Costume Scrooge at the Party

Happy Halloween!

At preschool, the students were dressed in a variety of costumes--superheroes, police officers, unicorns, minions, you name it.  I joked that Todd dressed up as a math geek, but the fact is that he just hates wearing costumes.

He was more than happy to join in the Halloween fun though.  His class decorated pumpkins . . .

. . . played Halloween Bingo . . .

. . . and sang some fun songs together.  It's hard not to smile when your teacher comes to school wearing fairy wings. :)

Two Farewells

This has been a very emotional weekend for me.  I flew to California yesterday to attend my dear grandmother's funeral, and when my plane touched down and I turned on my phone I learned that my dad had unexpectedly passed away that morning.

I had already planned to head straight to the temple from the airport, and after receiving that news I was especially grateful to go someplace where I felt so close to God, and to my family.  My parents were married there, as was I.  My grandparents directed the volunteers there for three years.  It was comforting to walk those familiar halls where my family and I have worshiped so many times.

When a kind stranger agreed to take my picture outside the temple, I asked her to take a "missing man" shot too.  Years ago, my Dad often went hiking in the mountains with his brothers.  One time, his brothers Nile and Dave wanted to climb a certain mountain, but Dad had to skip the trip for some reason.  When Nile and Dave reached the summit, they asked someone to take a photo of them standing on either side of an invisible person, with their arms around his shoulders.  It was their way of saying they loved Dad and wished he could have been there with them.  I wished my dad was at the temple with me yesterday too, and maybe he was.

That evening I had dinner with my siblings, who I haven't seen since we moved from California a couple years ago.  At first it was a somber gathering, but we cheered up as we recalled many fun memories about Dad.

Grandma's funeral this morning was bittersweet.  We all loved her so much, but she had lived a full life, and I'm sure she was grateful to finally leave her health problems behind, and be reunited with the parents and God she loved so much.  I was asked to read a eulogy which my dad wrote the night before he passed away.  It was especially poignant because so many of the things he admired about his mom--her faith, her kindness to others, her devotion to God, and her love for family--were qualities that he had acquired from her.

While it was hard to say goodbye to Grandma and Dad, I was grateful to spend time with so many relatives I love.

That's one of the many blessings of family: they soften our sorrows, and multiply our joys.  Perhaps that's why it's been surprisingly easy for me to deal with my dad's passing.  There are moments when it's hard and I miss him, but mostly I just feel grateful to have had such a great dad for so long.  And I'm so grateful to know that I'll see him again someday.

Male Mail at Preschool

It was my turn to help out in Todd's preschool class again today.

During free play time, the teachers took turns helping students with their writing . . .

. . . while the other kids wrote and decorated notes to each other (or themselves--that's one way to guarantee you'll get mail every day) . . .

. . . or played with the toys or the sensory table.  In case you're wondering, there are girls in the class too.

They were over playing "Mommies and Babies" in the dramatic play area today.

Scooting Laps

Remember how Todd couldn't pedal a tricycle at the beginning of preschool?  He can do it pretty well now . . .

. . . but he much prefers tooling around the sidewalk circuit on his scooter.  He likes to count the laps as he completes them, and today one of the moms gave him a high five each time he finished one.

In other news, we now have a family of pumpkins in our front yard (the green one near the door is Joy's, of course) . . .

. . . and Maryland truly has no shortage of interesting caterpillars.

A Blanket Fort and Dominoes

The kids decided this would be a great day . . .

. . . to build an epic blanket fort . . .

. . . complete with lots of peepholes for peering out at passersby (with cameras).

The fort was fun, but by this afternoon we all needed to get out of the house.  We headed to the park, and happened to meet up with one of Todd's preschool friends.

The kids decided to all try climbing a slide at the same time.

That was fine until one climber reached the top, turned around, and turned everyone else into human dominoes. :-/

The Decor is Late but Worth the Wait

October is already half over!

 I finally got out our autumn decorations today--better late than never, right?

I hung our leaf garland on our retro family portrait wall . . .

. . . and set out our collection of Halloween books, including "Room on the Broom" . . . 

. . . and that perennial classic, "The Halloweiner" (spellcheck never knows what to do with that title). :)

The Pumpkin Paint Party

Ever heard of a paint party?  I never had until I came to Maryland; apparently they're a thing around here.  An artist provides canvas, paint, brushes, and step-by-step instructions to replicate a painting they have made.

We had a paint night for our Relief Society activity this evening.  I occasionally had a hard time keeping up with the instructor, but overall it was a fun experience.

Hard to say which is cuter, my paint party neighbor or her painting. :)

My own picture is the second from the right.  It's funny how people's paintings can have such different personalities, even though we received the same instructions.

Fun on the Farm with Pumpkins

It was a lovely day for a field trip today . . .

. . .  so Todd's preschool took a tour of a local farm this morning.

The kids went on a hayride, then they got to pick their own ear of popcorn and a little pumpkin to take home.

I think Todd chose the tiniest pumpkin on the farm, probably because he liked its long, twisty stem.

Back at the farmhouse, the farmer helped the kids act out how a pumpkin grows . . .

. . . then the kids ate a snack and played on the playground while I took some pictures of butterflies in the flower garden. :)

Conference and the Hoverboard, Again

Well folks . . .

. . . Conference is gone, and it didn't take long.  President Nelson gave a very thought-provoking talk today, and it was inspiring to hear how much he loves and respects the Savior.

In other news, Joy spent most of her free time "hovering" around our front room.

She's now so comfortable on the hoverboard that she can ride it while playing tag . . .

. . . or the piano.

Conference and a Hoverboard

This morning we did our chores . . .

. . . tested our dancing skills on Daddy's dance pad . . .

. . . then broke out our Conference Bingo cards because it's General Conference Weekend!  It was exciting to hear the Prophet announce some changes that I think will be good for our family and other Church members around the world.

Between sessions, we went out to the parking lot to try the hoverboard Uncle Rob recently sent us (I'm not sure why it's called a hoverboard, since it doesn't hover, and it's not a board).  Joy was a little unsteady on it at first . . .

. . . but she quickly got the hang of it.

Once Joy was steady enough on it that we didn't worry she'd crash into pedestrians or their cars, we even let her ride it on the sidewalk.

Daddy and I gave it a whirl too.  It's actually pretty fun once you get comfortable on it and don't feel like you're going to pitch backward at any moment.

The Artsy Alphabet and the Backward Dinosaur

This week in preschool:

Todd painted the entire alphabet, and a content face (I'm not sure I'd call it a happy face).

He's actually pedaling tricycles by himself these days.

Yesterday his sibs were off school, so Anna, Daniel, and our friend Emma Joy came with me to pick Todd up (and play on the school playground until it was time to leave).

Today was Backwards Day, so Todd wore his dinosaur shirt backward and his shorts inside out.

He even put his back pack on backward. :)