Halloween Festivities 2014

Halloween festivities lasted nearly a week for us this year. Every year, our church holds a 'Trunk-or-Treat' in the parking lot for all of the kids to have a safe place to show off their costumes and get some candy. Some areas also have chili cook-offs and games prior to the trunk or treat.

 

I am now back to using their real names. Their personalities change so often that keeping up with a good nickname was difficult and ever-changing. It was originally intended for privacy but became more of a headache. Besides, it's mainly family and friends reading this stuff anyway.

 

This year, Bridget wanted to be Elsa from Frozen (just like every other little girl on the planet!). Halloween was so warm this year that I didn't need to buy her any covered shoes to match her costumes. She was able to wear her summer time church sandals! She felt super regal every time she put on her costume. She even got to wear some makeup we had leftover from her ballet performance.

 

 

George wanted to be something that "roared", so I was very excited to find this dragon costume for him. He would get into character each time his costume was put on. The very first time his hand went into the "claws", he'd stare at them and wiggle his fingers. I know he was thinking how awesome it was to finally have dragon hands. He is such a fun, wild boy!

 

Liam became the third baby to wear this pumpkin costume for Halloween. He looked just as cute as his older siblings did. I love his smile!

Here are the older kids after the trunk-or-treat. As I rarely have given my kids candy (cookies and cake, yes.. candy, no), George really had no idea what all the packages in his bucket were. Bridget remembered from last year, though. Once we got back to the van, he got to try some. His life was changed forever.

Later in the week before Halloween, we headed down to my in-laws' to attend their trunk-or-treat. They had a lot more going on for the kids there, and we all had a blast.

Finally, the day of Halloween arrived. We typically stay indoors and have our own family fun. My dad brought over a huge pumpkin with some stickers to decorate it with. The kids began decorating themselves, and Bridget put this sticker on Liam. I couldn't resist taking a picture. I'm so glad he was happy about it.

I like to make a Halloween-themed dinner to make things fun for the kids. This year, I made "Ghoulash", using my husband's grandmothers recipe for Austrian goulash, and veganizing it (taking out the beef and changing the spices and adding a few more vegetables to make up for the lack of meat). It was so good and the kids got a big kick out of it. I kept the heat to a low so that the kids could enjoy it, but I personally would have liked to have more cayenne pepper. I can't wait until they get old enough to handle some heat! Oh wait, yes I can. STOP GROWING!

Our Halloween dessert: chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting and festive sprinkles. George couldn't wait to dig in!

He's Blessed, We're Blessed!

Our sweet Liam was blessed on Sunday, October 12, 2014. As previously posted, my husband's family came in from out of town to share the day with us. Liam was calm and happy while my husband gave him the blessing.

After sacrament meeting, we took some pictures in the foyer and came home to have a spaghetti dinner.

It was a little over a month later that we finally had some portraits made of Liam in his blessing outfit. I'm so glad that he was able to still fit in it!

One of my favorites. His eyes, his sweet smile, and those chubby cheeks.

 

 

His "Mommy, I'm ready for a cuddle" look.



We are all so very happy to have him in our family!

A Gift of Gardenias

Recently, my husband and 5 year old daughter were in our front yard trimming some of the shrubs. One of them being my gardenia bush. While my husband was clipping all of the beautiful flowers, my daughter was picking them up off of the ground and making a big bouquet. It was so sweet of her to save my beautiful fragrant gardenias. There must have been 12-15 of them in the bouquet. She presented them to me and I put them in a vase. They lasted for about a week and made my kitchen smell heavenly.

Her kind gesture also did something else for me. It made me think back to my grandmother. My grandmother had a small vase on her kitchen table that always had a single gardenia in it. It was a very simple table decoration, but it made the area smell so nice.

Then I thought of how I would play in her yard and pick all of the dandelions and bring them to her. I could tell how she accepted these dandelions that she really appreciated this lovely gift from her grandchild. Even though they were weeds. She would then put these dandelion weeds in a vase in her kitchen.

Looking back, I can't help but chuckle at the reaction my grandfather must have had when he walked into the house to see a vase full of weeds in his kitchen. Although, I'm sure he understood.

Kid Convos: October 2014

Sugar Plum (age 5) & Charmer (age 2), on the way to church (October 19).
Sugar Plum: Look, [Charmer]! Look at me! Look at what I'm doing!
Charmer: No, I'm fine.
Sugar Plum: Look at me! Look at me!
Charmer: Hmmm mmm [ignoring Sugar Plum and humming].

... a few second later

Charmer: Look! Balloons! (car dealership at corner of red light we were at)
Sugar Plum: NO! I WILL NOT LOOK AT THE BALLOONS! (somebody's holding a grudge!)
Charmer: Balloons! Look [Sugar Plum], look!
Sugar Plum: NO!

... just as the light turns green

Sugar Plum: [Charmer]! Look at all the balloons!


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Sugar Plum (age 5) & Daddy, during breakfast (October 24)
Sugar Plum: Daddy, do you know where I lived before I was 1?
Daddy: You always lived here in this house, but Mommy and Daddy lived in a different house before you were born.
Sugar Plum: No, Daddy. I lived in the temple.
Daddy: The temple? Do you mean you lived in heaven?
Sugar Plum: Yes. I lived in heaven for a long time. I had to wait a long, long time for good parents.
Daddy: Did you get good parents?
Sugar Plum: No, not really.