Happy Halloween

Halloween was a bit unusual for us this year since Paul and I caught a flight to the Bahamas at midnight but we still had all our normal Halloween activities. We dressed up.

Kylie & Bailey: Fairies (made by Nana w/ matching doll costumes)

Kade: Swat team member (From Costco; Uncle Kent let him borrow his real handcuffs) 

Jaxon: Air Force Guy(From Costco; he loved the bee on it. Bees are his obsession lately)

We went to our ward trunk or treat then had stew for dinner. Then Cindy and I took them trick or treating around the neighborhood since it was so warm. 

Carving Pumpkins

Nana and Poppy came to spend Halloween with us and then to watch the kids while we went to the Bahamas for Paul's work. The first night they were there, we carved pumpkins. As a kid, I always remember my dad's artistic pumpkin skills. The best was when he painted Garfield and Odie. This year he helped hte kids created just what they wanted. I wish I had taken pictures of it.

 Afterwards Nana and Poppy gave the kids some halloween presents. The girls got their American Girl dolls matching costumes.

Ward Carnival

Each year our church has a Halloween carnival where the kids (and lots of adults too) can dress up and play fun games. Kade and Jaxon enjoyed balloon sword fighting with all the other little boys and the girls played with their friends. We had lots of fun!

Later that night we had Paul's family over for some chili and football. It was such a fun day!

Artsy Kids

Our kids are always making Paul and I little projects, notes, etc. I love it! Here are a few I remembered to take pictures of.

Reflections

For school this year we had three kids who all had reflections projects due for school. Reflections is a contest put on by the PTA that encourages kids to explore their artistic side. The theme this year was "The Magic of a Moment."

Kade chose to do a 3-D Art of Starry Night:

Bailey Chose to take a photo of rollerblading because thats what makes her think of a magic moment.

Kylie also chose to do a photo and took one of a sleepover when Bailey was reading to Jaxon. I love this picture.

They all did such good job and these were all their own ideas.

Fall Break

This fall break, we tried to fit in as much as we could...

Thursday: I found a $20 bill in a drawer in the stove drawer. We decided to spend it while the house was getting cleaned. The kids and I: went to lunch at Carls Jr for $10.82, went to shopko for some candy: $3.27 and to the movie (Ice Age 3) for $6.25. Total: $20.34. Luckily I had change in my purse too.

Friday: We went with the Barons and Kade's friend Dannon's family to Cornbellys. They pretty much did it all: bounce houses, haunted dinosaur, slides, corn sandbox, corn maze, cow train, creepy monsters, Hay hills, etc. It was a fun but exhausting!

Saturday: Paul left on a business trip to San Antonio, but before he left, the kids did a stuffed animal Halloween Parade. Then we went out to lunch at Cafe Rio. That night we had a movie night watching Hocus Pocus. They looked a little frightened at parts and I was afraid it was going to be a rough night (nightmares and all) but they did great.

Everynight of the break, they had a slumber party in the playroom. It was a great fall break that went entirely too fast!

Mr. Potato Head

Today we went to McDonalds for lunch. The happy meals were buckets with halloween stickers to decorate like Mr. Potato head. Kade decided to decorate his own face instead. Such a funny boy.

The kids put on a halloween parade with their stuffed animals. PS See the mummy bear on the door, they're so creative

Team Mad Dog- Tough Mudder

Paul has a friend he worked with at Target years ago who has been struggling with liver failure. A group from Target decided to raise money by running a tough mudder. The Tough Mudder events are hardcore 10-12 mile obstacle courses designed by British Special Forces to test your all around strength, stamina, mental grit, and camaraderie. You go over 12 foot walls and through underground mud tunnels, through water, over hills and through 10,000 volts of electricity.  Their team, Team Mad Dog raised over $5000 for Jared and his family. In the end, Paul had a blast but unfortunately ended up breaking a toe and bursting his eardrum. It was a tough race but he's planning on doing it again so it must have been fun!

Potty Training Jaxon

After months of potty training, Jaxon is finally COMPLETELY potty trained and wearing real big boy undies no more pullups. He chose his own undies, Mickey Mouse (his absolute fav) and was excited to be a big boy.We are so proud!

Crazy hair day

This morning we did our crazy hairstyles for this year's red ribbon Crazy Hair Day. Kylie did a redo o last year and bailey and I came up with this new one with regular aluminum foil. Kade didn't have many options (just spray painted it) but was excited to participate for the first time. Dressing up is so fun!

After School...

Conference Sunday

I've been trying to come up with fun traditions for our family and haven't been able to think of anything. I'm not a big cook, I will probably NEVER wake up early and make breakfast :). Or Crafter. So I thought it might be fun to have a picnic breakfast while we watch Conference on TV. We rolled back the rug and put out a blanket. I made cinnamon rolls (from a can lol), eggs and sausage. It was yummy and so fun with a little spiritual uplifting added in.