Halloween Activities

I seriously have not posted yet about Halloween because I took hardly any photos and yet it felt like we celebrated Halloween for almost a week. So here it what we did...

... Monday: Made Jack-o-Lanterns out of the pumpkins we picked at the farm. Ella wanted her pumpkin to look like her and even named it Ella Elizabeth. Jonathan decided to make a robot and I decided to carve Leia's pumpkin into a cat face since she just about calls everything a cat. I figured if I made her pumpkin look like one, then she would always be right. Ha! Ryan was not able to join us so it was a bit crazy and not many pics were taken.

Tuesday: Tuesday night was our ward Trunk-or-Treat. Since I am on the Activities Committee it was more of a business, lets get things done night instead of just sitting back and enjoying the night with my fam. Ryan WAS there, though he started spiking a fever during the event. I actually left before all the cleaning was done. The kids had fun and enjoyed getting candy. Ella was Tinker bell and Leia was a pink cat... an outfit our neighbors gave us a few days earlier.

Side note, funny story... when the neighbors dropped off the outfit Ella fell in love with it and was convinced it would fit her even though I said it was too small. The determined little girl put the outfit on while I was not looking and prances into the room and exclaims, "See Mommy, I told you it would fit." Meanwhile the leg part stops at her knee and when she turned around to show me her tail, the outfit was completely riding up her bum. She didn't mind and spent a good part of the day walking around like a cat purring every chance she got.

Wednesday or Thurday (I seriously can't remember) we went to BJs, kind of like a local Costco, to do their little TRick or Treat event. The kids moaned and cried saying the did not want to go but I desperately needed to get them out of the house so Ryan could sleep before he went into work that night. The kids ended up having fun and Jonathan enjoyed playing a game where he had to guess certain Halloween things like eyeballs or an Ogre's toenail clippings, etc. I needed to help him out a little because his mind was more on what they actually were instead of imagining a gory Halloween equivalent. Ella didn't help much because she moved the little curtains to reveal the actual item.

Friday- Jonathan's school had a little parade so Ella and I went to that. I thought it would be cancelled since it was raining off and on but they still had it. Not as many parents showed up this year. It's nice to support Jonathan when we can. I also finally made a Jack-o Lantern out of the pumpkin we grew. Once again Ella wanted a Dora pumpkin so I honored her request but this year I added Swiper to the other side. I liked it a lot.

Later in the evening Ryan took the kids trick or treating. I tried to get some pics before but Ella was having a major, major fit because she had to wear pants since it was super cold outside. All the previous days were warm BUT today HAD to be freezing. sigh. I barely got a pic in. It is such bad quality since I did not bust out the good camera and I was dealing with a train wreck. Poor Leia never left the stroller because Ryan was dealing with GorElla and Leia only received a few, like 5, treats.Poor little Squirt ;)

In the end I guess everything worked out since Leia kept snagging Ella's candy later in the night.

I felt really bad about the situation, especially since our kids went out with some friends of ours. While everyone was gone and I was waiting for trick or treaters I remembered a Halloween photo of me where I looked like I was having a melt down. I guess sometimes little kids don't know how to handle all the excitement/ anticipation and ugly shows up. Oh well, so is life.

Saturday/ Sunday Nothing. completely nothing. sad. I was going to take down my decorations on Saturday but thought that would be weird since technically Halloween had not come yet. So I left them up... and they are still up.

PS- Let me explain Jonathan's costume. He wanted to be a robot and designed "the box" himself. He cut out an area where he could push out a flap and reveal a tray. He also taped inside the box a plastic bag a place where he could put his candy since the box made it difficult to carry a bag. I told him it would be awesome if when he went door to door he said, "Trick- or -treat" in a robot voice and then pushed out the tray so people could place a candy in it. Ryan told me he actually did it. How cool is that.

As a side note, Ella decided to wear her rain boots which ended up being the cause of many meltdowns since every time, about 9 times, she tripped it sent her into a crying fit. Curse those boots. BUT when she got home, no more fits, just a lot of candy eating.

Pumpkin Patch 2010

I can't believe this is our third year coming out to the pumpkin farm. We left late and overstayed out visit by 30 minutes after closing but the kids had a blast and Ryan was able to get two servings of fried Oreo cookies. Leia also tried one and fell in love with it on the first bite.

We did the traditional hay ride up to the pumpkin patch and made sure this year we stopped by the small pumpkin area for Leia. Each kid found a pumpkin and I am looking forward into creating some Jack-o-lanterns in about a week.

Ryan took the older kids to the rides while I escaped with Leia to visit the farm animals and try to get some pics of her. Ella was able to ride a pony and pet each one before they shut down. She loved it! Jonathan was such a good brother to Ella while they went on rides. He even gave her two of his tickets so she could go on a ride with him. Those moments do happen, just not all the time. It was a great day!Jonathan was also very kind to Ella on the ride back to the farm. We asked him to make sure she would not fall so he put his arm around her and she just leaned into him. They spent most of the ride this way. Unfortunately every time we tried to take a picture he would duck or put his hand in the way.



I have no idea what is distracting our kids.

baptism

I really don't know how to start this post but this event must be added to our family journal so I guess I'll just start writing and see what happens.

One of the main reasons why I have not posted lately is because I have been helping Jonathan prepare for his baptism and also preparing our home for the family members who were coming out to support him in this great event.

We are member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and the doctrine of our church is that children are not baptized until the age of accountability which is 8. We believe children under this age are still learning right from wrong plus are learning the repentant process. If they happen to die before they are baptized at 8 years old, they go to heaven... very comforting doctrine for those who lost a child.

For the past few months Jonathan has been reading the Book of Mormon by himself. When I hear stories about young men preparing for their missions and they read the Book of Mormon for the first time out on the mission field, I cringe. To me a person should read it while deciding to be baptized... um, isn't that what missionaries ask their investigators to do? Since Jonathan is an excellent reader it made sense for him to read it alone and pray about what he is reading. It has been a struggle at times and he is still working towards finishing the book but it has already been a great blessing for him.

Jonathan was baptized on October 9th 2010... the day after his birthday. In the morning we took off for the Susquehanna River. It was a gorgeous day. I even took a picture while driving. The weather was fabulous and the trees were breathtaking going through their autumn changes.

Previously, Jonathan decided how he wanted the program to run. He picked out the songs and chose who would give the prayers and talks. We brought a tent for the boys to change their clothes and also a chair so Jonathan had a place to sit while he was confirmed. Everything was so wonderful it's just hard to put into words so I think I will just mention some of the things I will never forget...

...

The look on Jonathan's face after he was immersed in the water.

How carefully all of us had to walk but no one slipped in the mud.

Seeing Jonathan and Ryan standing in the water in the middle of an enclosure of trees.

How the water glistened in the sun.

The remarks Loren and Lynn gave during the baptism.

Jonathan holding Ryan's hand and looking to his Dad for guidance.

Hearing wonderful music played by Papa.

Just the overall feeling of peace, love and comfort.

I know Ryan, as well as I, feel honored to be his parents and witness this sacred event.

Beautiful view of a PA Autumn day.

Picture taken of the family before we headed out. I only have one picture taken of our kids blessings, Leia's blessing, so I was determined to get a family pic BEFORE we left to make sure we had one.

Thanks Crystal!

Jonathan and Ryan walking down the path leading to the site where the Aaronic Priesthood was restored and also where Joseph Smith was baptized.

Jonathan and Ryan are standing in front of the area where Jonathan was baptized.

Pack Meeting

Last night Jonathan went to his Pack meeting where he received his Bobcat patch and a few belt loops. (or what ever they are called) You can see one of them in his hand. It was an exciting time but unfortunately I missed just about all of it because I was in the bathroom waiting for Ella. Geesh. At least I saw the last few seconds of it and was able to snap a picture for family.

Now it's time to start gettng organized so he can seriously start working towards his wolf badge. I just sewed his badges on which was not as difficult this time around. Exciting times lay ahead.

Cub Scouts

Jonathan went to his second meeting for Cub Scouts tonight. It would normally be a Den meeting but since numbers are low, our ward only has a pack. Kind of sad but Jonathan doesn't mind. Right after school he completed his homework and then disappeared into his room. About 10 minutes later he came down in full Cub Scout uniform ready to go... unfortunately he had to wait about three hours so I had him change back into regular clothes.

He loved the meeting. I hung around the church building while he worked his Cub Scout magic. These nights are going to be tricky for us since the girls usually go to bed at 7 and that's when the meeting starts. Yikes! Oh well, it's a good sacrifice for our family to make.

I still can't get over how enthusiastic he is about everything. After the meeting while I was loading the girls into the car Jonathan let out a sigh and voiced how he wished the meetings could be more than once a week. Awesome.

Whirlwind of a week

This week has been a busy, sleep deprived week with a holiday thrown in there. Jonathan started school on Tuesday and was super excited. I still can't believe he is in third grade... third grade! He now has to cover his books and no longer has a math work book but copies the pages from a regular book. Also he will be learning handwriting, multiplication and division. He has been waiting patiently until the day came for these things and now it is here. Super exciting.

To help him be a little more organized, we bought him an alarm clock and posted a schedule/ regime for him to follow in the morning and after school. He has been following it the whole week. So awesome. The alarm clock, however, has woken up the girls as well so it has been... interesting to say the least.

The other big event that happened on the first day of school was ... drum roll please... he went to his first pack meeting. He was invited to see what it is like and he loved it. Ryan is very excited as well. The next day after school all of us went to the Scout store to get Jonathan suited up even though I kept telling them I was told not to worry about that stuff. Men... wanting to go shopping? ... only for Cub Scouts. I also filled out paperwork so I can help out. I don't know how much help I will be but hey, it will be a big part on Jonathan's life so I want to be a part it. After all, I learned how to put together a Hot Wheels track, learned the basics about Bakugan so I guess the next phase is Cub Scouts. Bring it on!

Milkapalooza

Leia had her weigh-in today and she did well. She was 19 lbs 10 oz. a month ago and today was 21lbs. and ??? ounces. I was so excited to hear 21 and didn't catch the ounces. She's back on the curve!

Miss Leia is miserable right now:( Poor baby girl is cutting 4 molars and had her flu shot this morning. Her gums are swollen, teeth are halfway out and are fighting the gums to get all the way out. It's a battle field in her mouth. I have never seen her so fussy and uncomfortable. I wish I could do more for her.

School Visitation Day

Last Thursday Jonathan's school opened up so he could get a preview of seeing his class and teacher. He has a brand new teacher. Jonathan is thrilled about the curriculum and can't wait to learn about machines, multiplication, and finally learn Handwriting. Ella loved Jonathan's classroom. I think the Pillow Pets sealed the deal that Jonathan has the coolest teacher ever. She even told her she is hoping to get one for Christmas. I am excited to see what this school year will bring... hopefully organizational skills :)

12 years

I cannot believe we have been married for 12 years. It makes me feel so YOUNG! Yeah right. But that's just marriage. I knew Ryan for about 6 years before the big M ... it's been 18 years of knowing each other. Yikes. That seems so crazy.

With all of that said, we got a babysitter and went out to Apollo, which is where we went the first year out here and will continue to go until we move. We always order the same thing because it is so good. I might be begging the chef next year for the recipe so I can always have it with me. For dessert we tried the special, carrot cake, and it was so yummy. We were both content. Life is good. We had no idea what to do next but did not care because we had parties in our tummies... so yummy, so yummy.

That about sums it up. Sad, I know but it was nice to spend time with Ryan and not have the continual back ground noise of kids asking a question every minute. What can I say? We are easy to please.

reuse

The summer has almost completely ended or us but I had promised Jonathan he could fix up a chair I found and use it in his room. The chair sat... lonely, inside the basement for quite some time. On Friday we went to Joann's and Jonathan found a fabric he wanted for the seat, soft to the touch and the perfect shade of blue, and once Leia drifted off into a peaceful nap, we busted out the chair and proceeded with the make over.

The kids sanded down the chair while I tackled the seat. We ended up finishing it before Leia woke up. Nice. unfortunately as I was putting the seat back on I noticed areas I forgot to paint, so a touch up is needed.

Jonathan did not mind and was dying to bring it up to his room. So he brought it up, sat down and proceeded to work hard at dreaming up big ideas and writing them down in his notebook.

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The next day Ryan finally mounted the snowboards unto the wall with out putting any new quarter size holes in the wall and hiding the previous one made. He also added a shelf where Jonathan can display his Lego creations without little girlie girl hands getting hold of them. GorElla will not strike again!

I must say the room is coming together nicely. Ryan made the comment about the room looking like a Star Wars room because of the colors and then the thought came about getting old school Star Wars bedding but that my friends is for another day.