Halloween Extravaganza

This year has really been an extravaganza. We have had so many Halloween activities that it just seemed to go on forever. We started out at the Nature Discovery Center pumpkin patch. It was fun, and Summer enjoyed all the pumpkins. Since Philip was at home studying I only had her pick out a small pumpkin so we could get the others as a family. Unfortunately we never did get more pumpkins. I just put it off too long I guess. It is not like Idaho where they freeze to death and in January you can still discover nicely carved pumpkins that some people didn't bother throwing away. Here they rot really fast, so oh well.

Summer wanted to be Hannah Montana this year for Halloween. So she picked this picture of her and said she wanted it like that. So this is our version of Hannah Montana. She had fun bedazzling her microphone. On the other hand I had a lot of work on my hands since I could not find a white denim jacket or a jacket pattern for that matter. I had to just wing it.

Here she is receiving her sparkle pumpkin award for the costume contest at the YMCA for ages 5-8 or 9 I think.

The YMCA was a lot of fun this year. They have all sorts of games and prizes, painting pumkins, a silly haunted house, and of course camel rides.

Summer and daddy enjoying a quick camel ride that they waited in line for at least 45 minutes to ride. I think it was worth it to them. A camel of all animals to ride for Halloween. They had fun.

The Friday before Halloween Summer's class had a short little Halloween activity with cookies, and goodie bags. They had fun dancing around and enjoying the celebration. It is always nice to see Summer interacting with kids.

That same day we went to another party that some friends were hosting. I decided to try making homemade donuts for the first time. They turned out yummy and I am so glad that everyone ate them so I didn't have to bring any home.

Finally on Saturday the 30th we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat. Summer enjoyed walking around with her dad while I passed out candy to a ton of kids.

Summer sure does love these girls. She had a blast playing with all of her friends and of course eating too much candy.

Philip finally wore this Asian outfit he bought in High School. I have been trying to get him to get some use out of it every Halloween since we have been married.
The pumpkin carving of the two small pumpkins we did end up with didn't happen until tonight. Summer was so excited to carve one, so I guess we will be those funny people that leave their Halloween decorations out for a few extra days. Unfortunately we didn't even have a tea light candle to put in. I did stick the lighter in for a minute so she could see what it would look like.
Next year I am going all out on the pumpkins because it is such a fun tradition for the kids.

Our Halloween was very eventful and tiring at the same time. I am glad we had fun, but I 'm also glad it is over. I hope everyone had a great Holiday and enjoyed some festivities as well.

Monster Mash and FHE

It was my turn for FHE tonight, so I thought I would make it spooktacular for Halloween week. I love Halloween, and it is one of my favorite holiday's because there is so much fun surrounding it.

We started off with a simple monster mash dinner. I was going to make shepherd's pie for dinner anyways, so I just added a little green color to the potatoes to make them the bright green. Although slightly unappetizing to eat because of the color it still tasted quite good. Of course the color of green potatoes might deter some folks we had fun with it. Philip wasn't sure about taking the left overs to work though. I think he might be a little embarrassed to show his co-workers that he is eating bright green mashed potatoes.

For family home evening I found a really simple and cute lesson here called the three naughty ghosts. Then I went here to print out boo bingo which was easy and fun. That website is great because you can customize any type of bingo theme you want. After you print your first bingo card you can just click on the bingo card button and it will randomly produce a different bingo card. It took me about 5 minutes to get it all set up and get 5 different cards.

For the treat we had no bake cookies which Summer decided to call mud pies. It was sure was fun, and I look forward to the fun festivities of Halloween this week.

Summer's Visit to the Houston Temple

We have been wanting to take Summer to see the Houston temple for some time now. It is a great opportunity for her to walk around the temple grounds. The beauty, and spirit present at the temple is something that can be enjoyed and felt from inside and out. So, we wanted her to experience it a little bit too.
She had a lot of fun walking around asking questions, and finding special things to see there.
While Philip went inside Summer and I sat at this fountain located at the front entrance. It was quiet and peaceful like it always is.

While I went in Philip sat at this fountain and helped her write in her journal. She also drew some pictures.
She is pointing to one of the special things she saw while we were there. This is the date the temple was erected in 2000 engraved in the temple stone.
Of course she loved the flowers the most. she enjoyed smelling them and just seeing how nicely taken care of they were.
This October 2010 Ensign is entirely devoted to learning about the temple. It is such a nice issue that has several pictures of the beautiful temples throughout the world. There are also several talks about temples and the preparation for entering the temple. A short section is directed for children called "Your Path to the Temple" it was a great resource for us to encourage us to take Summer to see the temple.

She counted on her fingers how long it would be until she can go inside. She is really excited and looking forward to it. At least for now, we can take her and help her to feel the spirit that is even present on the temple grounds.

I am glad that we all got the opportunity to go. It was nice to spend time as a family doing something that makes us feel good inside.