Thursday, October 30, 2014

A Flashlight, Ghosts, and Aliens

In an effort to get kids thinking about math and science, Joy's school has a monthly STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) challenge in which students are invited to make an invention with something from around the house.  It can be simple, complex, or even silly, as long as it uses the assigned object and at least one STEM principle.


This month's object was a toilet paper tube, and Joy wanted to make a flashlight . . .


. . . so she enlisted the help of Engineer Daddy.


I'd say the flashlight turned out pretty well.


I planned a parent-child project today, too, but it didn't turn out quite the way I planned.  I showed Joy and Daniel how to dunk Nutter Butter cookies in melted white chocolate and add two candies to make ghosts.


Why stop at two candies, though?  The kids decided to make skeletons . . .


. . . and snowmen, and aliens, and who knows what else?  Oh well--the treats didn't turn out like I expected, but they tasted good and we had fun. :)

Monday, October 27, 2014

Monsters for Dinner

At Papa and Red Grandma's home today . . .


. . . Joy played a duet with Daddy.


Since it's a few days before Halloween, we had traditional Skull Island Meatloaf for dinner . . .


. . . along with Loch Ness Monster Jello Salad . . . 


. . . and flaming spider candles.


Lights out!

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Familiar Faces at the Trunk-R-Treat

It's Trunk-R-Treat time!


I dressed as a cat burglar, and Todd was supposed to be the sack of money I stole, but the dollar sign on his sack got crumpled pretty early on.  Oh well.


Daniel (AKA Darth Maul) encountered a fellow Sith Lord . . .


. . . Joy the Enderman (Endergirl?) saw a familiar face (don't make eye contact, Steve!) . . .


. . . Anna the Flower rocked pumpkin bowling in the carnival games . . .


. . . then the kids all scored some yummy candy. 

Tough Pumpkins and Jack-o-dillas


This morning we carved our Jack-o-lanterns (should you call it a Jill-o-lantern if it's a girl?).


Aunt Lara joined us for the event, and carved Anna's pumpkin after Anna approved the design.


Joy's pumpkin proved nearly impossible to carve by standard methods.  After bending one of our kitchen knives on its extremely tough rind, Daddy broke out the power tools.  The Dremel did the job.


Daddy and Laura also used the Dremel to carve Daddy's Jack-o-lantern--an homage to ye Death Star.


Behold our masterpieces, including a mini pumpkin I carved for Todd.


After the carving was done, we had Jack-o-dillas for lunch. :)

Friday, October 24, 2014

Preschool Party and Pumpkins


Anna's preschool group had a little Halloween party today.


We had a princess, two superheros, a cowboy, and a flower.


At the end of class, the teacher led the kids in a little parade/dance party.  It was pretty cute, and the kids had a blast.


This evening our family went to a local pumpkin purveyor and chose pumpkins to carve later this week.  After we brought them home someone asked which one weighed the most, and Engineer Daddy suggested we get out the scale and find out.


Anna and I tied for the lightest pumpkins (weighing 7.5 pounds each), and Daniel's pumpkin was easily the heaviest at 10.5 pounds.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Anna's First Day of Preschool



Anna had her first day of preschool today.  We joined a little co-op of moms from church so she could make new friends and learn a thing or three.


Anna walked down the street and knocked on her friend Harrison's door . . .


. . . was greeted by her teacher of the day (Harrison's mom) . . .


. . . and received an enthusiastic welcome from her classmates.  I think they're going to have a lot of fun together.

Sunday, October 19, 2014

An October Day at the Park


We had a nice family outing to the park today.


Anna looked very festive in her Jack-o-Lantern shirt, even though this warm October day felt more like August.


Joy helped Todd navigate the jungle gym . . .


. . . especially the slide.


She also showed him how fun it is to bury your feet in the sand . . .


. . . and made some sand art in his honor.  It's sweet to see how much she loves her baby brother.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Joy Loves Harry, Todd, and Cake

A few glimpses into the life of Joy lately:


 Joy likes to help bake goodies, and a few days ago she asked if we could make a cake just for fun.  She used decorating gel to write "Family Cake" on the top.


Joy is a sweet big sister to Baby Todd.  She loves to play with him, make him laugh, . . .


. . . and carry him around (fortunately he enjoys it, most of the time).


Joy is also a big fan of Harry Potter.  She has read the series several times, and when she was sick today she reread some of her favorite parts to make time pass faster.  My hardback Potter tomes aren't in the pristine condition they once were, but I'm glad my daughter has learned to love Harry like I do.

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Conference Saturday

We enjoyed a relaxing Saturday at home today.  The adults watched General Conference while . . .


. . . Joy worked on a project, Daniel played Snail's Pace Race against himself, . . .


. . . Anna sorted pom poms . . .


. . . and Toddzilla struck terror into the hearts of miniature railway riders.