Ward Halloween Party

Each year our Ward puts on a fun Halloween party for the families in the ward. In years past, we have done a trunk or treat and chili and pie cookoff; however, the past couple of years they have changed it up and done a carnival throughout the church. Our kids have loved this and look forward to going. All the ward members are encouraged to dress up and we love dressing up as a family. This year, Mark went as a Vampire and I went as Rose the Riveter from WW2 era. We both got lots of compliments on our costumes and so did the kids. 

Little Monsters...

 Today was the annual Trick Or Treat Fest at Mark's Office at the Church Office Building here in Riverton. The office totally shuts down at 2 pm and the families of the employees come in and trick or treat to all the cubicles and offices there at the building. The kids loved the Trick or Treat Fest last year and have been looking forward to going this year for as long as I can remember. After Kaleb got out of school and off the bus at 2 pm, I got the kids dressed in their darling costumes and we headed out. The kids had a blast visiting all the cubicles and filling up their buckets. They really got quite a load, in fact, while we were waiting for one of the elevators to go home, we got talking to a family who said that their daughter got 7 lbs of candy last year! Wow! We didn't get that much because we were only there for under and hour but the kids had plenty of candy. I am pretty sure they would have stayed longer if we had let them. Karmindy really got into it this year and loved going from cubicle to cubicle. 

 The kids and Mark on the lookout for Cubicles with Candy!

 Mom with her cute little Spooks!

Dad with his lil' Munsters!

It was so fun to go and visit Dad at his work and have another Halloween activity to do as a family and make  fun memories.

On another note, the kids have been so excited for Halloween this year!! Kaleb has enjoyed changing our family Count Down to Candy Countdown and will proudly tell me each day how many more days till Halloween. Karmindy will tell me everyday that Halloween is coming and that it will be "Very Sppppooookkkyyy! She says it in her very spooky voice and It makes me giggle.

The kids have also been super excited to dress up. Kaleb chose to dress up as a Jedi Knight  this year and he is so handsome in his costume. Karmindy has been so excited to dress up in the Bee Costume that I found last year. Karmindy has loved dressing up in it and pretending to fly around the house buzzing and pretending to sting Kaleb. She has such an active imagination and it makes me laugh. I have to wonder where she comes up with the stuff she says! :)

The kids are so eager for Halloween to come and truth be told, I can't wait either! I love the whole excitement of Halloween- the weather, pumpkins, candy, yummy baked goods, decorations, and dressing up! Such Fun. It truly is one of my favorite holidays!

The Buzzy Little Bee is Off to Get More Candy!

Reflections: The Magic of a Moment

Kaleb's 2nd Grade Teacher this year, Mrs. Goodman, required all of her students to participate in the Reflections Program. Kaleb was excited to participate; especially when he found out that it mean that he would get a ribbon and a coupon for a Shake at In N Out for just entering. This year's theme was called, "The Magic of a Moment." Kaleb drew a picture of our family playing  in the snow. He did a great job on his picture! Even though he didn't place at the competition, we are so proud of him for completing a task that was expected of him. You are a winner to us Kaleb and we love you!

Halloween Fun- Time off Track!

 It's tradition to cram pack in some fun activities during October while Kaleb is off track. Besides going to Corn Belly's and Gardner Village we like to do some fun things here at home. The kids LOVE to make our Traditional Pumpkin Shaped Sugar cookies. They help me with the long process of mixing the dough, cutting out the shapes, frosting and decorating. Even though Kaleb refuses to eat them he loves to decorate them! He is such a silly boy when it comes to eating homemade goodies. He would prefer store bought!  Go figure! Maybe one day he will appreciate what is good for him! :) However, Kaleb is getting quite the good little cookie decorator! The picture below is a cookie that he decorated all by himself!

Karmindy loves to eat the cookies! At least one of my offspring is mine. I am in awe that Kaleb hates homemade cookies, cakes and pastries. It makes me quite sad. Karmindy however, can't get enough!!

Another thing we tried this year was making chocolate covered banana ghosts. The kids loved them! It was a simple activity/boredom buster that we did one afternoon together. It was really simple and the kids loved the result! I love simple cooking crafts!

One of the last fun outings that we before Kaleb headed back to school, was meeting up with some friends one afternoon (The Pidcocks) and going to "AIRBORNE."  It is a trampoline fun place located in Draper, Utah. Airborne features huge trampolines, play centers, foam pits, balance beams and a small zip line. Kaleb and Karmindy LOVED it and begged to go back once we left for the afternoon.

It has been a fun month of some very fun activities and memory makers while Kaleb has been off track! So glad when I can spend time with my little "Chillins" and make fun memories with them!

Corn Belly's At Thanksgiving Point

I love having Kaleb home for several weeks during October (he is off track), it has become a tradition for our family to jam pack as many Halloweenie Activities in before he heads back to school. I love the holidays and I love making it fun for Kaleb and Karmindy. I hope they will always remember the fun times we have had as a family and the fun memories that we have tried to make for them. This year since the kids are getting older, we decided to forgo the Barnyard Boo which is held at Farm Country at Thanksgiving point (Carnival type games directed towards smaller kids) and head across the street and check out Corn Belly's the kids were just the right age and we had a blast! For the past couple of years, it has been a tradition as well to buy the kids a Halloween shirt to wear to all of our Halloween Activities. The kids always look forward to having a new shirt to wear!

 The kids loved sitting in and Driving the Old Fire Truck!

Kaleb and Karmindy enjoyed jumping on the big pillow (inflated trampoline), discovering the different play area displays, eating deep fried snickers bars, going on a hay ride and just having fun. It was a fun outing for our whole family. The kids are looking forward to going again next year and so are Mark and I.

Karmindy-isms

I haven't blogged in forever and I will catch up soon with what we have been up to...hopefully soon!!! In the meantime,  I keep forgetting to jot down somethings that I find so cute (and some not so cute) about Karmindy and I don't want to forget them. Karmindy is quite the character and I love her little gruff voice. I really need to record her speaking because her little voice brings a smile to my face. She says the cutest things and it is typically words that she knows but can't pronounce very well and I don't want to correct her just yet because I think it is darling! 

Bizzert=Dessert
Nema-nems=M&M's Candy
Chick-el-a= Chick Fil A Restaurant

- She will ask "You wanna see something cool?" (She proceeds to show us her latest trick like standing on one leg, jumping off of the furniture or running in a circle, usually anything silly).

-Whenever she is asked to clean her room or help pick up her toys she will immediately tell me she has a headache or is tired and will lie down and carry on as if she is exhausted, when five minutes earlier she was playing and was just fine.....(She has a flare for the dynamics!)

When she knows she is in trouble or gets in trouble for doing something naughty, she will immediately tell me that, "I just LOVE you mom!" I think that she says this in hopes that I will lessen her time sitting in the corner or having a time out.

This past week, as I was picking her up from a friends house from playing there for several hours, I called her over to me and told her it was time to go home, she replied, "Mom, you're bugging me. I am tired of you." (Yes, that stung a little bit and she was sent to the corner when we got home and dad talked to her about being respectful to mom and others.) Still so sassy. I am afraid of the teenage years!

Karmindy tends to tell me she "doesn't know what to do" when she gets overwhelmed by large groups or when she is uncomfortable or in a new situation. Mark and I both think she gets like this because she has a lot of anxiety in new or uncomfortable situations.

Even though Karmindy is quite the Little Miss Sassy Pants we LOVE HER and wouldn't change a thing about her and we are so happy to have her as a part of our family!!

It's Witch "Craft!"

 I am loving Pinterest. Pinterest is like having a virtual bulletin board where you can pin fun ideas/crafts so you can revert back to them at a later date. Since Witches Night out was just around the bend, I wanted to try my hand at making myself a mini witch hat to wear for that night. I got together with my friend Misty Pidcock one afternoon and we made ourselves some pretty cute witch hats. I was proud of my crafty abilities!
 Another thing I wanted to try courtesy of pinterest was a vintage hairstyle for witches night out. I love anything vintage and wonder sometimes if I was born in the wrong era. I love the 1940's era and loved the barrel roles the women used to do with their hair. I decided to dress up as a vintage witch for Witches Night Out this year. I was pretty proud of my 1940's Vintage Witch hairstyle. It came together nicely!

For Witches Night Out this year, I thought it would be fun to put a little dinner party together for my friends. I had so much fun planning it and putting it together. I thought it turned out really cute and I thought my friends had a fun night. I look forward to doing it next year but maybe on a different night than Witches Night Out. It was almost too much work to do all on one night!

 

 I truly am grateful for all the dear friends that I have in my life, especially, this gal- Misty Pidcock. I am so grateful for her friendship. This is Misty and I all dressed up for our Witchy Dinner Date with the Girlfriends.

Witches Night Out

 It has been a tradition with a few of my friends to attend "Witches Night Out" for the past 3 years at Gardner Village. I always look forward to getting dressed up and going out with friends. This year a few of us friends made Tu-Tu's to wear. I also got together with my friend Misty Pidcock and we made mini witch hats. It was so much fun! 

Nicole, Misty, Becca and Heather

Witches Night out At Gardner Village is always so crowded and we never can find a place to eat, so this year I decided to have a little dinner party at my house before we left for Gardner Village. Unfortunately, it ended up raining and we headed to Wal-Mart to goof off and have fun indoors. It was a really fun evening!

Natalie, Ashlee, Michelle, Chantal and Annalee

Gardner Village & The Witches!

 Each year at the beginning of the Halloween Season, it has been a tradition to head to Gardner Village and go and see the Witches! The kids look forward to going to Gardner Village and so do I!! There is just something so fun and Magical about walking around a historic village and be surrounded by all these darling witch displays. It is definitely a way to get into the "HALLOWEENIE SPIRIT!" Normally, I just take the kids and we go during the day or while dad is at Priesthood Session but this year Mark said he was missing out on all the fun! I agree, he has been, so we went for Family Home Evening!

 The kids always love to search for their favorite witch display. "Sit- A- Spell" witch is always a favorite. As you can tell Karmindy isn't quite so sure if she trusts sitting next to a witch with a big fat hairy spider! Eeeek!

 Checking Out the Witch on the Raft in the River is also always a highlight!

 I think our favorite witch of all time, at least for me, is the Witch pushing her pet frog in the stroller! We had to capture a few pictures as a family to prove we were actually there and saw our favorite witch display!

 Me with my little Monsters! I love them!