Halloween is Almost Over!

Halloween is my least favorite holiday.  I didn't really like it as a kid, and, as an adult, I almost dislike it more.  But, now that we have 3 kids, 2 that thoroughly enjoy dressing up for the occasion, I kind of have to play along.  Plus, aren't they so cute in their BYU cheerleader outfits?  (Thanks, Grammy!)

So, here we are...a pathetic compilation of BYU cheerleaders, players and fan.  And, that, my friends, is about the most Halloween "spirit" you will ever get out of me.

Lucky for me, other than a quick trip to the lake last week (mostly for balloon animals), I got it all over and done with in about 24 hours.  Well, aside from the select neighbors we will need to stop by on Wednesday night.

At the Lake:

Sadie and her hippo, Morgan and her bunny, Carson and the tree trunk from his monkey swinging in a palm tree (it was soooo cute!).  Unfortunately, Carson sat down in the grass...oops!

There was a band playing Halloween tunes and Carson could have stayed all night, dancing to the music!

At Daddy's Work:

Friday night, Brian's office hosted its annual Halloween Party and the kids got to trick or treat through the cubicles, followed by a (much too) long magic show.  The kids loved it, Carson and the adults...not so much.

This little guy was determined to get into one of the packaged goodies people kept giving him!  

Het gave up on the candy, but, went straight for the cooler full of juice!  He knows these drinks from anywhere!  (And, the funny thing is, I've never bought them before!)

Sorry, this is the best shot I have of the girls from the party.  Our cheerleaders!

Pumpkin Carving:

After soccer (more about that in another post) on Saturday, we carved our giant pumpkin (thanks, Grandpa Dale!), "Mrs. Orange," in preparation for the trunk-or-treat at church.  This was the first time the girls had carved a pumpkin, and they kept saying things like "eeeew!" and "gross!", as Brian pulled all the pulp and seeds out.  My personal favorite from Morgan: "I'm not touching that!"  They did, however, want to help carve its face.

"Yuck, Daddy!  You do it!"

Even Carson wasn't so sure about what Daddy pulled out of the pumpkin!

Morgan carving the eye.

Sadie carving the other eye.

The final product.  Not too bad for their first pumpkin.  Just don't look too closely!

Trunk-or-Treat:

Saturday evening, we went trunk-or-treating at the church Halloween Party.  The girls came home and dumped all the candy on the table.  Morgan picked 6, Sadie, 4, and Carson, his allotted 1 (the girls were so excited that he got a piece of candy this year!).  They splurged, and put it all back into the big bowl for the Halloween Fairy.  And, that was the end of the candy!  Yay! (The Halloween Fairy is currently searching for a good donation spot!)

Sunday morning, they each had 2 presents to open (new BYU shirts), and were super excited!

Books

Most of our kids books are kept upstairs.  I've strategically planned this arrangement.  

When Morgan cleans up, they look like this:

When Sadie cleans up, they look like this:

But, when Carson cleans up, they look like this:

And, my usual clean up helpers are the latter two.  So, to save myself a lot of stress and anxiety, I keep just a few downstairs, because that's about as big as the mess can get.  Now, upstairs, that's a whole different story.  

I'm so glad my kids love books!

Most of October

I just realized I haven't posted in almost a month!  We've been busy with school, piano, church, soccer, BBQ, preschool, Brian studying, friends visiting...and, I've got a slew of pictures to prove most of it!

So, here goes!

Carson, impatiently waiting for his oatmeal.  I make whipped cream puffs and then freeze them to use as "ice" on our oatmeal.  I hadn't put the silverware out, so Carson just dove in!

You will start to notice a common element in lots of Carson's pictures---Duplos.  He carries the box around waiting for someone to open it!  And, when we do, the first thing he does is dump it out!

Sadie loves to watch The Magic School Bus on YouTube.  A great find!

Morgan has taken The Magic Tree House to a new level.  The website (magictreehouse.com) was down for a few weeks, so she could play any games or complete the quizzes on the books she'd read.  So, she decided to draw a picture of her favorite book, #20, Dingoes at Dinnertime. That's a kangaroo, the tree house and Jack and Annie. Good thing that's not the real ladder.  I'd be afraid to climb up!

Every now and again (sometimes more frequently than desired!), one of the kids wakes up and gets to spend "Mommy and Daddy" time before we all head to bed.  This night, it was Carson, cuddling with Dad.

And here is, that same night, still refusing to sleep!

 I think Carson is almost too big for his Pack n Play.  We're planning on moving him to a big bed at Christmas time.  Let's hope he still loves his bed when we make him sleep on it, not just play!

One evening, I decided this mess was worth making dinner in peace.  The girls were coloring and Carson was dumping out the game cabinet.

However, he went too far when he climbed inside the cabinet.  Daddy and Sadie spent a good 20 minutes putting puzzles back together! It's a good thing he couldn't open the games or puzzles in boxes!

Give this kid a broom and he sweeps!

Here's Grandpa Dale and Grammy Tammy slicing brisket? at the Dana Point competition.  It was a beautiful venue!

Who can resist Grammy's famous peach cobbler?

Apparently, neither of my girls.  (And, as a side note, this is likely dish 3 or 4--they tend to just ask different adults for a taste, knowing they will get more!)

If you ask Sadie, she's hiding behind her "spy goggles."  Good thing she's not a secret agent. Don't know how inconspicuous those are in real life.

Not the best picture, but, I told you those Duplos would come up again!

Along with another "self-feeding" picture.  I'm thinking the chocolate chip cookie was delicious!

Carson thinks it's hilarious to wear this pink headband around the house!  He finds it in the hair pretty box, then brings it to me to put on and runs away, laughing hysterically!

 Play-doh.  This is a rare occurrence in our home, as it seems that I find little crumbles for days and weeks after we clean it all up.  But, for the record, I did not completely deprive my children of this experience.

When Sadie makes her bed, she always makes a spot for Lulu.  I think it's so sweet because when I make her bed, I just throw her hippo on the bed and call it good.

Morgan has started piano lessons.  Practice battles have begun.  And, Carson has also discovered the joys of this wonderful instrument!

Yes, he has sisters.  And, no, he's not crying because they put necklaces on him.  He's screaming at me for trying to take them off!

Oh, how I will miss the day when they can't all fit on the same chair and cook!  (No, really, I will!)

"Mom, I'm bored," turned into all of the chairs lined up and dancing down them to music!

Third times a charm, right?  If you're curious what I'm considering for his Christmas, here's your hint.

I will need a bigger tub, though!

Hope you enjoyed our month in review!