Our Last Week...

...has been crazy, busy and fun-filled!! We've had a lot of Halloween activities the past few days between the ward party, Amelia's school carnival and her costume parade. I LOVE Halloween....mostly because you can eat donuts hanging from a string. I mean, really, is there any better way to eat one?

Eating donuts without hands at the ward trunk-or-treat:




Eating donuts at the school Spookfest:




Bobbing for apples at the ward trunk-or-treat:

Cooper got his before Amelia, and it bugged her big time.




My little pirate and witch:


On Saturday we celebrated the October, November and December birthdays in our family. We had lots of cake, ice cream and chaos!

Amelia with her two cousins Matthew and Lynnli:


Cooper was too busy bouncing off the walls. Literally. Monday--the actual day of Halloween--we went to Amelia's school to see her costume parade:




The day was even better because we had Katie Call visiting!


Cooper passed the time texting a few people.


We partied so hard all week tonight we'll probably just snuggle in, light our jack o'lanterns to frighten away any ghost, goblins and monsters and munch on our five pounds of candy. Happy Halloween!!

Carving Jack O'Lanterns

Last night we carved our pumpkins for Halloween. I know it's a bit early, but the kids didn't want to wait any longer! Amelia happily dived into the pumpkin's guts, pulling out handfuls of slimy seeds and membrane. Cooper looked inside his pumpkin, looked at me and said, "It's too yucky, I think."

Cooper opted for a pirate jack o'lantern, Amelia went for scary and I'm still undecided. Here's a few pictures of the kids:

Cooper by his un-yucky pumpkin.


I told him to stick his hand in. See how he's cringing while smiling?


The finished pirate:


Amelia's pumpkin before:


It had ALOT of innards.


Anyone scared?


Finished jack o'lanterns:

Random pictures

Amelia and Cooper before church last Sunday.


Sometimes Cooper just needs some time away from us girls.

Cooper likes to watch himself make faces in the mirror. I asked him to try and raise his eyebrows (you know, like Magnum P.I.) and this is how he did:

Apple Pickin'!

Saturday was a big day. I had lunch with some friends, Joey and Jojo moved into their fabulous new house, and I took the kids to pick some apples from a local orchard. Here's some pictures:

Courtney came with us, and we appreciate his offer of a human ladder as well as the extra sanity he provided.






Our family picture at the orchard.


I know the last picture looks a bit crazy and it was, to say the least. Cooper has been fighting a cold, so he's been on medicine that makes him......well, let's just say the worst version of himself. We're lucky we got out without any trees falling down or apples pelting us in the head. Ah, the memories we're making!

Two front teeth out....finally!

As you might remember, a little over a month ago Amelia ran into Cooper's head and knocked out one of her front teeth(see September 2nd post). We've been trying since to wiggle loose her remaining front tooth. We have failed. Not only failed, but it has firmed up. With her adult tooth coming in and room in her mouth at a premium, we took a trip to the dentist today.

Amelia did really well, even when the dentist walked in. I had offered her a hefty bribe to NOT scream bloody murder this time and it seemed to be working. She only teared up and sniffled a bit. The dentist looked at her tooth and told me what we had feared the most. Even IF we pulled her tooth, the adult tooth would likely still come in too far back. He said there was a slight chance it would move forward, but he doubted it. So, he gave Amelia two choices.

1. Pull it and see if that teeny, tiny, slight chance happened and the tooth righted itself.

2. Let it fall out on her own and realize two sets of braces is a given.

Amelia chose #1.

Now, I wish I could say that it was because she is brave, and that may be partly true---but I also think it had a lot to do with the bribe we had discussed earlier. So after a topical anesthetic, a local anesthetic and a lot of calming, Amelia now has both front teeth gone.

Amelia is happy, Cooper is happy and I'm happy.....until I get the bill for probably the world's most expensive tooth-pulling.



In two months, we head to the orthodontist. Pray for me.

Pumpkin Pickin'

Last Friday we went to pick out pumpkins. We were afraid they would all be brought in because of the last two days of snow, and the kids really want to choose them from the field. So on dreary, gray, cold Friday we went. We stopped for lunch and a little shopping first and grabbed Cooper some new pajamas. I think he's totally skipping size 5T and heading straight for little boys!!

Cooper's new puppy pajamas. He now has puppy pajamas,(that may only fit until December!) puppy pillow, stuffed puppy and puppy blanket.




Me and Cooper. He didn't get out of wagon, just pointed out pumpkins for me to bring to him so he could examine them.


Walking through the very wet, soggy straw maze.


Amelia and Cooper at the big red barn.




The snow-covered, mushy field.


Amelia braving the muck to bring us a wagon.

Straw Maze

For Family Home evening I took the kids to the straw maze. It was a really fun one, with covered walkways and low tunnels I had to bend in half to get through, plenty of dead-ends and lots of twists and turns. Here's some pictures:

The entrance. Twine was hanging so if you went through at night when it's haunted, it'd brush your face.




Getting lost...


Me and Coop.


Me and Amelia. Cooper took the pic so it's a little blurry, but I think he did well!


Getting a little frustrated at all the dead-ends.....(Cooper is reprimanding the straw bales.)


The tunnels.




Amelia and Cooper took turns leading us through the maze, switching when they hit a dead end. After an hour and five minutes, I convinced the kids to let me try and lead for awhile. I don't want to brag, but...


I took a moment to point out to my children the lessons they'd just learned. If they are lost and wandering, ask Mommy for guidance and she will help you find the right path. I was feeling quite smug about my "lesson" and knew Amelia and Cooper would remember it for years to come.

Well, "years" ended up being about a minute, because as we walked to the car, we saw a camel--yes, a camel-- sitting in the dirt. The kids rushed over to pet it.




On the way home I asked both children what they had learned tonight. Here are the replies:

Cooper: "Camels will kick you."

Amelia: "Mazes are hard, and camel's knees bend funny."

Well, at least they learned something.