Star Wars in Concert

A couple of weeks ago, Jason and I took Jordan to see Star Wars in Concert. Admittedly, I'm a childhood Star Wars fan myself, but it was pretty spectacular. There was a full orchestra playing the music from all six episodes while sequences of clips from the movies played on big screens behind them.

Anthony Daniels (C3PO) was the emcee for the evening

Before the show started, we walked around posing with characters from the movies and looking at costumes and props. Here are a few favorites...

Jason and Jordan with a Storm Trooper

Hanging out with R2-D2

And there's nothing quite like rubbing shoulders with a Jawa

I thought these were hilarious. I guess Chick-fil-A was a sponsor? My favorite was actually Princess Leia Cow, but we never did get close enough for a picture.

They also had big backdrops from the movies that you could stand in front of for pictures.

Definitely the best movie prop there.

VERY fun evening. =)

October Fun

Every October, we have three fun traditions to look forward to...

Pumpkin Patch

Here are the girls ready to ride off to find pumpkins

Boring wagon ride apparently =)

Court looking cute with her pumpkin

This year, the farm had added a bunch of huge farm animals. Yes, the kids wanted pictures with every one of them. No, I will not post them all.

If you know Jordan, you know he would dream up this picture.

The best part of the farm...the slides!

Every year it gets harder for them to all fit in this tractor wheel! =)

Family Halloween Dinner

Our family Halloween dinner is usually held at Melanie and Ben's house, but they are currently living in a small apartment while waiting for their NEW HOUSE to be finished. So we hosted this year and tried our best to live up to their high party-throwing standards.

Luckily, "the Count" had heard about our change of location and was still able to mysteriously leave the ingredients for Squished Witches on our porch. Here's Ben leading the very precise assembly process.

For the Squished Witches to turn out right, everyone in the room has to take a turn stirring while saying his/her name backwards three times. =)

The final product (Don't worry...they taste better than they look!) =)

And then it was on to pumpkin carving... Here's Alyssa scooping out her pumpkin.

Court and Ben











Craig and Joanna




Jordan

Alyssa and Dad

I threw this picture in to prove that Melanie was really there. She just spent most of the nite behind the camera. =)

And here are her fantastic Halloween cupcakes

Our finished pumpkins

Halloween

Halloween ended up being a pretty jam-packed day. The activities committee at church put on a carnival for the Primary kids in the afternoon. Then they had the annual hot dog dinner/fundraiser, followed by trunk-or-treating in the parking lot.

Courtney as a flower

Alyssa as a movie star

The kids with Melanie and Max at the trunk-or-treat

Jordan as a hot dog =)

Jordan had helped run the booths at the Halloween carnival but donned a costume later that evening when we went trick-or-treating around the neighborhood for awhile. It was a little rainy off and on, but we walked around with friends, so it was still fun.

The kids with their loot =)

A Big Sigh of Relief

It was his first talk in sacrament meeting, and Jordan's glad it's done! He did really well, and his opening comment about not being able to avoid the Bishop when he lives in your house got a laugh.

Looking at the program now, Jordan finds the first two songs quite appropriate: "Now Let Us Rejoice" (that it's over!!!), and "I Stand All Amazed" (that I survived!!!). Funny kid.

I Can See Clearly Now

Alyssa already had glasses, but apparently, they were no longer doing her much good. When we went in for her annual exam, her eyes had changed A LOT, and she needed a brand new pair. No worries - she was happy to pick out these...

Pioneer Imposters

Thought these pics would be fun to post. They're from a ward activity we had over the summer to celebrate Pioneer Day. Our ward activities committee chairperson works at a children's theater and has access to all kinds of great western wear.

You will notice Jordan is absent. I think he was glad he was at scout camp that week. =)

When Jason, Alyssa, and I were dressing up for our pictures, Courtney wanted no part of it. It wasn't until much later that her Primary teacher talked her into a photo! =)

My personal favorite - Jason & Alyssa

And thanks to the talent behind the camera - Sabrina Lewis, our in-house ward photographer. (simplemomentsnc.com)

Fantasy Football Mattingley Style

For the past four years, Jason has invited the young men (and an assortment of dads and leaders) to join his fantasy football league. Everyone gathers on a designated Saturday for the draft. Two hours, 16 rounds, and a double batch of chocolate chip cookies later, the teams are set, and everyone is ready to play for seasonal bragging rights.

the snacks

the league commissioner
(notice his sweet setup with the laptop feeding to the TV)

team Mattingley

Jason describes this as "one of my favorite days of the year." =)

Summer Memories

The summer flew by this year. Suddenly it was August, and we still had things to do and places to go. Here's a recap of the kids' last two of weeks of freedom...

Swimming with Friends

Having a neighborhood pool makes summer in the South bearable. Having friends to meet us there makes summer fun.

Monkey Joe Madness

If you've never been to Monkey Joe's, it's basically a giant room filled with inflatables for kids to jump, slide, and bounce on until either a) they are exhausted, or b) their mom is tired of sitting there. I tried very hard for it to be option a, but after FOUR hours and with dinner time looming, I finally had to concede defeat and call option b.

Their favorite is this giant two-story slide.

Fun at the Y

Because the girls take dance at the YMCA, we get a couple of free passes to the water park each summer. The highlight is definitely the water slides!

It's always a good idea to hold your nose...

...because you never know when something like this might happen!

I love this shot of Jordan!

A Dream Come True

Lego finally opened a store in Charlotte! And as part of the Grand Opening celebration, kids could help a "Lego Master Builder" assemble an 8-foot RD-D2 in the food court at the mall. It was a no brainer - Jordan had to be there. =)

They had a bunch of tables set up for kids to assemble the giant bricks.

Then you took them to the Master Builder (safely roped off for protection, I guess) who added them to the actual model. (Compare it to the mini R2-D2 off to the side to get an idea of how big it will be when finished.)

Now if Jordan can just get a job there someday...

Where Are Those Ear Plugs??

Yes, we took the kids to see the Jonas Brothers in concert. It was actually a lot of fun, and to their credit, the trio puts on quite a show. (I'll even admit to having a few JB songs on my MP3.) Despite being surrounded by THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of screaming tweens, we had a good time. Courtney did ask if we could sit closer next time. =)

The concert was Friday night, and the kids started school on Tuesday, so it was a great way to wrap up a fun summer!