anakin skywalker

penguin sam

space guy

Julius Caesar

not yet

I know you're hoping this is pictures of this year's costumes, but would you believe I'm not done yet!? I'm making myself crazy not being done! But I'll tell you a few things that have been going on: (this is always what happens at deadline time. avoid the project.)

1. Instead of making those pumpkin whoopie pies (which I still want to make) I made some monster cupcakes (a la Martha Stewart) for a Boy Scout fundraiser.

2. We have grass! And sprinklers! (and 2 lovely maple trees dropping yellow leaves all over.) More pictures soon.

3. Sam had strep yesterday and was such a pleasant little guy. I hate to say that my kids are very well behaved when they're sick and very nice to be around.

4. Pumpkins have been carved. (Ginny, I thought maybe I should make a tradition of throwing them off the roof every year, what do you think?) Pictures will be coming soon.

5. I've been so busy I didn't even get to watch the season premier of 30 Rock (and I probably won't get to until Saturday or Sunday.)

6. It's no fun playing Settlers when you're far behind everyone else, and everyone's blocked your roads, and wheat and ore are scarce, and you're playing with your husband. No fun.

7. I bet you didn't know that I signed up for an Etsy shop but have not listed anything in it. I was trying to work out a little banner, but it was taking too long and I had to work on Halloween. We'll see if I ever get it up and running. (That's why I made the bags - which are $14 in the consignment shop down the street. If you want them I'll make you a deal).

8. I was so excited to get all my Christmas shopping (and gift-making) done before Thanksgiving. It actually almost got done before October. But then costumes started and I put it off. I'm crossing my fingers for the next 3 weeks. (I really am mostly done with shopping and I have a few quick sewing projects to do.)

9. The weather here has been so great. Between 60 and 70 mostly (my ideal climate) with all the leaves changing. I'm afraid it can't last. Soon it will be all white and cold. (Hopefully white and not brown.)

10. I've been getting bad headaches lately. When I looked up what may cause these headaches, here's the list they gave me: Stress, Depression and anxiety, Lack of sleep or changes in sleep routine, Skipping meals, Poor posture, Working in awkward positions or holding one position for a long time, Lack of physical activity. Overuse of headache medication. I have every single one of these. (Except overuse of headache meds, which I only do sometimes.) Which one should I try to eliminate first? I need to get into a yoga class. Shouldn't that take care of all of them?

11. I need a good book. Any suggestions? Something with not too much thinking required.

I'm sure I could go on, but I'm not so sure you could. Hopefully there will be a slew of posts tomorrow or Saturday.

dinner tonight

This is such a great dinner, I thought I should share.

Tandoori-Style Chicken Burgers (from Everyday Food)

and I'm going to try these tonight too.

leigh + dan

Yes we're chubby (which is why I never posted these pictures.) But we like each other.

FHE

Well, I don't usually blog about family home evening because I rarely have it. (I know, I am a terrible mom and Mormon and I feel really guilty for not being consistent in this and other things.) But this Monday we did have it. We hiked to the top of Ensign peak, which is a fairly short hike (less than a mile round trip.) It was mostly fun (a little scary at the top) and I think the boys loved it. I think they do like hiking after all.

After the hike we talked about how we help each other as a family like we did on the hike. Dad carried Luke, Mom stayed behind with Charlie because he got tired, Dad, Jack, and Sam waited for Mom and Charlie so we could enjoy it together. We talked about how we could help each other at home by being nice to each other and helping out. I don't know if they remembered anything I said, but it was a nice little evening together. I sure do like all my boys.

pumpkins

I'm only blogging about this because since we've moved here from California we haven't had any luck finding a pumpkin patch. (There we had one right down the street from our apartment.) I was happy to find out about this one from Jan. (Guess whose is the green pumpkin.)

I forgot

I forgot to include these in my projects from a few weeks ago. I'm always trying to think of a good way to use my many fabric scraps and I thought bags might be it. I'm not sure that's what I'll do with all my scraps, but they turned out okay. I took them to the local consignment store and they haven't sold yet! I thought they'd be perfect for trick-or-treat bags but maybe I'm wrong. What do you think?

making cookies

Since school started Charlie and I have been making cookies together. He's getting pretty good at cracking eggs. This time Luke helped us.

update

Sprinklers: Last week I gave up on the sprinkler system. Dan E. came to help us (again!) and we got part of the way done in the front yard when I started going crazy. Having a deadline always makes me a little crazy and since the deadline was "when it gets too cold" I wasn't sure when exactly it would be. Also, with soccer every Saturday (2 games), there was little time for going outside, sans kids, and working. Crazy. (And how am I supposed to have time to make Halloween costumes and put the sprinklers in?) So last week I called a contractor and got a bid. The bid was for a lot of money and I'm pretty sure my sanity's worth it, so I'm going to pay. Dan figures it's worth my sanity too. He's a supportive guy. The sprinkler guys are starting "in the morning" (you know contractors) and should be finished doing the sprinklers and laying sod (might as well do it all) by Monday I hope. I'm sure there will be before and after pictures for you all when it's done. And peace of mind for me.

Halloween Costumes: Still not quite finished. I always think I have until October 31st, but there's always something going on before then. It's almost time to start going crazy. Charlie's costume is done, minus head piece. Sam's is completely done. Jack's is in the process. Luke's isn't even started but should be quick. I'm not giving any hints until the pictures, but I love how some of you have asked how they're coming.

costume update

So now you've seen everything until this year. So far I've made 2 costumes and still have 2 more to make. (and a few finishing touches). I'll try to post the Halloween pics on Halloween, but I'm not making any promises. Soon after that if not. Thanks for all the comments!

costumes part 4

Chicken Charlie

Sam the Fish (again)

Pirate Jack

Halloween 2006

Baby Luke the Skunk

Penguin Charlie (my sister Jamie made this costume)

Vampire Sam

Pirate Jack (again)

Halloween 2007

costumes part 3

Cowboy Jack
Pea Pod Baby Charlie
Chicken Sam
Halloween 2004

Jack made all sorts of funny poses and faces on his own.




Little Charlie Chipmunk
Sam the Fish
Obi Wan Kenobi Jack
Halloween 2005

Little Charlie Chipmunk was a talker, Mercy me!
He chattered after breakfast and he chattered after tea.
He chattered to his father and he chattered to his mother.
He chattered to his sister and he chattered to his brother.
He chattered 'til his family was almost driven wild.
Oh little Charlie Chipmunk was a very tiresome child.

costumes part 2

Chicken Jack
Pea Pod Baby Sam
(better pictures of these two costumes are coming up in a later post - after I took a photography class)
Halloween 2002



Uncle Sam
unspecified Super Hero Jack
Halloween 2003

This jacket is like a little tuxedo jacket with long tails in the back and I never could find a hat in October. Should've started this one in July.

Jack just wanted to be "a superhero". He didn't care which one. It bugged me that people (men especially) wanted to know which superhero Jack was supposed to be. Just any old superhero. (He wouldn't let me call him Wonder Boy either).

costumes part 1

I really love making Halloween costumes. We usually talk all year about what everyone wants to be. Sometimes I even start in the summer (unless I'm redoing my kitchen.) I've been working on a few this year (4 actually) which will be revealed later on (when they're finished). But I thought it would be fun to look back on all the cute costumes since Jack was born.




Baby Bee Halloween 2000 (I can't believe Jack was this little!)

LumberJack (with parents witch and Elvis) Halloween 2001

Fall

We drove up through one of the many canyons here the other day and got these great photos. I love Fall!

The boys thought this dead snake was really cool (they wanted to take it home.)

We got up to this gorgeous place and they wanted to climb on the dumpster.

Luke loves rocks.