Happy Halloween!

From Our: 

7 year old ASU Football Player

5 year old Captain America

9 year old Inspector Gadget

3 year old Rapunzel (who refused to wear her wig)

Pumpkin Seeds

I love carving pumpkins.  Actually, I love cleaning pumpkins.  I love the ooey, gooey pumpkin seeds and pulp that need to be removed before carving the perfect pumpkin. Can you guess who carved each pumpkin? I'll give you a hint.  Brody and Case carved theirs all on their own.  Jeremy carved Miss B's, and Ledger carved most of his own.

 Ledger drew on the perfect face before having Jeremy help him carve it.

 What is it about opening a pumpkin for the first time?  It's like we are expecting a surprise inside.

 Case had no problem digging in and getting the seeds and pulp out of the pumpkin.  Brody was better then last year, but Ledger and Miss B. wanted nothing to do with it.

 

Brody took out a little at a time...which took forever!

Do any of you cook the pumpkin seeds?  I found a great recipe but for some reason, I think pumpkin seeds are chewy.  The flavoring of them is good, but they are a little too chewy for my taste. Any suggestions?

Picking The Perfect Pumpkins

 After our party at the dairy, we headed down south to a little pumpkin patch on the side of the road to find the best pumpkins for carving. I love pumpkin patches and all the beautiful fall colors.

Which pumpkin will Case choose?

Ledger found his.

Brody had the hardest time finding the perfect pumpkin.

Miss B. wanted EVERY pumpkin!

Not Really The Princess Type

 Today, Jeremy and I met at the preschool to watch Miss B. in her first ever Halloween parade.  This has always been a fun thing for us as we have watched each of our boys participate in the Halloween parade 2 and 3 times each.  Miss B. however, was not wanting to cooperate for her 1st parade.  The problem....her dumb, I mean darling Rupunzel wig.  The thing is heavy.  It doesn't fit her head.  It drags on the ground.  I've used bobby pins to hold the thing on her head.  They pull her hair.  I've hot glued a head band inside the wig to help it stay on her little head.  It slides right off.  I don't know what else to do.  To make a long story short, she didn't end up wearing the wig to her parade today.  It's not that I cared except, she looked like a rag muffin from me trying to get the wig on her head.  To make matters worse, this little girl is just not the princess type.  Case in point....as her teacher Miss Jody was walking the kids out of the school, Miss B., who is holding up the end of the line, exclaims, "MOOOOOM...I'VE GOT BOOGER NOSE!" Serious Miss B.?  Where are your manners?   I have learned a good lesson this Halloween.  My little princess is no princess at all.  She is an athlete, she is loud, she is boisterous, she needs to be moving at all times.  It's a good thing...just not when you are dressed in a princess costume! Next year, I think this little lady is going to be something much more simple, like a swimmer (swim suit is all she will need), or a ballet dancer (black leotard and tights).  No more costumes with purses, wands, and a wig that weighs waaaaay to much for a three year old.

 Here comes the parade.

 Oh goodness!  Look at this princess.  She is a mess.  At least Jordan was there to help her through it. You look beautiful Jordan!

Do you see how the princess is trying to do ninja turtle moves? Lesson learned!

The Stinkiest Halloween Party So Far

 Over the weekend we were also able to attend a Halloween party at our friends dairy farm.  We love going to parties here because the cows are so fun to watch.  Miss B. couldn't understand why it was so stinky at the Halloween party, but she had a good time anyway.  

 Ledger is just loving this costume of his.  

We were all happy that Presley and Cave were at the party too.

 Case and Cave.  Too cute!

 These cows are just so fun to watch.  Stinky but fun!

 MOOOOOOOOO!

 Brody spent  much of his time at the party using his gadgets on the little kids.  I'm pretty sure Inspector Gadget used silly string!

Eating a doughnut off a string without using your hands can be tricky!

4 Little Devils!

 Saturday was also a fun filled day.  It started off with the ASU-UCLA football game.  We took all of our little devils for a hot afternoon of high scoring football. Although our Devils lost on the last play of the game, we enjoyed our time together cheering for ASU.

 This was Berkley's first ASU football game.  She was absolutely terrified during the first quarter of the game.  As you all know, every time ASU scores a touchdown, they shoot fireworks high in the sky.  Being that the stadium is nestled into the mountain, it makes a LOUD BOOM!! I remember that Ledger and Case were both terrified of the fireworks too when they were this age.  Some how, I had forgotten how scary the football games can be.  Luckily, she got over her fears and enjoyed the second quarter.  It's amazing what a frozen lemonade, pretzel with cheese, popcorn, ring pops from my purse, Tic Tacks, and a souvenir cup filled with Sprite can do for a 3 year old!  

 Brody looked so cute in his fuzzy red wig.  He wore it most of the game but since it was like 88 degrees outside, he ended up taking it off after the first quarter!

 Case really enjoys the game of football.  He is getting so good at reading the plays and learning the game.  I can totally see this kid playing college football one day.  

 Ledger can finally do the "Devil" sign....well sorta!

 It was so fun being at the football game with the family.  Although it was waaaaaay too hot for a late October day, we enjoyed cheering on our Devils!

 Watching the halftime show is always a highlight.  Miss B. had no problem cheering on the Devils during halftime!

Trunk Or Treat

 What a weekend it has been!  It is Monday morning and already I am ready for Halloween to be over.  Don't get me wrong, Halloween is by far my most favorite holiday ever, I'm just read to move on to something a little more calm.  On Friday, I was able to help out at Ledger's class party.  I didn't realize when we started at their new school that the whole school does the class party on the same day and time.  When we went to meet the teacher back in August, I signed up to help in all 3 classes.  When the teachers started calling, I realized that I wouldn't be able to help in every class.  I chose to help in Ledger's since this was his first class party of the year. 

 Friday night we headed down to the church for Trunk Or Treat.  We ate chili and cornbread and collected way too much candy. Berkley only lasted for about 5 minutes with her Repunzel hair.  I am not kidding when I say it weights 10 pounds! Love that I finally have a princess for Halloween!

 McKay, Inspector Gadget and Wyatt.

 Cardston and Ledger... aka CAPTAIN AMERICA!!

Ledger sure loves this costume.  He picked it out Thursday and is thrilled with wearing it.  He really thinks he is THE Captain America!

 Brody's Inspector Gadget costume fits his personality perfect this year.  Wait until you see the "go go gadget" hat he and Jeremy made.  You will love it!

 Case's ASU football costume is perfect for him this year.  He seriously looks like a real Devil football player.  

Say, "Awwwwwwww"

 On Tuesday, Berkley had her first dentist appointment with our awesome dentist, Cory Giles.  She was super excited to be like the boys and have her teeth cleaned.  That is until it was HER turn. She suddenly decided that she didn't want to cooperate and open her mouth.  She became very uncooperative.  After the darling dental assistant showed her all the cool tools, and promised her 2 toys from the toy chest, she was game.  She quickly had her teeth cleaned and flossed before they added some fluoride.   She did great and can't wait to go back.

Look at those pearly white's!  

Usery Mountain

 Friday afternoon, Jeremy and I took the kiddos camping at Usery Mountain Park for a Cub Scout Family campout.  You should have seen my car all packed up for a 12 hour campout.  It was so packed that my boys were sitting on sleeping bags, cots, propane tanks, etc on the drive over.  Luckily Usery Mountain is only about a 10 minute drive from our house so they were just fine.  When we arrived, Jeremy and Brody quickly set up the tent.  We then ate Bashas fried chicken for dinner and roasted marshmallows with the other boys. At 7:30, we headed over to another part of the park grounds and went on a night hike with a forest ranger who works there.  We all had flashlights and even some black lights as we did the 1 mile walk around the mountain. We learned about the different animals and habitats that live in the desert while avoiding scorpions. The weather was perfect and the view was amazing.  After the night walk, we headed back to camp and played some cards in the tent before heading off the bed.  Saturday morning we were up bright and early for a 6:30 breakfast and hike.  Our family opted out of the hike so we could get packed up and home in time for flag football games.  I am so grateful for the Cub Scout program and the opportunity it gives boys to learn and grow.  Brody is lucky to be able to do such fun things with nice boys.

Jeremy and I had to laugh that our 8 man tent is too small for the 6 of us.  We need one more room in the tent!

Roasting Smores around the campfire was fun for everyone!

Lucky for us, the campout was a 3 ward combined campout.  My boys were thrilled that Jackson and Jefferson were there.

The night walk was fun and informative.  There were so many people there that we missed out on many of the fact about the desert animals.  The boys were just excited to  play with their flashlights in the pitch dark.

The night walk was a 1 mile walk around the mountain.  This proved to be difficult for Miss B. who needed to be carried through much of it.

 Playing Uno in the tent before bed.

 Watching a movie before bed. This picture makes me happy!

 Flag ceremony at 6:30 am.

 Pancakes and bacon for breakfast.

 While the rest of the families went on the hike, we started taking down camp.  Case and Jefferson had fun playing football together while waiting for us to finish packing the car.

 Jackson and Brody played Uno.

 Berkley made a huge mess in the dirty rocks.  Who needed a trip to Huntington when we had Usery Mountain 5 minutes from our house?

 One last game of Uno before we headed back home.

After arriving home, we unpacked the car, ate some lunch, and headed to football games.  Case has decided that he wants to wear PINK socks this month like the NFL players to support breast cancer.

Brody is still struggling with his team and the game in general.  Jeremy and I kinda think this may be his last season of flag football.

Ledger is the best "faker" on his team.  He fakes having the ball EVERY play and runs till his coaches yell for him to come back.  This kid is like Forrest Gump..."run Ledger run!!"

After the football games, we went down to the retention basin for the neighborhood black party.  This is always a fun event for us.  We took the popcorn machine and popped popcorn for the kids.  By time we got into bed, we were all EXHAUSTED!  It was a great Saturday but a busy one!
Did you do anything fun last weekend?