Pumpkin Carving

We carved pumpkins for FHE on Monday. We took the kids to get pumpkins at Walmart (they just had a few left :)), then spent about a couple of hours making them look silly. Allie designed and carved her own "nerdy" Jack-o-lantern. Collin was also very specific and wanted triangles for its eyes and nose, and a big smiley mouth. Maddie watched from her high chair, but was very curious about them, especially when we lit the candles. We all love this yearly tradition!

Caramel Apples, Etc.

My new friend Brittney Basaraba came over one day and brought me a very yummy looking (and tasting!) caramel apple. It was so nice! Kevin's mom Lorraine (who happens to also know Brittney and is in our ward) called her and invited her over to our house and teach us this wonderful talent. Brittney agreed (whew!), so last Monday (the 27th), Lorraine and my two sisters-in-law, Kristie and Megan, and me were taught Brittney's method and secrets :) of caramel-apple-making and chocolate-caramel-pretzel-dipping (you get the idea -- doesn't it sound yummy?!). We had such a good time making these yummy treats for us give away to our friends. It felt good to learn something new. Thank you Brittney!

Trunk-Or-Treat

We had our ward trunk or treat last Saturday. Since Kevin and I are both on the Activities Committee, I took less than half the normal number of pictures and videos I usually take (<50).

Allie dressed up as a rock star from Camp Rock, Collin as Optimus Prime, and Maddie as Pebbles Flintstone. I got some cheap halloween fabric at Joann's and whipped up the costume the morning of our trunk or treat. It turned out pretty cute on her, except she couldn't keep the bone on her head. She kept ripping it off - so it probably stayed there a total of five minutes (not exaggerating!).

Anna and her kids were here for the weekend while Tony went camping, so they came too. Will post more photos later.

Big Update coming!

So I haven't had the time to sit and update this blog. I update the preschool blog two times a week, so our family blog has taken the backseat. My sister Anna and her kids visited for a few days, we had our ward Halloween trunk-or-treat, and I have been painting a few walls in my house. Anyways, once I upload the big batch of photos, I promise there will be 3 or 4 new posts.

Girls' Weekend

While Kevin and Collin were away over the weekend in Utah to watch the BYU football game, Allie and I did girls night "in" at home. We went to the Santan Mall to round up our supplies for our foot soak, bath and manicure. After grabbing a bite to eat at In-N-Out, we got Maddie ready for bed, and then we got out our girly stuff. We had fun painting our nails with polish Allie picked out herself and getting all pampered just like at the spa. We went to bed feeling all relaxed and pretty! Ha. We decided it would be lots of fun to do this on a more regular basis. Especially during football season.

Our menu this weekend: Navajo Tacos, Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (yes, we whipped up Grandma Weez's homemade noodle recipe for this one), Popcorn and Brownies to eat while we watched a movie on TV in bed (usually a no-no, since I do not allow food anywhere other than the kitchen, so Allie thought it was cool, and we talked and read a whole lot too I don't think we really got anything out of Mostly Ghostly).

10 Months and Counting

She cut her first tooth on September 29.
Before lunch.
After lunch.

She loves a nice warm bath.

I haven't posted photos of our little Maddie for quite some time! At 10 1/2 months old, she is our little, petite, eensy, light as a feather "pint of love" (as Allie says). She has a lot of tricks up her sleeve.

She has the most adorable squinty eyes and crinkly nose when she smiles. We all like going in her room in the morning when she wakes up because 9 times out of 10, she will squeal and bounce on her knees, so excited to see us. Then she will reach her arms out to you so you could pick her up. It is so cute!

She loves climbing up the stairs and benches. She is cautious enough to not have tried going down the stairs by herself yet -- she always waits for someone to be right by her to get her back down. She cannot be left alone in her high chair without a belt on for even a minute as she can get out of it. I found her out of her high chair and on the countertop recently (scary!). She also pulls anything you try to put on her head. She won't wear headbands, or clips -- just elastics to hold her pigtails, but even those she pulls off too.

She likes unrolling toilet paper rolls and prefers to play with non-toys. When she hears someone leaving the house or hears the word "bye" she starts waving and saying "ba". She will take a 3 hour nap in the morning and a 2 hour nap in the afternoon for me, which is so helpful especially on Tuesdays and Thursdays when I have preschool.

We all love her so much! She keeps us entertained and on our toes!

And the winner is...

Conference weekend was great! We were planning a trip to UT but decided to stay here for conference instead of driving up on Saturday (while conference was on). I am glad we did! The messages were wonderful and full of hope; inspired me to work on many areas in my life. We started by making German pancakes for breakfast and then watched conference in our bedroom (where most family activities take place!).

I had our Conference Activities Packet printed out (you may email me for a copy or you may download a similar version on my friend Jen's blog -- she and I share resources, which I appreciate much!) a few days before. Instead of taking them to get spiral-bound (which I did last year), I used colored file folders and stapled the sheets at the top. Of all the many coloring activities, cut and paste pictures of Apostles, matching, etc., the clear winner this year were the Word Tally Sheets (original idea from Jen's family).

Allie and Collin sat thru most, if not all, of the sessions, listening. Collin used car stickers for tally marks, which he loved to do. He was able to tally 200 different words (see photo) and Allie tallied over 1,300. The tally marks equal reward points that they will get to redeem later. I need to make the box sizes for the stickers bigger for next time, as they quickly filled up -- especially the box for Jesus Christ, which got a tally mark anytime any variation of His name was mentioned, which in itself was a lesson for the kids. Their ears were quick to recognize that "Redeemer" and "Savior" needed tally marks under "Jesus Christ". I also loved that I heard comments like "he said challenges again but we don't have that on our sheet", or Allie saying something about swimsuits and modesty during Elder Oaks' talk (he talked about the manner of dress briefly).

Birthday Time at Preschool

It was a special school day on Thursday. We celebrated Collin & Jace's birthdays in Montessori fashion - the Celebration of Life. We made birthday crowns to wear next class. Kristie and Grandma L. came to celebrate with us.

The boys had fun carrying our Earth (globe) around our sun (yellow circle with a lighted candle) 5 times, stopping every year of their life to listen to what they accomplished that year. Kristie and I made some very cute posters with pictures for every year of their life that we used as a visual. We sang Happy Birthday and then they blew out the candle.

I love the Celebration of Life because it really helps the kids remember how special every year has been, and at the same time learn a cosmic lesson. At the end of the lesson, the boys learned:

- the 12 months of the year

- that the Earth goes around the Sun

- that it takes 1 year for the Earth to circle the Sun

- that they get older as the Earth goes around the Sun

- how many times the Earth has gone around the Sun since they were born (5 times!)

Theme: Babies (Usborne Book - How are Babies Made?) - They were amazed that they were once as small as a little ant, and that fetuses don't even look like babies but pointed out the parts that would become their head, eyes, and arms.

Yoga Pose: Fetus

Individual Work:

Collin:Peg Board, lacing, triangle box

Jace: Screws (with pattern) - he loves this work and has been doing it all week!

Art: Birthday Crowns

Phonograms Review 1-28

(This post is from our home preschool blog, for those of you who do not have access to that. If you would like an invite, let me know. I post lessons every week.)