Happy

A Halloween Dinner Party

Halloween has slowly become one of my

absolute favorite holidays,

and I owe that 1000% to the kids.

This is a holiday just for them,

and it's truly a magical time of the year

for families to be together!

For family home evening,

we invited my family over to share in some

of our favorite traditions.

Iris entertaining us, "Thriller"-style!

The feast!

"The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!"

And caramel apples!

Sadly,

those "nuts" on the apples are actually

chunks of sugar in my

haphazardly made caramel!

I thought I could wing the recipe by heart!

Oh, well.

They still tasted great! 

And everyone thought I added nuts!

{smile}

Mean Mama Can't Resist...

What?

Sometimes it's funny!

{And yes, I scooped him up!}

Pumpkin Patch: Round I

This year we visited the pumpkin patch not once,

but twice!

I guess we did it last year too

(one with the family; one with joy school),

but it just seemed crazier this year.

The first go-round was our annual trip

with the Joe Elmers,

which has grown to include the extended family as well,

and is something we always look forward to!

Well,

almost all of us look forward to.

Let's just say Gabriel woke up

on the wrong side of the hay...

The gang.

The animals.

More animals!

Pumpkins!

Jailbirds + Crazy Chickens

And last but not least,

one great big family

riding around in a tractor in time for a gorgeous sunset!

Round one...

done!

Mall Grand Re-opening Review

Al-righty then...

Inner-City Jungle...A Rock-Throwers Paradise

On Samuel's day off, and with the girls in school, 

we took the boys to Miner's Ravine,

a sanctuary literally in the heart of Roseville.

This is a rock-thrower's paradise,

and since I had all my rock-throwers with me they

went crazy chucking everything into the water!

I love the shot of the sun through the trees,

it almost distracts you from seeing Samuel in the corner

getting ready to heave a mini boulder into the stream.

It was a perfect hike for our little guys. 

They ran, jumped, got dirty,

rode in the bike trailer, ate snacks, drank water

and then started the process all over again several times!

Great, great fun!

Better Watch Out...

Julia's First Homecoming

I can't believe my youngest sister is old enough to have

her first homecoming!

I am so OLD!

But, of course,

how exciting for her!

My sister worked her magic with the tremendous

amount of hair she has-GORGEOUS!

And when all was said and done

she made one stunning-

MODEST-

young lady who was ready

to dance the night away!

Julia,

I love you so much!

Continue to develop those amazing talents of yours,

remember what is important,

and how precious you are in the sight of God!

We love you!

Getting Out The Halloween Bins...

I'm a big fan of getting the decorations up early,

and taking them down promptly!

I just know that if we wait it will never get done,

so we might as well just throw ourselves into it.

This year we had the pleasure of having my nephews over

for the tradition,

but before we broke out the Halloween bins,

...we played...

...gangsta'd...

...bathed...

...danced to Princess Rapunzel music...

(Over, and over, and over again... :)

...ate yummy burgers...

...and an even yummier Halloween treat...

{Thanks, Iris!}

...and then we got the starty parted!

See for yourself...

My favorite part?

Seeing how deathly afraid Jacob was of the theme song, Thriller!

Of course being the wicked aunt and uncle that we are,

we cranked it up!

H A P P Y  H A L L O W E E N  D E C O R A T I N G!

{And torturing your nephews...}

Bwa-ha-ha!

Painting + Death

We were able to help paint my mother-in-laws house,

which means the kids were left to their own devices

for long periods of time.

What did they find?

That death had struck even the smallest of creatures,

a caterpillar.

And so...

A funeral.

Note the dirty look Owen's giving me. 

Apparently it's not cool to take pictures at a funeral-

although in my defense some people ARE doing that now.

I'm just saying...

It was a very solemn affair.

And the caterpillar was certainly given

a funeral befitting of his...umm...status?

Personally,

I like the arrow. 

...

Great, job kids!

You can definitely be in charge of my funeral preparations,

but please,

no pictures... :)