Happy Halloween!

This year we had...

a Clone Trooper ("Captain Rex"),

Hannah Montana,

and a Punk Rocker.

Sorting the loot... We started the evening at the trunk-or-treat at church then headed home to the neighborhood for a little door-to-door trick-or-treating.

Once the kids sorted their candy, the trading began. Dad (with his cool microphone) became the auctioneer and announced what candy was up for grabs.

Pumpkin Masterpieces

Time to carve our pumpkins from the pumpkin patch!

The finished products!

Celebrating Halloween with Family

My sister Melanie and her hubby Ben love Halloween. (Actually, they love all holidays, but Halloween is definitely a favorite.) It's become a tradition over the past few years to have a Halloween dinner/party at their house each October. My sister Joanna and her husband Craig join us, and the evening starts with dinner. And then the fun really begins...

Somehow the mysterious "Count" always knows we've gathered, and at some point not too long after dinner, the doorbell rings. We have yet to actually see him (because he's so mysterious and all), but we always find the ingredients and recipe to make "Squished Witches" sitting on the doorstep.

In case you're unfamiliar with Squished Witches, the ingredients are pretty simple: ghost blood, powdered ghosts, squished witches, and frog eyes. (If your grocery store doesn't sell those items, sweetened condensed milk, powdered sugar, peanut butter, and chocolate chips make pretty good substitutes.)

Here's Ben helping Courtney pour in the ghost blood.

Here's Alyssa taking her turn mixing up the witches. Important note: Each person must take a turn, and you must say your name backwards as you stir. (That's why she's laughing...)

After everything is mixed, you roll the witch dough into little balls and roll them in powdered ghosts.

Then we snack on squished witches while we carve pumpkins!

Courtney, Dad & Jordan

Craig & Joanna
(Notice who's doing all of the work!)

Alyssa & Melanie

Craig and Joanna found what appeared to be a tiny slug in their pumpkin. This is everyone crowded around to see if pouring salt on it would dissolve it. Yes, gross, and no, it didn't work.

Our finished pumpkins!
And thanks to Melanie and Ben for a great nite!

To the Pumpkin Patch We Go

One of our favorite parts of Halloween is our annual trek to the pumpkin patch. The weather was perfect, and we had a great afternoon!

Here's Jordan weighing his pumpkin options. Picking the right pumpkin is a decision he doesn't take lightly. Side note: Jordan always ends up choosing the biggest pumpkin he can find. Great for carving. Not so great for carrying.

Alyssa, Courtney, and Jordan posing nicely for Mom.

The farm has a tractor the kids can sit in and pretend to drive. I've taken this shot of the kids in the tractor wheel for several years now. This year, however, they had to work a little harder to squeeze in together and fit! Sigh...they're growing up way too fast!!

(And the cute smiles hide the argument over who gets to sit in the middle that occurred just seconds before the picture was taken...)

The playground at the farm is where we spend most of our time. Here are the kids heading up one of their favorite slides.

Alyssa racing to the top.

And a few stunts to keep things interesting coming down...

Alyssa and Courtney running to our other favorite slide.

There's a warning sign telling adults to slide at their own risk, but why should the kids have all the fun??

We'll be back next year!

Tweetsie Railroad

Over the summer, the kids participated in our library's reading program. A few days after it ended, we got a call from the library letting us know Alyssa had won one of the grand prizes - tickets to Tweetsie Railroad! After consulting the BYU football schedule, we strategically planned our trip for a Saturday when BYU didn't play. (Jason's condition, not mine.)

Located in the mountains near Blowing Rock, NC, it was about a two-hour drive. Definitely not as big or as high-tech as an amusement park, Tweetsie Railroad is more like a county fair. It wouldn't be worth the regular admission price (a whopping $126 for our family of five for one day), but since we got in for free, it was well worth the money! We really did have a good time, and it was a fun family day out!

Ready for the train ride! There were "real" cowboys who rode along in each car, and we stopped along the tracks at one point so they could look for a wanted indian at a distant outpost.

The girls enjoyed the carousel a lot more than Jordan did.

This was one of the kids' favorite rides. The lines weren't long for anything, so most of the time, we could get right back on. I have no idea how many times we rode this!

I was following Jordan and Courtney, and Dad and Alyssa are in the lead.

Jordan and Alyssa are at the top and off to the left. Jason and I got our fill of this ride pretty quickly, but these two kept riding it! (Much to her dismay, Courtney wasn't tall enough for a few of the rides.)

This was the first time our kids had been on a ferris wheel. Courtney loved it the most, and she went back later for a second time (much to her mom's dismay since I was her riding partner). I don't mind heights at fast speeds, so I was fine when it was spinning, but I'm not a big fan of just hanging & rocking high in the air as it stopped to load and unload. Courtney wasn't phased by it a bit and kept telling me to let go because it felt like flying.

Panning for gold.

Jason and the girls on the chair lift that connected the upper and lower parts of the park.

This was another favorite ride. Jason and I quickly realized that almost all of the rides involved spinning around and around. About halfway thru the day, our stomachs needed a break, and the kids proceeded alone.

I threw this one in just to prove I really was there!!

Thanks again to Alyssa! Her love of reading paid off for the whole family!

The Ward Talent Show

Our ward has a strong devotion to the annual talent show, and it is usually quite the entertaining experience...for better and for worse. In years past, only Jordan has been brave enough to take the stage, but this year, our family was represented three times!

(And just to clarify, the lighting in the gym was pretty bad for pictures, so going black and white helps disguise my lacking photographic abilities in such conditions.)

This year, Jordan played two songs on the piano - "Hey There Delilah" and "Paralyzer." He did a great job and wasn't nervous at all. I'd question where he got the performing gene except I think the pictures below will make that quite clear...

By way of explanation, the previous bishop in our ward has a long history of ward talent show performances. One year he did an Elvis impersonation; another year he did Napoleon's dance from the movie "Napoleon Dynamite." Needless to say, the ward members have grown to expect an act from the Bishop - no matter who he is. In fact, the day Jason was set apart, one of the first things Jordan said afterwards was, "Hey Dad, now you have to do those funny things at the ward talent show." Expectations were high for Jason's debut.

For his first act, Jason was part of a Harry Potter skit reenacting a YouTube puppet show. (Here's the link if you want to see the original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx1XIm6q4r4) There was constant movement, so the picture isn't the greatest, but hopefully you get the idea. Snape was played by the stake president (our previous love-the-talent-show Bishop), Hermoine is our RS president, Ron (yes, he did the voice) is one of Jason's counselors, Dumbledore is the EQ president, and of course, Jason as Harry Potter - quite the cast. It was hilarious! Jason proved himself well.

Unbenownst to most, however, Jason had a second act - the grand finale. The skit was called "Don't Call the Bishop," and it followed a teenage band in their quest to find a lead singer for their talent show act. Having been counseled not to bother the Bishop with trivial matters, they wrestle with whether or not to call their YM president or perhaps a home teacher. In the end, however, they decide the matter is of such importance that only the Bishop can help. They call Jason (who is sitting in the audience with a microphone), and everyone hears their conversation and plea for help. Jason arrives at the church (ie: on stage) thinking he's merely there to offer counsel - only to discover they want HIM to be the lead singer. Jason steps off stage to think about it and bounds back in a few moments later ready to rock. He then belts out a surprisingly good rendition of "Surfin' USA," complete with rock-star moves and the audience joining in for the chorus. I'd brought some glow sticks, and the kids and I waved them in the crowd.

Comments from the crowd: "At first, I just thought he was lip synching, but then I realized he was ACTUALLY singing! I couldn't believe it! Who knew he could sing?" From the lead guitarist, "He had been a little off-key during practice, but man, he NAILED IT tonite!" And finally, from the former bishop, "I'd say the torch has been successfully passed."

Regrettably, the Bishop has explicitly banned posting the video of his Surfin' USA performance. Private home viewings may be available but only with the express written consent of the lead singer.

Courtney Tells It Like It Is

(with her "Courtney" that she made for school)

Three recent examples...

1) Every Tuesday, Courtney's teacher sends home her work from the previous week. As I was sorting thru the first batch of the new school year, I came across a worksheet titled, "How do you feel about coming back to school?" Courtney had written: "I feel bored. I feel tired. I feel happy and sad. That is 3 rezins (reasons) why I hate school." Luckily, her teacher is not one to take such comments personally, and she had added her own "3 reasons why school LOVES you!" underneath.

2) Over the summer, Courtney completed the reading program at our library and earned a free kid's meal at a local restaurant. Last week, Jason asked her if she wanted to go out on a dinner date to use her coupon. Courtney said, "I don't know. Just a minute." She then ran to the kitchen to ask me what we were having for dinner that nite. After learning it wasn't one of her favorite meals, she went back to Jason and said she would go out with him.

3) While out on their date that evening, the subject of Jason being Bishop came up. Jason asked if she had any questions, and Courtney told him no. But she did offer him a little constructive criticism... She doesn't think he's funny enough and told him he should tell more jokes!