Painting pumpkins

After picking up our little pumpkins at Schilter's Farm, we painted them for FHE. The kids had a lot of fun, and it bought us some time before the begging began to carve the big pumpkins. Painted ones last much longer on the front porch. 

Aubrey wanted several designs on hers, and we knew she could pull it off. She's pretty artistic. 

The master at work--she's painting a bat. If you look closely, you can see the pencilled-in witch. She also painted a jack-o-lantern and a ghost. Very colorful!

Lincoln, on the other hand, is still learning to stay in the lines when coloring. He just isn't interested in creating masterpieces yet. We went with a Spiderman pumpkin for him--and all he had to do was paint the whole thing red.

Huh? What do you mean 'Watch what I'm doing . . ?'

Mom has to help the little man stay focused.

Our finished products--the big pumpkins have tattoos. We'll carve the other side right before Halloween. Cute little painted pumpkins, huh?

Spooktacular

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, Lincoln decided he wanted to be Darth Vader for Halloween. As I lay in bed one night planning what the rest of our family could be, Aubrey's costume was a no-brainer. She'd be Princess Leia--of course. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks--Jace could be YODA!! And not only would he be the cutest little Yoda ever toddling around, but I remembered my nephew was Yoda a few years ago. So I wouldn't even have to buy the costume! I love it when stuff works out like that. 

I'm not a Star Wars girl at all (Have you ever played Star Wars Trivial Pursuit? I promise you don't want me on your team . . . Jedi who?), but I was thrilled for my cute little fam to dress the parts. When Laura sent the Yoda costume, she included a robe that her husband had bought in the Middle East--'Obi Wan style,' she told me. So now even Gav could be a part of the dress-up fun--but what about me?

A week before our community party, I went costume shopping on ebay. I debated about buying one--did I really need to spend the extra money? I ultimately decided it would be fun and totally worth it. Besides, I could always turn around and resell it next year to recover what I spent.

I found a Queen Amidala costume. I had not idea who she was, so when I learned she was Princess Leia's mom, I couldn't resist. I clicked on 'buy it now,' paid the money, emailed the seller to make sure it would ship on time, and waited. And waited. And fretted. And waited.

Friday morning (the party was Friday night), I received the UPS tracking notification via email. Bummer for me, the company totally broke their promise. The package had scanned in Salt Lake City at 3 a.m. that morning. WHAT?!? They gypped me. While my fam was dressed up and so cute, I was a Galactic goon without a costume. Such a rip-off. 

Like I always tell my kids, you get what you get and you don't throw a fit. There are worse things in life than a no-show costume. So we went to the Spooktacular and had fun nonetheless.

Jace/Baby Yoda was a big hit. In the first few minutes there, three total strangers took his picture. This continued all night. He strutted his stuff ("He even walks like Yoda!!"), as we watched approvingly. He's such a cute kid. 

This is blurry because he's shaking his groove thang to the spooky tunes--such a party animal!

Aubrey/Princess Leia and Lincoln/Darth Vader had fun with all the games and activities. Neither the mask nor the wig lasted very long, so thank goodness for the treat sacks.

A Haunted House bean bag toss

A cemetery ring toss--complete with ghouls, skeletons, and tombstones

It really was a great party put on by the PTA, ROA, and many volunteers. By the time we got home, the kids were tuckered out and ready for bed. That's my kind of party, for sure. 

The Great Pumpkin

The trick-or-treaters last year

As you know, I have a love/hate relationship with all things sugary. Halloween is like a nightmare and a dream come true all in one. Yummmmm--all that candy! And, all that candy? Yikes! 

So I was thrilled last year to learn about the Great Pumpkin (known hereafter as GP). After Halloween, the GP exchanges candy for presents. We told the kids about the GP a few days before Halloween, then woke up to see his note and these baggies on the front door the day after the big sugar-fest.

Click on pic to read the GP's letter

The kids were so excited to sort through their goodies and pick out their faves. They kept whatever they could fit into the baggies, then left the rest for GP to pick up the next night. When GP returned, he took the candy and left some simple gifts. 

As luck would have it, a local restaurant was accepting donations for care packages to be sent to Iraq. Being the patriotic GP that he was, he donated the candy to the troops. Everybody wins.

After Halloween, Aubrey asked her friends if they too had received visits from the Great Pumpkin. She talked about him everywhere we went. Most hadn't heard of the GP, so I had to explain. Parents and kids all seemed to like the idea.

I think the GP will make a return visit this year. I hear he's looking to expand his route, and might drop by your place too--you never know!

 

Schilter's Farm

Our kiddos on the hay ride--notice all the gorgeous Christmas trees in the background. We'll be back soon for one of those!

We took the kids to a local Pumpkin Patch for our annual ROA Fall Festival. It was inbetween soccer games (Linc still has his soccer garb on), so we were limited on time; but we made the most of it. In addition to the usual hay ride, straw maze, petting zoo, and--of course--pumpkins, the ROA had several crafts for the kids. 

The Fall Fest was fun, and another reason I love our community. There are so many family-friendly activities. I already posted about the Daddy/Daughter V-day dance and the Easter egg hunt--coming up is the Spooktacular and decorating Gingerbread houses. I love that my kids will have these memories.

Monkey see, monkey do. Aubrey spotted this picture op first, but Linc can never be outdone by his big sis.

We told the kids they could pick whatever pumpkin they wanted with one caveat--they had to be able to carry it out by themselves. Smart, huh? Oooh, Jace had his sights set pretty high on this big thing.

"What do you mean I can't carry that one by myself?" 

(Do you like the scab in the middle of his head--it looks like the mark women in India wear when they're married. Instead, it's the mark from biffing it at the McD playland.)

We made it home with lots of kiddy crafty projects, three cantaloupe-sized pumpkins (perfect for painting--I'll post that soon), a bag of honey-crisp apples, and our cute kids with a smidgen less energy than usual. Not bad for an hour or so at the farm.

The Ant and the Grasshopper 2008

My father-in-law sent this to me in an email (thanks, Wayne!)--ENJOY!

TRADITIONAL VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!

MODERN UPDATED VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so?

Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green."

Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and all call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act, retroactive to the beginning of the summer! The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs, and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.

Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients. The ant loses the case. The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.

MORAL OF THE STORY : Be careful how you vote in 2008

I'm too sexy for my highlights

I dyed my hair. After many-a-stroll through the hair color aisles at Target and Wal-Mart, I finally did it. My previous blonde was a little bleached-out, and I'm getting too old to pull it off anyway. My natural dingy brown color isn't a good option either, and I wanted something fun and new.

I was scared to do it, however, because I've seen many DIY efforts go very wrong. A friend in college (you know who you are, Honky Tonk) once made several desperate trips to Smith's in Provo for box after box of color to fix the mess she got herself into. She figured it out--sort of--and she's super cute now, so it all worked out eventually.

Fortunately for me, one trip was all it took. It isn't perfect, but I like it.

Thank you Revlon, I think my $2.44 was well-spent. 

BCGs

The Army is full of acronyms. Most of the time when I'm talking to some seasoned military person who is spewing random letters of the alphabet, I just nod my head and pretend like I know what's being said. 

After a while, it starts to become like learning a foreign language, and you just figure it out based on context. Like tonight, this woman was talking about an upcoming holiday bazaar and she said 'OSC.' Ummm . . . a-ha!! It's 'Officer's Spouses Club.' I'm catching on.

So 'BCG' stands for 'Birth Control Glasses' and refers to the Army-issue glasses. I guess the idea is that the attraction factor of an individual is greatly diminished when he or she is sportin' these lovely specs, making it highly unlikely for any chances at baby making. Great birth control, perhaps 99.9% effective like the rest of them. 

BCGs are given out for free (heaven knows nobody would pay money for them), and were the only thing Gav could wear eons ago in basic training. For whatever reason, every once in a while we get a random pair of glasses in the mail. It's a requirement for Army readiness I'm told--so if Gav suddenly has to serve the country, he has a pair at the ready. Of course, nobody wants a blind Army guy running off in the middle of the night to save the USA.

These lovely BCGs have found a home in one of Gavin's vanity drawers, and our boys love to play with them. It's hilarious. I took pictures of Lincoln a couple of years ago when he discovered them (love it when they're on upside-down), and now Jace has followed suit. So cute.

Very soon, we will no longer be receiving BCGs. Gavin is scheduled for corrective eye surgery in about a week and half. Just like the BCGs, his surgery is totally covered--we don't pay anything out of pocket.                                                                      

This is the cache of meds Gav received today for his surgery--wowzers. I wonder if eye drops sell on ebay?

Thank you, taxpayers--for several pair of glasses my boys can play with, free eye surgery, and a gazillion meds. 

I guess if my tax dollars are helping bail out somebody else's mortgage, it's only fair for others' taxes to pay for Gavin's vision. (He has to read all those X-rays, you know.)