Halloween Run Down

Halloween is my favorite holiday. I am not sure why. Maybe it is because its only reason is fun. Which is exactly what we had planned for the weekend... lots of scary fun. What we were most afraid of this Halloween however ended up being the swine flu. Kate woke up Thursday with what we thought was H1N1. Turns out she- and then Jake and I- just had some other seasonal flu (see why I don't believe in flu shots), but enough fevers and snot to warrant canceling most of the partying. I was disappointed, for Kate, and for myself, but our quiet sick weekend in turned out to still be fun.

We carved one pumpkin. The least amount of pumpkins our household has ever had despite the fact we have more actual people in our family than ever before. Samuel just got to chew on carrots and watch. Kate helped draw on the face- refused to touch the goop, and demanded we make him look ANGRY.

My first attempt at a spooky dinner. I think it will be a new tradition in years to follow.
We had blood soup with eyeballs ( tomato soup with cheese and olives), witch fingers (carrots with almond fingernails) slime monsters (jello in a baby food container with googly eyes), mummies in blood (hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls with ketchup), magic potion (Dr. Pepper) and ghost cookies (nutter butters in white chocolate)
It was so fun to do. I love making food that looks special. It actually was not the most delicious meal, but that didn't really matter as much to me.
Remember how Jake and I are incredibly into costumes. Well this year we didn't even have one. I meant to take a picture all night of us, sitting in our regular clothes so I could compare it to previous years where we are almost unrecognizable. How pathetic. At least the kids turned out super cute.
Trying to reuse a bear costume we had from Kate, I came up with making it into Cosmo the mascot for BYU and Kate could be a cheerleader. It took a little convincing to get her to not want to just be an elephant from last year, but once I showed her the pom poms she got into it.
We trick or treated at all of three houses. We tried six, but most people weren't home. The kids got the idea, and enjoyed it.


Cuddling one tired Cosmo the Cougar.
Once the kids were off to bed Jake and I watched the 1978 remake of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. With our expectations set low, we were pleasantly surprised.
All in all our sick Halloween turned out just fine.

Bowling Alley Storyboard

Friday night for our evening out we went Bowling at the Bowling Alley in Heber. We hurried to get there beofre 6:00 so we didn't have to fight the crowd. As you can see we really didn't need to, it was pretty empty.
Kate loves bowling. We took about a year ago for the first time and she loved it. In fact we have an awsome video of her eating a corn dog at the bowling alley when she is like 15 months old or something. I should dig that up. Anyway, we've been back a handful of times since. She always comments when we pass the Bowling Alley driving that she wants to go. She likes picking out a ball, wearing funny shoes, rolling the ball down the ramp, sitting at the computer, and getting a drink and some food. Actually she likes going anywhere, so just add this to the list. Jake is a pretty big fan of the psuedo sport as well.
Kate doesn't even wait to see if any pins fall down to cheer for herself with a high five to Dad. She thinks rolling the ball is what this sport is all about.
Picking out a ball.
Kate likes the shoes.
Poor Samuel. He is such a good sport, watching us do everything all the time, while he just has to sit and be patient.

Majesty bowls a Turkey. Why does he have to be good at everything, and me... well not so good at everything? Kate even beat me by 5 points.

After our game we ordered some food. Kate said she wanted a soda and some chips (oh what great eating habits I have taught her). I told her they didn't have any chips, hoping she would go for a grilled cheese sandwich- or at least something resembling a meal. She promptly pointed at the wall, where the chips were located and informed me otherwise. It was a funny moment to me, realising that my child may just be too old to fool. Chips and Soda for dinner it was.... at least she ate a piece of my chicken.

Want Ten Bucks!

So you may or may not know my obsession with Emergency Preparedness. Its new- well as of the last year or so. I try to hid my obsession- as it stems from being a worry wart- on my other blog readysetplan.blogspot.com. Today though I posted something, I think everyone wants to read about- free money. Okay well it is only $10, and you have to spend it at Emergency Essentials. Free is free though I say. Go check out this link.
you just have to post a button like this one.

3 Great Things That Made My Day

1. Kate saying "Mommy you are my sunshine"while she was coloring and singing this morning, for no reason at all.

2. That I have eaten 15 sugar cookies in the past two days. My sister told me how to make sugar cookies out of a white cake mix. The kids and I whipped up a batch, decorated them Halloween style, and now finished them off.
350 degrees
1 white cake mix
2 eggs
1/3 cup veg oil
3/4 cup sugar
cook for ten minutes
cool and frost
I have no pictures because as I have already explained- they are all gone

3. Watching what was surely the most disastrous first date experience play out before me as the kids and I spent the evening at Borders. Knowing Jake was not going to be home until 8:00 tonight I thought the kids and I might enjoy shopping around the book store. Oh how I love a book store in the fall. On a related note I am reading The Wild Things by David Eggers, a grown up novel of the kids classic turned movie... and am loving it.
In the children's section two BYU co-eds sat at a kiddie table having a conversation that left me unsure at first whether this was some sort of tutor/ student interview or truely the most self destructing date ever wittnessed. I have been known to hang out with a date in the book store, but this young eager lad took the idea to a new demention. They had apparently scoured the store searching for books that described them best and where now meeting to discuss. From what I could gather, he spent the next seven minutes excusing his choice for what was either the Kama Sutra or some other work on human sexuality. Jake and I often observe "Daters" as we are out and about with a chuckle but the urge to roll my eyes within their range of vision has never been so strong.

Perfect Pumpkin Evening

To celebrate Columbus Day or really because Jake had off of work slash for Family Night...
We headed to Thanksgiving Point to get us some pumpkins. It was $10 a tickets for each adult and the kids were free. Thinking this was a lot for a pumpkin patch/ corn maze admission fee, we hoped for the best and headed out. After 90 minutes there we concluded it was worth every penny- and a new Fall tradition for the Team.
Kate looks for a pumpkin. Really for the pumpkin choosing she was crying because she was hungry and we told her it was time to leave. She didn't want to leave and didn't want a pumpkin because it was dirty and she didn't like them. Once home though she found pumpkins appealing once again. Plus if Thanksgiving Point doesn't have a real pumpkin patch who does. I mean a field with pumpkins not just bins of them and some haystacks with a few sitting there. Whatever they lacked in actual pumpkin patchness, they made up for in entertainment.


Pumpkin Princess Playland was our first stop.
Kate wonders the corn maze. Will she be lost forever???
Tons of silly faces. I can't hold Kate up and get my face in the hole.
Riding on the Grain Train. Dusty. Bouncy. Still Fun.
Adult size tricycles. It sounds lame but everyone was having a blast on them.
Jake attempts a lasso. Boy I love my farm boy.
Jumping Pillows were one of the best things.
Add in about eighteen other things, like hay slides, make your own snow cones, pumpkin launchers, millions of things to climb. chicken shows, etc. that I didn't take pictures of, or we didn't have time to do and you get one- well four- satisfied customers.
Top it off with some burgers from JCW's (the best burgers we have ever eaten), a compliment from a stranger on what well behaved children I have, singing songs all the way home, and kids so tired they fell asleep promptly at 8:00 pm you get a Perfect Pumpkin Evening.

Mama's Boy

Sweedish Thrones

The kids and I made a quick trip to IKEA today. The more I go there, the more I don't really like it there. Sadly where I was once a huge fan, their recent quality, pricing, and lack of customer service have turned me away. That is not to say we didn't get some perfectly simple seating. This cheap and easy to clean high chair for our little prince, and not pictured, a new potty chair for the princess of the family. Sam looks like such a stud, as always.

Go MIGHTY COUGARS!!

We are so good at taking pictures of our selves.
I'm a crazed fan (not really)
Trying to get the "Y" in the background.

Sometimes as it turns out the universe is not as against me as I think. Jake and I planned a date last minute for this Friday night. With the fall colors out and the cool (okay very COLD) crisp, fall air, what would be better than a football game at our Alma Mater? With two young children dates alone are few and far between, if we get one in every season I think we can call it good. This can be our FALL themes date. I am always complaining that things never turn out for me, thankfully my normal luck didn't follow we this night. Our last minute order of tickets on ebay came it time, and were valid. We were able to leave home a little after 5:00, find parking, make a quick dinner of Panda Express (very college us), and cheer for a not-so-cold after all BYU win. We even managed to not get stuck in traffic and shop for a new printer quickly at Wal-mart after. Our children fared well will out us at home and were sound asleep when we returned. GO MIGHTY COUGARS!

The only thing that did not turn out as well as I might have planned was how it was hard for us to sit for four hours. Not having children to care for for this long and not usuing it to get work, projects and chores done seemed wastful. And I fell asleep on the ride home because I am old and it was late.

Have I mentioned that the brainwashing of our first born has been a success. When ever she sees anything BYU she recognizes it and starts to either sing the fight song, or says "BUY U" close enough for now. She even says "BUY U" to letters that stand alone and are in similar font to the "Y"... like an "L" on some socks she has signifing they are large size. She calls them her Cougar socks. AWESOME