Halloween 2012

We began Halloween with our traditional dinner.  I decided to do it the night before Halloween this year.  It is always too chaotic on the actual night to fit in dinner prep etc.  Due to the Mystery Dinner we had just had, I was a little wiped out of creativity.  So the meal was pretty simple, and not very "spooky".. ..unless of course you consider hot dogs "spooky"

I made cupcakes to send with Bailee and Karsyn to share with their classmates.  The kids at the Middle School always appreciate a treat since they get so few there, and the 5th graders weren't really having a party....just watching a movie.

 

Emmrey's class did have a party, so I went in to help with that for a little while.  They on the other hand, had way too many treats.. ..ugh!!

 

After school we headed downtown for the annual Trick or Treating.  Bailee had swim team practice so we just took Kars and Emm.  Bay was okay with that, she wasn't super excited about going downtown.   

The atmosphere is so fun and I love getting to see everyone in their costumes, but every year I end up feeling like it's a little overrated.  Kids don't even know what it means to have to work for your candy.  It's way too easy, and they don't even have to say "Trick or Treat".  They just file down the sidewalk with their bag/bucket open and candy is literally poured in.  When our girls were complaining about the weight of their bucket we knew our time was up.

We picked up Bay, had pizza and got ready for some traditional door~to~door Trick or Treating around the neighborhood.

We also went for a "traditional" theme with our costumes this year... .. ..monsters:}

*Frankie Stein, Skeleton and Witch*

The weather was absolutely perfect for a Hallows Eve.  We trick or treated just for the sake of being able to take a nice walk and enjoy the evening.  We walked down the little Spooky Lane which was all lit up like Christmas.

We came home with buckets overflowing .. ... .

 .. .. ..and did the "dump" and sorting.  Look out G&F employees.. ..unwanted candy is coming your way:}

HAPPY HALLOWEEN:}

Pumpkin Parade

We finally got to carving our pumpkins last night.  The girls are getting pretty independent with this activity and can do it without a whole lot of help.  They are even pretty good about getting all the goo out.  Although Emmrey still doesn't like the feel of it and when it starts to make their skin sting.. ..they are pretty much done cleaning it out.

 Emmrey usually likes a happy jack-o-lantern and so she stayed with a pretty traditional design.  Karsyn always comes up with a pretty creative face, but she makes the features really small and thus difficult to cut out.  Bailee wanted to do an owl this year, but didn't really plan it out before she outlined and began carving... ..it still turned out cute:}  Here are this years pumpkins on the porch.. .. ..

 

And here they are close up.. .. all lit and spooky

Mystery Dinner

We love having Halloween parties.  We have tried to host one every year since the girls were little.  This year, I thought it would be fun to do a Mystery Dinner.  We decided this one would be for Bailee and some of her friends, because it required the ability to actually sit down for a long period and eat a meal:} We will have to do something else for Kars and Emm.  We sent out the invites a couple of weeks in advance.. ...

When the girls arrived, we blindfolded them and drove them to the "mysterious location" where they would have their dinner.  I think some of them were genuinely scared about this.  We had to assure them that it was all in fun and they would be totally safe:} Mark took them on a good little ride around town.. ..{up an down hills, off pavement, round in circles etc} to throw them off a bit.  Upon arriving, they had to follow a rope {with assistance} around the yard and finally to their destination where they were able to remove their blindfold. The "mysterious location" was actually our garage transformed.

 

After being seated by my little helpers, they filled out their menu choices for the Mystery Dinner.  They had no idea what they were ordering for each course.  Some were better at guessing than others.  Karsyn was seriously upset with me when one of the girls ended up with her utensils and ranch dressing for her first course.  She didn't get the humor in it and felt I was not being very nice:}

This is what they were ultimately served by the end of the meal.  Some of them ended up with ice cream first thing...they LOVED that!!  One of Bay's friends has Celiac disease, so I secretly worked with her Mom and we ended up with a meal that was completely Gluten Free for all of us:}

 

 This is what I put in the drinks....gummy worms frozen in ice cubes... ..eww.

 These 2 were the best little kitchen helpers....using my little "key" to translate the menu items and get them served.

 

We also had Take-Out boxes for them to fill with spooky treats from the candy jars.. ..like Dreadful Edibles, Devilish Delights, and Deadly Morsels.

 I honestly thought that once they took off their blindfold, they would have figured out the location.  But by the end of the meal, several girls still did not know they were in our garage and they were still a little freaked out.. ..it was pretty funny. 

After they were all done with dinner, we went inside and played The Werewolves of Miller's Hollow.  I had just heard about this game on a blog and ordered it. Each round everyone is dealt a card with a role they will play.  The object is for the Townspeople to figure out who the Werewolves are before they kill everyone off.  It is sooo fun.  You have to have at least 8 people to play, but you can have as many as 18.

It was such a fun night and Bailee was so appreciative for putting it together for her.  It was a lot of work, but totally worth it.  Now what to plan for Kars and Emm??

Spook Splash #4

We survived another weekend in the sauna.  Bailee swam in her fourth Spook Splash meet this last weekend.  We headed to Lander early Saturday morning and arrived to find that Bailee had forgotten to throw in her swim bag...YIKES!!  Luckily she had her suit on under her clothes and they were selling goggles and caps at the meet {although we were seriously gouged!!:}  I'm tellin' ya, that girl has been a little scattered lately {more than usual:}  I am sure that didn't make for the calmest start to the day... ..but she managed to pull it together and was ready to go.

This meet is always a bit rough because the team has just started the season and are a little rusty.  This year was even worse, because we got a new coach and had to wait for her to get her credentials before we could practice, so the kids really only had 1 week of practice before the meet.  They all did pretty well considering.  

{Bay and a few of her team mates}

It was so freaking hot in there...but we were determined to cheer for our CKATS.  I have to say, Kars and Emm are sooo good about sitting through those meets.. .. ..they can be terribly long.

We did take them outside for breaks off and on.  It was a beautiful fall day, and Emmrey was "King of the Mountain".

Bailee is definitely the best cheerleader for the rest of her teammates.  One of her close friends was swimming a 500 and she asked Bay to keep track of laps for her.

We went to Gannett Grill with some of the team for dinner that night...yummy:}

 

It is always a fun meet to go to, just wish it wasn't so uncomfortable.. ..Lavender had no complaints:}

Orange Crush

Emmrey just had her last soccer game of the season.  They did it right this year.. ..starting the season earlier in September and ending before it gets too cold.  We only had one game cancelled due to weather:} {Although, wouldn't you know it.. ..we have had a beautiful fall here}  

She played on a little Kindergarten team with 6 boys and only 1 other girl.  

Their team name was Orange Crush.. ..very fitting considering the color of their shirts:}

Emmrey played so good this year.  She loved it last year, but was a little more hesitant to get in there and snag the ball.  This year she was much more aggressive and we actually saw her kinda "push" kids out of her way so she could get at the ball.  Not that we encourage that behavior normally, but in soccer you can't just wait for the ball to come to you.  She got quite a bit of contact with the ball and on her last game, she even scored a goal.. ...Whoo Hoo Emm!!  She also "jumped"around a lot on the field.  It was so cute to see her filled with all that excitement.

Her assistant coach had brought silly string to spray on the kids after their last game...they LOVED it.  

I thought it was a fantastic idea.

Enjoying an Orange Crush after a well played game.. ... of course:}

We are so proud of our little crusher.  Can't wait to watch her play again!!

Whirlwind Weekend

We made a trip to Utah last Friday.  It was quick and {never}long enough, but we packed it full of fun:}

As soon as we arrived, we met my sister Jami and her family for some dinner.  We picked up sandwiches at Village Baker where I had the best Chicken Salad sandwich of my life..mmm.  We headed for a park to eat and let the kids play...

 When the conversation turned to politics, we ended up staying until it was dark .. ... ..and cold:}

The girls had a sleepover with their cousins.  When we picked them up Saturday, Kole insisted that Mark go with him to make a fishing purchase he had been waiting on.

They also tied a few flies together .. ...Kole has quite the set up:

Later that afternoon, we headed for Kevin & Migdalia's for a visit.  The girls had so much fun with their girls...

 Brandon played the guitar for us

 

Then it was off to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream:}

Mark had gone to the men's conference meeting with his brothers and nephews, so they met up with us there.

 

Sunday morning we got up bright and early for Conference. Emmrey was not old enough {have to be 8}, so this was a special occasion for Bailee and Karsyn

 

The Conference Center is beautiful.  This was from the top floor looking down.

I had all these big ideas of walking around and seeing all these things afterwards.  I guess I underestimated just how many people would be doing the same thing.  Oh well.. ..another time.

We did a quick walk through Temple Square, but didn't have time to stop for much looking

I am so glad we had this awesome opportunity and I hope our girls realize how special it was.  I encouraged them to write about it in their journals so they could always remember it.

 We headed to my parents to pick up Emmrey and while we were there, we got to meet this little cutie.. ..

{the girls with their newest cousin Olivia}

Oh my.. ..those cheeks. Doesn't she look like her Daddy?

 We took turns trying out Grandma's new bike.. ..which she is borrowing from uncle Brent. 

 I want one for myself:}

 That night the Morris clan hosted a family Halloween party.  We made a special witch's brew with all sorts of yucky ingredients:} Emmrey was seriously concerned about drinking it until she saw others doing it.

 The kids bobbed for apples.. ..

 and did a Halloween Fashion show with whatever they came up with from old costume boxes.

 And it wouldn't be a Fortie party without lots of good conversation.. ... and food:}

 Monday afternoon we took the girls to the "Bewitching Scavenger Hunt" at Gardner Village.  You can do this scavenger hunt to find all the witches around the village.  It is trickier than you think with clues not always matching the witch you might suspect.  Plus, there are more witches than there are clues.  Everything about this SCREAMS Halloween to me and I wish we could have spent the entire day there.  I had forgotten how much I love Gardner Village and with it all decorated for Halloween... ...a dream come true for me*

 The weather could not have been more perfect that day so later we met the Weaver fam at Hogle Zoo.

 We had to check out the new Rocky Shores exhibit added since the last time we were there.

 There was so much to look at.. ..

 

Oh my goodness.. ..the animals were active.. ..especially this Polar Bear. He gave us quite a show:}

little Hazen just loved getting on every statue we passed...

 We were lucky enough to be there to see the zoo's newest addition...a baby Giraffe born two weeks earlier

 I've decided this is the perfect time of year to visit the zoo.  Nice temperature, entertaining animals, and most importantly.. ..very small crowds.

 

**Thank you Weavers for a lovely afternoon:}

Mark's parents had just returned from a two week trip to Israel and Egypt.  We got together with The Smith's for dinner and travel tales {Mark was in charge of pics this time and it appears he was enjoying himself far too much to use the camera:}  We did get this one the morning we left for home.  So glad we got to see them for a bit and hear that they had a great adventure:}

Whew... four full days of non-stop activity.  We are always so happy to get to spend time with our family and always so sad when it is time to go home:} 

Until next time family...hopefully sooner rather than later:}