Halloweening

What a fun halloween.

The girls loved everything about it. From the ward halloween party to the carving jack-0-lanterns to decorate for our party to of course the mounds of candy they collecting trick or treating.

It started with a super fun ward Halloween party where ella won "cutest costume". We had fun carving pumpkins. Hannah designed her pumpkin face and worked hard with dad to get it carved. Ella played Bingo by herself in the other room.

On Halloween, we had a soccer game in the morning. Then we had friends over for a little halloween dinner. We had fun going out with friends hitting the neighborhood with our adorable crew. The kids did great. Hannah could have gone all night, but her costume started to malfunction and other kids were getting tired, so it ended just in time. Ella about half way through, just wanted to eat her lollipop and ride in the stroller. She was as content as can be at that point.

It was a blast and the costumes were a hit. Hannah's costume I made and I loved how it turned out. It is a cross between a costume I saw in a magazine and the pottery barn cupcake costume. My favorite part is the strawberry I made for the top of her head. All in all, it was a great halloween!

Thanks!

The folks over at Today's Creative Blog has given me a huge "shout out" on their blog. Today's Creative Blog is full of fun, creative ideas... if you like my blog, you will most likely their blog too. Thanks TCB!

Can't wait for 2013.

The word is that they are changing Fantasyland at Walt Disney World. I have never been to Disney World, but after reading and seeing the changes they are going to make there... it is definitely somewhere we will be going shortly after 2013. In a nutshell, they are going to double the size of Fantasyland and create all the different villages of most of the princess. So, Aurora's cottage, Belle's village, Eric's castle and Ariels Harbor, etc. You will be able to go to each "land" and meet the princess and interact where she lives. To me it looks amazing and can't wait to see the end result. What magic indeed!

For more information and drawings of the princess' land, click here.

MIA

I have been and might be MIA for a few more days. I just got the new iMac and have a lot of learning, importing and playing around to do. I am so excited and love my new toy. I have to say it was time. My old G5 was starting to become glitchy (only after a mere 8 years), so I ran (not walked :-) to our apple store and bought this little baby, all 27 inches of him. Ahhh, it is so fast, so pretty and so much better. See you in a few days once I get everything situated, organized again and done playing with it all.

My Crew!

Here is an update on my kiddos:

Jake - He is such a great baby. He loves to be played with and all it take is a smile and he is ready to show you his. He smiles a lot. He is about to roll over... he is so close. When I undress him, he ALWAYS laughs when I pull out his right arm. I don't know what it is, but when I pull his right arm out of his clothes, he just giggles like crazy, it is soo cute and funny.

Ella - She is starting to say more words which has been so nice. She is a little behind on speaking, but you can tell she is now trying. She knows the princesses by name and is learning her colors. She is a very coordinated child, she uses scissors like a pro, she kicks and throws with great accuracy and force and she loves to ride her little scooter. She loves to talk on the phone and every time I get off the phone she asks "who was that mommy"? We are working on her screaming less, but other than that she is a blast.

Hannah - Loves school. She loves to learn and loves her friends. She is a fantastic reader and a great big sister. She loves to play kindergarten after she comes home from kindergarten. When she plays soccer, she has a friend that doesn't like to play in the game, so Hannah holds her hand to help her run around the field. She is pure joy and such a good friend to me.

Birthday Treats

For my activity day girls, I asked them all their favorite cereal, candy, and ice cream flavor. I used this information as their birthday gifts. The funny thing is that all my girls were very explicit that their favorite ice cream flavors had to be from Thrifty's. Every single girl told me their favorite ice cream with Thrifty's ice cream, so I went there and got an ice cream cup and gave them $2 to go and get their favorite flavor. What could be more simple and fun.

Sneak Peak

Here is a sneak peak of Hannah's halloween costume. It turned out cuter than I imagined. I am in love with it! She and I can't wait for her to wear it!

Sugar Cookie Scarecrow Lollipops

We had our school carnival yesterday and I made these little guys for the Cake Walk. The idea was from Skip To My Lou who I think got it from Family Fun. And here is my take on Mr. Scarecrow. I loved how they ended up and I was a bit nervous the lollipop stick wouldn't hold him up, but it did and they turned out great.

But the real question is will I do something this creative and labor intensive again for a cake walk... probably not! But probably yes for a fun fall party or friends.

NOTES: I used pecans for the here. I used a bit pumpkin cookie cutter for the face. And this great cookie recipe... thanks Monique!

1 1/2 cups shortening
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
5 cups flour

Cream shortening, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients. Refrigerate for 10 mins. Roll at least 1/2 inch thick... the thicker the better. Bake on greased pan at 350 degrees for 8-10 mins. Don't overcook! You want them to look just barely done. Let cool on pan for a couple of mins. then transfer to rack.
* If cookies are really big you might need to cook them longer.

Carnival

Hannah at her school carnival. Heaven help us!

PS - We had a little chat about holding hands with boys. It is cute and all, but knowing Hannah those two would be holding hands in class come Monday, so we had to put the "kabosh" on holding hands with boys. Oh, to have to start so young.

Activity Day - Family history

Last night for Activity Days, I taught the girls about Family History. We talked about the importance of keeping journals and about our ancestors. We create our own family trees. It was a fun and super easy activity.

NOTES:
1) I got the canvas from Michaels (3 for $3.99), I think they are 9X12.
2) I used my friend's Cricut to cut out 1 1/2 inch leaves.
3) I told the girls to bring family names from themselves to their great grandparents.
4) the trunk and branches are brown yarn.

Here is the invitation/flyer I gave to the girls the sunday before the activity. There are four to a page.


Here are the handouts I gave them to put in their binders about the lesson and activity.



If you click on the images, drag the image to your desktop and print.

Our Happiest Book

Awhile back, I shared how I turned our disney photos into postcards for the characters to sign. See Here. Well, I now have tons of postcards and needed a better way to store them. So, I took the postcards to Office Max and asked them to bind them for me. And now we have a nice little book that captures all the time we have spent at Disneyland (visit by visit) and the signatures of all the characters. I love this little book. It is our own photo book of all our trips to Disneyland and this is only volume one.

Visiting Teaching and Teachers

Okay, so I found these adorable witch's shoes and had to make them this year. I made 7 of them. So, I figured 3 for Hannah's teachers, 2 for friends and 2 for my new visiting teachers. Are they the cutest things. Here is the template if you want to make them yourself.

As for the teachers gifts... the tag says "trick or treat and witch's feet, you three teachers can't be beat."

And the visiting teacher message tag says "witch way will you support the rising generation?" I also included the quote from lder Ronald A. Rasband of the Presidency of the Seventy:

“Our rising generation is worthy of our best efforts to support and strengthen them in their journey to adulthood. … In every action we take, in every place we go, with every Latter-day Saint young person we meet, we need to have an increased awareness of the need for strengthening, nurturing, and being an influence for good in their lives”

I also included cute hot chocolate packs that I got from Michaels with a little witch on it.
This was a super fun and cute project and very easy too.

Halloween Table

I wanted to share my little spot of Halloween in our house. Our entry table is basically the only spot in the house that is decorated for Halloween, but I love this little spot. And I had to share the cute broom I got at Michaels for only $3.50. Isn't it so cute! I love it.

For Nana:

My mother-in-law called me up to tell me it has been a long time since I had pictures of Jake (and the kids). She begged me to get some pictures posted on my blog. So, here are just a few. I need to pull my camera out more, I just never have it with me. I am probably going to invest in a point and shot, so that I can take more pictures. It is hard to carry around a huge SLR with 3 kids, so it is time to downsize.

But I do need to take more pictures and I will try and post more of my kids! But for now, this is for you nana! Thanks for asking me to do this.


Hannah is playing soccer this fall. Here team is the "Scooby Blues". Fun name huh? She is on the same team as her really good friend (Ren) and they have a blast together. Hannah was all pysch'd to play this year, because the last game of the season (last year) she made a goal. That "high" carried over a whole year and can't wait to score another one. Let's hope she does. There is a boy on her team that is above and beyond the rest of the players, so it is really a matter of getting the ball from him in order to score a goal. Here's hoping!


Each morning when the girls wake up and come into our bed, they can't wait to be with Jake. I have usually just finished feeding him and they anxiously wait their turn to smoother him with love. This is one of the mornings. Ella lucked out, because she has Jake all to herself. You can tell she is happy about it.


Jake loves baths and this one was no exception. He was so happy. Lots of smiling and laughing. So, we grabbed the camera and it all stopped. I couldn't get him to stop fixating on the camera. He couldn't figure out what was in mom's hand and covering my face. So, no great shots of smiling jake, maybe next time. But look at his big body. My word. His head doesn't fit his body. He is a big boy!

Logos and Biz Cards

Another great photographer came to me looking awhile ago for a logo and then I went on maternity leave. She contacted me again recently to help her create some business cards. It was a great project and we both love the way her cards turned out. She is having both business cards and MOO mini cards printed. I just love her colors, how bold and eye-catching! Thanks again Kim.. it was a pleasure to work with you!

If you want to see her logo concepts and logos, click here.

My New Call

In our church, we are asked to serve in different capacities within the congregation. They are called "callings". My last calling was to work with the young women ages 12-17. I loved that calling, but now I have a new calling and it is just as good. I am now in charge of Achievement (or is it Activity) Day girls (ages 10-11). This is going to be a great call. I have 7 girls, I meet with them every other week and we get to do fun activities and learn about gospel principles.

So, last night was our first meeting and we decorated binders. I gave each girl and binder. It will keep important items like the "Faith in God" books, calendars, rooster of the girls, tracking sheets for bringing their binders each time, Articles of Faith and the Faith in God requirements. It will also keep their journal and other handouts I bring each activity.

So, here are the items I created for the binder. If you would like to use them, just email me and I will send them to you. Here's to the girls!

Happy October!

I have to say, growing up I didn't just love Halloween. I am not sure why, but now I really like it. Maybe it is because of the commercialism or that I have kids that get excited or that I am just more fun these days :-) .... but I am starting to get into the whole Halloween thing. I love the fall. I love the apple and pumpkin desserts. I love the soups I can finally start making. I love the colors orange, purple and black. What's not to love. I am going to put up my decorations this weekend (something I usually don't get excited enough to do that) and I bought this great shirt to wear for the month of October. I love it. October is a fun month and I am more than ready to celebrate fall and now Halloween!