Way to go Allison

Allison came home from school today with a big smile on her face. Last week she tried out for the Idaho History Team and she found out today that she made it. I am so proud of the hard work and diligence she showed while study to try out. I was so hoping that she would make it because she has talked nonstop about what they are learning at school for Idaho History. Way to go Allison we are so proud of you.

Halloween

Halloween was a lot of fun this year. For dinner I thought I would try something new and festive. I was trying to keep it a secret but I have nosey kids and a few of them figured it out.
Dinner in a pumpkin. I found the recipe on the Internet and thought it would be fun to try. The girls were not too sure about it. They ended up loving it. Kevin even surprised me and liked it too.

Once dinner was over it was time to Trick or Treat. Our first stop was the Ewings house. Allison had to miss out on this trip but thankfully she had an attitude adjustment and was able to make it the rest of the night.
Kevin and I think Madison is too old to Trick or Treat but she didn't mind because she enjoyed the alternative. Handing out candy.

Allison and Ashley didn't last that long trick or treating because it was cold. Since we got over early, I thought it would be fun to go out for a treat. I know that it doesn't make sense to go get ice cream when you are cold but that is what we did. Cold Stone gave kids a free kids ice cream if they came in wearing their costume. I had let this slip to the girls so there were really hoping that we would do it.

Ashley's pumpkin

Ashley brought her pumpkin home from school on Friday. Mrs. Moodie let them have some fun with it before they brought it home. They painted them. It was fun to see how creative she got with her painting. It is kind of sad but she hasn't been allowed to do this so I am sure it was fun for her. This is just another reason why I don't home school my kids. I have a hard time letting them make a mess and be creative. I am thankful for the teachers that allow them to do that.

Trunk or Treat

Tonight our ward had the annual chili cook off and Trunk or Treat. Kevin made his dutch oven chili and we invited the Ewings to join us. We kind of had a different perspective this year because the Elders Quorum was in charge so we all pitched in as a family to help Kevin out. One of Madison's leaders ask her what she had been doing all day and she said getting ready for the ward party. The girls were so helpful and cheerful throughout the whole day it was very nice. We didn't get to see much of Kevin throughout the night but we still had fun with Ewings. We also had a great time tasting all the chili. There are some talented people in our ward. Once dinner was over and the awards were handed out we headed outside for the trunk or treat. Madison was a trooper and dressed up but didn't feel like she could trunk or treat so she handed out candy. Allison took off and made her rounds but then ended up helping Madison when she was done. Ashley took off and thought she could make her rounds by herself but Capri stayed with her so I wouldn't be nervous.
Once Ashley made it around once she decided that Capri needed to go so she took her trunk or treating.
The girls had a lot of fun and really enjoyed that the Ewings joined us. Even if Mr. Dave kept on trying to steal their candy. Once we were done outside we went inside to find dad and see what he was up to. This is what we found.
Even though Kevin didn't get to sit down or socialize much with us he had a great evening and is happy for it to be over. This is one of our favorite ward activities and we look forward to every year even if Kevin's Chili doesn't win. At least we know it is the best.

Carving fun

It has been a couple years since we have carved pumpkins so I made a point that we were doing it this year. I was hoping to go to the pumpkin patch and do all that but life has been so crazy on the weekends with soccer. This year we just picked our pumpkins out at Walmart. The girls didn't seem to mind at all.
Ashley was rather young when we carved pumpkins last time so she doesn't really remember it. I wanted her to have the whole experience so she had to clean it out like the rest of us.

She wasn't happy at first to clean it out the but she soon warmed up and was doing it all by herself.
I found this neat pumpkin thing at the store. I was excited to try it out. It hooks up to a drill and scrapes out the insides of the pumpkin. It was so nice to use. Allison enjoyed cleaning out the pumpkin this year.

I have a surprise planned for Halloween day so I got myself a pumpkin. I really couldn't carve it so I can still use it on Monday but I didn't want the girls to get suspicious. I found this cute Mr Potato head kit and quickly got my pumpkin done. The girls didn't think I was funny when I said I was done and got up from the table. I did end up staying around to help them out. Madison of course was right on top of it and took off getting hers done.
She picked a cute silly face. She a nice job. It turned out rather cute. Allison wanted to do it all by herself.
She did end up doing most of it by herself but it was getting late so I had to step in to speed it along. She picked a pattern that said party with a bat on the bottom. The letters were floating so she was worried she was going to mess up on the lestters but it turned out great. Ashley really wanted to be like her big sisters and do it all by her self but I wasn't comfortable with her using the carving knife. She poked all the holes for the pattern then I carved it. She was fine with the compromise. She picked a pattern that had a ghost floating over a witch and a cauldron. She did a great job doing the pattern and it turned out cute.
We had a great evening but missed not having Dad to help out. The girls said that next year he won't have school so we will get to be with us more. That kind of makes me sad but they are awesome and have been troopers through this all. My girls are the best.

A cold morning the pumpkin patch

Ashley had her field trip to the pumpkin patch today. The temperature has taken a dive in the last 24 hours. It was 31 degrees this morning when we left for school. If we would have went just one day earlier it would have been in the 50s. Oh well we survived and had a lot of fun. We started our trip out on the hay ride. The tractor was having trouble turning on the cold dirt so it took a while to make it around the the field. It was fun to hear the kids responses to the many stops and reversing. Once we got to the pumpkin patch the kids were informed on the correct way of how to pick a pumpkin.
I thought it was so cute to watch the kids act out what they were being instructed to do. There was one last stop before we moved on to picking. We were able to walk past the horses and ponies but the kids were informed that sometimes they think fingers might be carrots so they needed to keep their hands behind their back. It was cute to watch them walk over the horses with their hands behind their back. After the stop at the horses it was finally pumpkin picking time. Ashley has been talking about this since she found out she was going. Apparently last year I told her she was picky and she did not like it. I was informed that I was not to call her picky and just let her pick out her pumpkin. I do not know how she remembers that. She is such a funny kid. This year she did a little walk and scoped out the pumpkins before she made her choice.
Once I finally convinced her that they were all going to be dirty she finally made her choice. I love that she was concerned about getting dirty but it was really ok to get a little dirt on her. She was very careful to carry the dirty side out. Once all the kids had their pumpkins Mrs. Moodie thought she would try to get a class picture with their pumpkins. Next we moved on to the tracker tire playground and the hay maze. It is always nerve wrecking to let the kids run loose and still keep track of the ones that I was put in charge of but I survived. The kids really did a good job of not wandering off and staying together as a class.

To finish the morning off there was a snack
and then a stop at the corn box.
It was a great morning and we did survive the cold. A big highlight for Ashley was that she got to ride a bus for the first time.

Soccer comes to an end

Today Ashley and Allison finished their soccer season. They both did a great job and learned so much this season. Both of them will be playing again in the spring with the same team. We were so happy to find out that their coaches were going to coach again and wanted to do the same team.

At the beginning of the season I wasn't too sure about Allison's coach but things really changed at the end and I will be happy to have Allison play with them again. It was a lot of fun to watch the girls on her team develop and grow into their positions. Allison played defender or sweeper the whole season. She did an awesome job getting the ball off her side of the field and up to her forwards.
I think she did a great job for it being the first time that she played since she was four and look forward to watching her grow in soccer. She had a great season and we are very proud of her.

Ashley had a lot of fun with soccer. She always had so much energy and was right on top of the ball. Her coach was always so positive and really wanted the girls to have fun. Ashley had a great last game she did some great defending
and even made two goals. She did a wonderful job and I can't wait to see what she does in the Spring.