Halloween Rocks!

So we decided to do a group theme again. Everyone was surprisingly agreeable this year. I started with Emmrey, giving her some options, because she's only 8 and I wanted her to be excited about her costume. She didn't have any one thing her heart was set on, so I didn't have to work around that. When I showed her a picture of an 80's rock band...she liked it and it just evolved from there. We made Mark join us [although he is always a good sport], some years he ends up being his regular self and the girls were not going to let that happen. So here are the 5 members of our 80's Rock Band....

 Emmrey and Bailee did not want to wear a wig, so it is a good thing they both have a lot of hair. Karsyn was not having any ratting or teasing done to her hair to make it BIG, so she rocked a wig with Mark and I.

 But before all the festivities we had a school celebration. Emmrey's school dresses up and has a parade. In Cody they always had a carnival before Halloween and they didn't dress up at school.  This takes me right back to my days at Rolling Meadows. 

 Her teacher had asked me to coordinate the snacks/activity. They really don't take a lot of time out of the day to have the party, so we had literally 30 minutes until the end of the day. I had lots of willing moms to bring snacks and we only had 1 treat and the rest was healthy foods.  The kids devoured it!! One of the mom's had a bracelet craft she brought for the kids to make and it worked out perfect....just the right amount of time for it.

 Emmrey won one of the pumpkins that Mrs E had brought from her garden.   She was ecstatic, but couldn't carry it. It was all she could do to hold it for a pic:)

 Our little town has a Trick or Treat down Main Street after school. They really advertise it as something for grades 6 and under.  Bailee wasn't home from school yet, and Kars didn't want to go and be the "oldest kid there", so as soon as Mark got into town [right about 3] we took Emmrey down for a little bit. It didn't feel quite as festive as we were used to in Cody, but the nice thing was it also wasn't as crazy busy.

We went home and got everyone else ready, ate some chili and hit the streets. We allowed Karsyn to Trick or Treat with a group of girls she's become friends through school and church who live in a nearby neighborhood. We met them at the park and let them wander around  "by themselves". It made me a little nervous, although we were in the same neighborhood.

Evie, Natalie, Preslee, Kars, Eliana

 While they ran around, we did some Trick or Treating the "old fashion" way. Bailee really didn't want/need to gather candy, but she was a good sport to go to the doors with Emm.

 We heard about this one house in particular.  Apparently, the man that lives there loves Halloween so much he turns his back yard and garage into a Spook House. We met Kars and her friends there to check it out.  They had already been through it and failed to convey that it just might be a little too much for Emm [or me for that matter;]  It was done pretty well! Emmrey was actually fine and she got a  full size candy bar at the end.... 

And I thought I loved Halloween!!

 We didn't stay out long. Although it was the nicest Halloween weather we remember having in a while, it started to get a little chilly and we really don't need all that candy.  

We had plenty as it was....

the candy sort

 Even Gorden, Patches and Simon got dressed up:)

 It was a wild night for sure!!

Happy Halloween 2014

Pumpkin Dinner and Carving

Mark had a work meeting the week of Halloween. He was gone Tuesday and didn't get home until the day of Halloween.Typically we have our traditional dinner the night before or on Halloween night.  Since he was going to be gone, I decided we should have it the weekend before. Sunday night we dined on cauliflower soup, salad, pumpkin rolls, and pumpkin cake.

 Emmrey brought Harry Truman from 2nd grade to visit our family for the weekend so he joined in the festivities.

With our pumpkins in possession, we got right to carving them the following night. Each of the girls had their own design plan. The tongue must come out in times of concentration.

 Kars wanted a more elaborate design ...so she opted not to freehand

 Scooping out the goo

 Look at all those pumpkin carvers. We had The Munsters playing in the background. I had almost forgot about that show until the girls asked about it.

 The finished products

 And all lit up on the porch

Bartel Farm

We finally made it to a pumpkin patch and corn maze.  For me, it's kind of a mandatory part of the fall season. Last year we overpaid for a corn maze that really wasn't all that spectacular.  This year I found one that was really close to our house at a farm.  We decided to go check it out the week before Halloween.

 Kettle corn is usually purchased if it is available

 There were lots of farm critters around, but the girls had more fun with these

 Bailee's friend, Dani was over from Laramie for a "Scary Movie Sleepover" so she joined us. 

We started out the corn maze thinking we might be disappointed by how easy it was. Turned out to be a bit more challenging.

We had a heck of a time finding many decent pumpkins.  It was pretty picked over, unless you were willing to spend 12.00 a pumpkin....we were not.  There were some great ones in this wagon, that were not for sale....of course.

We stayed until closing time...and a little beyond... trying to find at least 3 good pumpkins.  We left with three, but it was a challenge!

Smith Cousins Visit

A week after our grandparents visited, we enjoyed the company of Kevin & Migdalia along with their 4 kids. Their kids had a long weekend and so did our girls, so it just worked out perfect! The first night they arrived, Bailee had a choir concert. Brianna rode with me over to the High School to attend the concert and surprise Bay.  She was so happy to see her there.

We got up the next morning and headed for Estes Park for the day.  This fun little resort town is about an hour from where we live and is just outside Rocky Mountain National Park.

We spotted some Big Horn Sheep on our way in.....

 We had fun just walking the streets and doing a little shopping.

We also grabbed some pizza for lunch at a local joint. It was nice enough to eat outside, which was good because there were no tables inside...honestly not the best pizza

These girls had so much fun together.  It makes it so nice that they have cousins they love to be with:)

 What a great way to spend such a beautiful fall day!!

The next day Mark took Kevin and Brandon fishing to Laramie Plains lakes.  They didn't do too well in the catching department, but they enjoyed the chase and time together:)

Migdalia and I took the girls to lunch at Panda and then to the park to play while we waited for Bailee to finish her Tech work for the High School musical.

We spent every night playing games. I had no idea these Smith cousins were such game players. We love to play games, so it was so much fun!! I twas a bonus that they knew how to play Ticket to Ride [and even taught us a thing or two] since that is one of our favorites:)

Sunday morning came all too soon.  Ashly was so sad to leave, she couldn't even join us for this last photo....broke my heart!!  Yes, there were some tears shed {and not just by the kids} and we felt really lonely as they pulled away.  Reminded us once again how important family is and how much we treasure the time we do get to spend together.

Emmrey's Baptism

On October 11th Emmrey was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Both grandparents were able to come out for her very special day:)

The grandparents arrived Friday night.  My parents stayed at a hotel in town and Mark's parents stayed with us. We played a round or two of UNO the first night before heading to bed....true colors came out if you know what I mean;)

She was one of three kids getting baptized on Saturday. She was second on the program so she got to see one before her which I think was nice for her. 

She ended up getting baptized twice.  The first time she was holding too far up on Mark's arm and so her elbow never submerged completely.  The second time was legit:) I was worried that she was going to be upset about that happening....she doesn't like to have extra attention on her for things like that.  She surprised me and really took it in stride and was even laughing about it in the dressing room after.

Her little buddy Shelby and her family were at her baptism and she was pretty happy about that.

Shelby, Emmrey and Deana

The weather was beautiful, although a little on the chilly side. We still had to take advantage of the fall scenery and get some photos outside. 

We decided rather than go back to Wellington right away, we would stay in Fort Collins and grab some lunch and then go see Meet the Mormons. Gpa & Gma Fortie opted to go rest instead.  We had some time to kill before the movie so we drove them by the future site of the Fort Collins Temple.

Then we headed to the movie....it was excellent!!

We served soup and salad for dinner at our house later.

Gpa & Gma Fortie brought along this Shark game where you try to not get your finger snapped off....it was a huge hit!!

They also brought this candy gram for Emmrey ....maybe an even bigger hit:)

She received some nice cards and jewelry from thoughtful family members and a scripture case from my parents for her new very own scriptures that Mark and I gave her.

I am so proud of this girl for making the choice to be baptized.  I know that this will bring so much happiness to her life:)