It's interesting to me that there are so many ways to express love to someone. Sometimes, we find it really easy to say those words or make ourselves understood. Other times, it is really a puzzle to figure out how to make ourselves understood.
I think when we find ourselves trying to say we love someone, it's important to wait around a while and see if they got the message. It's possible that they don't receive messages on the same channel that we're sending them.
If you find yourself in that situation, don't sit and wait for the person to flip through the channels until they find the one you're sending your message through. I promise you that they will hear your words, but they won't understand them in their hearts. If you really want to communicate your love, you need to change your channel to match theirs.
Does it seem like I am trying to make a point? Heck, yeah. But I'm getting closer to throwing all the channels out the window instead of pretending that I understand words I hear. That is not my channel you're using!
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Simple Melody
Sarah is sitting on a step stool with a "Wheels On The Bus" book. In her high-pitched little girl voice, she is singing, "Wheels on bus...GO, GO, GO!" Each time she turns the page, she repeats the verse. At the last page, she sings one more time then says, "All done." That's when she starts over. If you look at her, she stops singing and turns away, embarrassed.
That girl can add joy to even the saddest of hearts (I can testify to that)!
That girl can add joy to even the saddest of hearts (I can testify to that)!
Thanksgiving
For Thanksgiving this year we drove 2.5 hours to Chad's parents' house in Hagerman. We had been fighting a cold bug that most of us had graduated from, except for Daniel who was in the middle of his 3rd day of fever and had a cough. (Joseph was the only other one to have a fever and it wasn't real reliable, so I was surprised Daniel still had his.) Chad and Nathan never got sick. The last time we had a family gathering like this, we had sick kids so we cancelled. This time, it was too close to Thanksgiving, we were bringing the plates and rolls, and we would have been without a dinner of our own - so we decided to risk it (plus, it wasn't a throw-up germ). Since then, I've heard of at least two different families that have been sick and it was probably from us. I feel really bad about that and I apologize to them. It's so hard to know what to do sometimes.
In addition to plentiful germs, the food was also plentiful (and better for the body). Here is Rebekah, doing her best to avoid the nasty, healthy food and only pick out the "treats." Chad is trying to influence her for good.
There were 31 people in attendance, aged about 6 months to about 568 months. ;) For that many people (and months) you need a really long table.
It's impossible to get such a long table in one camera shot and still see who is at the table. So took two shots.
The food was really yummy (at least what I ate) and more than filling. Many thanks to Peter and Kelly and anyone else who brought over the whole platter so I could keep eating without burning any unnecessary calories.
After dinner, some of us slumped around and questioned our eating habits. Nathan and Rebekah tried to make me feel guilty by working Grandma's elliptical machine together. When you're the size of Nathan and Rebekah, it's not something you can do by yourself!
Other children burned off their feasts by jumping on the trampoline. Leah and Nathan (again with the guilt, Nathan?) and their cousins had fun getting a natural high. ;)
I have not jumped on a trampoline since I was 23. I think I will be able to say that for the rest of my life.
After the feasting over turkey was over and cleared up, and a couple of hours had passed, it was pie time. Chad's family has a pie palooza every Thanksgiving. I don't know what their record is, but this year was a record for me. Check out all those pies. You can try to count, but you'll come up short because they aren't all in the picture. There were 31 pies (it might be 32). Our family of 8 only brought 2. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered if we didn't show up! ;)
Sarah really like the chocolate pie that Grandma fed her. When Chad was dressing Sarah that morning, I was thinking her shirt was a little underwhelming when it came to a holiday outfit. But when this happened, I was glad for a shirt that would welcome a few more dribbles!
Sarah has a little cousin that is about 4 months older than she is. They don't see each other too often, so it's pretty much like meeting a stranger each time. But they seemed to be hitting it off nicely this time!
In Chad's family, a gathering is never complete without at least one game. (I played a game of Phase 10 earlier in the day that lasted at least an hour and a half and never got off Phase 3. They teased me for throwing the cards after each round, but REALLY!)
We have "Our Book of Thanks" that we started last year. We have everyone write what they are thankful for and we put in a picture of the whole group that was there. Here is Rebekah writing her thanks.
Here is the picture for the book. There are 8 siblings in Chad's family; five of the siblings made it this time. Santa needs to bring me a better camera if I am going to be expected to take nice pictures of a group this big ever again!
We drove back home that night. We left about an hour later than I said I wanted to (as I knew we would) and got back home a little before midnight. It never fails that when we drive in the dark, certain people in this family have serious meltdowns about 50 minutes from home. Tradition was honored and I was so glad to not be a Black Friday devotee.
The kids enjoyed playing with cousins that they don't get to see very often and it was nice to be part of a family celebration (instead of by ourselves). We must have left the rest of our germs behind because Daniel's fever finally passed and no one else got sick. Now we live in fear of the flu bug that is going around the schools and community right now.
In addition to plentiful germs, the food was also plentiful (and better for the body). Here is Rebekah, doing her best to avoid the nasty, healthy food and only pick out the "treats." Chad is trying to influence her for good.
There were 31 people in attendance, aged about 6 months to about 568 months. ;) For that many people (and months) you need a really long table.
It's impossible to get such a long table in one camera shot and still see who is at the table. So took two shots.
The food was really yummy (at least what I ate) and more than filling. Many thanks to Peter and Kelly and anyone else who brought over the whole platter so I could keep eating without burning any unnecessary calories.
After dinner, some of us slumped around and questioned our eating habits. Nathan and Rebekah tried to make me feel guilty by working Grandma's elliptical machine together. When you're the size of Nathan and Rebekah, it's not something you can do by yourself!
Other children burned off their feasts by jumping on the trampoline. Leah and Nathan (again with the guilt, Nathan?) and their cousins had fun getting a natural high. ;)
I have not jumped on a trampoline since I was 23. I think I will be able to say that for the rest of my life.
After the feasting over turkey was over and cleared up, and a couple of hours had passed, it was pie time. Chad's family has a pie palooza every Thanksgiving. I don't know what their record is, but this year was a record for me. Check out all those pies. You can try to count, but you'll come up short because they aren't all in the picture. There were 31 pies (it might be 32). Our family of 8 only brought 2. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered if we didn't show up! ;)
Sarah really like the chocolate pie that Grandma fed her. When Chad was dressing Sarah that morning, I was thinking her shirt was a little underwhelming when it came to a holiday outfit. But when this happened, I was glad for a shirt that would welcome a few more dribbles!
Sarah has a little cousin that is about 4 months older than she is. They don't see each other too often, so it's pretty much like meeting a stranger each time. But they seemed to be hitting it off nicely this time!
In Chad's family, a gathering is never complete without at least one game. (I played a game of Phase 10 earlier in the day that lasted at least an hour and a half and never got off Phase 3. They teased me for throwing the cards after each round, but REALLY!)
We have "Our Book of Thanks" that we started last year. We have everyone write what they are thankful for and we put in a picture of the whole group that was there. Here is Rebekah writing her thanks.
Here is the picture for the book. There are 8 siblings in Chad's family; five of the siblings made it this time. Santa needs to bring me a better camera if I am going to be expected to take nice pictures of a group this big ever again!
We drove back home that night. We left about an hour later than I said I wanted to (as I knew we would) and got back home a little before midnight. It never fails that when we drive in the dark, certain people in this family have serious meltdowns about 50 minutes from home. Tradition was honored and I was so glad to not be a Black Friday devotee.
The kids enjoyed playing with cousins that they don't get to see very often and it was nice to be part of a family celebration (instead of by ourselves). We must have left the rest of our germs behind because Daniel's fever finally passed and no one else got sick. Now we live in fear of the flu bug that is going around the schools and community right now.
Sunday, December 04, 2011
Mistaken Identity
Chad is on the floor playing with Sarah, Joseph, and Rebekah. They have the Book of Mormon figures out and Chad has been saying to different kids, "Do you know who this is?"
When Chad held up Moroni appearing to Joseph Smith and asked that question, Sarah said, "Jesus Christ, Amen."
Ha Ha! That is the first time I've heard her say that on her own. Good job, Sarah! We won't count it as a wrong answer this time. ;)
When Chad held up Moroni appearing to Joseph Smith and asked that question, Sarah said, "Jesus Christ, Amen."
Ha Ha! That is the first time I've heard her say that on her own. Good job, Sarah! We won't count it as a wrong answer this time. ;)
Thursday, December 01, 2011
More pancakes?
The kids are having pancakes for lunch today (because we had extras from dinner last night).
I walked up to Joseph near the end of his first pancake and asked, "Do you need more pancakes?"
"Not yet," he answered. So I stood for 10 seconds longer and watched as he forked the last piece into his mouth. He looked up at me and said, "Now I do."
Such precision.
I walked up to Joseph near the end of his first pancake and asked, "Do you need more pancakes?"
"Not yet," he answered. So I stood for 10 seconds longer and watched as he forked the last piece into his mouth. He looked up at me and said, "Now I do."
Such precision.
Bouncy Power
A story about the power of motivation...starring a bouncy ball and a passionate 4-year-old boy.
Joseph wanted me to wash his clothes but he didn't want to help get them collected. I suggested he just pull the laundry basket to the top of the stairs with all his dirty clothes in it and I would take it from there. He pulled a half-filled laundry basket to the top of the stairs. At the request that he drag it back to his room and put ALL of the dirty clothes in it, he flashed into a screaming, stomping, pint-sized monster. It was about that time that I walked away. I don't "rescue" in situations like that. Or maybe I'm just as lazy as he is!
Anyway, about 10-15 minutes later, Joseph approached me with a deal. If he brought down all his dirty clothes, I would give him a bouncy ball. Minutes ago he couldn't even bring down an half-filled basket, but now he has the strength to return to his room and get the rest of the clothes and bring it down the stairs, up a couple of different stairs, through two rooms and a hallway and into the laundry room for a small piece of foam rubber.
I didn't make it through 11.5 years of motherhood without learning to recognize a small victory. So I agreed to the deal. The clothes are now tumbling in the washer. Joseph and Sarah fought over, I mean played with the ball long enough for me to get a shower. I think I got the best part of the bargain!
Here is the object of desire.
It just goes to show what a little motivation and feeling like you have control of the situation can do...even if you are just 4 years old.
Joseph wanted me to wash his clothes but he didn't want to help get them collected. I suggested he just pull the laundry basket to the top of the stairs with all his dirty clothes in it and I would take it from there. He pulled a half-filled laundry basket to the top of the stairs. At the request that he drag it back to his room and put ALL of the dirty clothes in it, he flashed into a screaming, stomping, pint-sized monster. It was about that time that I walked away. I don't "rescue" in situations like that. Or maybe I'm just as lazy as he is!
Anyway, about 10-15 minutes later, Joseph approached me with a deal. If he brought down all his dirty clothes, I would give him a bouncy ball. Minutes ago he couldn't even bring down an half-filled basket, but now he has the strength to return to his room and get the rest of the clothes and bring it down the stairs, up a couple of different stairs, through two rooms and a hallway and into the laundry room for a small piece of foam rubber.
I didn't make it through 11.5 years of motherhood without learning to recognize a small victory. So I agreed to the deal. The clothes are now tumbling in the washer. Joseph and Sarah fought over, I mean played with the ball long enough for me to get a shower. I think I got the best part of the bargain!
Here is the object of desire.
It just goes to show what a little motivation and feeling like you have control of the situation can do...even if you are just 4 years old.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Blue
It was just one little Dum Dum sucker. I think it was 50% food dye and 50% sugar. I am the best mother in the world! And at 9 AM, no less.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Joseph's 4th Birthday
Somehow it happened, I'm still not sure how, that Joseph turned 4 years old on Sunday! I tell you, I sure love that kid. He is so much fun to have in our family. He is Sarah's best friend and is so stinkin' smart! He also talks constantly. (I could use a break from that.)
As his birthday approached, starting in about July, Joseph would want to know if his birthday was before Halloween or after. I have no idea how many times I answered that question!
Thankfully, his birthday finally arrived. He had been looking forward to getting called up to the front in Primary to pick his scripture pencil and bookmark. Chad and I were in there that morning because Leah had a talk, so I got to see the huge smile on his face. He was so excited, that he started inching out of his seat as he anticipated them formally calling him to the front. And then he stood there stoically while we all sang. I loved it.
I had started the cake two nights before when I made the top of the decorations. I baked the cake Saturday night and slapped all the frosting on during a quiet time Sunday afternoon. I don't think it turned out too badly. In fact, it's my best Butter Cream Transfer to date! (I still have room for improvement.)
I bought some Toy Story sugar decorations to put on the cake. I made sure there were exactly 6...for obvious reasons.
I also picked up a game for everyone to play. I am just not a birthday party kind of mom. Daniel had the most parties, Nathan's had one and Leah is looking forward to her first one in January. So we had a party game for our family time. It seemed to work. :)
The kids were sticking on shields or sheriff stars, depending on their height. Here is Joseph, trying to get Buzz Lightyear's shield on his arm.
Sarah's blindfold slipped off, but we didn't force the rules on her. It's a good thing she's such a favorite around here!
Leah did NOT want to do a shield, but she consented to help us keep the peace (Rebekah did not want to do a shield, either). Leah is usually the one that helps us work things out. I am so thankful for her! But does it look like she's cheating??!?
Here is Rebekah putting on the first star. It looks like poor Woody is about to be
gagged.
Nathan's turn was next. He got it a little closer to the target.
Knowing Daniel, I'm pretty sure he felt his way to the right place. I would suspect him of peeking, but it doesn't look like the blindfold was cooperating.
Next it was time to open the presents. There are always a lot of helpful suggestions when it comes to opening birthday presents in this family! Sarah is trying to get Joseph to take the next gift from her before he finishes checking out the one he just opened. (I guess the dining room light was off. I promise there were some lights on somewhere when I took these pictures!)
I made Joseph a shirt with my Silhouette. He wore it the next day. :) The vinyl was fuzzy, so he spent the whole day feeling his shirt.
I think Joseph's favorite present was a backpack full of tools. He still claims that he knew he was getting tools. He didn't but he's so smitten, that he can't stop talking about them. I think that means I chose well.
Daniel and Joseph found some of their things that they could wrap up for Joseph. I love it when the kids made that kind of effort to celebrate each other. Leah didn't have anything to give Joseph, so she decided to give him a hug. It brought the biggest smile to his face!
After presents comes cake. I don't know when we got out of the habit of having ice cream with the cake. It would be delicious, but I guess the extra sugar isn't really needed.
OK. The lights were out for this shot. We wanted to see the candles! Joseph got the candles out in 2 breaths. The first breath got the candle the farthest away and the second got the closest three. Such talent! ;)
As I've said before, the birthday person gets to cut the cake. That often means we get some creative cuts on our plates. Thankfully, Joseph let me cut the rest of the cake once he dished up his own piece.
Leah was our videographer for the cake this night. It seems a little abuse of power was going on here!
It gets quiet around here when the kids start eating something they like.
Sarah really got into her piece of cake! Hmm...it looks like there was a bit of black frosting on her plate.
Joseph's eyes were bigger than his stomach. Once he'd had his fill of cake, he was gone to the living room to play with his tool set. I wish I could walk away from food like that! (Sadly, I found the best, untouched piece of cake from his plate and ate it. I can't stick to my own food!)
Joseph wasn't the only one who wanted to play with his tools some more!
At the end of the celebration, this was what was left. Joseph, Sarah and I had a little for lunch on Monday and then Chad and I finished it off (before it got stale)!
Happy Birthday, Joseph! We hope you felt special on your special day. We sure love you tons!
As his birthday approached, starting in about July, Joseph would want to know if his birthday was before Halloween or after. I have no idea how many times I answered that question!
Thankfully, his birthday finally arrived. He had been looking forward to getting called up to the front in Primary to pick his scripture pencil and bookmark. Chad and I were in there that morning because Leah had a talk, so I got to see the huge smile on his face. He was so excited, that he started inching out of his seat as he anticipated them formally calling him to the front. And then he stood there stoically while we all sang. I loved it.
I had started the cake two nights before when I made the top of the decorations. I baked the cake Saturday night and slapped all the frosting on during a quiet time Sunday afternoon. I don't think it turned out too badly. In fact, it's my best Butter Cream Transfer to date! (I still have room for improvement.)
I bought some Toy Story sugar decorations to put on the cake. I made sure there were exactly 6...for obvious reasons.
I also picked up a game for everyone to play. I am just not a birthday party kind of mom. Daniel had the most parties, Nathan's had one and Leah is looking forward to her first one in January. So we had a party game for our family time. It seemed to work. :)
The kids were sticking on shields or sheriff stars, depending on their height. Here is Joseph, trying to get Buzz Lightyear's shield on his arm.
Sarah's blindfold slipped off, but we didn't force the rules on her. It's a good thing she's such a favorite around here!
Leah did NOT want to do a shield, but she consented to help us keep the peace (Rebekah did not want to do a shield, either). Leah is usually the one that helps us work things out. I am so thankful for her! But does it look like she's cheating??!?
Here is Rebekah putting on the first star. It looks like poor Woody is about to be
gagged.
Nathan's turn was next. He got it a little closer to the target.
Knowing Daniel, I'm pretty sure he felt his way to the right place. I would suspect him of peeking, but it doesn't look like the blindfold was cooperating.
Next it was time to open the presents. There are always a lot of helpful suggestions when it comes to opening birthday presents in this family! Sarah is trying to get Joseph to take the next gift from her before he finishes checking out the one he just opened. (I guess the dining room light was off. I promise there were some lights on somewhere when I took these pictures!)
I made Joseph a shirt with my Silhouette. He wore it the next day. :) The vinyl was fuzzy, so he spent the whole day feeling his shirt.
I think Joseph's favorite present was a backpack full of tools. He still claims that he knew he was getting tools. He didn't but he's so smitten, that he can't stop talking about them. I think that means I chose well.
Daniel and Joseph found some of their things that they could wrap up for Joseph. I love it when the kids made that kind of effort to celebrate each other. Leah didn't have anything to give Joseph, so she decided to give him a hug. It brought the biggest smile to his face!
After presents comes cake. I don't know when we got out of the habit of having ice cream with the cake. It would be delicious, but I guess the extra sugar isn't really needed.
OK. The lights were out for this shot. We wanted to see the candles! Joseph got the candles out in 2 breaths. The first breath got the candle the farthest away and the second got the closest three. Such talent! ;)
As I've said before, the birthday person gets to cut the cake. That often means we get some creative cuts on our plates. Thankfully, Joseph let me cut the rest of the cake once he dished up his own piece.
Leah was our videographer for the cake this night. It seems a little abuse of power was going on here!
It gets quiet around here when the kids start eating something they like.
Sarah really got into her piece of cake! Hmm...it looks like there was a bit of black frosting on her plate.
Joseph's eyes were bigger than his stomach. Once he'd had his fill of cake, he was gone to the living room to play with his tool set. I wish I could walk away from food like that! (Sadly, I found the best, untouched piece of cake from his plate and ate it. I can't stick to my own food!)
Joseph wasn't the only one who wanted to play with his tools some more!
At the end of the celebration, this was what was left. Joseph, Sarah and I had a little for lunch on Monday and then Chad and I finished it off (before it got stale)!
Happy Birthday, Joseph! We hope you felt special on your special day. We sure love you tons!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Elementary School Costume Parade and Trick-or-Treating
The kids spent the morning of Halloween getting dressed up; some in their costumes and some only partially.
We tried to make the boys' hair dark to match their Angry Birds costumes. It kind of worked.
But not real well. They will be dark like their daddy someday, but it wasn't going to be this day.
We sprayed glitter into Rebekah's hair to go with her princess costume, but it didn't show up against her blond hair in the picture.
Daniel's too old for Halloween parades in middle school, so he went to school with his costume and took care of everything all on his own. It was a pretty easy costume so I knew he would be fine. Nathan's costume was the same, so I left him to it, too. And Leah's wasn't too involved, so I was grateful to let her take care of herself.
Rebekah's costume was a little more involved, so I had to help her get ready. I left Joseph and Sarah sitting on some chairs at the other end of the hallway. They were such good kids and each stayed on the chair I put them in for the 5-10 minutes I was out of sight.
Finally, the parade began. First came the youngest kids and when the first-graders came into view, we quickly found Rebekah. Yikes! This girl does not wear lipstick well! :) But such a cute princess anyway.
When Sarah first saw her big sister, she ran right up to her. It was very cute. And Rebekah made sure she went back to where she belonged.
Leah, ever thinking of horses, was a riding champ. We found this costume at DI a couple of years ago and have been holding on to it ever since. The little cowgirl in front of Leah is a best friend, Ariyah. She is just as bad over horses as Leah, if not worse!
Nathan was an Angry Bird. He just doesn't look very angry!
I had a giant spider web waiting for the kids when they got home. Joseph thought it was pretty fun. They had to climb through the bottom to get up the stairs to their bedrooms. It was fun until after dinner when it had to come down so Chad could put them to bed!
We (of course) had a Halloween dinner. It started like this.
And ended like this.
It needed more cheese. It also needed to cook a little longer. I guess it's lessons for next time! I thought it was yummy, but my kids don't really like meatloaf. I tasted good as a sandwich a few days later.
In addition to the Mummy, we had swamp creatures out of mac 'n cheese. It didn't turn out exactly the way I'd hoped, but we were running out of time. Besides, it's mac 'n cheese; that's not really gourmet food.
We were finally done eating and ready to go out trick-or-treating! There was a trunk-or-treat at the church, but we rebelled against the mass candy this year and turned the night more personal. We picked particular places to visit and then headed home for our own special treat.
Here we are in our costumes (for the 3rd time). What a crazy looking bunch!
We had to go to Daniel's teacher's house. We had to drive to another town to do it. We hit four houses in that neighborhood, one of which was an old neighbor we'd known before we moved the last time. I was a little concerned with the realization that Daniel looked like a thug from the back!
Daniel's teacher came to the door to see who it was that she was supposed to recognize. I think that was a fun thing for Daniel. :)
It was quite a chore to get everyone in and out of the car. We can't do that without fighting...even on a night that we are getting candy!
Then we had to go to Joseph's Primary teacher's house. She was so good to make all the kids feel special when we got there. (Who doesn't like being made to feel special?)
From there, we had one last stop to make. A friend told us to come by her house a week or so before the big day, so we made sure to include that house. She gave the kids a piece of candy on the way in and on the way out...something that Joseph remembered even a few days later!
Then it was home to shed our costumes and warm up a bit. I'd made a cake with food tint...hoping it would be really crazy inside. I didn't get exactly what I'd imagined, but it was still fun. I figured a piece of cake would be better than a bucket-load of candy.
It took some time to wash all that grey paint off of Joseph's face. I think the boys didn't get a shower until Saturday (remember, Halloween was on a Monday) and they still saw the water turn black from their hair paint. Even after Rebekah's shower, I saw glitter in her hair. Whew! Halloween is a big job!
We have a year to recover...thankfully. :)
We tried to make the boys' hair dark to match their Angry Birds costumes. It kind of worked.
But not real well. They will be dark like their daddy someday, but it wasn't going to be this day.
We sprayed glitter into Rebekah's hair to go with her princess costume, but it didn't show up against her blond hair in the picture.
Daniel's too old for Halloween parades in middle school, so he went to school with his costume and took care of everything all on his own. It was a pretty easy costume so I knew he would be fine. Nathan's costume was the same, so I left him to it, too. And Leah's wasn't too involved, so I was grateful to let her take care of herself.
Rebekah's costume was a little more involved, so I had to help her get ready. I left Joseph and Sarah sitting on some chairs at the other end of the hallway. They were such good kids and each stayed on the chair I put them in for the 5-10 minutes I was out of sight.
Finally, the parade began. First came the youngest kids and when the first-graders came into view, we quickly found Rebekah. Yikes! This girl does not wear lipstick well! :) But such a cute princess anyway.
When Sarah first saw her big sister, she ran right up to her. It was very cute. And Rebekah made sure she went back to where she belonged.
Leah, ever thinking of horses, was a riding champ. We found this costume at DI a couple of years ago and have been holding on to it ever since. The little cowgirl in front of Leah is a best friend, Ariyah. She is just as bad over horses as Leah, if not worse!
Nathan was an Angry Bird. He just doesn't look very angry!
I had a giant spider web waiting for the kids when they got home. Joseph thought it was pretty fun. They had to climb through the bottom to get up the stairs to their bedrooms. It was fun until after dinner when it had to come down so Chad could put them to bed!
We (of course) had a Halloween dinner. It started like this.
And ended like this.
It needed more cheese. It also needed to cook a little longer. I guess it's lessons for next time! I thought it was yummy, but my kids don't really like meatloaf. I tasted good as a sandwich a few days later.In addition to the Mummy, we had swamp creatures out of mac 'n cheese. It didn't turn out exactly the way I'd hoped, but we were running out of time. Besides, it's mac 'n cheese; that's not really gourmet food.
We were finally done eating and ready to go out trick-or-treating! There was a trunk-or-treat at the church, but we rebelled against the mass candy this year and turned the night more personal. We picked particular places to visit and then headed home for our own special treat.
Here we are in our costumes (for the 3rd time). What a crazy looking bunch!
We had to go to Daniel's teacher's house. We had to drive to another town to do it. We hit four houses in that neighborhood, one of which was an old neighbor we'd known before we moved the last time. I was a little concerned with the realization that Daniel looked like a thug from the back!
Daniel's teacher came to the door to see who it was that she was supposed to recognize. I think that was a fun thing for Daniel. :)
It was quite a chore to get everyone in and out of the car. We can't do that without fighting...even on a night that we are getting candy!
Then we had to go to Joseph's Primary teacher's house. She was so good to make all the kids feel special when we got there. (Who doesn't like being made to feel special?)
From there, we had one last stop to make. A friend told us to come by her house a week or so before the big day, so we made sure to include that house. She gave the kids a piece of candy on the way in and on the way out...something that Joseph remembered even a few days later!
Then it was home to shed our costumes and warm up a bit. I'd made a cake with food tint...hoping it would be really crazy inside. I didn't get exactly what I'd imagined, but it was still fun. I figured a piece of cake would be better than a bucket-load of candy.
It took some time to wash all that grey paint off of Joseph's face. I think the boys didn't get a shower until Saturday (remember, Halloween was on a Monday) and they still saw the water turn black from their hair paint. Even after Rebekah's shower, I saw glitter in her hair. Whew! Halloween is a big job!
We have a year to recover...thankfully. :)
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