Let's Carve!

We got busy last night on the pumpkins and had these three beauties done in half an hour. I know, it looks like we spent days! Lighting the pumpkins up is my favorite part. Cleaning the mess not so much...but the kids were quite tidy this year and we left lots of guts in the pumpkins!

Halloween Festivities so far...

Halloween is pretty much a multiple week celebration. I'm not sure how I like that, but it is what it is. I love fall and I do get pretty excited about Halloween, but it's the steady flow of goodies that can become a bit much. But whatever...only one more day to go!

Zig and I went to Wendy and Dave's Halloween party a couple weekends ago and it was very fun. Great company and who doesn't enjoy the newlywed game?! We certainly didn't win. We did not disappoint with another year of lame costumes, but at least we made it!

The church party was at the Christmas tree farm again which I think is wonderful. It makes for a very low key atmosphere and the kids love it. Rollin was very assertive when it came to the trunk or treat...I'm a bit worried about Friday night!

Nina had her preschool party today. Lots of volunteers as always and not too crazy or overwhelming. More calm then what I remember from past years. Little Rollie was included and even behaved like a good preschooler. He's entered a bit of a "stage" lately for lack of a better word (where are you Darcie when I need a what to expect from your two year old book?!). Lots of sticking tongue out at mommy, growling, and calling me rude and mean mommy for such horrible offenses as wiping his face, clothing the child, or trying to pull him off from standing position on top of the very high monkey bars. I feel so very warm inside when he yells out "YOU'RE SO RUDE, MOMMY!!!" in the grocery store, playground or wherever. A true proud parenting moment, for sure.

OH, and how can I forget, if I happen to hit a tiny bump in the road, it's "DARN IT, SHOOT!" He gets very irritated that I can't control the road conditions. I can't win.

These little incidents happen on a daily basis right now, but as always with Rollin, there is lots of laughter and tons of cuddles and sweetness. Thank goodness, it helps me shrug off the other behavior, or at least try to.

The girls ran in the Great Pumpkin Run for our school district. Nina snuck in again and raced with the kindergarteners. She did much better than last year and finished in the top third of about 80 kids. Sela ran her little heart out and came in 5th place of about 70 kids. Rollin tried to kill himself the whole time jumping down the bleachers like all the big kids he was admiring.

Sela and Nina decorated pumpkins at PCC last weekend. It was very fun because there were so many fun little items provided to embellish the pumpkins to their hearts content.

We attempted meringue ghosts for family home evening and they came out very cute, vaguely resembling ghosts and tasted yummy. The thing we haven't done yet is carve pumpkins. I've got to psych myself up for that one! Where's my energy drink?

Just the boys

Zig, Eric, and Rollin had a little outing last Saturday. It had been in the works for weeks so Rollin was looking very forward to it. He blew mommy a kiss and off they went. They had big plans...first they went to a metal scrap yard to look for some specific thing for the fire pit. On their way they happened to find Rollin a free bike on the side of the road. Eric must be a good luck charm. He was SOOOOO excited and just loves his "new" boy bike. He told our neighbor at the bus stop this week "I have a big boy bike now and I don't have to ride the bunny bike anymore!" In the afternoon, they drove to Issaquah to see a tree house that had a suspended walkway kind of like the one we want Eric to build for our tree house. They took lots of pictures and brought back some great ideas. Then they headed to the Harley Davidson store where who knows what they were up to. But they all had fun and were in great spirits when they came home. Rollin's favorite word is now is "mocercycle."

So long little buddy!

The house across from us just sold and our wonderful neighbors, Dana and Michael, are moving to their summer home on Orcas Island. We are so sad to see them go, especially since Rollin and Michael have become just good little buddies. Rollin is very outnumbered in our area, like all neighborhoods we've lived in, and Michael was the lone male and just happened to be his age. We are happy they were able to sell their home, especially in this real estate climate, but they will be missed.

We did hear some good news about the new family. They apparently have three children and either have or plan to have horses. We have no idea what ages they are and believe me, my kids will be scoping the place out as soon as the moving van pulls up!

Favorite Zoo Exhibits

Nina played a little hooky today at my urging and we met our wonderful new friends, Ketsy and Rune Hendershott, at the zoo! A more perfect zoo day there could not have been. Sunny skies, no crowds, and oh my, I was able to pet my new very favorite animal, an african pygmy hedgehog! We are all fond of hedgehogs in this family and we have a little copper hedgehog sitting in our yard, but such a close encounter today was just really unexpected and so cool! Ketsy and I lined up with all the four year olds for our turn to pet the little hedgie. They are so prickly but cute as ever. That and seeing my next favorite zoo animal, a baby gorilla cuddling its mama, and I was a happy zoo patron. The kids literally ran themselves ragged. Towards the end of the day, and we stayed ALL day, Nina started tripping on her feet and Rollin took a big fall and added another goose egg to the right side of his head. The third this week.














I wished Sela could have been with us, especially for hedgie and the red panda, but she had a lot going on at school today. Wednesdays are her music days...she starts with piano at 7:45 and has choir after school until 4:15. She loves Wednesdays and doesn't seem worn out like I would be when she gets home. She is very hungry though so I make sure to have the snacks ready!

EXHIBIT A: Roaring child in tree. Whose crazy kid is that??!




























EXHIBIT B: Children impersonating monkeys





















EXHIBIT C: Little Posers

BOO!

So some very brave people snuck into our yard last night to deliver some goodies...we are pretty sure it was the triplets who live behind us, but Kona was going crazy barking. The girls were not deterred...they know Kona, but still, I'd be afraid of that bark at night. Anyway, they left some fun treats for the kids and we got a chance to do some sneaking around ourselves this evening. We had some close calls, and Nina was so afraid of being caught she wouldn't get out of the car till I carried her on the last one. That was a sight...me running down the street with Nina in my arms. But, it was fun and we got our hearts beating!

Saturday

We were due a good productive Saturday to catch up on yard work and prepare the place for the colder weather. We were very fortunate today. The weather was sunny and brisk and drew us all outside after our late breakfast of omelets, fruit and toast. I had errands to run and things to do inside, but they went undone. The girls will have to wear their summer sandals one more time to church. We all worked in the yard most of the afternoon with the kids doing jobs like hauling sticks and picking up little pieces of chewed up trash and toys that Kona has strewn all over the property. They worked hard and later in the afternoon when their friends came calling over the fence, they played hard. We had the whole neighborhood here at dusk.

Zig and I (mostly Zig) got a lot done in the yard and it's really beautiful right now with all the changing colors. I cut back a lot of the plants and shrubs for winter and alternated my work with naps in the hammock. Zig never stopped, of course, and was busy hauling loads and loads of leaves and other yard waste to the compost pile. This is his "yoga" he says. I came to appreciate the ATV as more than Zig's big toy. It makes the work so much easier and fun. We were able to haul so much in such a short amount of time because there was no tarp and dragging piles across five acres. We just loaded the piles up and drove to the next one. I took the kids on rides all over the property in the new trailer Zig bought a couple of weeks ago. After scoffing at this surprise purchase for several months, I must say, not only is it incredibly useful, it's a whole lot of fun!

Mostly it was just good to be home, to be working together, and to feel the satisfaction of a much better looking yard at the end of the day. I figure it's more lasting than the satisfaction I feel after cleaning the house, because the little ones can't tear up the yard near as fast as they do every single inch of the house. Everyone got a good long bath tonight and the before Sunday "treatment" and all collapsed into bed, Zig being first. Gotta love Saturdays!

Let's Play!

Seeing Orange

We had some perfect fall weather this weekend making conditions just right for a pumpkin patch outing. We ventured over to Serres Farm in Sammamish and the kids spent a couple of hours choosing pumpkins, running through the corn maze, finding gourds and picking sunflowers. There were lots and lots of families out enjoying themselves and it was such a nice thing to observe. I loved how Sela and Nina both combed almost the entire property (several acres) before picking their pumpkins. I always look for the Cinderella pumpkins or really oddly shaped ones but the girls stick to the traditional pumpkins, perfect for carving. Sela's was huge and I could barely get it in the wheel barrow. It was a great afternoon...the only drawback is I can't kick this sickness I've had all week and when we finally made it home I felt completely exhausted. I slept 14 hours last night trying to shake this thing and I'm off to do the same thing tonight.

Goodness Grapes!

Conference

There is much turmoil in the world right now politically, economically, socially and the list continues. My heart has been a little heavy lately just trying to sort it all out. I don't think I have ever looked forward to a general conference more than this one. Each session fed my soul. I was so lifted, calmed, and encouraged hearing our amazing leaders speak. They were inspired, full of Christlike love, and motivational. Prayers were answered and comfort was felt. My testimony was strengthened. I feel so grateful to have the gospel in my life and all I could think of after conference was the song "Where can I turn for peace?" It's the gospel of Jesus Christ and I appreciate this gift more and more each day. The missionaries teaching my parents when we were young has changed the course of our lives and will continue to do so for many generations. The gratitude I feel to them and my Heavenly Father is truly beyond words.

The highlights for the kids were the mounds of homemade donuts, listening to the Sister Dalton's talk, and the primary choir!