carving of pumpkins was already recorded, the choosing of said pumpkins has yet to be revealed.  We try and go to Grandma and Grandpa’s every year so that the kids, and parents can pick a pumpkin.  Oh, what fun!

          

 

The following fun family activity was also a special one, as we were all able to be present in the Manti Temple when David and Kelly were sealed for Time and All Eternity.  It was so, so cold and windy so the few pictures we got were taken in the “shadow” and protection of the temple’s walls.

   

 

The following weekend was our family’s turn to for Thanksgiving and we all had a great time.  A few photos of the festivities follow.

While definitely not as cold as it got in other places, this 4:30 pm temperature on the day before Thanksgiving, at the summit of Indian Canyon, was cold enough for me!

    

I love my Mom’s china and silver.  A lot.

The FABULOUS food.

   

Are you hungry yet?

 

Holly Days Festival fun that Friday in Vernal.

 

Though the post is long, I am so much more caught up and so much more tired than when I started that any and all cleverness (or craziness) has left me as I type with a head tilted sideways and eyes that are beginning to close…

Extreme Makeover- Gingerbread House Edition

Jaiden really wanted to make a gingerbread house so I bought---- Gingerbread Graham Crackers!--- and we made them the other day.  He begged me to eat them right then but I talked him into waiting until after Carlos had seen them the next day.

The busy builders:

 

After school the next day, I said they could eat them.  Of course, the best part is tearing them apart!  And that is one of their favorite parts of Extreme Makeover, Home Edition!  After awhile, I went over and this is basically what I found.  I did move some of the broken pieces to fit better in the picture, but nothing else!

I’m not exaggerating when I say this “project kept them entertained for over an hour!  And as long as they kept it in that area of the kitchen, I didn’t care.  Even though it was ALL OVER, I just pulled out the vacuum and hose when they were done! 

Zach missed out because he fell asleep eating his lunch and I put him down for his nap.

So, this is Before the After!:

Obviously, my house needed some serious fixing!  The windows aren’t even straight!  Too bad they didn’t build me a mini mansion as a replacement!

Check it Out!

Go on over to Zachary’s Story to check out some exciting news about him!  Click on his blog to the right --->

Zach's Laugh

Blogger was having a hard time posting this but it's worth the extra clicks to see it.  At least it is to me.  And probably to Grandma (and Grandpa!)

A picture slideshow by Smilebox

Special Brotherly Love

Zach and Austin always have to make sure they say ‘Bye’ to Jaiden when he gets on the bus in the mornings.  Zach, especially, blows kisses and waves and repeats ‘Bye, Jaiden' several times.  And then they are so excited for him to get home.  Yesterday, we had to wait longer for him than normal because it was a substitute driver.  It gave me a chance to get some pictures. The things in quotes were actually said.

This is where they wait…

 

When it was taking longer than normal, we had to get a blanket because it was pretty cold…

 

“You guys, stop licking each other!  That’s disgusting!” …

 

“Jaiden!!!!”  

 

“Jaiden!  Jaiden!  Yay!”

 

“Jaiden!”

 

If anyone has seen Zach excited about something, then you’ll know how he was acting.  And he gives the tightest bear hugs.  So sweet!

Jaiden is always excited to show us the things he brings home and his homework.

 

“O… Octopus….O, O, O”

Pumpkin Carving!

*see previous post for Halloween costumes*

We carved our pumpkins for Tuesday night FHE because that’s when Carlos was off!

  

This was Austin’s face after he tried to pull out the ‘guts’.  I finished it for him!  He did, however, supervise everything else we did!

Next year, we may ‘lose’ the pumpkin carving kit book because of both Jaiden and Austin chose the spider web and it took forever!  So Zach got a pretty simple face and he was very impatient by the time I got to his.  I did, however, beat Carlos at carving the spider!  I finished my pumpkins after the boys went to bed because it was way past bedtime by the time we finished theirs. 

So here are the boys’:

 

And here are mine!:

  

With the lights off, the “M” was projected onto the ceiling, it was pretty cool!

Carlos, sadly, didn’t get to do his own pumpkin because he had a book report due the next day.  He told me I could do it for him, but I told him I was all “pumpkined out.”

Happy Halloween!

Since I am so behind in my posting, I’m going to start with the most recent and work back, starting with Halloween!

We had our ward Halloween party in the morning with fun activities for the kids and a parade.  We took Zach’s stander and he had a blast.  It was the first time a lot of the members had seen him in it and thought it was the coolest thing.  We told them we’ve had it for about a year but have just used it mostly around the house.  I decided not to use it for Trunk or Treating later that night because he’d had a hard time getting around the parking lot earlier and because it had been raining. 

I had just planned on Austin being a Transformer (Optimus Prime) like Zach (who was Bumble Bee) because we already had the mask, but a couple of days before, he came up with wanting to be Spider Man.  Luckily, I found a costume that, while big on him now, will last for a while and he can use it to dress up too.  And for those of you who don’t know, I have a really hard time spending money on costumes that aren’t going to be worn for very long, and I think that some of the prices are just crazy!  But I found his at ShopKo for 60% off and I had a $10 off coupon for a purchase of $20.  So I got a cute little decoration and some napkins that were on clearance and got it all for only $10.38.  I was excited.  And Austin was thrilled when I showed him the costume.  He said, “For ME?  Thank you, Mommy!”  and he wore it all day Friday, even the mask a lot of the time.  Jaiden’s Storm Trooper costume was a present form his Carlos’ dad when they went to California, and the Transformer masks were presents too.  Jaiden has been really excited for a long to time wear his costume for Halloween.  He dresses up in it a lot on other days too!

We had to take a potty break by begging a man to let us in to the church bathroom when they opened the door for something else.  Basically I told him that it was that or use a cup in the car!  He wasn’t thrilled but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!  We weren’t out very long again when a crazy fast storm cloud moved in and with a crash of lightning started to pound us with hail.  We were already headed to the car because of the cloud and the kids got in pretty much unscathed.  I, on the other hand, got quite wet while trying to buckle them in!  Of course, I just had a long sleeved tee with another t-shirt on top.  It got pretty cold!

We then headed up to Carlos’ sisters ward to Trunk or Treat and so that the cousins could see each other’s costumes and we could get a picture of them all.  It had been raining for a while and had stopped by this time, but it was still pretty cold so they were all huddled in the back of their SUV.  It was good to see how cute they looked!

So….Trunk or Treat OR Trick or Treat?  I really don’t like Trunk or Treating.  I understand that it’s safer and “easier” and blah, blah, blah but it really is a pain for me.  First, I’m rather old fashioned. Second, our ward combines with another ward and you get a bazillion kids and I can’t get (or don’t want to get...) that much candy for that many kids.  Third, we still got Trick or Treaters coming to our house even though lights were off and my kids were in bed. So, am I supposed to have candy for both events?  Fourth, it’s like mass confusion in the parking lot and I’m trying to keep track of the kids and if Carlos isn’t there, I just have to leave the bowl at the car for people to take their own candy.  And for those who know me, I freeze and/or freak out in situations with a lot of people crowded together.  Like really freak out. 

So, what do you think?  Am I just crazy and ornery (don’t answer that!) or do others feel the same way? 

Other than that, we had a fun time and it’s fun to see the kids get into it.  And into all the candy for days afterwards.