Happy Halloween

Friday was pretty much our day to celebrate Halloween this year. It started out with parties and a parade at the Elementary school. Daniel was Luke Skywalker this year, and it just so happened that his good buddy from school was Darth Vader. They had fun with that. As we left the classroom to go home, Daniel called out, "goodbye, Father!".
The principal, Mr. Turner, is always such a good sport. He gets a great costume every year, and leads the parade. This year he was the Big, Bad Wolf.
Here we spotted Eliza in the parade. She's a Fablehaven fairy. Did you drink the milk? (If you haven't read the books, this reference will be lost on you)

And Luke, ready to save the universe with that light saber.

That night we headed to the Church for the Ward Halloween party. Here's Daniel, I mean lLuke posing for a picture.
Luke and Leia together. Daniel was ready to protect her, although looks like Audri's ready to do a little protecting herself.

Another shot of Leia, later at home.

I worked hard and had a lot of fun with Eliza's costume this year. I know I had a picture of her in the parade earlier in the post, but here are a few more photos, including this one of her hair.

Dailie sported a dance costume, and was Miss America.

I spent my time and effort on the kids' costumes, so on Friday afternoon I was asking the kids what Rick and I should be for the party that night. Dailie came up with the idea of Salt and Pepper, and she and Audri put these together for us.
Dallin didn't dress up, but his pumpkin carving won first place in the contest at the party. I guess it should really be called a pumpkin and hedgeapple carving. Pretty clever.
Dallin also saw Alton Brown make candy corn on "Good Eats" and determined that he must make some. It was relatively simple and did not take complex ingredients. He had fun making them, and they turned out great!!
Overall, we had a very Happy Halloween!!

I'm still in shock that tomorrow is November.....

Kangaroos, Cousins, Cookies and Creativity!!

I feel like I should have spelled all of those with a K, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Anyway, I have found that blogging hasn't been as easy to get around to lately, and that kind of makes me sad, but here's a whopper of a post that combines a few things into one (since they all sounded so great together).

Sunday night my brother David's family, sans David who had to work, came to stay with us during their Fall Break. My kids still had school, but they came to hang out with us anyway. I thought it was awful nice of them, and it was sure fun to spend a little time together. They were here Monday and Tuesday, and both days Tanner went to Seminary with Dallin. Tanner's 16 and has his license, so both mornings he drove and they went out for breakfast after, before Dallin had to be at school. Monday evening, along with some games together for FHE, we treated them to a couple of Peoria specials with Firehouse Pizza for dinner, and the Spotted Cow for dessert.

The decision making process, complete with sample spoons : ).

Audri and Grant, enjoying their selection.

Ice cream makes me smile!!

Tuesday, Julia spent painting. She is super talented, and if you've been in my house, you've seen her work in my kitchen. On Monday we stewed about what she might paint. See if you like the result.

This is my entryway, and there are a few finishing touches she'll come back later to do. I'll have to post more pictures when she does.

I don't feel like I can thank her enough for beautifying my home.

So, I've had about a gazillion things to do lately, and I've been taking them a day at a time. I've wanted to make Halloween sugar cookies ever since I found these awesome sprinkles at on Amish store on the way home from Nauvoo, and I needed to take some cookies to the 6th grade Halloween party. I LIKE to make cookies and decorate, but I just didn't have the time. So, Audri and her friend Abby made them all by themselves. I really intervened very little. They mixed, rolled, cut, baked and frosted them. The only decorating I did was to write Boo on the ghosts and add the eyes. I think they turned out great!!

And, amongst the cookie baking, dinner making, sending off to YM/YW, Halloween costume sewing, and general evening chaos, Eliza had an animal project to do. Here's her darn cute kangaroo diorama with the two kangas made of clay!! Do you see the joeys in their pouches?

I'd say we've had a lot of creative juices flowing around here lately, wouldn't you?

A Beautiful Day with a Beautiful Girl

We have been having amazingly beautiful Fall weather here in Illinois, and I love it!! It's been sunny, and warm, with just the right amount of chill in the air in the morning. The fields are being harvested, and the leaves and changing colors. The wonderful conditions were just right for a non-interstate drive north to Sterling, Illinois where Dailie participated in the IMEA auditions. It was just she and I, and we traveled through farmland that just made me feel right at home. The warm up room was a jammed packed auditorium, and difficult to hear anything in, but you can see Dailie has a smile on her face anyway.

I love the sound of the cello, and I especially love hearing Dailie play it.

Here she is with her orchestra teacher, Miss Keller. This was the first year for her to take any students to the audition, and while Dailie didn't make it into the orchestra, I think it was a good experience to audition anyway, and besides, it provided a perfectly wonderful opportunity for she and I to spend a day together.

Clarity and Peace

I have been a little caught up this week and last over the hubbub concerning President Boyd K. Packer's talk from General Conference. It has bothered me greatly to see the reaction both within the Church and out of the Church, but mostly from within the Church. Reading this statement from the Church in response to a petition from the Human Rights Campaign was very comforting to me. I love the clarity of the Gospel. There are those, on both sides of this issue, that would distort the teachings of Jesus Christ in order to validate or justify their own actions and/or feelings, therefore causing confusion and contention. The Gospel of Jesus Christ provides clear answers and peace. If you have not seen or read this statement, I would encourage you to, even if you were unaware of any hubbub : ).


Church Responds to HRC Petition

And if you don't want to read the whole statement, here are a few of my favorite parts:

"This past week we have all witnessed tragic deaths across the country as a result of bullying or intimidation of gay young men. We join our voice with others in unreserved condemnation of acts of cruelty or attempts to belittle or mock any group or individual that is different – whether those differences arise from race, religion, mental challenges, social status, sexual orientation or for any other reason. Such actions simply have no place in our society."

"As a church, our doctrinal position is clear: any sexual activity outside of marriage is wrong, and we define marriage as between a man and a woman. However, that should never, ever be used as justification for unkindness. Jesus Christ, whom we follow, was clear in His condemnation of sexual immorality, but never cruel. His interest was always to lift the individual, never to tear down."

"The Church’s doctrine is based on love. We believe that our purpose in life is to learn, grow and develop, and that God’s unreserved love enables each of us to reach our potential. None of us is limited by our feelings or inclinations. Ultimately, we are free to act for ourselves."

"God’s universal fatherhood and love charges each of us with an innate and reverent acknowledgement of our shared human dignity. We are to love one another. We are to treat each other with respect as brothers and sisters and fellow children of God, no matter how much we may differ from one another. "

Buddy Walk

As a family we participated in the Heart of Illinois Down Syndrome Association Buddy Walk this morning. We walked for Sara and Ella, my oldest brother's twins. We made these buttons so everyone could see the adorable little sweeties we were there for.

Before the walk they had cider donuts from Apple Blossom Farm, and we met this vivacious little girl named Jocelyn. She was lots of fun, and she loved Audri.
Here's the whole gang. The walk was just one mile, and we ended up doing it inside, since it was just a little chilly this morning, but it was great. I enjoyed meeting and talking with lots of families. I hope to do it again next year!!