funtober

We had a lot of fun in October. There were a lot of fun places to go and things to do. And, perhaps I've mentioned this in the past, my kids love dressing up, so they loved all four chances they had to wear their costumes out and about. Please excuse the poor quality of most of the pictures. I find myself using my phone more and more because it is more convenient, but it definitely doesn't take as nice of pictures as my real camera does.

Superhero poses! These first few pictures are from the end of September.

I didn't even look at this video before I uploaded it. So I hope it's not too boring. But after going through all the trouble of uploading it I am certainly not going to just delete it!

Gray, rocking the slippers with footed pjs look.

Awww. Brother hugs.

Awww, baby hugs.

Ewww. Did he eat dirt?

They wanted their picture taken. I'm not sure why.

Apple teeth! See, I can be a fun mom sometimes.

Kate wouldn't show me her apple teeth. I guess she didn't get the concept.

Playing wands! This is my new favorite outdoor activity. We have so much fun chasing each other around the yard casting spells. "Expelliarmus! Expecto Patronum! Aguamenti! Avada Kedavra! Impedimenta! Stupify! Wingardium Leviosa!" (Those are just some of our favorites.) It makes me laugh every single time I hear words like that coming out of my kids' mouths.

Hanging out, watching General Conference on Saturday morning. I could only get them to sit and listen to one session, but I'll take it! They got to lay on my bed, color, and eat snacks. Gray took a nap. Nate painted the shed.

You stay classy, Gray.

No, I didn't leave her bangs out on purpose. She looked less like a puppy dog when I first did her hair.

Colin can be so handsome when he chooses to cooperate.

I tried some new recipes I founds online/Pinterest. This here is Rustic Crusty Bread, or as my kids call it, Crusty Rusty Bread. It was easy and delicious. We ate it with soup.

The next day I used it for paninis. That was even more delicious.

Oh, I also made the best chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. I know I posted these on Facebook already, but seriously, that cake was so good. I can't not post the pictures again.

Painting pumpkins! All the fun of Halloween without touching any pumpkin guts. These are the pumpkins we grew in our garden. They were super small, but since I didn't think they would grow at all, I was pleasantly surprised.

Colin making the same face he painted on his pumpkin.

Kate being Kate.

Gray running away with my dishwashing gloves.

I love DI. For reals. I found this awesome Power Ranger costume for a buck. Colin loves it. I also found a ton of books in great condition for the kids. Books I loved as a child, like the Ramona Quimby books, and the Little House books. Awesome. I was so pleased with myself that day.

Kate is such a girl. She had to put on her fancy skirt and heels to go outside and play in the dirt.

Meanwhile, her brother was busy chopping something with a PVC pipe sword.

And this little nutter was just happy to be in the bath.

The big kids like to take Gray's clean diapers and put them on their stuffed animals and baby dolls. A couple of weeks ago they decided to put the diapers on over their own underpants and do a crazy dance. Hilarity ensued.

Ooooh. This still rankles. That boy has dumped my baking powder out three times now. I have finally started putting it somewhere else, since I haven't found a way to keep that cupboard shut. Grrr. (Also, I know, I know, I realize it took me three messes to realize that I needed to just put the baking powder somewhere else. You don't need to point it out.)

Gray needs to wear a cape now too. Good thing I have a scrap of fabric his size.

For the past several months I've been going to a quilt group at my neighbor's house once a week. Sister Mellor returned home from her mission to South Dakota last year. She and her husband were serving on an Indian Reservation. Their branch grew from 3 to over 40 during the course of their mission. When she came home she talked about how poor the people are there, that they run out of coal and money and can't heat their homes during the winter, and that they don't have enough blankets to keep warm. She wanted to make a few quilts to take back with her this November. So last spring we started a quilt group and tied a quilt each week. She and her daughter designed, cut, and sewed the quilts together. The fabric and batting was all donated by the people in my ward. We ended up with a total of 57 quilts, with a few being baby quilts and the rest twin size or bigger. Some quilts were donated already made, like the ones on top that are a solid piece of flannel. But the quilts we worked on each week were all pieced together and were just beautiful. Almost all of them were different patterns, and Sister Mellor could name each one. I know this is a terrible picture, but I only had my phone with me. This is from our last meeting/pizza party. I'll have to see if I can get some pictures of the finished quilts. The Mellors are leaving this week to take the quilts and a dozen bags of coats/jackets/quiet books/school supplies to the reservation. It's been amazing to be a part of this service project. I've had so much fun getting to know some of the older sisters (I mean sisters with more life experience) in my ward.

Prince Philip to the rescue!

Did you know Prince Philip can "smolder" just like Flynn Rider? Well, he can.

Kate trying to "smolder."

That's much better.

October 16th was Colin's first day of preschool! He was so excited!

And this is the only picture I got of him in his classroom. (That's his friend Benny with him. He's in our ward.) Colin loves going to preschool. It's only an hour and twenty minutes, every other day, but he comes home with an awesome craft and happy as a clam. I'm glad he's out spending time with other kids his age and learning to listen to a teacher!

I'll give you three guesses as to who Colin is dressed up as.

No?

You can't tell?

But it's so obvious!

With a Peter Pan hat, green mask, Home Depot vest, pillow case cape, hot pink rolling pin, Peter Pan shirt, and pirate skeleton pants, he can only be one thing.

Wait for it...

Boba Fett! (From Star Wars, for all you non-nerds out there.)

Gray sporting the In'N'Out hat. He kept adjusting it as he pushed that white bin full of kitchen toys around the house.

While Gray took a nap last week I took the big kids to the pumpkin patch. I did not take a lot of pictures. Here they are in the corn pit. That is all.

We bought this little albino pumpkin. Colin wanted it to be carved with a smolder face. This is him demonstrating what the pumpkin is supposed to look like. I did my best, okay?!

I don't think Kate knows what a smolder is.

Gray likes to play the piano. Especially when it is not his turn.

I made pita pockets! Before you get too impressed, only 3 of the 6 puffed. But they were all still tasty.

Family movie night! Gray tried to sneak in and watch with the big kids, but he was ejected right after I took this picture. He was so please with himself for settling right in.

Kate still sleeps in weird places/positions. I'm sure this will embarrass her when she's older. (And by that I mean I hope this will embarrass her when she's older.)

Monday the 22nd was the Halloween-a-rama at the library. Indiana Bones was telling bedtime stories and the kids got to dress up in their costumes. Pose!

Felt jack-o-lantern faces. Another win for mom!

Family Blanket Night!

The Friday before Halloween my neighbor threw a Halloween Carnival for all the Primary kids. I can't believe she put this all together by herself! (All I had to do was show up with some cupcakes.) I didn't take a lot of pictures because I was busy trying to keep track of my three kids amid the chaos.

Hannah's birthday! I let the kids pick out some treasures for her at the dollar store. Kate picked the crown and jewels. Colin picked the dinosaur hat and a glow-in-the-dark skull wand. I picked the tattoo sleeve.

I get tired of the kids swinging in the kitchen chairs attached to the island. I threatened to make them eat on the floor if they didn't stop. They didn't stop. But then they liked eating on the floor. Go figure.

The Monday before Halloween I took the kids to the park for FHE. Nate was supposed to come, but he got home really late and we were running out of daylight. We had some good times.

Playing with the trains. Gray loves these! He plays with these trains and the Legos every day. Sometimes even by himself for a few blessed minutes.

Hallow's Eve Party in Lindon. Aunt Hannah put this shindig together as part of her job working for the Lindon parks and rec dept. It was great. There were carnival games with prizes, popcorn, and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Then a candy hunt by flashlight. The kids scored in the candy department, which was nice, because then I had candy to hand out the next night to trick or treaters.

And now, for your viewing pleasure, here is Nate on the hayride. (Sorry for the picture quality; I only had my phone with me.)

And the kids in costume at Granny and Papa's house on the actual Halloween.

Don't they all look great?!

I took the kids trick or treating, but I was a little tired and ornery so we only hit like 10 houses. I let them go see their favorite/close neighbors, and then we went home. They didn't get much candy, and I was more than okay with that. There was just enough chocolate for me to eat, which was all I needed. The end.