Halloween Trick or Treating

Madelyn, Clay and Emmie at the Trunk or Treat at the Jackson Ward building.

Sweet little Morgan on her way to go trick or treating in Ione.

Mad Dog Maddux ready to scare the pants off all the trick or treaters.

Emmie and Madelyn antsy and sparkling ready to haul in some candy.

More Ewwww! for Halloween Week

I saw Oliver playing with something kind of big in the driveway the week of Halloween. He was throwing it in the air and drooling like a mad dog. This is what he had. Thanks to the kids always ready to jab anything with a spear I didn't have to freak out too much. They took care of it when Ollie was bored or tired of being bitten, we're not sure which. I don't care if anyone thinks it's cruel to kill a harmless tarantula or not. When it takes lots of stabbing to finally make it stop moving it's just too creepy to exist.

Bats in Our Belfry!

The week of Halloween we had lots of authentic Halloweenie style excitement. The weather was perfect so we were leaving our doors wide open. After dinner Emmie said she thought she saw a bird fly in. That wouldn't have been the first time. Walking over to where it was I noticed how dark it had gotten outside. Birds don't fly at night generally. Moral of the story....If you are going to leave your doors open for cross ventilation make sure you close them before dusk!

Fun with a Quilt

Scott asked me if we had a blanket he and the kids could use outside. I told him to get the picnic quilt from the car. Once I was finished with getting dinner started I went out to see what all the hootin' and hollerin' was about. This is what I found. So much for the WHITE picnic quilt.

Contortionist Oliver

The only way we can keep Oliver out of the house is to lock the doors. He walks up to a door and pulls the handle down and pushes it open. Last night he was getting desperate to come in. He poked his head through the cat flap in our window. He could barely fit his head through so we just laughed and waved at him. He didn't give up. He wiggled and squirmed until he squeezed is giant dog body through the flap. We let him stay in after that feat. He was just so tired he wanted to get some sleep. I took a video when it seemed like he might actually get through but it's a bit like watching something give birth. So I won't post it.

Gobble Gobble

Clay made our center piece for Thanksgiving in kindergarten this year. Thank you Clay, it's really cute!

Bean Jar

Something we have been doing for a couple of weeks now is using beans to reward the children for being nice or doing good things. The reward this time was to take a trip to Ikea. On Veteran's Day the kids doubled their efforts and earned enough beans to fill up the jar. It was perfect since we had the day off and Scott didn't have to be anywhere until evening. You would think a trip to a store wouldn't be enough of an enticement but they love it there. The chocolate cake from the cafe alone is enough to make them be nice to each other and pick up after themselves.

Emmie's Flag of Honor- Finally!

Clay made a flag at least a month ago to display on his door when his room was clean. Emmie has been wanting to make one so desperately but not enough to actually clean her room. I finally cleaned it and she made her flag. She messed up her room today but cleaned up as soon as she was done playing. That was truly a miracle, something that has never happened before. I don't want to jinx anything but I think maybe this will really help the kids to keep their rooms clean. PLEASE LET IT BE SO!

Tower Power Stacker

Emmie was practicing her cup tower and was very proud of this creation. And since we managed to get a picture of it before Clay knocked it over we had to post it.

Christmas Catalog Time!

The Christmas catalog from Target came and went in a about 2 hours. The kids read, circled, starred and finally cut out everything they wanted. They each gave me a a baggy full of must haves. Thank goodness it was a sale catalog and not their entire inventory!

Pumpkin Time

The kids created some pretty cute pumpkins at the Pioneer carnival this year. Oliver thought they were delicious. We had to leave them inside.

Momma Bear

Scott taught the kids how to play Momma Bear. They try to sneak up and steal the baby cub before Momma or Papa can turn around and growl at them to scare them off. Oliver won even though he had to cheat to do it.

Youch!

Dad took the kids for a bike ride down our main road. Clay drifted off and crashed in the gutter. He was pretty brave for having so much blood. A couple of q-tips can make anything more bearable.

Giddy Up!

Clay and Emmie were invited to Travis's birthday party. His mom trains horses and gives riding lessons. Clay was the first to ride the pony. His helmet kept sliding sideways. He looked rather jaunty.

This Pony was a lot more Emmie's speed. She and Esperanza had a good time snacking and riding together.

Clay's Flag of Honor

Clay made this flag with Mom's help using fabric and glue. The flag hangs proudly on his door when his room is clean. It stayed there for almost a week, a couple of weeks ago that is. We hope to see it hanging again soon. Emmie on the other hand hasn't even gotten her room to a state where she even gets to make the flag. Kids and dirty bedrooms! Is there a solution besides mom picking them up?

Emmie's Brownies

Emmie made her own brownies for the very first time. She swears she didn't sample any while she was busy baking. She was just working hard. And she shared with us when she was done. What a nice little girl!

Arrrgh Matey!

Clay turned 5 at the end of September. He wanted a pirate party. He chose a pirate ship cake and it was his idea to add sea monsters. Pirates have to fight and plunder something after all. The monsters totally made the cake. It was super easy thank goodness for me.

The Family Cabin

We are just closing escrow (not a minute too soon) on this cabin in Sciots Camp up highway 50. It's not much to look at but with a sprinkling of snow anything looks magical. We are buying it with my parents. Hopefully after a lot of renovations and not too much money this will be a vacation getaway we will look forward to spending lots of summer weekends for the rest of our lives. The best part is it is near the end of the tract and sits above 2 creeks and near the river. We can't wait to enjoy it! I'll post some interior before and after photos later. The before will make anyone chuckle. I don't know if we've ever laughed so hard as the day we went inside to view the cabin for the first time. It went from bad, to worse to laughable. I don't know that we will ever be able to find any carpet as good as the orange and maroon extra long shag carpet. The cabin was built in 1965 and was never once updated. It's pretty groovy. You'll have to use your imagination for now.