The next weekend we celebrated B's birthday with a firefighter birthday party. I planned it to be like a carnival with several different fire stations. I had each guest draw a picture and sign their name to a huge thank you card for our local fire department. There was a stop, drop and roll station. We had a "climb the ladder and save the dalmatian" station as well. The kids got to make a junior firefighter badge. We even had a "Put the fire out" game involving a water hose. We had a firefighter lunch with "hot" dogs, "flaming" Cheetos, Fireman Sam cupcakes and water bottles. The pinnacle was that a our local firefighters brought a fire truck to our house and told the kids about everything and let them get into it. Everything was set and then we got our first winter storm! We even lost power for an hour before the party, which made it tricky to cook the hot dogs for lunch. We moved everything inside except the water hose game, which we did in the garage. The poor kiddos were freezing by the time the fire truck came, but they were so excited it didn't matter. B was in heaven! We ended the day by sending up her white balloon for those who are thinking of her during this time in China. Miraculously the balloon went up, sending our thoughts of peace and love to them.
We had to say goodbye to some dear friends of ours that moved away. They have been our partners in all things crazy and creative. We had them over for dinner and my friend joked that we should do a Toy Story theme, based on the "You've Got a Friend in Me". I decided to go all out. We had a menu based on all the characters. There was Rex's dino dip. Woody and Jessie's cowboy chili. Buzz's space ice cream. The little green men drink. The best part were the Mr. and Mrs. Potato heads. I baked potatoes and then had all kinds of fixings to dress them up. The designs were pretty amazing. We will miss our dear friends, but have so many incredible memories with them.
E was very spoiled this month by her grandparents. My parents decided to provide incentive for the kids for big accomplishments. E had all ready received her personal progress award (after only a year and a half), so she was challenged to prepare and receive her patriarchal blessing, which she did. They took her on a seven day, western Caribbean cruise. The timing was perfect, since this school year has been a bit tough for her. She got a brand new digital camera and tons of fun for nine days! I asked her what her favorite was and she said, "All of it!" She really liked training the dolphins though. Thanks to my great parents for spending that time with her and creating such special memories.
While E was away, T and I decided to have fun with B and M for their late family birthday celebrations. We found some places that we haven't explored yet here at home and took two days enjoying them. B got very into the My Twinn/American Girl doll thing, so she wanted to go to the local store. We couldn't find a doll that looked like her, so we went to the toy store and found a different one that looks a lot like her. After that we went to Dinosaur Ridge. It was a great little find right here in town. We took a 45 minute tour and saw some really cool fossils. B liked the simulated dig and did it three times! We ended the day by going to Red Robin, our kids restaurant of choice.
The next day was M's choice. He picked the local zoo and then Black Eyed Pea. The zoo was crowded since it ended up being a free day. We had fun looking at all the animals. M is thinking about being a zoologist when he grows up, so this was great for him. He wanted different food for dinner and it was a perfect fit, until they put butter in my rice and I got sick! We did get comped for my meal though, so I guess that made it better. It was a lot of fun spending the time with them and celebrating what great kids we have.
That Saturday our neighborhood had its Pumpkin Fest. There were fun crafts, wagon rides and contests. They had a baking contest for something to do with pumpkin. I made Chocolate Chip, Toffee Pumpkin Cookie Cups with Cocoa, Cinnamon, Cream Cheese filling. I actually won the contest and received a check for $50!! It was interesting to do since I couldn't taste anything I made. I did everything by smell and instinct. T and the kids were great about tasting things and letting me know if they were good or not.
B had her physical for her five year. She is still in the 65% for height and 50% for weight. The doctor said that she should be somewhere between 5'6" to 5'9" when she is fully grown. That is so funny because she will be taller than both E and me! She is super smart and very healthy. She had to get four shots and a mist. She again didn't cry at all, just said owie, that hurts. The nurses were so impressed that they gave her two prizes for being so great. I can't believe that she is so big all ready. She has outgrown everything princess and is now all about firefighters and builders. She is reading small words and loving her part one of kindergarten. In fact when I went to her conference, she is in the upper half of her class in her academics and the only one that the district won't allow to move up to first grade next year, because of her birth date. Crazy!
We had a very busy Halloween weekend too. We started on the Friday before with the big kids parties. We have decided that once you are over twelve, you are too old to trick or treat, so they get parties instead. M had a camp over with ten boys. It was pretty cold, but they enjoyed having a camp fire and sleeping all piled into a tent. They watched a movie, drive in style in our garage and generally had a fun time.
E had a few friends over as well. They started by having a scavenger hunt at the store. I gave them $5 to find things that started with the letters in HALLOWEEN. They had to spell them in order. It was fun seeing what they ended up with. After that we came home and they watched the edited version of the Shining. It was pretty scary and they got into it. The next day day E informed me that she is no longer scared of movies. I thought that was funny, since she was terrified the night before.
That Saturday we spent at our church's Trunk or Treat. We have this at a barn. There were costume parades and Thriller dance shows. We ate lots of food and finished by the kids going around to the trunks getting treats.
On Halloween night we had our witches' bowls, which were homemade bread bowls filled with chili and all the fixings. B went out for the big trick or treat accompanied by T and I. M stayed home to hand out treats. E went to a party at a friends house. B lasted about two hours and loved it till the end. She eventually got cold and tired and T had to carry her home. She nicely shared her goodies with her big brother, who was a little bored at home. We ended with watching Monster House, our favorite Halloween night movie.
It was a very full month and went way to quickly!
3 comments:
You need to post more pics of the cruise! So jealous!!!
To Ginger's parents: I got my patriarchal blessing 25 years ago. Still waiting for the cruise tickets. What gives?
Great pictures! Can't wait to see you soon!
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