Fall Fun

We got all dressed up for our church's Halloween party on Saturday.

Chuck was in charge of the fishing booth for the kids.  He had a fun time making and running the game. Jared served as the one putting on the prizes in the back.

Kaitlin made an adorable pirate.

Jared was especially proud of winning 2nd prize with his Perry Platypus pumpkin.

Kaitlin carved Phineas, and Ruth carved Isabella - both characters from Phineas and Ferb.

My pumpkin.  There is also a skeleton on the top and one escaping out the back.

Last week we went to the new Sheels, a super mega super sporting goods store.

I spent a lot of the week making costumes.

A cappella Choir 

Kaitlin's first choir concert of the year was this week.  She's really enjoying singing with the more advanced singers. And it doesn't hurt that she sits right next to the tenor section either.  We were lucky enough to have a graduate pass on their choir dress to us, and a friend helped hem it in time for the concert this week.  Kaitlin will have several more concerts, including a benefit concert to help pay for their big trip to New York City in the spring. 


Bear Scout

Jared earned his Bear badge this week, and five arrow points.  He did a lot of extra work on scouts over the summer, which is why he has finished a little early. It also helps a lot to have a mom that knows to check the book and sign off all the things he is already doing.  Jared also dug out the old Lite-Brite this week.  How he sorted the colored pegs may give you some insight into his character.

Pumpkin Walk

Tumble weed jack-o-lanterns.

On Saturday we visited my folks and went to their small town pumpkin walk.  Unfortunately it was cold and windy; not a good day to linger. Still, the mountains we in fall colors and the clouds were hanging low around the peeks.  After the walk we spent some time at the farm visiting with family and once the weather warmed a bit we went out to take some family photos.

How Many People Does it Take to Replace the Mother?

Today I went off to practice with the church choir, which had changed its rehearsal time to Sunday afternoon, almost to our dinner time.  When I came home I found the whole family working away in the kitchen. Jared was grating huge piles of cheese and weighing it on our postal scale. Ruth was making the sauce.  Kaitlin was just finishing up some cornbread and Chuck was trying to do damage control.   It was a wonderful surprise and I enjoyed watching as they all worked away in the kitchen.  The result was a very tasty dinner of homemade macaroni and cheese.

Happy Birthday, Ruth!

Ruth turned 13 on Tuesday.  We celebrated by having her favorite dinner, sweet pork enchiladas with lime rice, and then she went to youth group where they had cookies and sang her happy birthday.   Ruth was happy to get some clothes and jewelry.  She was most excited about getting her own offical facebook page.

Here they are planing a game called "hitch hiker"

 On Friday, Ruth threw a party for her friends.  She planed and did the invites and everything. It was an "Improv" party.  For those of you  not in the drama scene, that means they played improvisation games, drama games that require on the spot acting.  It was by far the noisiest party that I've ever experienced.  Imagine nine girls, too young to understand subtlety, all acting out simultaneously.  If the smiles and laughing were any measure, they all had a fabulous time. 


Hanging Out with Jared

Jared playing in Ruth's wrapping paper.

Jared started his off-track by taking swimming lessons. He did so well that not only did he pass the level he was on, but his instructor passed him on the next level as well.  Since this is our first off-track where it is just Jared and I, we've been trying to find things to do together.  We've spent a lot of time playing Super Hero Squad online together.  We play super heroes and we go on missions and play card games together.  It's been pretty fun and I'd recommend the game to anyone with kids in the 5-12 range.