Halloween Fun!

We had a busy, fun-filled time this past weekend as we celebrated Halloween. Friday night was the annual chili cook off and trunk or treat at the church. We enjoyed visiting with people from church and seeing everyone dressed up in their costumes. The kids got a TON of candy, as three wards combine for the trunk or treat portion.

Saturday evening, we had a block party which was nice as we got to know a lot of our neighbors better. Then we went trick or treating around the neighborhood. When we got home, we bought some of the kids' candy back from them as we do every year. We pay a generous 10¢/piece and let them choose how much they sell. It can be almost addictive to sell more and more candy, especially when you're saving up for something special like Megan and Matthew were. I figure it's a win/win situation.

A few pictures of the kids before trick or treating. Sarah was a vampire, Matthew a knight and Megan Rapunzel.

Sunday morning, U helped the kids carve pumpkins. You can't carve pumpkins too early around here because they'll mold. Since we ran out of time on Halloween, we figured the next day was good. Each kid designed their own and Sarah carved hers, too. 

Matthew with his firefighter man.

Megan wanted bats.

Sarah with her "I love (heart) me." That's a heart on the toothpicks.

Fun at the Hall of Flame

Yesterday, we went to the Hall of Flame for their annual open house. There were some fun activities plus a bunch of fire trucks as well as a couple of helicopters. It was very important to Matthew that he look at every single fire truck, walking around the truck, inspecting all of the tools and sitting in them. The kids all dressed up in costumes (although not necessarily their Halloween costumes). Sarah was a cow girl, Megan was Rapunzel and Matthew was a fireman.

In a fire & police helicopter. The other helicopter was a flight for life. When we looked in that one, we talked about where Uncle Seth had ridden and how people had taken care of him.

All three kids used a fire extinguisher to put out a fire in a bucket. It was pretty neat to see a real extinguisher in use.

They had fire hoses that they got to shoot at buildings. (The buildings weren't on fire.)

Matthew driving the fire truck.

Megan driving the truck.

Me, Megan, Matthew and Sarah in the back of a truck.

Matthew and U in another truck.

Matthew with Sparky, the dalmatian.

Riding in one of the old fire trucks. It was a nice little ride until Matthew's fire hat flew off his head and into the road. As soon as we got to the end of the ride, Sarah and U ran to get the hat, which was thankfully not run over by a car. Sarah was probably the most worried about the hat--she had bought him the fire outfit for his last birthday and felt a lot of ownership over making sure that Matthew had his nice hat. She said that she'd buy him a new one if the other one was destroyed. It was nice to see her so concerned about her brother's well-being.

Sarah and one of the dalmatians. She loved the dogs and spent a lot of time petting them.

Matthew playing in the playhouse.

Tattoo Sarah got on her arm.

Sarah's Scary Halloween Party

Sarah loves planning parties. And she loves playing with her friends. So why not combine the two and have a party with friends? Last night, she had three friends over for some games, a movie and dinner. She did most of the planning herself and really enjoyed the party. They played Apples to Apples, mummy wrap and pin the stem on the pumpkin. They bobbed for apples. They had pizza and veggies for dinner and had fun making scary/weird faces. They watched Toy Story of Terror and then had a dance party. Fun evening!

Sarah wrapping Shelby.

Avery wrapping Emily.

Shelby and Emily.

Emily wrapping Avery.

Shelby wrapping Sarah.

Sarah and Avery.

Some pictures of bobbing for apples.

Megan bobbing.

Matthew bobbing.

Preschool: Lentil

The past couple of weeks, we've been studying Lentil for preschool. One thing we did with this book is learn the Pledge of Allegiance. It is so cool to hear them say it in their little voices! Other activities included discussing patriotism and why we can be proud to be Americans, learning about developing talents, playing a harmonica (Lentil's talent that he worked hard to learn; the kids loved the harmonica!), drawing with charcoal, tasting lemons to see how we pucker up (like Old Sneep), doing a Skittles taste test with our nose plugged and then unplugging it so we could taste the flavor, learning about hearing and identifying sounds while blindfolded. In addition, we watched a cooking class that taught how to cut with knives. Megan and Matthew really enjoy practicing those skills.

Charcoal drawing. (Pictures in the book are done with charcoal.)

Messy, messy!

Megan was very deliberate in her drawing.

Megan's drawing.

Matthew's drawing.

We learned how to cut with knives. They were both very interested in this and were super careful with their fingers.

Matthew loved playing the harmonica in the bathroom, just like Lentil.

Megan slurping on a lemon.

Taste testing Skittles.

Megan identifying sounds that Matthew made.

A Halloween poem, by Sarah

Yes, Sarah likes scary things. And scaring herself. She is super excited for Halloween next week.

Primary Program

Yesterday was our Primary Program at church. It's always one of my favorite sacrament meetings of the year--it's so cool to hear all the kids singing and speaking about what they've learned in Primary. This year, all three of our kids did a great job singing and saying their parts, which they wrote themselves.

Megan said: I help my sister clean her room.

Matthew said: I help my mom make pancakes.

Sarah said: When my friend asked about the Gospel, I told her that Heavenly Father and Jesus were up in heaven and that Jesus died for us and will come for a Second Coming. She was excited to hear more the next day.

Allergies and Adoption, a child's perspective

Matthew: I wish I was adopted.
U: Why?
Matthew: So I wouldn't be allergic to dairy.

We tried to explain to him that his allergies have nothing to do with adoption, but I'm not sure if he understands that or not. To him, the evidence is pretty compelling that there's a relationship: 2 adopted kids can have dairy, 1 biological kid can't.

Too tired!

Megan and Matthew were helping vacuum the main level last week but they were just too tired to finish! (Note that Megan fell asleep on the couch and rolled off onto the floor!)

Skateland!

Last week, Sarah was able to go to Skateland with a friend for her birthday. She had a lot of fun!