Couples Costume Party

After seeing some of the super fun parties some of you have had over the years at Halloween I decided it would be fun to host one of our own.  October 19, 2012 was the day!  Ethan and I talked about who to invite and I basically said, "Anyone we've actually had a conversation with at church we should invite." And that is what we did. We also invited some people from Ethan's work.  I think I invited 35 couples or something... we ended up with 7 who came and it was great fun!

I asked everyone to bring a Halloween themed party food to share and dress in costumes.  Prizes would be awarded for creativity, spookiness, and best overall in food and costume.

Let's start with the food... I didn't want to go overboard doing all the work myself hence the pot luck.  Problem was I was the only one who did Halloween theme, so the voting was a little skewed...

We did have some yummy cinnamon rolls (and some of them had chopped apples added and they were scrumptious!) 

I made some spiderweb cookies (though my glace icing was too runny!) and some cake eye balls.

And the big hit of the night was my 7 Layer dip with a graveyard scene decorating the top.  It was super easy to make too!  I just cut some tortillas into shapes that fit a graveyard (tombstones, fence, tree, cat) and sprinkled with a little cumin then baked them for a few minutes to get crispy.  Then I just stuck them into the dip!  I was really pleased with how it turned out!

Now onto the costumes:  

Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head  (I didn't get a good picture of them before they left, so this will have to do!)

Eternal Love.  She had a Pi symbol on her shirt and he had a D, no one got it.  But Pi times diameter is the circumference of a circle... no beginning, no end... Eternal Love... get it now? :)

The Paparazzi, the Spookiest costume winners.

I realize not everyone is familiar with Veggie Tales, but Ethan is Larry Boy!  The superhero cucumber. My costume isn't great, but I'm the Bad Apple who's theme song is "Temptation."  Ethan was awarded the Best Overall costume.

 Friendly m & m's

Bob Ross and his Happy Tree.  They got the Most Creative Costume award.

The prizes for the night were these cute cans filled with candy and a gift card for a local ice cream shop.

We had some games planned, but ended up only playing Mafia and just talking and laughing the rest of the night.  It was a lot of fun!

General Conference aka Bribery at its Finest

October 7, 2012; Conference this year was better than its ever been at out house.  I'd like to be able to say its because our kids have discovered their inner spiritual maturity and care about what the prophet has to teach us, but I'm afraid it had more to do with the bribes rewards that were offered for reverence and listening.

First of all, I copied some of you and let the kids build tents like the people listening to King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon.  They thought that was pretty awesome.  And the older boys did a really good job of staying in theirs for the sessions.

The next level of our system was a reward for listening.  If they identified the topic of the talk and it was one of our selection, they could get one treat from the bowl to eat while they finished listening.

And the final level to our system was the ice cream party we had Sunday night.  I kept a record of how many talks they listened to and were reverent through.  For each talk they were awarded ice cream and toppings.  There were four flavors of ice cream, four sauce options, and lots of toppings ranging from sprinkles to marshmallows to chocolate chips.

I'm not usually a big proponent for rewarding with food, but holy smokes, did it do the job for us this year!  The kids listened more than they ever have, and what's more Ethan and I actually got to pay attention!  It was so great!  I love General Conference and really love that we have the opportunity to listen to the words of the Prophet and other leaders of the church twice a year.  I know that they speak the words that our Heavenly Father wants us to hear so we can improve ourselves and help others.

A Mini Roadtrip

For a long time Ethan has been looking at cars.  He spent hours scouring Craigslist and Edmunds.com trying to find the perfect fit.  I was pretty much so tired of all the looking that I was desperate for him to buy something so we could move on!  Well, he finally found a good match and bought a Honda Pilot.  We now have 2 vehicles that will seat the entire clan.  The kids were all super excited about the purchase and so when we headed out on a mini roadtrip up to Cincinnati (after the race at the horse park on Sept 22) it was a no brainer that we try out the new ride.

I think the man looks pleased.  Can you guess what he's doing?

Ah, yeah.  He's putting a cassette in the tape deck!  He's held on to all his favorites for a long time and now he gets to listen to them whenever he wants. :)

 Coming in to Cincinnati.

Love Eliza's pose.  She's so funny.  She told me today she wants to be a fashion model.  I laughed, but she could totally pull it off.

The reason for the trip... to see the Reds vs. the Dodgers.  Ethan's good friend from Optometry school lives in Toledo and is a big Dodgers fan.  He was going to the game and asked if we were interested in meeting up.

I have to say the only thing that kept the kids' attention were the snacks we paid a grundle for...

We had lots of fun.  I noticed in the sea of red surrounding us that every single member of my family (except Bolton) were dressed in mainly blue... we were lucky no body threw things at us!

Joseph and Ali's daughter, Hadlee was sure fun to play with. Eliza and Bolton got a big kick out of her!

The only thing better than eating over priced popcorn at a baseball game?  Playing peek-a-boo with the bag afterward.  Hmmm buttered hair.

Jonas and Bryant actually watched the game a bit, as you can see Jonas came prepared with his baseball cap, glove and socks.

Our attempt at a family photo.  I have such rascals for kids, it sure makes for some funny memories (and pictures).

On the way back home we stopped at Waffle House with our friends.  We had to get back home because the Primary program was the next day.  So it was a quick little trip, but a fun one!

Racing at the Horse Park

September 22, 2012

The kids had a big race at the Kentucky Horse Park.  Levi was taking a break from cross country, but he and Bolton sure had lots of fun playing in/with the grass!

Bryant really did great.  He improved so much throughout the season. I told him he needs to be my running companion after I have the baby, we're about the same pace (or hopefully I can keep up with him after a few runs) :)

This little stinker girl totally got lost while we were there.  I plopped myself down in the shade with Levi and Bolton. Ethan went to get the boys' numbers and Eliza really wanted to go exploring. I told her no.  She went a little bit away, but not far.  Then I got distracted and the next thing I knew, she was gone.  So when Ethan got back he went in search of her with Levi.  There were a whole bunch of people around where we were, so I decided to wait until things cleared out a bit to see if she was just lost in the crowd (when the race starts the crowd does its best to follow).  After a few minutes, a friend from the team and church came to find me. She said that Eliza was up at the announcer station and they wouldn't let her go with anyone unless it was her parent.  They'd been paging us for quite some time apparently, but with the crowd surrounding me and the distance from the speakers, I didn't hear it.  She didn't seem to be too phased by the experience, but we were sure to keep a hand on her the rest of the day. :)

 Jonas seemed to have a hard time keeping the momentum of the season that he started with.  But he never quit!  I think he likes running and is a good runner, he just isn't sure the work is worth it yet.

After the race, we were all excited for our next big adventure!

Reminiscing...

Tomorrow marks 37 weeks for the pregnancy.  I am so shocked that I'm that far along already.  Today I went to the doctor and then headed to the hospital to preregister and see the labor and delivery area.  Yesterday I found some things on Craigslist that I want to have for this baby.  Also, I haven't ever had a winter baby, so none of our new baby clothes are the right season, so I bought a couple things with some Kohl's cash.

Its becoming more of a reality what's coming... I was trying to remember some things about previous births and scrolled through the blog reminiscing.  It made me kind of excited!  I'm sure none of you need to reminisce with me, but in case you are interested (and so I have a central location for them for myself)... I'll provide a link to each birth story.

Bryant  I don't have his baby baby pics on the computer still... and don't feel like scanning one right now, so here is my oldest at 17 months.  When we finally got a digital camera. :)

Jonas

Levi... can't find his.  I'll have to make sure to record it on the blog for his next birthday.  I know I have it written in my journal and his.  But I'll share a few more pics this go round.

Eliza (and pictures)

Bolton

I love my family. And have been so unbelievably blessed!  I'm excited for the next blessing that will be joining us!

Still No Camera Cord...

So, my phone pictures will have to do for now.  Please excuse the randomness of the pictures and story.  And the mess.  Such is our life. :) This post is all from September.

I lived for around 6 weeks without a dryer.  This clothes rack was the only thing keeping me from the laundromat.  But it was very difficult to keep the house clean with this eye sore staring me in the face all day every day.  We have a lot of laundry in this house, in case you were wondering. 

More Dr. appointments.  The nurse is so nice and always loads the kids up with stickers, she laughed at their placement this time.

I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but I gave all my maternity clothes away after Bolton.  Someone needed them and I was in a place I could replace them when necessary.  Well, finding nice clothes has proven more difficult than I anticipated, that combined with the fact that I've outgrown what I did buy led me to this beauty.  I made this skirt from an old pair of pants and an old t-shirt.  I love how it turned out and how I feel wearing it.

I wore the skirt the day I led the Primary Program at church.  Only I wore my nice Sunday shoes with it... they have heels.  I had to stand on a little step stool at the back of the chapel so I could be seen by the entire primary.  My first step onto the stool and my heel went through the handle hole and I about fell.  Luckily, a nice guy behind me saw the inevitable and came to my aid.  The primary didn't even realize what happened, just saw me laughing as they began their first song.  I took my shoes off for the rest of the program and it went off without a hitch.  The kids did great.  Although Little Miss Eliza disappeared for most of it.

Since I had to lead the music I went to church early to make sure I had my spot in the chapel (which I didn't because someone had moved my things... my stepstool was nowhere to be found! Luckily I found who cleaned the chapel and they located it for me).  Anyway, because I left early, I didn't have time to do Eliza's hair... so Bryant and she took it upon themselves to do it for me.  This is how she showed up for the program.  Awesome.  There were at least 5 bows all around her head.

I'm not sure why babies always wear glasses upside down, but few pictures delight me as much as this kind.  So cute!!!

September saw lots of homework.  My kids are quite unconventional in their positioning during homework time.  As long as it gets done, I don't argue.  Bryant is doing exceptionally well in school.  After their first report cards came out, the principal talked to him and said, "You must be new at this school.  I'm so glad you came!  We don't have enough kids getting such great grades."  Or something like that.  It made Bryant feel really special.  

Question: What do you get when you cross mom's fabric scraps with a snotty nose?

Answer:

 

And there you have September from my phone.  I have some October shots to come.  And hopefully the cord will be with us soon. :)