Pumpkin Decorating 2012

The kids have been so excited to decorate their pumpkins this year. These were the little tiny pumpkins they picked out when we went to the pumpkin patch.

Michael

 

 

Jake

 

 

Anthony

 

 

 

Annie

 

 

Crazy woman!

 

 

Jaileigh

 

 

Jake

 

 

Annie decided to paint herself after painting her pumpkin.

 

 

Tired baby.

 

 

Jaileigh added some dimension to her pumpkin.

 

 

She was the last one working. The boys hurried and finished theirs and moved on.

 

 

So, during this little activity we had a couple of funny things happen. Paul, the landscaper that did our yard, stopped by to check on some things. While I, with 4 of the 5 kids, was outside talking with him Michael snuck in the house, dumped a bunch of glue on his pumpkin. He then stuck ALL of the princess foam stickers all over his pumpkin, turned the TV on and was quietly watching TV when we all came back in. Jaileigh of course wailed, but I was able to find another package. Annie took things in her own hands and removed all of Michaels stickers off his pumpkin. I made her put them back on but she refused. Anthony and Jakob put them back on.  Oh man, these kids are going to keep me on my toes!

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Trick or Treating #2

We purposely went camping this weekend because we had heard how fun the RV park was for Halloween. Everyone was right! The kids had so much fun. They were so tired and we didn't even get to do everything we planned. I wanted to carve pumpkins, roast marshmallows and make smores. We just ran out of time. Here is a sprinkling of what we did do.

 The mornings were pretty chilly (high 40's) but the days were HOT (low 90's).

Jaileigh playing outside.

 

Anthony outside the screen room.

 

 

Annie Bananie

 

 

We rode the train. Everyone had to pay a quarter. The kids paid the conductor and gave him a high five.

 

 

Jake brought his stick on the train.

 

 

Jaileigh

 

 

After the train we went over to the activity center and participated in the coloring contest. All finishers got a otter pop. Michael hurried and colored his and then read.

 

 

We went back to the RV, ate lunch, napped and then ran to the pumpkin decorating.

 Annie

 

 

Anthony

 

 

Michael

 

 

These 3 came with me on the hayride and the other 2 went swimming with daddy.

Jaileigh, Anthony and Jake

 

 

After the hayride I took them swimming too. We missed the costume contest because they were too busy swimming.

 

We hurried home from swimming to change into costumes. I shoved a chicken dog into their grubby hands and we ran out the door. Trick or Treating was supposed to be from 5-6 but we didn't get back to the RV until closer to 7. Thank goodness we brought the choo choo because the RV park is HUGE! I was exhausted by the time we got back. About half way through the kids were ready to come back and were asking to go back. It took us about 45 minutes to make our way back.

 

 

Anthony and Michael switched costumes. Michael wasn't going to go so Anthony snatched up his old Peter Pan costume. At the last minute he decided to go and wore the pirate costume. Drama at 4 years old!

 

Anthony, Jaileigh, Michael, Annie, Jakob

 

Only certain RVs were trick or treat spots. They had to get a orange sign from the front office to post at their RV. Most spots went all out in decorations. I couldn't believe how elaborate the decorations were. A couple of places made haunted houses out of easy-ups and tarps. We took the kids through one kid friendly one. They loved it and went through it twice. I thought they would be afraid.

 

Sunday morning we headed home so that we could go to church. The kids were exhausted and cranky. We handed them over to their Sunbeam teachers at the height of their crankiness. Poor teachers! Our church is 11-2. The most horrible time for toddlers. It is right in the middle of lunch and naptime for us. I feed my kids lunch before we go and as soon as we get home they go down for their nap.

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Trunk Or Treat #1

Our church holds an annual trunk or treat in their parking lot. It is so nice to feel safe while letting your kids trunk or treat and to socialize with your friends at the same time. Our church ward also served dinner and played games before the trunk or treat. We went camping on Friday so we didn't make it to the dinner and games. We made it just in time for the trunk or treating. My kids decided to do the Peter Pan theme again this year. Yeah for us! We didn't have to buy costumes again.

 

 

Checking out their loot. Such excitement!

 

Captain Hook- Jake

 

 

Peter Pan- Michael

 

 

Pirate Anthony

 

 

My baby Tinkerbell. Check out the filthy tights!

 

 

My oldest Tinkerbell.

 

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ZOO!

We went to the zoo Thursday and met our quadruplet buddies. The kids had so much fun with their "fwends".

Riding the turtle.

Anthony, Michael, Annie, Jake and Jaileigh

 

 

This bench was too cute not to take a picture on.

Jake, Anthony, Jaileigh, Annie and Michael

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I Is For . . . .

Last week I was in charge of preschool. The letter was "I" and I had so much fun. On Monday we made homemade ice cream in bags. Wednesday we made igloos and searched for insects in sand.

The igloos were a little tricky. I let the kids "frost" the styrofoam cup with frosting then they started piling on the marshmallows. The trick was to start from the bottom and work your way up. Not all of them understood bottom to top so some of their marshmallows started to slowly sink to the bottom. Overall the kids had fun and were really proud of their creations.

Working on their igloos.

 

 

Jake and Michael

 

 

 

Anthony and Annie

 

 

 

Jaileigh

 

 

Digging for insects. This was funny. The kids weren't sure if the insects were alive so they were a little cautious at first. They kept asking me if the insects would hurt them.

 

I didn't post close up personal pictures of the other preschool students because I haven't asked permission. I'm not sure how the other mothers feel about public blogs.

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Mr. Michael Went On A Date

Michael is the second one to get to go on a special date. My kids go on dates all the time. When Mike and I run errands we try to take one with us to get extra one on one time. Annie is with me alone during preschool, Michael always wakes up early from naps to get his extra time, Jaileigh likes to stay up later at night, and Anthony is very good at requesting individual time. These special dates are planned and are rewards for a certain goal that the kids accomplish.

Michaels goal was to control his screaming. He has really worked on trying not to scream. His voice sounds so much better, it's not as hoarse as it can get. He really wanted to go to the library on his date. I let Mike take him.

Mike let him pick out his books. Michael was so cute and picked out a special book for all of his siblings too.

 

 

Mike was really impressed with Michael and his library skills. He thought it was really cute how Michael loved to read. When he goes to the library he has a special bench by a window that he loves to sit on. He picks out a book and then goes over to the bench and looks at every page and every picture. You can tell that he totally absorbs every detail of the book. When he is done he puts the book back and picks out another one. He would do this all day long if you let him. He absolutely loves to read.

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The Tinkerbell Duo

Annie really wanted to be Tinkerbell again this year, and so did Jaileigh. Annie outgrew her costume so I decided to be crafty and make her a new one. Boy oh boy, was that an adventure. I googled how to make a tinkerbell costume and found a do it yourself blog that looked so simple. Let me just say, I quit making it several times, the costume looks nothing like the sample on the blog, I never once said a swear word but I surely walked out of the room several times in frustration. Once I came to terms with myself that this costume was going to have to be made from my imagination and craftiness, I put the computer away and went to work. I'm over my failure and so glad that Annie is easy to please. She was very happy! If my baby is happy then I am happy.

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