halloween 2014

I just sat here for a full two minutes trying to come up with a better title for this post than "halloween 2014".  You can see how successful I was there.  I have lost all creativity and cleverness when it comes to this blog, but I just have to be happy that I'm still here, right?!  

Here is how our day went down:

The school parade

Always a favorite.  Beckerman whizzed by so fast I could hardly get a pic.  He went to school unsure of his costume.  That wig is big.  His confidence was shaky and uncertain.  But as he walked by me, I heard several spectators cheer for Kyle Beckerman or RSL as he went past and I could see the smile on his face.  It was like that all day.  Beckerman has fans and McKay experienced those comments all day long.  By the end of the night he was thrilled with his costume.   

My little 1920's dancer!  There was one other flapper girl- a 6th grader who also wore a red dress.  They were both cute.  I cannot say how much I loved Elle's costume.  It made me happy and she looked amazing.  I am obsessed with the headband and tempted to make myself an adult flapper girl dress so I can wear it next year!  Ellery was all about the makeup this year.  We did a cat-eye and mascara and red nail polish.  Ellery loves when she gets to wear mascara- which is practically never- but the funny thing about her is that she HATES lipstick, lipgloss, chapstick or anything at all on her lips.  I told her that flapper girls wore red lipstick (like I even know that- they probably don't!) and she thought about it for a minute but she just couldn't do it.  She looked great without that red lip and she was happy with her mascara!  

How could I try to convince Layla to be something else other than Elsa?  Yes, I know there were a million of them this year.  At the school parade I heard there were at least forty!  But I decided that it didn't matter if she was something original- it mattered that she was excited and felt good about her costume.  So Elsa it was!  And by the end of the night- after seeing Elsa, after Elsa- I decided it was great fun that she was part of the Elsa movement of 2014.  We will never forget it!

That is her and her preschool friends Travy and Anna.  

How's that for a Halloween lunch?  I think maybe she didn't even eat it. She was too excited to eat.

I helped in Ellery's class party.  

We did mystery boxes with eyeballs, brains, spider legs and other gross things.  It was so fun and the kids seemed to love it.  

Here is her cute little class.

Grandad and Marilyn joined us for dinner.  This year I remembered to keep it calm and we had soup in bread bowls.  I don't know when my kids will start liking soup, but I'm going to keep making it until they do.  It sure would be nice though.

 Trick-or-treating!  Oh my goodness, this Halloween night was SO perfect!  It could not have been nicer weather.  Not hot, not chilly, just right.  We all went out for a few houses, and then I came back home to hand out candy, and the four of them went on.  They stayed out until after eight- which is a record for them by far.  

Layla summed it up when while walking home she threw her arms in the air and yelled, "Best Halloween EVER!!!"  I agree- it was the best!

october photos

Two cute shots of this child before school.  The one on the right was crazy sock day.  Preschool is just the best.  I am SO glad she is loving it now. 

Fun day at Thunder Mountain!

We were there to chop wood for the cabin.  It was fun to get some assembly lines going and work togtheer- even Layla got in on it!

Not sure what's going on here but I like it.

Sometimes I forget how awesome this beard is that McKay wore for Halloween last year.

Ellery can do this like its no big deal.  

Ah, the school carnival.  I laughed so hard because on the way down, Brian made a big declaration that there would be no hair spraying and no face painting.  I looked at him and said, "Then what is the point of the carnival?  That's ALL it is."  It's obvious who won that one, even if they did wash it off right when when we got home.  For a kid, that is the most memorable part of the carnival for sure!

Elle and her friend Maddie.  

One of our Fall break activities was teaching Layla how to ride a bike.  She did great and the balance bike really made a huge difference.

The trouble is, the bike is too big for her.  She can ride it around like a pro (well, kinda) but starting and stopping is super tricky and not really possible because she is not big enough.  We need to get one of those tiny bikes...but it's hard to justify spending money on that when she will outgrow it in the next year.  Anyway, proud of her!  It was fun to cheer her on.

Brian had to work during one of McKay's last soccer games.  I think maybe it almost killed him to miss it.  He watched the second half like this.

We have been enjoying lots of these lately.  Pictures never do it justice, but this one turned out alright.

Picking our punkins.  The lighting was absolutely perfect at this  moment.  Ellery chose a classic pumpkin, McKay's was shaped like a mushroom and Layla's was the biggest.  

See what I mean about these photos?  I love this shot.

With the Beehives at Gardner Village.

Brian and I have wanted to take the kids to Tepanyaki and we finally did it.  They loved it.  I don't know how much they loved the food...but the experience was awesome!

How could we resist?

Elle and Mack working on their Reflections entries.  The theme was "The world would be a better place IF..."  Elle drew a home (if everyone had a home) and McKay drew a variety of famous soccer players (if everyone played soccer).  I almost thought about trying to steer him in a more applicable direction, but then I thought, "Hey, this is his thing.  He can do what he wants to."  And of course it was soccer related.  

Bad picture of these crazy kids, but we dressed up before Halloween for Sunday dinner at Grandma's.  

Brian took me "trail running".  That is what he calls it... and what he wanted it to be.  For me it felt like it should have been called "super hard hike that never ends".  Except it did end, and we made it to the promised 'bench by a waterfall' and then we ran down.  I hated the hike up- hiking is not my favorite, never has been- and I liked the run down.  I may or may not have been close to tears because the bench seemed like it was never going to come.  

Look how pretty.  The next day I felt like I had done something huge and amazing, judging by the way my body hurt.  Brian brought me back down to reality and told me that it wasn't that big of a deal, what we did.  

Layes is back in swimming lessons.  She likes to wear sock in the water because the flippers hurt her feet.  She also has issues with goggles and will never keep them on her eyes.  We love Miss Sheila and swimming lesson days.

One of the sweetest things I've seen in awhile was when Layla was in charge of lesson for FHE.  Ellery took it upon herself to help Layla come up with a lesson.  I can't even remember what it was about- families and homes I think- but Elle told Layla to draw our family and labeled them for her.  Then they practiced in the music room like this and I snuck a pic.  It was a sweet lesson and a sweet interaction between these sisters.  Ellery is very thoughtful.

Ellery is also a good photographer.  She finished her pumpkin carving before the other kids so I gave her the assignment of taking pictures.  She took her job seriously and there were about ten shots of the inside of her pumpkin when she was done.  

I love doing these traditional holiday activities.  Carving pumpkins, roasted seeds, and pumpkin donuts made for a very fun FHE activity.  

The photographer herself.

I don't know if I've talked about McKay's warts...but he had two on his toes and here he is getting them burned off for a second time.  He was nervous, as getting warts burned off is not a very pleasant thing to do, but he was brave and handled it with maturity.  Now those pesky warts should be gone for good.

ellie girl turns seven

Ellery really wanted breakfast in bed for her birthday.  Sprinkle-topped waffles was on the menu.

She got a new bike!  She had outgrown Starburst, and so it was time to upgrade to a bigger model.  

These masquerade masks were at the top of Elle's birthday list this year.  I got her two...because with a best sister, two is way more fun than one.  

Elle chose a gymnastics themed birthday party.  

We had several "events" that they had to compete in.  After each event, they got a bead to add to their medals.  Ribbon dancing was a favorite, and so fun to take pictures of!  Before this event, they decorated their ribbons wands with washi tape and picked out their perfect ribbons.

Next was rings.  They had to hang and twist and twirl on these playground rings.

We had a floor routine where they could do a freestyle routine of cartwheels, kicks, leaps and whatever else they chose.

Not pictured is the balance beam and obstacle course.

Next up was the piñata! 

As they all dove for the candy, I couldn't help but notice that all eight of these girls have the exact same color of hair.  Summer blondes!

Time for cupcakes.  

I love this sweet girl very much.  She is so thoughtful, sincere, happy, care-free and sensitive.  She is the best older sister, she is artistic and unique and fun.  So glad she's in our family and I'm so happy to be her mom.  Happy Birthday Ellery Jane!