Annie and the King on Parade

It's time again for the Halloween parade at Joy and Daniel's school

Here's Daniel class parading past Joy's class with their teacher Wonder Woman ('cuz after all, what female elementary school teacher ISN'T Wonder Woman?).  Joy is seated in the middle of the picture with her hair in pigtails.  Daniel is off to the right.

He chose to dress as a king with a gold cape (gold is his current favorite color).

Joy's teacher encouraged her class to dress up as characters from books, and Joy opted to be Annie from the Magic Tree House series.  We put her hair in pigtails, and she carried around her Master Librarian card and a book about ancient Egypt.  I wish we could go there.

Joy's teacher assembled a costume to show her enthusiasm for El Nino.  We're all excited to finally be getting some rain around here. 

I always enjoy seeing the costumes the kids, teachers, and even some of the parents come up with.  I especially liked this rebel pilot towing BB-8, the little droid in the newest Star Wars movie (premiering in theaters in 49 days, but who's counting?).

Another child dressed as BB-8, itself.

Anna and Todd were less enthralled with the parade than I was . . .

. . . probably because all they could see of it was the backs of a hundred delighted parents.

Minnie Goes to Preschool (Sans Ears)

Today was Halloween Party Day at Anna's preschool.

She dressed up as Minnie Mouse (and took her ears right off for the day as soon as this photo shoot wrapped).

Here's her class with their teacher, Cruella de Vil.

When I picked Anna up from school, I brought her scooter along . . .

. . . so she could scoot home with the big kids.

On our way home, we passed this cool cheesecloth ghost haunting someone's yard.  I'd like to make a few of those someday when we have trees to hang them in.

The Sparkly Helmet

This morning, Anna and I agreed that the red bike helmet, . . .

. . . which fit just fine back when she was two years old, doesn't fit very well anymore. 

We went to the store today to buy a big girl helmet . . .

. . . and of course, Anna chose the sparkly one with hearts and rhinestones.  Her big sibs were kind of jealous when they got home from school and saw her flashy new lid.

Toddling with Todd

Todd and I went for another walk today after we dropped Anna off at preschool.

Once again, Todd made a beeline for the train station so he could watch the trains (and suck on his fingers).

It's fun hanging out with you, T-Dot.

Halloween Spirit

It's beginning to feel a lot like Halloween around here.

We've got our family of pumpkins out front . . .

. . . I made gingerbread skeletons to take to family dinner at my parents' home yesterday . . .

. . . and Joy finally decided what she wants to be for Halloween: a chef.  I bought her a chef hat at the party store, and she set right to work this afternoon making a plate of paper cookies to carry around.

Game Time with Aunt Lara

Aunt Lara was in town this week, and we were happy to have her join us for dinner this evening.

The kids showed her their new favorite game:

"Jump on the Couch Cushions" (it's fun; you should try it).

They also introduced Lara to Super Mario 3D World on the Wii U.  Aunt Lara gamely played a couple levels, then left the goomba stomping to the experts.

Rainbow Gravel

The kids each got packets of colorful clay as party favors from the Kidspace party two days ago.

After Daniel finished his homework today, he and Anna decided to open up their clay and get creative.

Joy was pretty bummed that she still had a ton of homework to do while the others were playing with rainbow clay.

I envisioned the kids making red clay apples with green leaves, or clay kitties where each leg was a different color.  In actuality, they both squished the various colors together and happily pinched off pieces of rainbow gravel.  There's more than one kind of creativity, after all.

A Kidspace Party and Turnips

Joy has been wanting to plant her own little garden for some time.

Now that 90-degree weather finally seems to be behind us for the year, we took a family outing to the garden center so Joy could buy some potting soil and seeds.  She selected carrot and turnip seeds for her pots (I'm not sure that she's ever actually eaten a turnip, but there's a first time for everything).  She also bought a pink chrysanthemum, to add a bit of color to her garden area.  It makes me smile every time I walk past it.

This evening we went to Kidspace to attend a birthday party for one of Daniel's classmates.  The kids had a great time climbing on the structure . . .

. . . and learning about an animal from one of the docents.  At first she told them she had a hippopotamus in her hands (which got a chuckle from the kids), then she revealed that her animal friend was actually a frog.

A Reading Award and Mister Hibiscus

Joy received an award at her school's monthly assembly today.

Her teacher honored her for excellence in reading. 

Joy was pretty thrilled that Daddy was able to attend the assembly.

I confess, my favorite part was getting to see this guy's suit.  It turns out he's a second grade teacher--the one who writes a joke of the day on an easel outside his class every morning.  I bet his class is a lot of fun. :)

A Pumpkin, a Cupcake, and a Stroll with No Stroller

Anna and I had a fun time this morning playing a game she brought home from preschool.

You roll the dice, and the number that turns up determines which part of the jack-o-lantern face you get to put on the pumpkin.  If you roll a six, you can choose any part you like. :)

Incidentally, this outfit (the cupcake shirt with polka dot pants) is Anna's absolute favorite these days.  She'd wear it every day if I let her.

After we dropped Anna off at preschool today, Todd and I went for a walk and I let him take the lead.

Usually he's just along for the ride in the stroller while we run quick errands or take his older siblings somewhere, so it was kind of nice to let him choose the pace and destination for once. He made a beeline for the train station to watch the trains.

Oh, and don't ask me why he's so keen on sucking his fingers lately.  I have no clue what the appeal is.

Our Haunted Shack

For our family home evening activity tonight, we decorated a haunted gingerbread shack using a kit from Trader Joe's.

We had fun putting the candies on here and there, and the result was a cute little shack that makes our home smell nice (at least until we eat if for dessert tomorrow).

"Mama's got the camera on.  Time to make a silly face!"

Ah, the power of suggestion.

To and Fro

I sometimes try to think up activities that will be a good fit for all of our children who are at different levels of development . . .

. . . and then they spontaneously come up with something on their own that just works for everyone from Joy to Todd.

If tonight's game had a name, it would be something like, "Run Back and Forth from the Desk to the Couch Over and Over Again."  They played it for at least half an hour.

Of course, you have to be careful to avoid collisions . . .

. . . but the thrills are apparently worth the slight risks.

Woo hoo!

Conference Fun and Games

General Conference Weekend is here!

I love the chance to sit with my family and hear inspiring messages from God's prophet and apostles.  Joy took notes on nearly every talk (in some cases, more than I did) . . .

. . . while Daniel and Anna spent most of the sessions coloring pictures and playing games.

On Sunday we watched Conference at Pink Grandma's home . . .

. . . then played Sorry!, ate a yummy dinner, . . .

. . . and finished up with a game of croquet.  I was winning by a mile until we agreed to let the kids each have three hits every turn.  With that advantage, Joy was able to pass me near the last wicket and win.  A good time was had by all players . . .

. . . and spectators.