October News

I honestly couldn't remember October until I picked the pictures for this blog! Disney memories plus a week catching up have overshadowed the fun we had in October! Guess I'll use the photos to guide my memory here! (And because we switch between two cameras, the events may be out of order, but it takes too long to reorder them!)

Paige got a good deal on circus tickets and invited us to go along! I had just finished a preschool unit on the circus, so the girls were really excited to go. The preshow attractions were kind of annoying. Everything cost an exorbitant amount of money and they waited until they'd milked out all the money they could before starting the show! The show was fun though. We especially loved the clowns and elephants. The girls were mesmerized by the lady that turned into a tiger. Especially when we saw the tiger loaded on the truck ready to leave. They thought maybe they would turn her back into a lady at the next show! Eden was a bit of a stinker the whole time, but that sometimes just goes with the 2-year old territory!
We also went with Paige to Thanksgiving Point's Cornbellys! I was sorry that we weren't able to make it with all the sisters for Karyssa's birthday. It was a beautiful day. We had a LOT of fun and there was a LOT to do! I think I lost Eden about 3 times though. It's ridiculous how quickly she can disappear! Can you tell that she DID NOT want to be in this photo!
They sure loved the Princess Playland. Emily really loved directing the "play" onstage and telling all the little girls what to do. They actually listened and she had the time of her life!
Just take a look at that precious face!
My princesses!
These new bouncy horses were new, but I think the girls rode them for all of 10 seconds.
Cute girls on the bounce houses!
On the hayride.
Eden loves baby Hayden!
The girls actually got me to do the kiddie maze (I've NEVER had a desire to do any sort of corn maze before!) It was actually really cute, every few turns or so there was a giant spinning wheel. It would tell them how to act or how to walk all the way to the next wheel!
They all loved these water pump/gutter duck races.
This pic is out of order, but it's from the Preschool Pumpkinland fieldtrip. I let the big girls miss the morning of school and come with me. They loved being able to finally each get a pumpkin.
Ella's masterpiece.
Emily's Frankenstein!
When you got it, flaunt it!
Preschool pic.
Here's the elephants from the circus.
Ella got to dress up for Career Day. Can you guess what she wants to be?
The girls got a LITTLE excited with this Frankenstein Halloween craft! They ended up making one for a bunch of their cousins!
Notice Ella's shirt? She still insists on matching daddy at bedtime! He came home with this shirt for her. Later he felt bad and found another one for Emily!
Darling Emily got a new haircut. I just wanted her to get a trim, but she had her heart set on getting it cut to her chin. I thought we may as well go for the A-line look. Her feather looked really cute with it.
Here's when she realized how cold the pavement was - she went out without shoes and socks!
Ella's so good to Eden, here she is reading to her. She really is doing well with her reading. She's loving school and her teacher.
The week before Halloween was CRAZY! Not only was a preparing for a family trip, but it was Red Ribbon Week at school. I was asked to be the coordinator for the event. I spent a lot of time planning the activities and finding volunteers. I also spent a LOT of time using the school's Cricut machine to cut out 700 red leaves! I made a tree bulletin board in the hallway with the words, "LEAF drugs alone! Don't FALL for Drugs!" I distributed enough leaves for every child Monday morning and at lunchtime, they walked pass the tree with their signed leaf pledging they would stay away from drugs. Luckily I had 2 other volunteers to help me. They all got a piece of candy after hanging their leaf. On Wednesday after preschool I went to the school to judge the classroom doors. I asked all the classes to decorate their classroom doors with a drug-free message. I got 2 volunteers to help me judge them. I was surprised that all but 2 teachers participated! And they were awesome, it was hard to pick just 3 winners! On Friday, the PTA president and I went and popped popcorn for the winning classes. I also got a volunteer each day to go to the school and hand out candy to kids still wearing their red ribbon bracelets. I felt like I spent A LOT of time at the school!! I also was a sub for switching the books for 2nd grade - kind of a crazy week for me to say yes, but Eden was a trooper! The school also had their first-ever literacy night. They hired a magician and had popcorn and cotton candy for everyone. It was so well attended we had to wait for them to set up more chairs for us! Next month they are having literacy night at Trafalga - glad they're having fun with our Title 1 money! I really got to know the PTA president, principal, vice principal and secretaries very well! Also, since I'm the room mom for Ella's class, I had to get the Halloween coordinated with 5 parents and 5 volunteers to run the show, since I wouldn't be there. Her teacher was nice enough to mail me a thank you card and let me know it all went perfectly!

Also, our stake put on another Zimbabwe drive this month - our 2nd. They have a list of needed donations and drop off dates. I didn't do much for the last one, but I did better this time. I scoured the house for lots of our unneeded items, and took the leftover clothing items from Paige and Dan's yard sale to donate. I went with the YM/YW on activity night to help them do the sorting and packing. They fill a huge trailer and someone pays for the shipping. We heard a lot of wonderful stories about how the items were received and used last time and this time they put on a fireside as well. (Which I missed.) Feels good to help others even if it is with things we don't need, but they will be so grateful for!

Stay tuned for another blog this month - DISNEYLAND!