Halloween

This year's Halloween was really awesome.

We made homemade costumes which was hard on time but super nice on our checkbook.

Hailey wanted to be a Rose. When she told me this I was stuck on how will I make a Rose costume. But after much brainstorming this is what she and I came up with. And best thing about it- it cost $0. It's an old green dress of mine cut to her size with the leaves stemming up like a stem. And the headband is just some extra silk roses that I had around the house hot glued onto a headband. Hailey loved it!

 Ducati was Pebbles Flinstone. I know she's not a big dress up type so wearing a fancy costume would be out of the question. So Mike and I had plans on dressing up for Halloween as Fred and Wilma but we decided not to since we were unsure if he would even have the day off. But the costume of Pebbles would definitely be something she would wear. Blue leggings (she owned), green shirt ($2), black caveman spots ( fabric glued them from extra fabric) and this costumes isn't complete without a bone hair tie (our decor skeleton accidentally lost a leg) So complete cost for her costume $2! Not bad :-)

 Lily wanted to be Tinker Bell. Which was great since we already had this costume from last year. So I just had to sew a few rips and make the wings which are just coat hangers and white tights. Cost 33 cents!

 Mason wanted to be a rabbit. HA-HA- just joking. He wanted to be a dragon. I love how my kids are creative but I love slightly more the internet so I can finds ways to embrace my kid's creativity.

I found this design off of Family Fun.com. Mike made it within 2 hours on Saturday and Mason painted it. He got so many compliments from people while trick-or-treating. Cost -$0.

 So for 4 costumes it cost us $2.33! I think we'll be doing the homemade costumes more often.
My attempt of a Halloween kid photo. What was I thinking....they wanted to start trick or treating.

It was so fun to watch all our kids running from house to house.
Mason was so polite with his sisters. He would let them go first along with any other girls. Then after everyone was done he would take his turn. We're trying to teach him the difference between a man and a gentleman. It's been enlightening to know that the rare breed of gentlemen won't be extinct after all. We're just so pleased that he's applying those lessons and values.

 Lily was the first to knock on every door. She was too excited to wait for the rest of the family to catch up to her. Hailey was protective of Cati. She didn't want Cati to be overlooked from the candy giver. And Cati.....I never seen her little legs run so fast. When she connected the dots that each house had candy for her she was so excited. It touched our hearts so much to see her so excited.

But while walking in our neighborhood we seen the glowing lights from this pumpkin display from about 2 streets over. It was amazing!

 This man makes these himself. My first thoughts- he's got some serious talent and then after that he must not have small kids in the house.

 But this was really awesome to see. Each kid was in complete awe when they seen their favorite character in a pumpkin. Like Elmo, Harry Potter, Strawberry Shortcake, the 4 Princesses, and Mt. Monster Rushmore. He had so many pumpkins already on this display stage but when we were leaving we seen that he was coming out with some more pumpkins. A great way to share your talent with the neighborhood.

After about 90 minutes of trick or treating we came home, changed into PJ's, and the kids were able to eat as much candy as they could within 10 minutes. Cati ate about 10% while trick or treating  and after taking out the gluten candies she had a pretty small stash. But that's OK- she ate it all anyways. After their 10 minute binge, deep cleaning teeth brush, it was bedtime. Finally Mike and I were able to relax.....We may were in need of some quiet time after this day was over but we're so glad that our kids had a Happy Halloween.

Philippians 4:13

" I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me"


Today while at church this scripture was read during Sunday School and I was overwhelmed with the spirit. Everything else that was talked about just became a blur at this point. 


With everything happening with family, classes, kids, house, and our own individual growths I often feel that I am alone. I have Mike and a few people who can I talk to about the minor things but other than that......that's it. 


But after hearing this I know that Heavenly Father and my Savior, Jesus Christ all know what's happening. Down to the very detail and because of their knowledge this is why I am still functioning. They are helping me take care of my children. They are helping me show kindness and  patience to those that don't show it to me. They are showing me my husband through their eyes. They are holding me up when I can't stand no more. They are helping my thoughts stay focused on what's important in my life.  And so many more feelings that I can't even explain. 


Just WOW- I love church!
( I chose this photo of Lily and her Elmo shoes for many reason. This is the season that I am in. Being a mom of kids who love Elmo, cartoons, cuddles and story time. So everything else is just secondary)

30 to 30

As Mike's 30 to 30 continues I am starting to get confused on what I've given him and I don't want to forget so here's the latest...

Day 4 Jones lemonade with our photo on the label.
 I was going to order it but it cost $16.99 for a 6 pack so I went the cheaper and faster route and just purchased on at the store and taped our photo on there. But he still liked it.

Day 5 was Detroit Lions golf divots and magnetic ball makers.



Day 6 glow sticks... 

The sound of glow sticks is weird but my husband loves glow sticks. Every time we go to Dollar Tree we can't leave without buying a package. So with his love affair of them I planned our date around glow sticks...which made him very excited.

 We had a "Tron" home date. I made this identity disc from our Frisbee and hot glued some glow sticks on there. After bundling up and we headed outside to play disc wars. It was so fun to play in the dark and all we could see was our necklace glow sticks and the frisbee.

Afterwards we went back inside watch the original Tron movie and grabbed a drink along with a glow in the dark straw that I found at Wal-Mart's $1party section.

I was orange and Mike was blue but I bet everyone could tell with the height difference between the colors.

Anyways...

Day 7 a Halloween shirt




23 more days left. This is getting exciting. 

Enchanted

Today we had our self a much needed family date. I love planning these types of dates. Mike and I are big kids trapped in responsible adult bodies.

 So no special date is official without an special invitation...it was a last minute homemade invite but still very cool!

 Hailey says to me "Why did you give this to me? I can't read all of this." She's so funny.

With the theme of the "Enchanted" movie we first went to the park. In the movie Giselle and her friend, Robert, take a stroll in Central Park before she busts into song. So we headed to the most coolest park we know of.....

CASTLE PARK!

Everyone had so much fun. 

After an hour of playing we had a picnic dinner under the nearby pavilion. 

Lily: "Look Mom I'm Mickey Mouse"

Cati : "Choo-Choo" 

Anyways to stay on track with our "Enchanting" evening we left and headed home for part 2 of this date.

In the movie the evil Queen Narissa tries to put Giselle into a deathly sleep by giving her apples. Queen Narissa's servants tries to tempt Giselle with a caramel apple. So we made caramel apples...FONDUE-STYLE!

 Mike and I knew that no one would eat an entire caramel apple so we had caramel fondue. I am so glad we picked up this fondue set from DI for $1.75!

And after our dessert we watched the Enchanted movie.

Everyone was so excited to see Mike holding this movie..While the movie was playing we'd hear "We went to the park too" and "We ate caramel apples too."  This was such a fun family movie. I couldn't keep track how many time we laughed, danced, and said "AWWW!"  We love family dates!

Creativity

A pail of nails, a few wood pieces, hammers, and a few metal gadgets like wheels and clamps and our kids were in Heaven. While Mike was making Mason's Halloween mask he put all these things on the floor and said to the kids " Use your imagination and make something". The twinkle in our kids eyes was amazing. Hailey made a cross/ sword depending on her mood I guess. Mason made a car (a flat board with wheels nailed into it) and Cati & Lily just hammered into the wood. They were preoccupied for about 2 hours with this. So during that time Mike and I were able to accomplish alot on our "To-Do" list. 

I thanked Mike for seeing a need for the kids needing something to do and for encouraging their creativity. 

Smile

I know it's Heavenly Hands that helped me find this lost photo. And then I seen this saying on FB and it just fit perfectly.

"I like it when you smile, but I love it when I'm the reason!"

(When we were sealed I was getting alittle stressed so to make me smile for our photographer he smelt my nose. Silly but that's one of many of my husband's amazing traits)

Mosiah

Last week we finished the book of Mosiah. So to celebrate we had a family service project.

We filled a box with some treats like popcorn, drinks, candy, Peeps,covered it with ghost and wrote this little message on it "Happy Halloween. You've been Boo'ed". Mike made a quick doorbell dash and ran back home. I think this is 1 of our favorite services....to doorbell dash.

Handy Man

My hubby is so talented. Over the years that we've been together his skills have just improved so much that I'm trying to talk him into selling some of his creations on Etsy. But we'll see...

Today he made this from our 3 seated couch. Our house is oddly shaped so this couch was just a tad too big until Mike cut, reupholstered, and bonded together this love seat that fits just right. 

I am so blessed to have such a talented husband that sees the world as nails and boards. 

Daily's

A part of this road that Mike and I are on is that we need to do certain things daily. No exceptions, no excuses- we just have to do them. The Daily things help us stay on track so we can better ourselves which in turn better our relationship. So one of my daily's is write in a journal something that I am thankful for that day. My blessing that Heavenly Father had given me for the day.

Todays' Gratitude:

This blog- to have somewhere to write down my thoughts without losing it. Anyone can ask Mike how many times I lose things in a day and he will just laugh. Not giggle, not smirk, just laugh out loud. I lose things all the time. Keys, papers, shoes, books,.....things that I just put down- I forget 3 seconds later. So to write in a journal is like telling to me find a needle in a haystack. I have lost my journal too many times that I just end up buying a new notebook which I lose a few days later.

So I am grateful to have a journal that I can log into from wherever I am. That I can look back and not only read the memory but see the photo that brings back even more memories. So that's my 2 cents for the day. I will now get off my soap box.

30 to 30

This year Mike is turning the big 3-0! So I've been planning this important day for some time now....like for the past year!

 Starting October 24 to his birthday he will be getting 1 gift a day. So 30 gifts for his 30th.

 Here's the beginning of

30 to 30

 Day 1- a candy apple

Day 2- this Lions Hat

Day 3- which is today a coupon book for some special things like

(massage,1 hour nap, breakfast in bed, 2 hours to yourself anytime with NO KIDS!)... ( my personal favorite)

Yesterday he caught on to what I was doing for his birthday. Mostly since I couldn't contain myself and hinted until he caught on. He was so excited and thankful that I took the time to plan this out.  He promises he's going to practice patience and kindly wait for me to give him his gifts. But he admits that he is really excited for the next 27 days. And honestly me too! :-)

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Small Foot

I think I found Big Foot's offspring, Small foot...

Wait a minute....

It was our own little Small Foot. haha

How did your Garden grow?

This was our first year planting a garden. I will be the first to admit that not one member in our family has a green thumb. But we thought that we would give it a try mostly so the kids can have fun playing in the dirt.

So this garden season we managed to grow 3 strawberries, 4 green beans, a few tulips, some smashed basil and tons of weeds. I think it was a success.

The kids loved seeing the fruit of their labors. But now since all our plants are empty Lily and Ducati just enjoyed themselves playing in the mud.

 Cati more than Lily. Lily has this fear that a bug will go on her toes so she's very hesitate when it comes to her toes being exposed. So she just watched from the grass while Cati aerated the garden.

Mike and I laughed that if every year the kids plant a garden the same way that they will be the most confused gardeners ever! We can hear Cati saying, "What's compost?

Hailey

We got Hailey's school pictures today. She's so adorable!

These past few weeks Mike and I have been amazed by her. We're seeing more of her personality shining through than ever before. She's becoming more confident in knowing her likes and dislikes.

Likes: -pink shirts ONLY

-skinny jeans ( <--- hard one for me to agree to buy)

-ballet shoes

-headbands ( a big step from a girl who never wanted to comb her hair)

-Polly pockets

-chapter books to practice her reading

-winning a game of Sorry

- finding a compromise on her own

-having her own friends

Dislikes:- sneakers

-shirts with pictures on them that might represent being a baby like bears or princess characters (I'm still getting a hang of this)

- cracked nail polish

- practicing her reading

- having her space invaded (working out the kinks to build her her own treasure lock box)

We are loving every minute that we see our Hailey change from our little girl into her own girl. (sigh* )

Boys Night Out

2 men with 2 hours to spare in an empty parking lot...... I don't want to mention what Mike taught Mason but I do want to mention that Mason was so proud of himself and that he left feeling like he's becoming a man.

But on tonight's agenda was to see this movie.... Captain America! Both Mike and Mason really wanted to see this movie. So when I mentioned that this movie was playing at our local cheap-o theater they jumped on board for a late showing boys night.

In all seriousness Mason really enjoyed his time out with Mike. I know that with 4 ladies running this household Mason has grown alot of patience when it comes to Princess', the color pink, and lip gloss.  But it's important for him to learn how to act like a man and still be a gentle man to ladies. So thank you Captain America!....I mean Mike for seeing the importance of  manhood and family bonding. ♥

Pumpkin Patch

Finally everyone is healthy again! This brings a huge sigh of relief since it took 2 weeks for everyone to fight off that nasty flu. So for our first family activity we chose to go to the pumpkin patch.

Mason, Hailey, and Lily were excited to go. The entire van ride over to the field they shared their top secret tips on finding the best pumpkin EVER! But Ducati- she just looked at them like they were crazy. She had no idea what a pumpkin was. Humbling moment for me to remember to teach Cati her fruits and veggies. But when she got out of the van seen everything she just squealed in delight.

But after running around for a bit it was time for some pumpkin seeking.
As you can see we were so excited!

Hailey and Cati were nice enough to help pull the cart about 5 feet before they gave up and just wanted to search for their pumpkins and play in the field.

My boys on the other hand had a plan to look on the outer skirts of the patch since no one really walked out that way

And it worked- they both came back with gigantic pumpkins that I look forward to their mess when we crave them later this week.

Everyone else just enjoyed themselves. Lily wanted to find only baby pumpkins since she thought they were so cute!

 Cati wanted to find every pumpkin since she thought it was so awesome. She would walk up to any and all pumpkins in her sight and try to pick it up. If she couldn't do it on 1 lift she left go. If she could carry it she walked it over to the cart. If I recall correctly she had about 5-6 pumpkins in the cart just for herself.

But at the end of her picking adventure all Cati wanted was a baby pumpkin. She kept saying                "Baby Bump-kin today"

 Hailey and I found out pumpkins pretty quick....mostly so we can play around. She seen a boy from school so she talked with him for a minute.

(found a hay stalk and was pretending to be a witch)

We had so much fun. It was a nice start to this great fall season.