Halloween

Halloween is a tricky holiday for us.

We don't really get into this holiday. We don't decorate. We don't do crafts. We're not fans of being scared. So Halloween sort of gets skipped by us. However this year we had a fun holiday. 

Our family enjoys dressing up. But since we still are saving for our trip in December this year's costumes were easy/cheap/homemade/ or reused. 

Hailey was a pirate one day and Red Riding Hood another. I guess it depends on her mood. (We had everything already but the cape. It cost around $11 from eBay.)

Cati was a fairy princess. (Kid to kid $2 costume)

Lily was a butterfly. (I made the wings for $4)

Mason was a ninja. (He borrowed mikes karate uniform) 

Mike and I were Dr.Who and the Tardis.

We had all of his costumes already and I ordered my dress from ebay. Since it cost me $18 I plan to wear this tunic dress all year round so it's a win/win for me. 

Anyways our ward throws an annual Halloween party so Lily and her BFF wanted to match. So I made her friend a matching costume with the leftover material. They loved being twin butterflies.

Photobomber Cati

The ward party had a potluck, face painting, games, a haunted house, and trunk or treating.

Then their school held a Halloween party as well the next day. So everyone went to school dressed up ready to party.

They loved it! When they got home they talked with their friends and enjoyed the fact they got to wear costumes to school since most public schools didn't allow costumes.

Then the night before halloween our neighbor held a Fall Festival party. They don't celebrate halloween so this is a nice substitute. When I first heard that I thought was a little odd but whatever. We're all different and that's what makes life interesting. 

At her party we roasted hot dogs/ sausages, made s'mores, played games, chatted about Star Wars, enjoyed the toasty fire, and just spending time with friends.

One fun memory was a jump rope contest. Mike and another adult held the rope and counted while kids took turns seeing who could get the most jumps. One teen got 41 and held the record for a while. Mike took a turn so this teen held the rope for him. Once mike was reaching the 30's this teen turned the rope so fast that it was breaking the sound barrier. Even though the jump rope was going so fast that we couldn't even see it flying through the air Mike still held his game. 

He kept up with the speed that the teen gave up and felt defeated by Mike. He challenged Mike again to a dual but Mike declined and walked off the jump rope champ. Haha! Mike can beat any teenager!

Then halloween came along. During the day we cleaned our house. Which the kids thought was lame. Oh well! 

Later that evening we went trick or treating. Our girls got themselves tons of candy. Mason stood home and passed out candy. 

As we walked around the neighborhood Mike and I chatted with other parents while our kids ran to doors. It was a fun night. 

So this years halloween was really fun. It goes to show that we don't need scary, spooky, decorations, or crafts to make this holiday fun. 

We are HIS hands

While working a Saturday night shift I seen a display that not only caught my attention but my heart strings.

We Are HIS hands 

This is at the Jospeh Smith Memorial Building. My guess that there must be 1,000 kid hands hung all over the place each one stating a way that child will serve in Heavenly Fathers name. 

So I grabbed a few of the "hands" so my kids can fill them out as well and join in this amazing reminder of being the Lords hands. 

A few days later I drove with 2 of our kiddos ( the older ones went to their dads) to Temple Square to enjoy the last of summers weather and to hand in their hands. 

So any visit to temple square becomes a long visit. Lily tells me that she loves coming to temple square because she can feel the spirit and loves seeing Jesus. 

I'm guessing she's talking about the pictures of Jesus but then again I know kids can see/feel/hear more things than adults so I don't correct her when she says this. 

Lily was so excited to add her hand into the mix. 

Ducati and her little hand. She's so cute! 

I believe Lily was the only one to have real nail polish on her hand. And she added her cut on her finger. She's very detailed. 

But then we went adventuring with daddy until my shift started 

Everyone had to beat box in the presidents room

Found 5 more (only 4 in this photo) of painting Mikes aunt painted. Amazing to see family names being hung among places we work. It's like a little surprise. 

Enjoying the gardens of course. Ducati wants to be a gardener when she grow up. Lily wants to be a temple square chef so they made the plan to be besties and Cati will bring Lily flowers and Lily will feed Cati lunch. 

During a much needed potty break I say on the ground and looked up and see this rainbow. It was amazing! There was no rain or storms. The weather was perfect so my guess was that HeavenlyFather  just wanted to give us present because he loves us. 

And I really wanted to take this picture with Mike. When I looked at him playing and chasing our girls I just thought to myself," Forever really means forever", and I was (and still am) so glad to have him in my life. 

So little trips to temple square turn into amazing moments that strengthen my testimony in God, Jesus Christ, being a mother, being a wife, enjoying my time here on earth, and just being thankful for all the moments in between now and forever. 

Prank

There is a little rivalry between Lily and I. We like to prank each other so lately I've decided to start documenting it since I know a few years down the line I will forget.

A few times a week I'll take a nap with Lily and Cati. We usually wake up around the same time but this day Lily woke up before me and she took this picture. 

She said I looked like a sleeping burrito all cuddled up on the couch. 

So the next night I got her back

Mustache Lily all snug in her bed. 

Needless to say this only fueled our fire and now I'm on high alert since she's sworn payback. 

It's ok. These little thing make life exciting. 

Brazil

One of any perks of homeschooling is being able to teach my kids MORE than just the regular standardized stuff. Each month we learn about a different country thanks to Little Passports. This month we learned about Brazil.

Little Passports is a geography program that each month a kit comes in the mail with tons of facts about a specific country. And once we get this kit I add on extra educational experiences to enhance the global experience. 

For this month we.... 

Learned about the Brazilian flag an what each part of it means.

Listened to primary songs in porteges. 

Made Carnival mask and learned about the biggest global party of the year

Learned Capoeira 

 Played a kids game called Rooster 

I made a traditional Brazilian dinner which everyone really enjoyed 

Except for the limeade. This was a new flavor we've never had so it took some time getting use to it. ( it's blended lines with sugar water mixed with milk) 

And we went on a field trip to a chocolate factory where we learned all about the cacao tree that makes cocoa beans. 

But you can't visit a chocolate factory and not enjoy some yummy after tour treats 

Besides all this we read a few books about Brazil, played the Little Passports online game, watched a couple documentaries on Netflix, watched Rio, learned about the Christus statue, and danced to some brazilian music 

My kids ( and the neighbor kids) are excited to see what country we learn about next month. Blessing we homeschool. 

Black Island Farms

I love this new school the kids are signed up with. The teachers set up a field trip to Black Island Farms, which is one of our favorite pumpkin farms since it's right up the street from us.

Besides my kids playing with friends I got a chance to meet all my kids BFFs and crushes which I promised to keep secret. 

On our field trip we learned about crops, planting, seasons, seeds, and how to recycle farm stuff into fun playground equipment. 

Our kids had so much fun. 

Even when we got lost in the corn maze. Those maps are handy but we wanted to give it a go without any help. Mistake! 

So we made our own path and walked straight through the corn since we were getting frustrated. 

It was nice to get out and enjoy this autumn weather.